Massimo 12 volt car refrigerators $50-70 off $249

Wouldn't a cooler with ice work just as good?

Sorry. A repeat of an earlier posting. Deal alert didn't trigger.

Quote from winnike : Wouldn't a cooler with ice work just as good?

Until the ice turns to water and your food spoils.

Anyone who owns one of these have any information about them?

Seems like a good deal. But I still cannot figure out why they can't state amp and voltage draw to figure out how long it'll last if the engine is off or you want a dedicated battery.

Quote from JimWash : Seems like a good deal. But I still cannot figure out why they can't state amp and voltage draw to figure out how long it'll last if the engine is off or you want a dedicated battery.

I recall seeing 45 watts at 12v or 3.75 amps. I believe there is a video on YouTube that goes over the power draw on it.

Quote from winnike : Wouldn't a cooler with ice work just as good?

For most people, yes. These are more for long haul truckers or putting in RVs. Not practical at all for weekend camping trips.

Quote from jtree1 : Anyone who owns one of these have any information about them?

Got the largest size in the last deal, been using it daily as our overflow fridge (keeping well stocked ahead of uncertain food supply conditions).

What would you like to know? This thing works like a champ! Keeps food at a consistently safe temp that you can set on a digital readout.

Quote from JimWash : Seems like a good deal. But I still cannot figure out why they can't state amp and voltage draw to figure out how long it'll last if the engine is off or you want a dedicated battery.

One reason is that these don't run constantly, so putting average numbers depends on multiple factors. These types of cooler/fridges require good airflow for maximum efficiency (to cool the compressor), so if you put this in an enclosed space (see: Youtube vanlife videos), they'll run less efficiently, which means you have to run the compressor more to keep the inside cool. If the compressor runs more, then you will use more amp-hours over time to keep the inside cool. Essentially, it's not really simple to state the battery capacity required. Amp draw (which is a commonly misunderstood unit) doesn't imply anything about capacity drawn over time. Amps are instantaneous rate of change of charge, so stating something like this is a 50W fridge doesn't even give enough information to determine battery draw.

Note that you'll hear/see a lot of people talking about "amps/hour" which isn't a usable metric. It would be Amp*Hours, and my above point is that the amps aren't constant - it might be 5 minutes running full bore at 5A, and then 0A for the rest of the hour. So a more usable metric might be average amp draw over time, multiplied by the time would give the "capacity" of the battery that would be drained over that unit time. However, that all depends on efficiency, which isn't consistent either - because that depends on factors such as: temperature of the space where the fridge resides (is it sitting in full sunlight, enclosed space, etc?) and/or (related) the air flow of the fridge itself (might be different/worse/better than the environment).

HOWEVER, see the "Expedition Portal" link below - a user states 12V/3.75A - just understand that duty cycle matters, and also understand that the rating might be an average amp draw over time, not necessarily instantaneous max/min/typ. I haven't looked to vet this data at all.

I looked up some information on this fridge, and it appears that the compressor is an LG compressor, which I'm not familiar with. Those looking to buy a unit like this that plan to use it long term (as a main fridge) should be looking at Danfoss compressor fridges.

Obviously, once you look those up, you'll see that they're in a totally different price tier. Danfoss compressors are known to be super reliable for on-road use, and super efficient. No idea how efficient an LG compressor is. I tried to look THAT up, too, but couldn't find much.

What I DID find was a few other tidbits, in case someone else is motivated to continue doing their due diligence:

These units appear to be rebadges of ACOPower/XtremePowerUS units:
https://www.acopower.com/collecti...ar-freezer
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Xtrem.../309432658

Both are available at either homedepot or Amazon - one could read the reviews at both to get a better sense of how good these units are. I'm not really in the market for one, so I didn't look too closely, tbh. I already own a Dometic/Waeco chest fridge and a Vitifrigo upright fridge for "RV" style usage.

Edit: Looks like these are also sold under the brand name "Alpicool" on AliExpress (think Chinese Amazon) - just an additional data point. If you find more interesting/useful info, please post!

https://expeditionportal.com/foru...es.214050/
Massimo is also mentioned in this thread - in case you want to read a little more about it.

Quote from jtree1 : Anyone who owns one of these have any information about them?

I bought the middle version back in February and have been using it as my office fridge and have also taken it out camping a few times. Here's a quick rundown of what I like and don't like about it.

Things I Like:
-Uses very little energy. When running, it needs about 45w and with that low of a draw, I can use my Ryobi 150w inverter on it (although that only lasts half a day). Having a 12v plug in is also handy for travel.
-Much cheaper than ARB or Dometic or Engel fridges that also have a compressor
-Gets cold! Unlike a peltier type of fridge, this unit can get down to freezing temps.
-Has a flat bottom - I've played with the ARB fridges and those have the compressor on the bottom which takes up room and prevents placing big things on the bottom.
-Sold at Costco
-The wheels are heavy-duty and the handle makes it easy to maneuver
-Has a USB port for charging electronics

Things I Don't Like:
-Compressor seems to be getting a little noiser when it kicks on. Hope Costco warranty takes care of this for me.
-I wish it came with some baskets or trays so I can better organize food in it
-Based on what I'm reading in the instructions and online, I think that there is a version of this that includes a built-in battery. I'd like to learn more about that...

I kinda want another one but not sure if I'd get the bigger or smaller version.

Quote from diredesire : One reason is that these don't run constantly, so putting average numbers depends on multiple factors. These types of cooler/fridges require good airflow for maximum efficiency (to cool the compressor), so if you put this in an enclosed space (see: Youtube vanlife videos), they'll run less efficiently, which means you have to run the compressor more to keep the inside cool. If the compressor runs more, then you will use more amp-hours over time to keep the inside cool. Essentially, it's not really simple to state the battery capacity required. Amp draw (which is a commonly misunderstood unit) doesn't imply anything about capacity drawn over time. Amps are instantaneous rate of change of charge, so stating something like this is a 50W fridge doesn't even give enough information to determine battery draw. Note that you'll hear/see a lot of people talking about "amps/hour" which isn't a usable metric. It would be Amp*Hours, and my above point is that the amps aren't constant - it might be 5 minutes running full bore at 5A, and then 0A for the rest of the hour. So a more usable metric might be average amp draw over time, multiplied by the time would give the "capacity" of the battery that would be drained over that unit time. However, that all depends on efficiency, which isn't consistent either - because that depends on factors such as: temperature of the space where the fridge resides (is it sitting in full sunlight, enclosed space, etc?) and/or (related) the air flow of the fridge itself (might be different/worse/better than the environment). HOWEVER, see the "Expedition Portal" link below - a user states 12V/3.75A - just understand that duty cycle matters, and also understand that the rating might be an average amp draw over time, not necessarily instantaneous max/min/typ. I haven't looked to vet this data at all. I looked up some information on this fridge, and it appears that the compressor is an LG compressor, which I'm not familiar with. Those looking to buy a unit like this that plan to use it long term (as a main fridge) should be looking at Danfoss compressor fridges. Obviously, once you look those up, you'll see that they're in a totally different price tier. Danfoss compressors are known to be super reliable for on-road use, and super efficient. No idea how efficient an LG compressor is. I tried to look THAT up, too, but couldn't find much. What I DID find was a few other tidbits, in case someone else is motivated to continue doing their due diligence: These units appear to be rebadges of ACOPower/XtremePowerUS units: https://www.acopower.com/collecti...ar-freezer [acopower.com] https://www.homedepot.com/p/Xtrem.../309432658 [homedepot.com] Both are available at either homedepot or Amazon - one could read the reviews at both to get a better sense of how good these units are. I'm not really in the market for one, so I didn't look too closely, tbh. I already own a Dometic/Waeco chest fridge and a Vitifrigo upright fridge for "RV" style usage. Edit: Looks like these are also sold under the brand name "Alpicool" on AliExpress (think Chinese Amazon) - just an additional data point. If you find more interesting/useful info, please post! https://expeditionportal.com/foru...es.214050/ [expeditionportal.com] Massimo is also mentioned in this thread - in case you want to read a little more about it.

Great write up, and you're definitely right that after bringing it down to temperature it should use considerably less than ~45 watts to keep temp. Perhaps a dedicated deep cycle 12v or LiON power pack would last longer than just a few hours. I found the manual online and it does state max draw is 45 watts. But for me I still can't justify it for weekend road trips. You can buy a lot of ice with $270.

https://images.homedepot-static.c...332562.pdf

I have the CX50, I previously left mine plugged in hooked up to my kill-a-watt for a few days loaded up with food and set to 35F.

On average over that time it pulled a bit over 10 watts, and around 50 while running. I keep my house between 72 and 74. Assuming the power adapter is not 100% efficient, it's probably less power plugged into the car, but it's a big YMMV since a warmer car or cooler setting will make it run more.

I can plug it back in and give KWh usage over the next day if it'd help!

Lastly, despite claims on the website, it's not a LG compressor 😞

Quote from winnike : Wouldn't a cooler with ice work just as good?

This thing is basically a powered cooler for longer trips or overnight camping uses. I'm about to swap out a car battery so maybe I can re-purpose my old car battery to power this thing.

Quote from napoleon_jo : I have the CX50, I previously left mine plugged in hooked up to my kill-a-watt for a few days loaded up with food and set to 35F. On average over that time it pulled a bit over 10 watts, and around 50 while running. I keep my house between 72 and 74. Assuming the power adapter is not 100% efficient, it's probably less power plugged into the car, but it's a big YMMV since a warmer car or cooler setting will make it run more. I can plug it back in and give KWh usage over the next day if it'd help! Lastly, despite claims on the website, it's not a LG compressor 😞

Do you happen to know/have details on the compressor? If it's not LG, what is it? If it's a SECOP/Danfoss, then it's actually even better.

As far as kWh, you have 10W average, so that's .010kW, so just multiply that by time, so .24kWh/day.

Another thing to note is that when you've cooled the initial load down, the heat/thermal-mass of the cooled thing should keep the cycling lower. That is to say, an empty fridge (or a fridge that is lightly loaded) will actually cycle/run more. This should become obvious if you think about freezing a giant block of ice and then unplugging a fridge vs. an empty fridge - which will be cooler over X amount of time?

So another interesting test (if you're so inclined to test, which is helpful for everyone) is to see average/peak power over time when the thing is empty.

Thanks for chiming in, though.