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Rating: | (4.5 out of 5 stars) |
Reviews: | 1,853 Amazon Reviews |
Product Name: | F40C4TMP 30 Quart 12V Portable Refrigerator 12 Volt Car Fridge(-8℉~50℉) 28L Portable Freezer, 100-240V AC for Camping, Truck, RV, Travel and Home Use |
Manufacturer: | F40C4TMP |
Product SKU: | B0B1J2RK19 |
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Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank alyssa_
A month or two later I semi-converted my old CR-V into a part-time camper with with a portable 200w solar panel, 100ah LiFePO4 battery, Victron 75/15 MPPT solar charge controller, a roof basket, an awning, heated blanket for colder nights, etc.
For camping use, I can see a big pack of ice working just as well as these but you have to consider how much extra space the ice would take up in a normal cooler.
Is it ideal to keep it in trunk of car unplugged and out of use during fluctuating temperatures and seasons?
A month or two later I semi-converted my old CR-V into a part-time camper with with a portable 200w solar panel, 100ah LiFePO4 battery, Victron 75/15 MPPT solar charge controller, a roof basket, an awning, heated blanket for colder nights, etc.
I'm tempted to convert our old Volkswagen Routan 2011 van but more than likely since it's old and require maintenance will just trade it in for the little value it has compared to its currwnt insurance costs. I watch a lot of van life YouTubers and the ford transit connect mini van is pretty nice. Unfortunately they stopped manufacturing new ones
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank sahakiel
A few things off the top of my head.
For the most part, the majority of these (probably all the cheap ones) are made in China using the same compressors / OEM parts. I think even the old European brands have started using the same stuff for low end models. From what I hear (and so far for me, knock on wood), they're reliable for the price. That's why it feels like the vast majority have the same specifications / feature set as well as similar (sometimes identical) appearance.
These are decently quiet in my opinion. Highway road noise can drown it out, but I can clearly hear it running when stopped at a light. I drive a crossover, so the trunk area is open to the passenger compartment.
I got the smaller 23 Qt version to try out the concept. It's sometimes too small for me. Should've gone a size higher so I could fit gallon milk jugs upright. If it really becomes a problem I'll just keep this at home and get a larger replacement. Right now it fits most (not all) of one of those reusable shopping bags so I use that while at the store to gauge how much I can keep cold.
The walls feel a bit thin to me, a non expert. The compressor will turn on pretty often if it's warm out. For my 20qt model specifically, I dial down to compensate. 25 F for frozen, up to 45 for cold, 60 for chill. Settings are pretty accurate according to my freezer thermometer sitting on the bottom. No WiFi, so gotta use touch buttons. Display is plenty bright, but thankfully turns off after a few seconds.
However, there is no air flow inside. It's all heat conduction against the inner walls. As a result, a common complaint is it doesn't freeze things very quickly, but it keeps things frozen. Well, so long as you keep the lid closed, same as any cooler or fridge. For RV's and semi-permanent installs, people like to wrap these portable freezers with wall/attic insulation to reduce electricity use.
Also in line with the design, the very top of the container will be warmer than the bottom. The lid is somewhat thin, with no coolant coils, so items there will warm up before the freezer notices a temperature drop. So for grocery use, I put meat at the bottom and vegetables on top since I don't mind if those melt and refreeze.
As for power, my 20 qt version seems to draw about 40 W on max mode, about 25 W on normal. Normal is enough to keep stuff frozen in PNW summers. I suspect it'll struggle in Texas summer, even at max. Takes up to an hour to go from room temp to 25 F, then cycles as needed. I believe the larger models draw the same power, maybe compress a bit longer, I don't really know.
I plug this to the 12V DC output from my EB3A to keep it running while the car is parked. From a full charge, it runs out of juice in about 4-5 hours in summer and about 8 hours in fall/winter. I added a cheap USB charger to trickle charge while driving to extend the runtime. Trickle because EB3A shenanigans, but that's a separate topic.
Thankfully, the temperature settings stay in memory and the unit turns on automatically when plugged in. That way, I can just keep the fridge in the car and plug in the battery if I know I'll be out longer without going back to push buttons every time.
Currently that same fridge/freezer is in the van connected to the ecoflow and has been for the last 3400 miles of the road trip we're wrapping up.
Would recommend for that exact dual use case.
I just want to say I like your style in everything you've said here.
Does it make the subtrunk hot?
I've only used the cooler a handful of times, but I did do some basic runtime tests with mine right after I received it. The test conditions were pretty much ideal, meaning it was done inside, with pre-chilled soda cans and 1l bottles of water. Obviously the runtimes will be much shorter if it's in a hot car, in direct sunlight, etc., but I at least wanted to see how much power it would use.
I did one test running from a (advertised) 614Wh Pecron power station and got around 56 hours of runtime. The second test was run directly off a 512Wh 12v LiFePO4 battery, and I got 65 hours off that. The average Wh used per hour between the two tests was 8.25. This should give you a rough idea of what to expect under those conditions. Running straight off the 12v battery seemed more efficient, I'm assuming because there's minimal conversion loss like in a power station. The cooler will continue to run even when below 12v, but I wouldn't recommend it.
On both tests, the temperature was set to 36 degrees on Eco mode. I double checked the temperature with an external thermometer. The temp difference between the thermometer and the displayed temp were usually within 2-3 degrees of one another. This thing will run beyond it's setpoint, then turn off and equalize for a while before turning back on. I didn't have anything freeze solid, but if you have items sensitive to being frozen, you may want to bump the temp a bit to avoid that.
There's minimal insulation on these, so it's not great at retaining its temperature, even with the lid shut. You can store a surprising amount of stuff in there due to not needing space for ice. This also makes it easier to carry around because you don't have 5lbs+ of ice water sloshing around. If possible, I'd recommend using the AC adapter to pre-chill everything the night before, then move it to your power station/vehicle power. This should avoid using your battery power to get everything down to temp.
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I've only used the cooler a handful of times, but I did do some basic runtime tests with mine right after I received it. The test conditions were pretty much ideal, meaning it was done inside, with pre-chilled soda cans and 1l bottles of water. Obviously the runtimes will be much shorter if it's in a hot car, in direct sunlight, etc., but I at least wanted to see how much power it would use.
I did one test running from a (advertised) 614Wh Pecron power station and got around 56 hours of runtime. The second test was run directly off a 512Wh 12v LiFePO4 battery, and I got 65 hours off that. The average Wh used per hour between the two tests was 8.25. This should give you a rough idea of what to expect under those conditions. Running straight off the 12v battery seemed more efficient, I'm assuming because there's minimal conversion loss like in a power station. The cooler will continue to run even when below 12v, but I wouldn't recommend it.
On both tests, the temperature was set to 36 degrees on Eco mode. I double checked the temperature with an external thermometer. The temp difference between the thermometer and the displayed temp were usually within 2-3 degrees of one another. This thing will run beyond it's setpoint, then turn off and equalize for a while before turning back on. I didn't have anything freeze solid, but if you have items sensitive to being frozen, you may want to bump the temp a bit to avoid that.
There's minimal insulation on these, so it's not great at retaining its temperature, even with the lid shut. You can store a surprising amount of stuff in there due to not needing space for ice. This also makes it easier to carry around because you don't have 5lbs+ of ice water sloshing around. If possible, I'd recommend using the AC adapter to pre-chill everything the night before, then move it to your power station/vehicle power. This should avoid using your battery power to get everything down to temp.
There are no Massimo's listed? def want to buy from Costco thanks to their golden return policy when it breaks. 🙂