I’ve occasionally contemplated buying a small 12 volt portable refrigerator/ freezer for my road trip car,15-20 quart size. I now use an ordinary Coleman ice chest, starting each trip with a pile of “blue-ice” blocks which otherwise live in my home freezer. Of course, once I’m on the road a few days, they are warned up and no longer useful for the remainder of the trip. So I have to rely on buying ice every few days.
Now I’m wondering if there might be some value in having a frig/freezer on board to freeze additional blue ice blocks and exchange those with the ones in the ice chest. (I don’t think I’d go for a larger 12 volt refrigerator).
The benefits would be (1) I’d have more space in the ice chest for food with fewer freezer blocks in the ice chest, while the other half are in the 12v “freezer” and (2) I would have eliminated the annoyance of buying block ice which melts in the ice chest after my blue-ice blocks are depleted. BTW, the space a small “freezer” occupies would be about twice the space used by all of my no-longer cold and therefore totally useless blue-ice blocks.
This makes me wonder about the additional drain on my electrical system in freezing the blue-ice blocks from the cooler. Is the drain on alternator or battery trivial, or could it have consequences? My original Toyota alternator was recently rebuilt by a nearby professional shop for a modest and tolerable price, and it’s easy enough for me to swap out myself if/when needed.
Using it this way, with the portable frig in freezer mode, I assume it would freeze the blocks solid in a single day, which means I might only need to run the freezer every second or third day.
Is there any negative side to this resulting from using the alternator a bit more than originally designed?
I used to own a 12v fridge. They don’t freeze worth a hoot. You would be better off using the 12v fridge instead of the Coleman. They don’t draw a ton of current because they run off a lighter port. It won’t hurt your alternator. You won’t want to leave it running overnight because it will kill your battery.Mine had a 120v adaptor for hotel rooms or camping sites.
Ive been using one of those 15 L Chinese car freezers (compressor type) for over 3 years 24/7 in my camper and my off grid house. It draws 2 amps at 12 volts in eco mode and does indeed freeze down to -4°F. Cost under $150 and I definitely recommend these fridges.
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They use those nifty Peltier junctions, which, if they ever get improved enough, will revolutionize refrigeration.
Personally, I think you’re better off with the ice chest and blue ice packets.
For one, you can use the ice chest for other things and purposes. The car fridge will sit in your garage taking up space, until your next road trip.
Plus, and this is what I call the Yeti Scenario…yeah, maybe that cooler can keep things colder for a longer period of time…but if you’ve paid $400 for that “privilege”…what good have you really done yourself?
Put another way… I suspect you can buy a whole lot more plain ice or blue ice packs for the cost of a car fridge.
Just my 2 cents.
Thanks all for comments. I’m in no hurry to decide.
Not surprisingly, I’m already seeing ads from Setpower, who makes these things.
Also, seems like the ads on this forum are getting even worse. It’s a deterrent for sure. Bummer.
I’ve wanted to put water in several ziplock bags inside each other in the flimsy freezer compartment on top of a mini refrigerator. Direct contact with the freezer coils would freeze the water quickly. Then it can thaw during the night and keep the refrigerator cold.
Thanks for the thoughts @ledhead. My post was to ask for opinions on whether these 12 volt refrigerators might harm my car’s electrical system. But you raise a few practical considerations.
Remember that the blue ice blocks last only a few days, five at most, and after that, they have no value for the remainder of any trip.
The small frig idea extends their utility, but only IF the small 12 volt frig could indeed re-freeze my blue ice blocks.
It also eliminates the hassle of managing the meltwater from ice, and the logistical necessity to find ice when far from grocery stores for several days, especially in very hot weather. For the size unit I’d consider, the price would be easy to justify.
I’m only considering a very small frig, 15-20 quart size, which Setpower sells for $160. I’ve not shopped other brands for comparison pricing. At least for now, a larger refrigerator is not on my horizon.
The small “refrigerator” will fit inside my biggest ice chest…in my garage. I’ve yet to have any other need for an ice chest other than road trips.
Thanks @Mustangman. I appreciate your reply. You provided the key answer:
…good advice:
and a key concern:
If you’ve tried one of these, was it recent, or are you referring to a frig from several years ago? I would assume that the technology has improved a lot, but that’s just guessing.
@Hugemoth_144444 seems to like his:
@Hugemoth_144444
Thanks for the user feedback. I appreciate the details you sent.
Fridges can be powered entirely by propane too. Not sure how well they work at freezing.
It was quite a while ago… so technology improves!
They work as well as a regular fridge. Rv fridges use propane. It’s a bit cumbersome even for a large SUV
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Propane is also restricted from some areas. For instance, the I-95 tunnels through Baltimore and the tunnels at Norfolk don’t allow propane to pass through them.
I was hoping you’d say that your experience was a long time ago. Thanks for the clarification.
I’m not certain I’d make the leap to the car-fridge, but now I’m better informed.
Thanks to all who replied.
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Looks like my old computer and obsolete browser are not cooperating with the Cartalk website. Several of the entries here appear tangled - with incorrect attributions, replies to wrong members.
Apologies to anyone whose replies seem misplaced.
Regardless, I am grateful for the comments.
I might not appear here again until i’ve bought that newer MacPro I’ve been needing.
@Hugemoth_144444
Would you care to tell me what brand car freezer you have?
Thanks!
The cause for that is most likely an ongoing website software problem, unique to this website. I doubt a newer computer will help. You can find out more in the “site feedback” section of the forum.
Thanks George. I appreciate your useful feedback.
A quick relaunch of the browser seems to have solved the problem … for now at least.
It’s an Alpicool but is sold under many brand names. BTW the 2 amp draw is only while the compressor is running. It has a LED readout and a Bluetooth app for remote control. Comes with a 12v cig lighter cord and a 120vac brick for home use.