Don't Buy a Camping Fridge Until You Watch This! 6 Newbie Mistakes

[@PlayingwithSticks]

CORRECTION: I forgot to mention something during one of the points in the video. You'll know what I am referring to when you get to it in the video. I think those high dollar fridges with high insulation also have more robust, meaning stronger compressors. Because of this, at moderate or lower temperature environments I think they tend to use more energy compared to a budget fridge. Meaning, every time the high dollar fridge compressor turns on, it consumes more energy then when the lower dollar compressor comes on. BUT, at extreme high temps, the power of this high dollar fridge compressor can keep up the battle against the heat, where the low dollar fridge with it's lower insulation value and potentially weaker compressor struggles to keep up with the demand. Hence why the high dollar fridges in my experience struggle in average environments, but excel in high temperature extremes. After makingn this video ICECO reached out to me with this statement about the APL55. "Regarding the power consumption of the APL55 mentioned in the video, I'd like to clarify the data. The energy consumption figures displayed on our website reflect testing under extreme conditions in Max mode and in a highly challenging laboratory environment. When tested under standard conditions similar to other fridges, its consumption is 0.405 kWh/24h (lab data)." What this means is that the APL55 was designed to compete with the high dollar fridges like Dometic and Engel. While it consumes a little more energy than the smaller ICECO fridges at moderate temps, it is designed to excel in extreme temps. Hope this brings a little more clarity to the conversation.

[@dchurch911]

Good clarification:) ICECO's "Eco Mode" reduces power consumption by slowing the compressor, it also reduces higher energy start-ups. We run our ICECO in Eco Mode most of the time. In this mode it averages about 16W consumption (33W @ 50% cycle).

[@PlayingwithSticks]

We’re right with you there, we run ours in Eco mode all the time. I think the only negative Eco mode that I see is that it fluctuates a tiny bit more up-and-down in terms of temperature range. In the first few years, we would tend to get frozen food in certain areas of our fridge. so we ended up turning up the temperature and that didn’t work either. and now we just keep it at 37 in Eco mode and put different types of food in different areas of the fridge based on how much cold they can handle. I don’t know if 37 works for all models, but it’s been good for us with the JP 40. We are so close to joining the Bean club again! Really hoping in the near future we can do another adventure with you guys.

[@1truthseeking8]

​​@@PlayingwithSticks I have "need" of three separate storage (over the road trucking and off grid travel time, etc) 1. For frozen: Meat. Refrigerated: 2. For butter, milk, cheese, etc 3. For lemons & limes (putting two dozen lemons and three dozen limes in the same space as butter is a recipe for butter that tastes like bitter paint, also the effect on cheese is nearly as bad, and eventually makes it's way into unopened milk... Tried putting butter in Mason jars, silicone ring sealed glass storage containers that snap tight and nothing works... Has to be separate air ... Any suggestions or recommendations? EDIT: in case you're wondering: RAW HIGH FAT CARNIVORE/LION DIET with Oxalate removal using lime& lemon juice - see Sally K Norton's published: "toxic super foods" ( I also have Achlorhydria so that is an additional reason for the use of acidic everything) ...

[@johnowens8530]

It amazes me how many people I see mentioning the best fridges, and never mention national Luna. Is there a reason you also do this? Have you tried one, or like many people do you discuss refrigerators as if National Luna doesn’t exist? This is not meant to be an insult, only an observation. I do very much like your channel.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

@@johnowens8530 They are actually pretty new to me. But, in gerneral unless I am specifically highlighting a brand I tend to use brand names people know. For example I use a Canyon Cooler. It has been known to beat Yeti in ice retention tests. However, even in my videos where you will see me using a Canyon I typical talk about Yetis. The same goes with fridges. I find it much easier to make a point using Engel or Dometic vs. using a superior fridge that people do not know about. Not trying to neglect what I consider the superior fridge, but I find it is easier to meet people where they are at. Also when camping gadgets get up into the thousands of dollars I know I am now talking to a very small subpopulation within the channel. While I do highlight buy once cry one items, my overall goal for the channel is to find quality gear at attainable prices for most folks.

[@goldgoat22]

Bought the cheapest one we could get from Princess Auto. Works well. When we aren't camping, it acts as a beer/beverage fridge. As a Canadian, no way we'd ever mount a fridge on the tongue. The bears know what coolers look like.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

🤣 Right! We spend a lot of time in bear country. But not typically with habitual bears in regular campgrounds. I’m definitely going to have to find a secondary location for that fridge when in bear country.

[@1truthseeking8]

​​@@PlayingwithSticks EDIT: ICECO JP50 pro used: ????? ICECO JP40 pro used: ????? I didn't see the figures for these two specifically? ICECO GO20 used: ???? ICECO JP40 used: .48kw ICECO APL55 used: .995kw Dometic CFX3 used: ????? ICECO JP50 pro used: ????? ICECO JP40 pro used: ?????

[@nicholassorensen9035]

So do us Yanks, just not as smart.

[@ChrisW228]

Instead of reusable ice packs, I freeze bottles of water. Then I also have ice cold drinking water when they melt.

[@nebc_yukonyeti]

Juice boxes also work as a great drinkable ice pack.

[@littlebanshee]

This is a a good thing to do

[@Samuel-m4x6t]

Water from Frozen water bottles not good to drink, affects plastics.

[@bussingwithbain]

I use my 12v fridge as freezer. Keep food frozen till needed,and then put in cooler that is kept cool by ice/ice packs made in freezer daily

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Great idea. Thank you.

[@wt9653]

What if you have a limited space? Most well insulated coolers are Huge with very small inside. Probably just have a 12v freezer and bring out what you want for the day. keep them in a lunch box to thaw.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

I’ll be making a video on this soon, it’s a bit expensive but amazing efficiency and use of space and that’s the oyster cooler

[@Jim-s6i3b]

I have the space in my 4Runner and it works out great. Have food for many days.

[@wt9653]

@@Jim-s6i3b 4Runner NO! RV or Camper YES!

[@1l1c]

I’m currently building my teardrop camper, watching your channel and others like it are a huge help in preplanning. Keep it up!

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Thank you for the encouraging words, I appreciate it. Looking forward to hearing how your teardrop camper turns out.

[@mobiltec]

I finally got tired of the ice thing after years and decades of using the conventional cooler. Then I finally pulled the trigger and got my first camping fridge. I did some homework and came up with the ICECO VL45. But now I needed solar too. So I went down that rabbit hole as well. So in the end, to save money not having to buy ice for as much as $8 a bag, I spent $1500 building a solar system. Since then I've been screwing around with the solar system which I still don't have working properly. So then I invested in one of those 300 watt power station. Another few hundred. Well that wasn't big enough so then I bought the 1000 watt model. So now I've got well over $3000 invested in order to save $8 on a bag of ice. Funny the rabbit holes we go down. I'm about ready to go back to a tent, and a cooler that uses ice. What happened to the simple camping life???

[@PlayingwithSticks]

This comment is so good. This is exactly why I made this video. I’m in between campers right now so I’ve been camping out of my instant pop-up tent. And I’ve been recognizing what you’re saying. In my pursuit of easier more efficient camping I’ve actually made it harder. I have a lot of reflecting to do for this next camping season.

[@allenjohnson4938]

A good amount of research into others experiences showed me how much of a cash grab there was fore people to " Disconnect" from civilization by getting out doors by tethering the Technology we use to the trips ...there really is a Smart and innovative Gadget that people were making due without that Just make the Trip/Journey easier that have gotten more efficient as well as affordable. And I like the premise of what Playing with Sticks is Doing Pointing that out BUT the Elephant in the Room is Whom these Activities are Catered to. Not just the Obvious Able Bodied but the less obvious " More Affluent" meaning those whom have "extra" OR " Recreational Time Away From Their Jobs. The Barrier For entry to Outdoors Activities....it has even Prompted facebook groups like the one I belong to called "Overlanding for the Poor". People view these advancements as a way to Ease into a Lifestyle that has been Coined as "Roughing it"....whereas Sportsman's ( Hunters, Hikers, Fishers, Spelunkers, Rafters, etc.) have occupied that Space have Went Right Past that Phase dragging the whole industry ( and us) behind it into the tech laden future of features and comforts. Like Hunting when you've brought food on the trip What you are doing out there determines your gear. And all of this could be boiled down to Glorified Survival in an undomesticated place in which case its best to go out in style Most would say given the choice. battery sized air pumps, battery powered fans, lights, speakers, projectors, drones, fridges, all make life easier in the woods or an alley... the key is to utilize them to save time space and effort and if it doesn't do these things then they can be eliminated or swapped but for a lot of people like myself the price dictates whether I will be able to buy them to use in the first place and finding a Goldilocks zone of features, to reliability, cost/space and energy savings is the goal....a goal playing with sticks helps us all at.....but its also easier than ever do to 'knockoff brands" offering comparable things at fractions of the price. I have Euhomy 37 & 48q 12v Dual zone Fridges w/ Bluetooth and wheels and even removable swappable Batteries like power tools...Got Both plus Batteries for $650. Il get another one in the same lineup soon ( 24qt) for another $150 and for $800 I'm set of the next 2-3 years if they hold up. I have 6x Rotomolded Coolers ( yeti Knockoffs) of Various Sizes i got on Clearance for $200. Got a Ecoflow Delta Pro for $2600 with 2x 400w Solar Panels so I feel you on the price tag but that's actually half off and its definitely overkill as I have plenty of Power tools Batteries that have inverters to act as small draw generators to top off anything. After I get the 3x different Ecoflow River2 Series stations off Ebay ( Another $750 probably) il be set but its absolutely not neccesary as I have a essentially backpacking Gear that I've pieced together over the years like solo stoves and such that require no power. not because its better but because its redundant in case there is no power to be sourced and the materials they are made of is usually sturdy like stainless steel and double stitched. where money can be saved save but where quality is needed ....bu second hand.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

@allenjohnson4938 you remind me of an independent film we watched in Alaska like 10 years ago. I can’t even remember what it was titled something like “the white man is crazy.” or why the white man is crazy. And it was, I believe, set in Greenland with the Inuit. And the premise of the movie was the Inuit just going about his daily life to survive. And in the background were these westerners spending all this money, hauling all this gear, and putting themselves in situations where they were risking their lives. And the Inuit people just couldn’t understand. Why would these people place themselves in the situation? why do they need all this gear? Why would they risk their lives, for no material gain? The movie really stuck with me. It was cute and funny, but also had the larger meaning. Then I married my wife, May. She looks at me, just like those Inuits looked at those men with their gear. 🤣 I still get a little crazy sometimes, but she does a great job of keeping me in check.

[@allenjohnson4938]

@@PlayingwithSticks Let Me Know if You Ever Find That Title! While I Wont ever Claim To have been Poor All of The People ( Parents and Extended Family)who Raised Me and all of my friends were. Were Black with my family coming from plantations that I stay a mile away from and some obvious Native Heritage in there Somewhere though I have no cultural ties.Pint is they have no qualms about expressing their opinions and every time they are amazed at What is Possible nowadays ...negate the brand name; just the feasibility of situations when a 12v fridge or 20v power tool fan enters the scenario is astounding much less overall positive. They imagine the Harsh times Roughing it was not optional, and as far back as when Off Gridding was just Life...and when a little reprieve from the dark, heat or hunger are just too expensive or out of reach which really brings these purchases into perspective. I can Without a Doubt Say that Americans ( Myself included) are having an Identity Crisis that is Centered on Peoples Differing Perceptions Of Value ( often conflated With "Values"). How People Equate What is Necessary and then Prioritized is under a microscope from all angles because the concept of Monetization has been applied to every facet of life. Inherently those ancient rudimentary ways have proven to be more harmonious with nature and the actual biodiverse environment would then be able to React...but with modernizations and recent bursts of Populations those unclaimed open air Spaces where people can go outside are becoming tainted ( Not Ruined per se but made worse off or brought up for other purposes) by the human experience. The Stuff they make for Backpacking has incorporated a lot of that into their "sustainability" business models but moreover have crafted gear catered to "Less Invasive" Practices Where literally Less (Weight, Waste, Water, Fuel) is the Goal but you get more out out the designs of the Gear. Ive also spent many years watching Survivorman and shows of the like with only about a month of different styles of camping over the years to compare our shared experiences so for me it comes down to Prepping for a Bad Wednesday not DoomsDay.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

@allenjohnson4938 prepping for a bad Wednesday, not doomsday. I might have to steal that line.

[@TandBKount]

I have a BougeRV 23quart 12v (Mint Green Color) fridge cooler and LOVE IT! It uses very little energy. I plug it into a EcoFlow Delta2, which can last for several hours in the heat. I live in Central Texas and use it all the time, especially buying cold items from the grocery/Costco. I can fit 2huge plates of Costco Ground Beef/Beef Stew Chunks each plate just over 6lbs in the cooler. Given the Feels like temp is near or over 100°F daily, this gives me peace of mind buying groceries. It'seven hotter inside the car (CR-V, I fold down the shorter rear seat keeping the back upright and add a blanket where the seat was to flatten the bottom level-ish before placing the electric cooler down. This mostly keeps the cooler from sliding. I've also used it to get raw milk at the Farmer's Market too. I love that I can carry it by myself even when fully loaded with food. I'm 5'6" and not very strong.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

I’ve been slowly gathering, Bouge RV products over the years. And I’ve come to find it’s a brand I really trust. I didn’t trust it at first because it was so affordable. But what I look for in brands are people that are doing their own research and design and coming up with their own technology. Bouge RV is not just copying people. They’re actually making their own stuff. Everything you described about your grocery runs, it puts a smile on my face because it reminds me of ours. I’ve never done the fresh milk thing, though, that sounds fun.

[@Dr.Pepper_not]

Thanks! Helpful@@PlayingwithSticks

[@JamesDKyrts]

I was ready to comment for a second fridge. You got me on the last minute there. But my second fridge use is a little different. What I do is turn my main fridge (45l~qt) all the way to freezing temps on shore power. Freeze 4-6 1.5l water bottles and as many ice packs as I have at hand, and any other kind of food that has no problem freezing (chocolates and such). Run it full blast as I drive to the destination, so when I arrive pretty much everything is still frozen. Meanwhile, my second one is an ice fridge (20-25l~qt), it is properly packed, ice packs, food, a few perishables and everything else. First 36hours after the car stops, the main fridge works pretty much as an ice chest, no power on it yet, nothing goes in or out other than ice packs. Next 36 hours as the temp on the second one rises and the ice packs deplete, I start moving things in the main fridge, which is now set at a fridge temp say 4°C (40°F?). We are at day 3. At that point I plug it in for a couple of hours daily. I can get a full blast for 6 hours on a 40Ah battery and another 15 on the big 100Ah one. So for three to four days more I can run the fridge without charging any battery. We are at day 6-7, temps are still 4-5°C (40-41°F). The auxiliary car battery charges in two hours of driving, while the fridge is running along side. So for every two hours of traveling I get roughly a day and a half of cool drinks. Day 6 is usually the last day of ice existing on any fridge if I do not get shore power or travel. It is also pretty much the day all perishables are used up. Up to day 10 (of no shore power), the temps read 7-8°C (45-47°F), so you still get a cool drink off of the fridge but it is not that safe for food. A week is a breeze. Ten days is a stretch. More than that, I break out the solar and the big batteries. Needless to say, if you are traveling places and the fridge is constantly on, you get more days of cooling off of it.

[@bikingal4283]

I use my fridge as a freezer and use blue ice blocks... I have been doing this for over a year...works so well... I also prepare foods ahead of time and freeze them, they go in the cooler when I'm ready to use them and it usually takes about 2 days for those to thaw out, adding extra cooling to the cooler... best part is I can have ice cream or ice whenever I want it.... I have an alpicool and it's very efficient, and wrapped in reflectix....have to change out the blocks about every 2 days...do have to say that the dual zone iceco looks enticing but pretty hefty price

[@dchurch911]

Anyone looking to buy a 12v compressor type cooler should definitely watch this video! We chose the ICECO JP40 about 3 years ago because of the low energy specs, Danfoss (SECOP) compressor, and it happened to be a great fit for our galley cooler space. My only concern was how well the body would hold up over the long haul of heavy use. Our JP40 has seen hundreds of days of use in demanding conditions. It is in excellent condition. Even the insulative bag is holding up well. Granted, we take decent care of our gear. I like the second cooler concept. We use a large soft sided cooler for this purpose. It folds pretty flat for storing when empty. It's waterproof with a tough fabric exterior so we can set it in a creek or splash it down for evaporative cooling. Adding some frozen bottled juice/water also helps in either cooler. *Not ALL compressors are designed for generous tilt operation. That's a spec I would confirm before buying for overlanding. Last but not least make sure the cooler you buy properly fits your space. The vents MUST be given space so that heat has a unobstructed exit! Great video! We love the overland clips:)

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Thanks for clarifying that about the angle of operation. Sometimes I get so caught up in a quick edit that I forget to put a little clause when I make strong statements like that. I so appreciate the time you took here to share your set up and how it’s working. I was just browsing through your videos today. Once I get the bean, I’m gonna have to catch up on a lot of those videos to start making some of my own modifications.

[@dchurch911]

@@PlayingwithSticks I'm so excited for you! I'm sure you guys will create a fantastic Bean:)

[@cherylbarrett3443]

I heard of someone recently who was using a very small fridge as a freezer to keep their old style cooler supplied with fresh reusable ice packs. They changed the out every day. I was intrigued, but I wondered how much power it might take to maintain those colder temperatures all the time, even with the very small fridge.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

We have a large population of active members in the playing with sticks community who use this method. They swear by it. I would love to give this a try, sounds like a good video.

[@bikingal4283]

this is what I have been doing for over a year...works so well... also prepare foods ahead of time that go in the cooler when I'm ready to use them and it usually takes about 2 days for those to thaw out, adding extra cooling to the cooler... best part is I can have ice cream or ice whenever I want it.... I have an alpicool and it's very efficient, and wrapped in reflectix....

[@PlayingwithSticks]

@@bikingal4283 Thank you for taking the time to share this!

[@sierramantrvlnus]

I really liked this one. My 12v is near 5yrs old now and at the time the mid size Dometic was kind of expensive but tough enough for my off road use. After my AGM batteries kicked the bucket, (due to my fridge and, or, my heater ) I sized my system accordingly. 200 amp hour worth of batteries and possible 600 w of solar that is set away from the trailer in the sun. Although, I have 200 Watts fixed to the roof of the trailer now.. I will never run out of juice! I can also charge from my alternator . I might get a really small freezer just for meats and cocktail ice. Much love to you and your family and keep pumping out great videos❤ I also like the Sunday schedule too!

[@PlayingwithSticks]

First, thanks for the feedback on the Sunday schedule. Second, always great to hear from you. Third you are such a great use case for this video. For most people this is a good case of how batteries and solar could get out of control if you pick up the wrong fridge for your camping style. For you, you need this setup because of how you camp. You and I have talked about this many times. Your needs are much different then the average camper. But if the average camper picked up my APL55 because they thought it would be the best, beings it was the most expensive, they would be in for a sad surprise. I'm building my trailer out more like you. I will need a lot of solar on my rig. I think if it all can fit I will end up with 560 Watts between the two CGIS panels and the Lightleaf solar on the front. Definitely overkill for most. Even with my JP50 Pro all I would have needed was 200 watts. I love a setup like that. But, I really didn't have a choice. This will also give me the ability to test items like induction cooking, ac, etc. I really geek out on monitoring power consumption. I really like your idea of the small freezer. I may experiment with an icemaker at some point. I see a lot of people switching over to that method. If Bean is on schedule I should be getting my camper in two to three weeks. I can't wait!!!!

[@sierramantrvlnus]

@@PlayingwithSticks that is awesome! You also have a number of items that need to be charged like cameras etc. I would love to get away from propane 100%. And move to the induction etc. They're coming out with new solar panel types every day. I looked at those ice makers as well. And they look pretty cool. They draw a lot of energy though. Renergie has a great controller that works well with solar and your alternator energy. That is what I went with. I also went with a 208 amp hour sok battery. I do plan on getting another one. My ideal plan is to be out indefinitely with only having to come in to town for food. I've also put together quite a water filtration system, but all's I need is a UV light to top it off.😁

[@PlayingwithSticks]

@sierramantrvlnus big fan of Renogy! I see why you went that direction. There are some companies coming out with their own proprietary alternator charges. The first one I saw was from Eco flow. I think it’s more suited to something like a truck or a van, because you’d have to run it from the vehicle to the trailer. But it’s designed to essentially run straight from the alternator into your power station. Kinda neat. And for those of us with trailers, I guess you could just move that power station to the car when driving and then bring it back. Much more efficient charging vs the cigarette adapter. Your water system sounds very intriguing. The most fancy I ever see when I’m out at the campsite as people with a Berkey water filter 😆

[@sierramantrvlnus]

I did run a 6 gauge wire from the car battery to the trailer independently. And so the controller is actually mounted in the battery box of the trailer. It allows the solar and the alternator as in one unit. Saves on space. Although water is very heavy. I do not travel with a full water tank all the time. But if I am heading out where no Creeks Lakes water Etc is available, then I will fill up for coffee in the morning and or showers etc. It's nice to have a clean head of hair. The Berkey type systems are quite bulky and setting up would be a daily thing. So, I got a 120 volt food grade pump that feeds through a sedimentary type of filter, then goes into a two-stage clear Source filtration system which includes carbon filters and a ceramic filter filter filtering it down to that 99.99% clean water, I use it for boiling water like coffee or spaghetti etc. But having a UV filter will allow me to have it as drinking water as well. I do clean my tank regularly. I mean you can drink the water, but adding the UV would be the last thing.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

@@sierramantrvlnus With that UV it would just give you that extra peace of mind. Years ago I picked up that UV pen. Probably 10 years ago now. It sounded so cool. But every time I am in the field I just don't trust it. Sounds too good to be true to just wave my magic uv wand around my water and it is good to go. There is something to be said about redududant systems, even if it is only truly redundant.

[@alwaysjoie309]

I ended up selling my 12 volt fridge with my Scamp and went back to a cooler. I am done with that and just ordered the same fridge I had before. For me dual zone is a must. I am only camping with myself and two young kids, I don’t want to deal with multiple coolers and fridges. I have an older Bluetti 500 and its only job is the fridge so I don’t care about efficiency as much. We mostly camp weekends and I do have a solar panel, but I like to move around and will charge it from the car too. My fridge is my only real power need. I have another very small power station that can handle my phone and few rechargeable lanterns. I do think you made really good points! I just know for me power is not the biggest issue, and I am looking for the cheapest dual zone that will help me get rid of the coolers.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Good point. For shorter use cases the efficiency isn’t as important. But the price tag is. I’m glad more and more companies are coming on the market with quality affordable fridges. The three that I see a lot of the community using are Alpicool, ICECO and Bouge RV. I’m not sure of the quality of the other two because I haven’t used them, but I’ve used Bouge RV products in the past and have had a great experience with them. It’ll be interesting to see in the comments here, but I think from what I’ve heard in other videos of ours is that people have been having good experiences with their Alpicool as well.

[@bobcampbell2074]

We got a Camco Cam-450 (45 liter) with our pop-up camper and love it. We only use it as a fridge, but it has a dual zone capability. There's also a Cam-550 (55 liter), also with dual zone capability. The Camco Outdoors website has them listed as on clearance, so they can be had for less than $300 new. They seem to be out of the 45 liter, though.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

@bobcampbell2074 it’s been so nice hearing of all these different affordable fridges that are working for people

[@blueghost1952]

I have an anker c1000 and bought a very big expensive 110 liter fridge for a 10 day camping trip. Unfortunately, i had to keep recharging my power station as my cooler would draw 120 /132 watts of power. I think bigger fridges are only better if paired with a very high powertstion wattt hr. Like an ecoflow Delta Pro and also having a generator with it. I have solar, but it is not as fast as one would hope even at 400w that a spent over a 1000 on. At the end smaller is better combined with high quality insulation and compressor. Water absorbs heat 20x faster than air so that to in a small cooler space will make your cooler retain and be cold fast and maybe living without needing ice cream, lol. Im excited for my icecoe jl30 and 20 there very small and very low watt draw 33 and only 15 respectively! Awesome vid. More people need to know this. Cuz you can lose a lot of money fast, not knowing the differences, like me, lol.

[@jenniferstewarts4851]

Camping fridges are really a cool topic. You can just chill and discuss them. You don't even need a fancy intro you can just to a cold open right into them.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

😆 Love it! Good seeing you, my friend. I was interested to see if you’d be able to show up on Sunday. This was part of the reason why I changed the date because I wasn’t getting those early Jennifer comments anymore.

[@jenniferstewarts4851]

@@PlayingwithSticks Its canada day weekend.. though i was out shopping, came back and checked and logged my comments for you :)

[@PlayingwithSticks]

@jenniferstewarts4851 you rock! Up near Alaska everybody called it something else I can’t remember it, like Canada long day weekend or something?

[@jenniferstewarts4851]

@@PlayingwithSticks Canada day long weekend. just cuz money is canada day so its a 4 day weekend.

[@Michelle-n7f]

😂

[@RellHaiser1]

I have an Iceco VL60D fridge. During a recent road/camping trip a few weeks ago when the daytime temperatures between Alberta and BC where I live and was traveling to were anywhere from 35-40 Celsius (95-104 Fahrenheit) I decided as an experiment to leave my fridge unpowered overnight the first night in my hot vehicle to see how good the insulation was. The VL60D is a dual zone unit. Before unplugging it my temperatures were 1 and 3 Celsius (~34 and ~37 Fahrenheit). The next morning when I plugged it back in before resuming the road trip my temperatures were 3 and 5 Celsius (~37 and 41 Fahrenheit). Each zone had only risen by 2 Celsius. I had moved my two perishable food items (coffee cream and wieners) into a cooler with ice for this test so only drinks were left in, just in case. I was happy with that performance, though the VL60D is constructed of steel so it is very heavy to move, in fact I need help from a second person when loading or unloading it from my vehicle.

[@paulschimel3572]

Great video. You missed one thing you can do with a 12v cooler and a regular cooler. Refreeze the ice packs. I Set the iceco dual zone to run less efficiently but cool very fast in the settings because my truck turns off the outlet minutes after turning off the vehicle. I put icepacks in the freezer side and the cooler. When we are done driving switch the packs back to the cooler side and cooler. With this you only need to drive once a day. No solar, no deep cycle battery or jackary.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Great comment! I wish I would have added that to the video.

[@MrMoneyHelper]

Try this; keep your super expensive cooler and use a small electric freezer to freeze gel packs. Then put the gel packs into your cooler every couple of days. Alternate two sets of gel packs. Maybe you've already tried this There would be no wasted ice and the overall size of both containers would be smaller than having a large freezer that holds food and the cooler. The small freezer would only need to be big enough to hold one set of gel packs.

[@Utah_Mike]

I picked up an Engle used. Old but work great, and very affordable. I have purchased 3 different units, all used, all from $50-$500. The $50 unit has ran non stop about 3 years on a super simple solar system in the garage. On trips I set mine as a freezer (ice cream!), and a small soft cooler. Freeze water bottles, & move them to the cooler as needed.

[@TheOffroadCamper]

My Setpower big bad boy TC75 has been running 24/7 off my Jeeps power source for over two years no issues with power consumption or cooling; until it slid in the back if the Jeep and damaged my outlet. so it is now sitting outside the off road camper plugged into and AC2DC adapter on the trailer still working great and seems to be very efficient. I now have a new smaller Setpower RV45S I keep in the Jeep mostly for drinks/snacks but use it on my weekend boondocking trips for proteins as well. The TC75 IS FATED AT 25-60WATTS I am seeing around 30watts draw loaded cooling mode; about 1-5w sustained maintaining its temp.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Love hearing this. We have been hearing a good amount of people lately praising their Setpower for being a good bang for the buck.

[@caver6292]

Excellent points and analysis on use. My first 12v fridge is (still using it!) a VL45. I think it is robust and you can't beat its reliability (that compressor!) with a warranty of 5 years! I power it with a jackery 500 and 120w solar to keep the jackery charged and it works like a charm, I've run it 3 days straight off that Jackery 500 without recharging (cut it close but it did it!). Had enough capacity for food for 5 people (steaks were packed frozen to help, they were still frozen 2 days later!) Eco mode saves a heap of power too. I made a "blanket" for it out of Reflectix and it makes a huge difference (I think the covers from the manufacturer are nice but very pricey). Recently I purchased a Bouge 23 qt 12v fridge to go solo camping and can't complain either. Same set up for power. I have to make a reflectix blankey for it still, but it preformed very well here in the Florida heat (in the shade, of course). Thank you for the video, I love your channel!

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Love hearing this! Like you, we were surprised how long we can run on smaller power stations. Especially if you mix that with some solar. About three summers ago we lived in the bean trailer for I think it was 2 1/2 months. We only had to stop for shore power two times and we were only powering everything with a 100 amp lithium battery and a 90 watt zamp solar panel. Mind you, this was in the west with great weather. But I was just amazed. I was telling everybody all summer that the Zamp solar was 150 W and came to find out at the end of the summer that it was only 90. As much as I complained about that thing being so big and expensive, it must’ve been pretty efficient.

[@major__kong]

I run a Li Time mini 100Ah battery in my camper with a separate solar charger controller and then run 12V around the camper where I need it. I've never had an issue with running out of energy. A couple of helpful hints. First, make sure your food is completely cold soaked before running the fridge on battery. So run it loaded at home the night before you leave. Second, don't leave it sitting in the sun. I put mine under my camper. You can also use a blanket over the top to help insulate it. Third, I don't care if they're less efficient, I use soft briefcase or suitcase solar panels because they fold up to nothing. So I can actually carry more solar generation with me even though it's less efficient. By running my own power concoction, i don't need a DC-DC converter like those commercial units. So I have about 10-15% more energy because I'm not losing it to conversion.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

LOVE the information in this comment. And anecdotally, I don’t notice the little loss in efficiency with my portable solar panels either. In reality, they’re probably more efficient because you’re able to chase the sun easier. I noticed when I had that rigid Zamp panel. Yes, it was portable, but it was so heavy and cumbersome partway through the day I just stopped chasing the sun.

[@dorvinion]

You covered the how to use a fridge so no additional input on that. We picked up a 50L Alpicool fridge back in 2019 to serve as food storage for camping, and its still going strong today. Its no longer our primary camping fridge since our TT has a 12V built in (though it is power hungry), but when/if our portable 12v fridge dies I will replace it with another fridge. 12V fridge is just so much more versatile than a cooler. We use it at least 3 or 4 times a month with no food storage space lost to ice for day trips (picnic lunch - though it is often oversized for this purpose), shopping trips, or long weekends to visit relatives (we are sometimes picky eaters and want to be good guests)

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Thank you for sharing this. Love the picky eater comment. That is great. We are hearing so much about people's positive experiences with Alpicool.

[@BSerrell4]

I was blown away impressed with how well insulated our Dometic 35 is when its thermistor went on the fritz and it kept over-cooling. We were leaving on a 3 week trip with no time to get the part to repair it, so I put three frozen bottles of water in the corners and a couple of bluetooth remote thermometers in it and we would plug it in when the temperature approached 38° and shut it off when it approached 30°. We’d turn it off at bed time and it stayed safely cold overnight (temps in the high 50’s and low 60’s in the car).

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Yes, like I mentioned in the video those domestics have incredible insulation. There’s a reason why they cost a little bit more. It’s not just a namebrand thing, the craftsmanship and materials used are fit for the job. Thank you for sharing this.

[@BSerrell4]

@@PlayingwithSticks Thanks for the extra information. What you said makes sense, especially in light of the last day of our trip as we were driving through Red Bluff when it was 118° outside. The air conditioning in the Sienna blowing on us in the front seats kept us tolerably comfortable, but I was amazed at how hot the other parts of the car got. Nonetheless, the stuff in the refrigerator stayed cold (after running on shore power overnight) even though I had forgotten to turn on the 12 V DC output on the Ecoflow where the Dometic was plugged in.

[@michaeldean4704]

I have a Setpower TC-20 (21.1 quarts), 12V refridgerator. I power it with a Bluetti EB70S 800W/719Wh power-station. I don't recall, off-hand, how much wattage the fridge pulls, while running, but it's not much. In fact, I was able to maintain 34°F for 10 days (9 nights), and still had 40% remaining on the power-station - without having to recharge - at the end of the week. The temperatures during the week I was camping were in the upper 80's. Though I was setup in a fairly shady spot. I paid $240 for the fridge and $500 for the power-station back in November of 2022.

[@heathdumler6129]

I got the setpower rv45 because it was cheaper and tested more efficient than the nearly identical iceco. I love it. Never came close to draining my 100ah lifepo4 with a folding panel in AZ. I even ran it through most the winter and spring at 0°as an additional freezer at home when an elk filled my deep freeze and was an overflow option. When camping, all beverages and quick grab stuff go in the cooler because we're in and out of it all day, and food stays shut in the fridge. Works wonders.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Love hearing this. And I'm not surprised you found something better. Like I mentioned there are unicorns out there within the brand itself and like you did, unicorns between brands. Thank you so much for sharing this. So far I am hearing great things here about Setpower and Alpicool. Seems to be a great bang for the buck.

[@williamirelan9332]

If you use milk jugs filled with ice instead of blue bricks, you get no soggy food ; and water when they melt. I used lifeboat packets of water in my lunch box,when I worked outside, I could refreeze them over and over if I didn't drink them.

[@alancoppinger4413]

I want to thank you for you taking your the time out in your life to help those in need of information to ensure or camping adventures can go better than expected due to your advice. I feel so bummed that I missed you when you was at the Camp inn Camp out adventure in Wisconsin last year. My wife and I are proud owners of a Camp_Inn Trailer. So your advice along those lines is much appreciated. We have had our trailer now for four years now. So when I so your latest video on camping fridges I was intrigued about it. So I have the Solar panel on top of the trailer pulls about 100 ma that was installed by Camp Inn. I haven't tested it to see how much energy gets pulled off the battery during the day and to see how much the solar panel recharges the battery the next day. I plan on adding a ICEGO pro 50 to the wattage drain. The off grid is coming once I retire at the end of year and just trying to get a handle on it. I apologize for writing to you like I have known you all my life but you seem so genuine in your presentations thanks for all you do for teardrop campers

[@sdearing6375]

I just got the iceco jp pro 40 dual zone and have taken it on one trip so far - I love it - I used it as a freezer and would transfer to the little fridge in my class B to thaw and be ready to use. It is quiet (I was worried and even checked on it because I could not hear it),, efficient, and has wheels. I don't love the app but the rest is good so far. I debated about smaller or whether dometic was the way to go -but so far really glad I got the iceco

[@cstout1634]

DREW! After watching this video I ended up buying the Iceco JP40 Pro single zone. Its by far the most effiecnt cooler Ive ever owned. Its sips energy. Super impressed with it. Thank you.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Yay! I wish I knew about this cooler sooner. I always thought the JP 40 original was the winner of the lineup. I feel like that pro line kinda gets hidden between all their other series of coolers.

[@cstout1634]

@@PlayingwithSticks I think the single zone is the way to go as its cheaper as well. Dont sleep on the rear wheels either. You didn't know you need them until you can easily slide it out and then save your back pulling it. WELL DONE

[@johnowens8530]

I think one thing I have done which I really like, is to buy a 200 Renogy life battery. I charge it fully, then hardwire the fridge to it. It runs a long time. I also have a large ecoflow and keep the battery charger in the storage compartment for longer trips. It really works well however.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Thank you for sharing this!

[@kdsailorgirl]

So far, very happy with my Bouge RV 23. It is small but works for 2 people for 3-5 day camp.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

We used our little 21 or 23 quart cooler for a family of 3 for two years. So we get you.

[@CinkSVideo]

Thank you. This is well timed as I’m considering a switch just to simplify things, especially on short impromptu trips. You also are reminding me to get some larger freezer packs. I tend to freeze half gallon jugs of water, but then add ice over the top. Probably overkill. I won’t go larger because there is a limit to how big a cooler I can manage if by myself. My aging back just doesn’t allow lifting a big cooler regardless of type. I no longer want to camp in high temps, but a poorly positioned cooler on a 75 degree day can melt ice pretty quickly. Makes me want to add an insulated door over my cooler so I don’t have to close the hatch. Hmmm…that’s a Design consideration for a teardrop. An insulated compartment in the galley would be a great addition.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

I’ve been recently wanting to do a test on how hot it gets inside these galleys. You have a great point about creating an atmosphere inside the galley that’s right for a 12 V fridge.

[@rickywrenn]

SetPower owned by Iceco I believe have nice dual zone and regular ones that are great for the price. I own two and they work great so far. $227.00 for the dual zone 37 quart right now. 3 year compressor warranty.

[@metaxaanabeer]

Drew, a little bit of age and a whole lot of medical stuff has driven us out of the Teardrop lifestyle we enjoyed for over a decade (bear in mind we teardrop camped, not teardrop miniature RV'd) but I found an old Dodge camper van that didn't leak or smell and we have basically emptied it out and now are overlaying our teardrop "system" into it. For me that now includes a 12V compressor fridge along side a small marine cooler. But: my fridge has an ice maker! Plus one of the new smart DC to DC chargers which takes the normal alternator charge of 100W and up-scales it to 500W peak, 400W running...I'll let you know how it goes, first trip is real soon.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

I’m looking forward to hearing how it goes. That was one thing I thought about mentioning in the video if you have an icemaker, and a cooler it’s a great combination.

[@shadowdance4666]

Hybrid systems for me. Cheapo hot cold fridge like 40 liters igloo. Get a 10 liter MSR or similar water bladder. Fill with ice bought or from a motel ice machine. Can add an additional 2-5 liter bladder if desired. It’s good for about a week in the harshest of environments. I went through Death Valley with this system. In the end you’re left with cold drinkable water. Very efficient

[@robertkelleher1850]

We have the Dometic CFX 45. In Florida, it's a no-brainer. We have the small ICECO that we take sometimes if we need a freezer on longer trips. It can even do dual zone which works great in cooler temps.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Love hearing this! Thanks for sharing.

[@tomraidna8421]

Nice Drew !! as expected great video, one additional strategy for the cooler and fridge approach is to freeze some food ( especially meats) to go into cooler and as it thaws in a few days move to fridge or eat. This helps keeping other things cool and save space.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Tom, thank you for sharing this in both locations! I’ll respond the same to this one as well. Another thing that I will add to Tom‘s comment is that you can do this also with frozen water bottles. Later on that frozen water becomes your drinking water.

[@chrisharmon5453]

@@PlayingwithSticksyes I like to freeze the square Crystal Geyser gallon bottles. Fit nicely in the cooler and works as a water source too.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

@@chrisharmon5453 I never thought of doing that. Great idea.

[@Ess_Chalk]

I reckon a 40L fridge cooled by an efficient and reliable compressor like a SECOP is a great starting point suitable to most people and setups. I have a few fridges and my go-to for most trips is still my trusty old Waeco CF-40 that looks identical to your Iceco JP40, especially when paired with a cooler for drinks that I keep in my vehicle when we're out exploring anyway. Plus, they'll fit into most campers' galleys and I've always been a big proponent of that because regularly moving a loaded fridge, keeping a SUV hatch open to access the fridge or walking around the camper to a fridge and back isn't fun, especially while you're cooking. An anecdotal tip: I installed a lockable boat vent on my squaredrop's galley hatch, which I closed when travelling but I opened the vent at camp while the hatch was closed. I never measured the power draw difference after I installed it but the fridge's (noticeably loud) LG compressor cycled less frequently with the vent open during our Queensland summer. Mmm dragon fruit 🤤

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Yes, I agree with that 40L/Secop statement. And what you mentioned about the walking around is what worries me a little bit about my new trailer. I've been so spoiled with my cooler in the galley all these years. Great tip on the vent. I often wonder how my cooler is performing in that sealed up galley. I may have to test that one of these days.

[@allardzack]

I love my bodega fridge/freezer. It stays with me all the time, and runs off my 12v while the vehicle isn't running. And when the rig isn't running for a long period of time, I use my funwatt battery pack to run it.

[@outbackeddie]

If I get one of these little refrigerators I think I will also buy a Victron or Renogy DC to DC charger to supplement my solar panels. That will cover the situation where it's overcast and you don't get enough solar power to keep the fridge running.

[@ramonapuckett3059]

Thank you, Drew, this was very informative. Right now I’m using the cooler with ice but you have me thinking I need to upgrade! I do like the idea of using a freezer to keep the ice packs frozen and switching them out when needed. That would eliminate the need to go to town every day searching for ice! ❤

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Another great option that people are doing right now is buying 12 V icemakers. This is something I’m going to experiment with soon as well.

[@ramonapuckett3059]

@@PlayingwithSticks I bought one of those, but haven’t used it yet for that. My daughter and son-in-law use it but it does take awhile to get get enough ice. I can time it for you if you want.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

@@ramonapuckett3059 Yes, I would love to know how long it takes to make ice. And how much watts it uses. Some people tell me it is very efficient and then others say the complete opposite. I have a feelingn it comes down to brand.

[@ramonapuckett3059]

@@PlayingwithSticks oh I’m sure! I’ll get more information and will let you know

[@markall8641]

@@PlayingwithSticks we did this. Just used it our last camping trip but we are hooked to 120 at the camp ground so no worries about power consumption at all. Saved me a few trips to pick up ice. Makes 26lbs of ice a day if you run it constantly. It has to be emptied…. Haven’t tested that # yet…

[@1FAST91SONOMA]

My Alpicool tw35 was $270 and uses only 11.54W per hour as a dual zone set to -4 for the freezer and 36 for the fridge. Thats 277W per day. Its crazy to think of a 12V fridge takign nearly 1000W a day. At that point you may as well use an inverter and power a huge side by side home fridge. You'll get very similar efficiency and 4X the capacity

[@ericb.4358]

I got the smallest ICECO (Go20) cooler/freezer and am very happy with it for just my wife and me. I run it all day from my BLUETTI AC200 MAX Li Fe Po battery charged by my Off Grid TREK 220 watt 3' x 6" solar blanket. Then I return on my electric mountain bike after a day of hunting (2 motors and 2 batteries) and charge it back up.

[@hWat-Ever]

A watt hour is W×hr, not W÷hr, and the most correct measure is joules, which is (W×hr)/3600

[@PlayingwithSticks]

I had a feeling people would say this. I tried to just keep it as simple as possible. No amp hours, joules. I just reflected what the website said to keep it simple. Thank you for pointing this out though.

[@SkylinersYeti]

Another well thought out video. Our off road travel trailer has a huge 12 volt refrigerator/ freezer made for the marine market. The but is that if we plan on very long remote trips. The option to have a portable 12 volt refrigerator/freezer sounds good. One thing you did not cover is covers. Do you have any experience with the insolated covers and are they a good investment?

[@leslieg1527]

Love my iceco fridge.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

It’s been fun, when we first used ICECO it was this no-name brand that we just took a risk on and now I see them everywhere. It’s that seccop or Dan Foss compressor that I really love.

[@garretlewis4103]

Goonies……. We are still running coolers. Thought about getting a 12 volt fridge, but we are not out for extended periods and we have yet to be so remote for so long as to worry about ice. Maybe when our schedules change and we are out longer, then the 12 volt fridge.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

I was waiting for someone to get that! I was thinking the playing with sticks community might be a little too old for that movie reference.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

I’m coming back to loving coolers again now that I’m using more of those frozen water bottles, frozen ice packs, and frozen meat. And like you said if it’s short journeys, I find I’m grabbing the cooler for my picnics and fishing over my 12 V fridge.

[@skullhart]

How do you feel about using these portable freezers to cycle out freezer packs from your food and drink coolers? WE had the same idea apparently! I purchased the EKOJUCE 58 qt off Amazon and it fits 9 of the large 13x10x1.5" Cooler Shocks plus has a good size refrigerator area too. My plan was to put 4 cooler shocks in each of my 45 quart coolers (8 total) and cycle them out every other day. I The AC/DC freezer will run off my boats large house battery bank so powers not an issue with engine charging. I did a short test and it seems to be working well .

[@sandymaceecampers1563]

I have a small frig/freezer and a yeti cooler. I use freezer packs. I freeze them all at home. I put half in my yeti, along with as much frozen food as possible. The other half are in the 12 volt freezer. Every day I switch out the frozen packs for the ones in my yeti. NO MORE ICE!!! NO MORE SOGY FOOD FLOATING IN MY COOLER!!! I have used this method for 2 seasons and it works great. If I don't have enough sun to recharge my power station I go back to using ice. My freezer is tiny so it doesn't use much power. I use thin square freezer packs and they fit great in my tiny freezer. When on the road my freezer is plugged into my SUV 12 volt plug. I also made a cover for my yeti out of reflectix. This helps to keep it cooler. My yeti stays in my SUV, my freezer stays in my camper.

[@chriss3314]

Thank you I was going to write the same. Which freezer do you use? Happy travels 🌍🙏

[@sandymaceecampers1563]

I have a Alpicool C9 10 quart frig/freezer.

[@sandymaceecampers1563]

@@chriss3314 I have a Alpicool C9 10 quart frig/freezer. 👍

[@garretlewis4103]

This sounds like a good plan. I am still running coolers and ice.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

This comment is gold! Would you mind sharing what freezer you’re using?

[@0HARE]

Thanks for illuminating some lesser understood aspects of the portable ‘fridge. Our little Casita travel trailer has a good Dometic a/c d/c refrigerator. It works pretty well for us, as we mostly stay at full hook-up RV parks.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

I consider fridges like Dometic and Engel to be at the top. I've had great experiences with Dometic. But, I've also learned just because they are the best, doesn't mean they are all created equal. Like you, my experiences have mostly been with a/c d/c built in dometic fridges. So when I tried the mid-size portable Dometic I was a bit shocked.

[@KayakDIY]

2:36 your specs for consumption now differ from the ICECO website. They now show 0.405 kWh/24hr (lab data). Wonder what changed? Maybe programming?

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Good eye. They reached out to me and said the original testing was then the high power mode essentially to just compete apples to apples with more powerful fridges like dometic and Engel. The new specs are for when they put it in eco mode, supposedly it's supposed to run almost as conservative as my other iceco fridges. I should be testing it soon because I now own the APL55. I sure hope it's this efficient, that would be awesome!

[@KayakDIY]

@@PlayingwithSticks great video. Just an observation. I’m getting APL55 from them to test for a truck bed camper setup in SW Florida. Got insulated cover as well. I’m gonna likely power via LiTime 100ah mini battery and inverter or cigarette battery terminal adapter.

[@jennstuart2031]

My first elec fridge was a 2011 dometic 35qt. Paired with an older suitcase 100 watt solar panel it did the job but the big issue became size and weight. I switched to a coleman red, metal side cooler with ice. That became an ice hunting issue, along with probably not keeping food at acceptable healthy temps. This year, I've switched to the Iceco Go20 along with a miniature 100 watt fold up solar panel and 2 500 watt batteries. The size and weight of the gear are under control now. Im learning about charging and what F1 means and E1. I keep the fridge temp at 32 so if it gets fussy about its wattage feedings, there is some room to live with temp swings. For me, this is complicated. Maybe you have another video, or someone else has a video about basically running these fridges. The info you presented here makes sense, and i think i have the right gear for me, but the learning curve is really steep. Thanks!

[@PlayingwithSticks]

We actually have a video entirely dedicated to our go20 paired to our 100 Watt panel. I don’t know if you’ve seen it. But we call it our never-ending endless refrigeration set up. You have our vote of confidence in that set up. I don’t know if I’ve seen a video about fridge usage. But it would be a good one. We find these fridges tend to hover 3 to 4° in both directions. We aren’t very conservative with ours, so for the last four or maybe even five years we’ve kept ours at 37°. The big trick is finding out where your fridge is the coldest. We had to get it up to 37 because there’s some parts of our cooler that are so cold. It’ll freeze items. Once you figure out where your fridge is coldest, you kind of build around that based on your food needs. In the obvious way of finding it is, wherever is closest to your compressor is typically the coldest.

[@jennstuart2031]

I think I've seen that video but will go back and find it.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

@jennstuart2031 I don’t think it’s one you need to go back to, because I didn’t really teach how to use it. It’s more just to say, it looks like you did your research well. We studied fridges extensively back then and settled on the Dan Foss compressor. So glad we did.

[@jennstuart2031]

I am very happy with the Go20. It's just a panic moment in the morning to get a F or E code and the temp of the fridge is at 43 and I'm scrambling to re plug it and get it cooling. It takes a bit of the fun out of camping. I don't understand why the battery doesn't fully keep charging the fridge. The Bouge you mentioned in another answer was the other contender but I didn't trust a cheaper fridge. I wanted to do it once and right. I know now that it's a Good fridge.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Everything you’re sharing here is new to me. I wonder if they have updated the electronics since we owned it. I think we owned one of their first original fridges. The other day we saw that they were celebrating like their fifth birthday or something and May and I realized we must’ve got it right when they came out. So ours was never doing any errors. The problem with ours, and the problem with many brands at that time was that the 12 V plugs kept coming out of the connection. So you would just be hanging out at camp and not realizing your fridge hadn’t been plugged in for hours.

[@SuperEarhole]

What stove set are you using at about 9:05 mins? Thanks

[@PlayingwithSticks]

That is a scottle. They are known as plow, disc cookers or Discadas. We absolutely love ours. So much so that we even use it at home.

[@bryanbryanmccoy7094]

The way one loads the fridge has a lot to do with it's cycling and life of battery. cold almost frozen meats at the bottom , drinks on top of that and veg on top of that. pre cooling is also very important. switching between battery and 120 at a campsite helps if you do go to a campsite with power. A fridge with automatic switching between 12 and 120 is great as well. ARB has this and is one of the reasons it is so expensive. The ones you have to change the cords out like bouge and iceco are a pain to do this with but it works. Being a Florida resident I have started to use 200watts of solar and 100amphrs of lipo just for the bouge 23Q in my bushwhacker galley. I don't have to put it in my car with my larger ARB while driving. My car also has solar and a lipo. In my T@G I use the same setup, but don't use my T@G as much. It is out for rent and the solar on it because of the curve and low wattage panel is a different animal.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Great advice here Bryan. I didn't know that aabout the ARB coolers having the ability to switch between the two. I never know where to keep my AC cord without losing it. I rarely use it, but when I do need it, it seems like I can never find it. Haha.

[@thim8009]

I've been trying to figure out a way to keep freezing ice in mine, then restock my cooler with ice. If I use all the ice trays and try to make new ice when it's hot out it will take 2 to 3 days. I'm going to try and add insulation to the outside of freezer and only use half the ice trays at a time. If that doesn't work I'm buying a cheap 1.1 cubic foot freezer off Amazon and invert it. I can buy an extra panel and battery with the price difference.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

I like how you think!

[@utahiker]

I have a ICECO JP30 and JP40. Perfect footprint for my teardrop.

[@LisaMarli]

We car camp, so we were using piezo electric fridges, but they can only take temperatures down 20-30 degrees, not great in 90 degree heat. I love compressor fridges, we now have 2. Both are 35 quart range because that's what fits. Normally we bring one and it's just light meals, snacks and drinks. But if we bring 2, the second one is the freezer. Because we can refreeze ice blocks, and keep some things frozen for later in the trip. And yes, both have wheels. PS they also double as our emergency back up fridge for the house. We can keep them going using the car battery if need be. I drive a Prius.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Such a great comment. Thank you so much for sharing this Lisa.

[@chasefranklin1126]

I see you run the APL55 outside. Our trailer doesn’t have a tongue box but a platform. We’ve been wondering if it’s a good idea to strap it to the platform as you’ve done? We tried a waterproof bag but it messed with the airflow.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

They called this a weather sealed fridge. However, I don’t see anywhere where it says waterproof. I’ve seen videos from hobo tech where he thinks it’s pretty waterproof. I’ve seen Bean Trailer keep it on their tongue for all their travels. So I am going to keep it on my tongue as well. Meaning uncovered. I will be picking up my new beanstalk with the APL 55 on the tongue at Overland expo in less than two weeks. If for some reason it doesn’t work, I’ll let you guys know on the channel.

[@michaelprince77]

Got a iceco jp40. Works awesome, sips the battery.

[@Substancejdno]

I have a JP40 Pro, it is super efficient and has wheels and handles. But it started rattling when the compressor kicks on and it's super annoying. just got back from a 2 day trip with temps from 78-50 degrees and my 940 watt hour Oupes was still at 62% when I left

[@408vonripper]

So just put soap in the squirt bottle:) It's really handie when going to into a public toilet too, will use baking soda now, thanks...

[@ThunderandLightningEvPickup]

¿Hey bro, me again 👋 with him as a question I just bought a Ford lightning and I’m putting a pop top camper on top (that was fun to say). a medium portable battery pack so since I have plenty of power, what should I be looking for? Should I be concerned about efficiency or price or size? We typically would camp for about four days.

[@newtrack0]

I wish this video was around 2 years back. I bought a cheap 12v fridge which doesnt keep freezer portion cool in 95F+ and my camper gets hot in the sun. I added extra 1/2 inch insulation, and it improves it a bit, but still not good enough for 100F+. The compressor of the fridge is Hua Jun ZH25G, which might not be a good one. I heard better things about LG compressors. Any other ideas on how to enhance the cooling of this 12v fridge?

[@PlayingwithSticks]

I have a friend who has cut a hole in his galley. He is currently experimenting to see if he can get the camper cooler. He finds the fridge is actually sitting in an area that’s hotter than outside. He’s noticed that it’s decreased his internal temperature of the galley by about 10° on a hot day. Like you mentioned, you can also use insulation around the cooler. But I think the best method is just moving that cooler around to a shaded area. Preferably an area that has proper airflow. But I realize this is kind of a pain in the butt and it’s nice to just have it in the camper at all times. I think it really comes down to where people camp. Where our family camps, our fridge can run nonstop and our battery and solar can keep up with it. But some people, I know their fridge only lasts about three days. And I’m wondering if it’s due to hotter, climates. I’m going to continue to travel in hotter climates to see how it impacts our current set up. We typically travel in temperatures that are over 100° during the day, but because we’re at elevation, we get pretty cool nights which may help make our fridge run longer.

[@mattleiker]

I was curious about your picnic table briefly shown early in this video around 3:00? It looks like it might be a flat pack table. Would love to know more if you discuss this anywhere!

[@gailjohnson6670]

Thank you for the video. Blessings to you.

[@blessedohanaoverland]

Can you take off the wheels and handles of the JP40 pro?

[@RAMtrails]

Larger dual zone fridges can disable a zone to increase efficiency if you're packing less food, in a way it offers more flexibility.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

I didn’t realize you can disablea zone. That’s a great idea!

[@RAMtrails]

@@PlayingwithStickswe run a dual zone and primarily use the 2nd zone for room temperature food storage. However sometimes I like to run the second zone in a group camp or when I want something frozen.

[@richdobbs6595]

I bought a small IceCo fridge and I ran it off of batteries tucked away in my SUV. I had panels on the top of the SUV, and with ability to run it off of the vehicle's 12 volt system it worked fine. But as soon as I got this setup, my kids were done with camping. So, I put a couple of panels on my townhouse patio and used the IceCo as my beer cooler. I loaded up the freezer section with blue ice, to give me longer time in case there were overcast days. Winning! This worked out about a year before the IceCo failed. Losing!

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Boo! Thanks for sharing this. It’s these real life scenarios that I love to hear.

[@johnhancey2746]

We have a large extended family we go to Lake Powell with. Very hot and dry, what are you thoughts about the VL74? Less power needs then the dual zone fridges and tons of space. What do you think...Thanks

[@PlayingwithSticks]

I typically steer folks away from this because of the thicker walls (size) and added weight. But, in your circumstance that is exactly what this fridge was created for. Lake Powel and the VL74 sound like a great match. Now I have never used one of these in person because it doesn't fit my needs. But, on paper I think this will be great. And it is the same Dan-foss/Secop compressor that is in the fridges from ICECO that I love. .

[@sgt.grinch3299]

Excellent video. More food for thought.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Glad you enjoyed it and good to see you as usual

[@kebeaux6546]

VERY appropriate down here in the gulf south. So, this video is a truckload of good information. I appreciate the detailed info regarding those fridges. NOAH Weather is predicting temps as high as 110 degrees here. Makes sense to keep a slick noggin these days, right?

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Absolutely! I took what you said to heart I’ve been growing my hair out now for six months. You never know how long you’ll have your hair so enjoy it while it lasts. I heard you well. My wife loves it. My mom says I look old because it’s showing all my grays. 😆

[@kebeaux6546]

@@PlayingwithSticks That is a handsome looking haircut. :) And I don’t want your wife to be upset about a haircut, so you keep on keeping on. I will keep shaving on your behalf. How does that sound my friend?? 🪒

[@PlayingwithSticks]

@kebeaux6546 I think that’s a good deal

[@kebeaux6546]

@@PlayingwithSticks I thought you might think so. 🧑🏻‍🦲

[@kebeaux6546]

As long as you want

[@andrewspencer5791]

Sorry if I missed this Drew but were you talking single or dual zone Jp50 Pro?

[@diegoguilloty8229]

Anyone know why my fridge won’t cut on? It’s a VEVOR 55L had it for 4 days and someone unplugged it by accident and now it won’t turn back on?

[@CraigG21]

Efficiency is hard to figure out from the info provided on manufacturers websites, and quality reviews are hard to find. Especially when each reviewer has his/her own test method. Hopefully you can find reviews from the same reviewer for multiple models you are interested in. A good solar panel, whether fixed or portable, is good insurance to keep power available.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Great point! A great example are the fridge is we’ve tested. We found that what the manufacturer says they can do and what they can actually do in the field are often quite different. I find companies like ICECO and Bouge RV I like their marketing because they are conservative with their efficiency ratings on their website. While ice Coast rating sound like they’re not that efficient, what I find is that in the field the compressor doesn’t kick on that often. An efficient compressor is nice, but if it’s always on, it’s really not that efficient. 🤣

[@PlayingwithSticks]

And I second that solar panel statement. It doesn’t take much in terms of panel size, but it gives you peace of mind.

[@RobertsAdventure]

Curious if you have looked at Engel fridges, they are renowned for quality (20-30+ years of operation) and very high efficiency but also high cost.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Oh yes, love Engel. I think I mentioned them in this video didn't I? The only reason I don't talk about them often is the price. But, you are absolutely right, they make a bombproof fridge.

[@ak03999]

This was actually really informative bc I'm shopping for a fridge right now.... Hey, I wanted to ask if you have ever done a video on Casita trailers? If you have, I'll try looking again. If not, I would love to hear your opinions if you were able to find one to review! Thanks! Love the videos!

[@PlayingwithSticks]

I just filmed one about a month ago. I have a feeling it’ll be quite a while until I get it on the channel. I’m a bit backed up on content.

[@ak03999]

Awesome! I'll be on the look out for it! Thanks!

[@johnlackner1193]

I wonder if I can gut out the propane/electric fridge in my travel trailer and slide in one of these.

[@marciaprater5120]

ICECO APL55: I'm seeing a discrepancy in the power usage on the ICECO website. Under "specification" it lists .405 kw/24 hr (lab data).(same consumption as the JP 50 Pro). If you scroll down to where it shows pictures of other ICECO fridges, power consumption of the APL 55 is listed at .995 kw/24 hr. Hobotech actually tested power consumption, and the consumption of the APL 55 was quite low. Perhaps ICECO is better and building fridges than web sites, correct me if I'm missing something.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Good eye, you’re not missing anything at all. Just after this video, they reached out to me and said that they had changed the data on the website. They had tested that fridge under different testing circumstances than their other fridges. Meaning they had put it in a more extreme environment for this test to run it up against fridges like Dometic and ARB that are highly insulated. But, like you said when they did the same test in the lower controlled environment I think they do it like 75° or something in that range on the eco mode it does seem to perform right up with their with the JP 50 pro. So while I called the JP 40 pro the unicorn in the lineup. It is in terms of actual watt usage. Meaning if you have a small power station and you want to get the most bang for your buck in terms of capacity and low watts, then it would be the choice. But I’m now also seeing the APL 55 as a different unicorn. Because of this Eco mode this fridge is able to do what the high dollar fridge is can do in extreme environments, but can also do with the low dollar fridges can do in less stressing environments. Couple that with its ability to freeze and cool with its dual zone and you really have a unicorn here.

[@jmb-cm7mr]

I have a Iceco AP45 i have used for several years but it was a fridge only, we switched to a Set Power PT 35 with a dual zone that can be switched up however you need to use it and each zone has its own cover. The power consumption is about the same as my Iceco so what i really gained was more flexibility and did not really sacrifice anything. So on 2 recent trips we used it diff (hence its flexibility) one trip we needed more freezer space but the next trip we needed more frig space i really like the flexibility of the Set Power and will be selling my Iceco fridge.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Thank you for sharing this. I think you are the 3rd person to mention the benefit of dual zone. I wish I would have thought about that when making this video.

[@enislive]

Informative and helpful

[@lesliebrown1517]

I just bought a used 2018 Riverside rv retro 177se. Even though it has a propane/electric frig, i expect to have a bev cooler for convenience. Plus, there's just not enough room in the fridge for beer. 😂

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Love it! My mother stopped by our new place and couldn’t believe we didn’t have a Bev cooler. We now have one… she took it on herself to bring us an old one. I must admit I’m super thankful.

[@readyme]

Random question. Who makes the water basin you are using at the end?

[@PlayingwithSticks]

I can't find it online. We haven't used it in about 4 years because we don't use a basin anymore with our dishwashing method. I thought it was from Mountain Hardware. Some overpriced gear company. I would check out sea to summit I bet they make a decent one. Wait, hold on Found it! amzn.to/3SiFVWI

[@Coppersaguaro]

Love my new JP50 Pro. It’s my first fridge.

[@johnowens8530]

Have you tried a national Luna fridge? Yes they are expensive, but the quality seems to be so much better. They are also made in South Africa, not China. With china’s ongoing challenge to everyone I am trying to not buy products made there as much as possible. Granted, it’s very difficult to accomplish.

[@soundcrash5816]

trying to buy a fridge for edc camp in las vegas they have outlets but i dont want it to cause a power outage when im charging so i need a good portable fridge or would ppl recommend a cooler if anyone is in the same boat thanks

[@nealamesbury7953]

I need to keep mayo,and meat- at a safe temp.do i need a lithium battery, and solar ?

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Solar helps. AGM or lithium would be fine. For most of us, a small 500 watt power station, 100-200 watts of solar and that should easily get you through a long weekend.

[@pifle9471]

Note: the numbers concerning the 24h consumption on the Iceco products have been porved to be wrong, as demonstrated by a few YTers who did ''real'' 24h hour tests with the fridges rigged to wattmeters ! A few of us are still scratchin' our heads about these specs !

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Thanks for the note. When it comes to these tests, they’re all going to be greatly different based on numerous variables. Maybe I didn’t do a great enough job in the video, but I was trying to say it’s not really about the numbers when talking brand vs brand. Meaning choose your fridge brand based on real world tests from independent reviews on KZbin. I was trying to say when you find the brand you want to go with, then use those numbers within the brand because they’re testing them against each other in the same environment. Take that with a grain of salt though, because just after filming this video ICECO changed the specs on their APL 55 because they didn’t use the same variables when testing it against their other fridges. Because the APL 55 was designed to compete against higher dollar fridges like Dometic and ARB they tested it in an extreme environment. They didn’t use the Eco mode that they used in the other tests. So yes, again back to your note. Great note I see some brands overrating their fridges and other brands underrating their fridges. It’s all over the place.

[@pifle9471]

@@PlayingwithSticks You did a great job for the video. In fact, I was shopping for a fridge some time ago and went into the numbers on the Iceco website and the APL55, with its superior insulation, had waaay superior numbers as for the 24h consumption than the VL75, which is larger and has more of a ''standard'' insulation. I asked the Iceco people on their facebook page and actually, it was consumer(s) who ansered and wrote they were aslo, like me, surprised by these numbers which made no sense. It still is a mystery today 😆. But the numbers I got from the answers for the APL55 (which I ordered) were: (24h for both tests) 36F both sides: 221Wh ... and with one side set to 0F and second side set to 36F: 344Wh. All at 72F outside temp average. We're very far from the 995Wh/24h advertised on the Iceco website ! It's like the Iceco people just multiplied the wattage by 24 to put in the specs of this model lol. Cheers, keep up the good work; very nice to watch those videos 👍

[@austinwhipple1136]

When I got my tiny camper I just had it ice chest. Got tired of soggy food so I went to Amazon. I didn’t have much knowledge or money. I knew I needed a decent size. So I went with the Astro Ai 58 quart. It was right around $300 and is now around $250. I’ve had it 3 years now and now problems.

[@sunshine3914]

“now” probables or no problems?

[@austinwhipple1136]

@@sunshine3914 no problems

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Thank you for sharing this, that’s a new one to me. That’s a pretty big fridge. I’d be interested to know what you’re using to power it?

[@austinwhipple1136]

@@PlayingwithSticks a Zachery and panels.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

How big is that Jackery?

[@Erin-Thor]

I would love one but I RV, and also want the ability for it to run on its own batteries for a days driving to a destination.

[@wt9653]

If you charge your power station with 12v DC from your vehicle. You don't have to worry about the gloomy days of the North West. Most power station solar input is around 60v. For faster charging, you can charge by using both methods at the same time using the solar panels and 12 volt from your vehicle. Better yet, get yourself a DC to DC charger. Pecron makes an alternator charger that charges at 500 watts. It can charge any small power station in an hour (500wh).

[@PlayingwithSticks]

These are the type of comments that we love to see. Thank you so much for adding to the conversation.

[@wt9653]

@@PlayingwithSticks I forgot to mention. You need to make a splitter for dual charging. Whether you have Anderson power pole, 8mm or XT60. Amazon sells them. I make my own for fun and being cheap. 😁

[@dbkarmann1]

Do they allow you to walk up now to the house? When i went to Oregon they were pretty strict on not going up. I was bummed lol

[@PlayingwithSticks]

At the time I made this video, yes they allowed it. But like you, I've heard there's been a lot of different guidelines over the years. I can't remember the current one, but it was a sign in front of their house that basically said be quiet and respectful. It was cool to be able to get that close to the house

[@dbkarmann1]

@@PlayingwithSticks yeah i was hoping to go up that close but they had a sign down at the street that said it was a no go. Ill try again next time!

[@jenniferstewarts4851]

hey drew, (i'm going to get smacked for this one).. I Notice you don't cover multi-mode 2 and 3 way coolers. portable coolers that run on DC when transporting the, when you get to camp, you can switch them over to propane. a few of them are made to take 1 lb propane bottles burning about .5 lb a day...while other can be pluged into large bottles, or the trailer itself to feed of those bottles, giving you the option to run off that instead. And while running on propane it might require a dedicated bottle, it does give you days or weeks of fridge time, where you don't need to drain batteries... Heck consider switching modes just when the sun goes down... now you're only running on propane half a day and halfing your fuel usage?

[@PlayingwithSticks]

I honestly didn’t know these existed. I thought there were only versions of these that had to be integrated into your camper. Like the three-way fridges we see on travel trailers. I didn’t realize they made portable versions? Any chance you could share a link to one? Wait you’ll probably get blocked sharing that link, just share the name of one. You’re definitely not getting smacked for this one. This is priceless. Kind of reminds me of the alp generators, but for fridges.

[@jenniferstewarts4851]

@@PlayingwithSticks examples would be Unique Appliances Off-Grid 26-inch 2.2 cu. ft. Portable 3-Way Propane Freezer SMETA Propane Freezer 2.4 Cu. Mobicool 3-way Absorption Power Cooler, 35-qt (Canadian tire) while they have mostly been supplanted by pure electric options because of solar batteries and such, these are still somewhat big for.. boating. cus you can carry them on smaller boats, plug in a tank, and go with them

[@jenniferstewarts4851]

@@PlayingwithSticks But yeah, with that you can run on dc power till you get to the camp ground, then shift over to propane power, off a large tank you could be keeping stuff frozen for a month before needing to refill the tank.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

@@jenniferstewarts4851 Makes so much sense.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

@@jenniferstewarts4851 Wow, finally got the time to look at all of these. That Mobicool looks perfect for most weekend warriors. I would like the option to be able to use propane that would make things so much more simple.

[@scottjl]

what is that cooking system you're using? looks like a stand with a flat wok on top. thanks!

[@PlayingwithSticks]

That specific one is called a Skottle. It’s quite expensive, but there’s many other options .They are known as plow, disc cookers or Discadas.

[@scottjl]

@@PlayingwithSticks thanks for the response. i've never seen these before but looks very useful camping!

[@PlayingwithSticks]

@scottjl they are incredible, we have a whole video about it if you want to check it out. We use this at home too between our Blackstone and this we rarely ever use our traditional grill anymore.

[@scottjl]

@@PlayingwithSticks heh. I just found your video a few minutes ago. Thanks!

[@violentdawg]

Any way you could do a review on the "Rustic Trail" travel trailers? Just found out they're made in my state and their YT channel doesn't show off the trailers.

[@WildcatPhoto]

SetPower 55 dual zone has worked good for me. It's in the Xterra. Too heavy to move around. It can fit in front of trailer, but I get into dust and mud. It seems quite efficient. Was cheaper than Iceco but maybe not as sturdy. I'm usually in partial shade in Oregon, have not been under clouds long term. I still have my cooler, but it's a slight pain to switch.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

We’ve heard a lot of good things in the community from people who have set power. Good to hear that yours is working well also. With a fridge as big as yours, you’d know if it wasn’t efficient. I was blown away with what that little 35 quart Dometic fridge did to me out in Oregon. I knew fast that it wasn’t efficient. 🤣

[@WildcatPhoto]

Yes, I've kept it running easy, using a Rockpals 600 and folding solar. While I'm in the campground, I leave the Xterra backend open so it isn't so hot in there. But I have to close it when walking the dog child and exploring and at night. I didn't need that big, but if I ever do longer trips, I've got room. It doesn't have a basket. One has to watch the cord or it can be bumped out of place. Once, I turned off the smaller side, and it stayed cold in there anyway.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

I think we’ll probably be doing something similar in the back of our vehicle once we get our new trailer. I’ll probably keep the cooler on the trailer during transit, but move it to the vehicle once I get to site.

[@stanbyme7874]

Didn’t know difference of 12 V & compressor. Bought 12v. Also didn’t know my 12v outlet turns off on vehicle when I shut down. Lost $250 worth of dog food/meds for them & me. Got Dometic for $1500. GZ for $1700. Suitcase solar $350. In a Subaru Crosstrek 😞. No issues. Bought fridge freezer combo from Costco in 2019. Needed freezer. My dogs had passed so it’s just me on road. I need more solar but I feel like it’s just getting to be $$ like an old Chevy you get for a great price but constantly have to fix something. There’s that point where you have to say enough is enough. I’m there.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Our vehicle does the same thing! Drives me crazy. It’s nicer than any vehicle we’ve ever owned. But all our other vehicles would keep that 12v running. I haven’t taken the time to look into my user manual to see if there’s someway to override that. I keep telling my wife that I’m going to do that soon.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

I appreciate you sharing all this. And honestly, it sounds tough. Between losing your dogs, and the increasing prices of everything… i’m really sorry to hear that.

[@tolson57]

I recently purchased a JP40 Pro and I am extremely happy with it. Only thing missing is Bluetooth monitoring.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Thanks for sharing.

[@billisnice]

I always use a cooler till the ice runs out and them switch to a cheap 12 volt. I can get 4-5 days with this combo. If you can cover your 12 volt with 1 inch Styrofoam it helps too. If so, remember to leave the vent open to fresh air.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Great tip. Thank you.

[@luapbopbop]

Another great video. So one would think that the extra insulation = less compressor run time. Is there a standard rating that is used for the insulation? Like an R rating? Did you plot a graph in your testing? It’s not obvious to me why you say the extra insulation and less efficient compressor is good for area like Florida? Is it hot and humid vs hot and dry?

[@PlayingwithSticks]

I think extra insulation does = less compressor run time. If I was to hypothesize, my assumption is that the higher dollar, higher quality fridges with higher insulation also have stronger compressors (meaning co sume more power when on and deliver faster/strong freezing properties). So in a controlled environment (meaning lower temps or a lab) the low dollar fridge is more efficient because the compressor probably doesn't consume as much energy vs the high dollar fridge. Once that low dollar frige gets to a warmer environment, my guess is that the combination of the lower insulation and weaker compressor just can't keep up with the job. So theoretically I'm guessing brands like Engel or Dometic build their fridges for the extremes. They are designed to work in all environments, causing them to be good at everything, but only great at high temps. Where the low budget fridges are great at low temps and struggles a bit in the extreme high temps. I wish I would have mentioned this in the video. I think one reason I didn't, is because i am not sure. I just have years of anecdotal data that tells me one works in this environment and another works in this environment. I know part of it is insulation, but I also know there is more to the story. Case in point that APL55 I mentioned. Same brand as my other fridges, much higher insulation, but poor regular day energy usage. My guess is even though they all have a Dan Foss/Secop compressor (the APL 55 may be more of a workhorse). And no, unforunately most of these brands do not use "R" Values. It sure would be nice.

[@PlayingwithSticks]

Oh and sorry. I mentioned the desert and humid Florida in the same sentence just to say I don't think humidity is the factor, it is just heat in general. Glad you asked for a clarification. I'm kicking myself for not elaborating on this subject.

[@luapbopbop]

Thank you for clarifying. It’s greatly appreciated.