12v fridge troubles

[TwelveOne]

Hey, OB community,

So I purchased a Dometic fridge a while back, which I had for 2 years. The compressor went out, and there is no way to replace it - at least Dometic said they would not replace it because it's not a serviceable part.

I do a lot of camping and mountain biking, so I leave the 4Runner sealed up in the sun for long periods, so I surmise with a hot car and no airflow, the compressor is maxing out, which led to the failure.

I purchased a cheap 12v fridge off of Amazon, but if the air temps are high, the fridge doesn't stay cool.

Has anyone had similar issues? Any fridge recommendations?

 

[HighVoltOverland]

Sorry to hear about your domestic woes.
Out of curiosity what was the cheap fridge you replaced with?
I have been using a wolfBox, and while the compressor makes noises when I'm at weird angles, it has cooled beautifully even when the cab gets up to 120+ parked in direct sunlight

 

[TwelveOne]

All check it out!
Here is the Amazon link:

 

[Sea Diamond]

hi...we bought the same AlpiCool fridge (C30) a couple of years ago. Ended up buying their insulated cover last year which has helped considerably. If you have a cover as well I'd suggest cutting the mesh they've sewn over the vented areas...does nothing but restrict airflow.

Our vehicle is black and does get pretty darn hot inside so I do put the fridge outside under the truck on hot days. Keep the fridge full as possible...I load the extra space up with beer which helps. I power with 300w of panels. System keeps pace with the fridge at 5c.

 

[TwelveOne]

hi...we bought the same AlpiCool fridge (C30) a couple of years ago. Ended up buying their insulated cover last year which has helped considerably. If you have a cover as well I'd suggest cutting the mesh they've sewn over the vented areas...does nothing but restrict airflow.

Our vehicle is black and does get pretty darn hot inside so I do put the fridge outside under the truck on hot days. Keep the fridge full as possible...I load the extra space up with beer which helps. I power with 300w of panels. System keeps pace with the fridge at 5c.

I don't have the cover, maybe that help to keep it the fridge more insulated. And, more beer is a great solution!

 

[Sea Diamond]

ya...get a cover and make sure the fridge always has lots of ventilation. We're bike riders also so many times we are away from camp all day.

 

[smritte]

Cover and don't turn it down too low. I run mine at 38. If I go lower the compressor runs longer. More draw, less life span.
I have a 50qt Whitner chest style that's pushing 8 years old. Its mounted in my trailer which bumps it more than a normal vehicle as well as way more dust. High temps are common here.

with a couple of exceptions, I would see fridge's starting to go out starting at 3-5 year mark. I've seen a few like mine go longer. These are all name brand fridges because their were no cheap ones until a few years ago.

 

[bgenlvtex]

If it isn't "full" it will work itself to death.

12v fridges are heavily dependent on the thermal mass of the contents to maintain temperatures. If you're not using it turn it off, if there isn't much of anything in there and it is hot outside it will work itself to death.

I always prechill anything I put in it if possible. Keep it full even if it is just drinks, and pre-condition the fridge on 115v before adding contents.

 

[TwelveOne]

Thank you, everyone, for your advice and tips! Very helpful and appreciated!

 

[John and Mandi]

While I agree a full fridge is more efficient, we stored our van twice with an empty and on fridge. We of course were parked in direct sunlight, we left the fridge on to put a drain on the battery to let the solar recover it each day. First time was two months, the second time was three. Our fridge is an Engel, no cover but it’s in a van with great air circulation as per installation recommendations.

 

[Things]

One big thing is that is that is is wired correctly, a #12 and and matching heavy duty plug etc. Most newer cars accessory plugs are #18 maybe and cannot handle the draw required. That will make your frig a food warmer......

 

[MOAK]

Off brand discount fridges just don’t get it. We are out right now with a friend that has a brand new, iceclo (?) dual zone. Hundreds of dollars of food lost because of malfunction. Dometic is not an off brand, but I’ve seen them and wonder aloud if they can withstand hundreds of miles of washboard roads? I run a small Engle as a freezer and an ARB 64. Both are inside the cruiser, both are well ventilated. They are 10 and 6 years old.

 

[Sea Diamond]

Bummer...well if I ever had hundreds of dollars of food in my fridge and it crapped out I'd find me a camp toot sweet and have a feast that couldn't be beat ;-)

We have an off brand and we're on day 75...I think...without any other power than solar. Last year it was 5 months straight solar. Our roads aren't all crazy but they do tend to get nasty at times. Will keep ya posted.

 

[John and Mandi]

We can attest to the build quality of Engels. We did 7 years, 100K miles, and 17 countries with ours. We lived on remote beaches, steamy jungles, and up above 14K feet in the Andes (drove as high as 16K). We had only two stints of it having to be turned off for a period of time, a week to ship across the Darien Gap and two months to ship back to the US. We even had it jump out of the slide mount and slam into our opposing aluminum boxes while driving up a rough single track...it never missed a beat. Now that we are back into a traditional dwelling in Florida we keep it off in the van but we use it to grocery shop on the weekends, leaves our day open to whatever we want instead of having to return home right away. Every now and then, we bring it inside and connect it to 110V as a spare freezer when we stock up a bit too much. We did have our house battery fail in 2020 but since we always carried the 110V plug we just moved into a paid campground to save our food. We ended up charting a course to family by booking campgrounds along the way, ended up visiting a lot of state parks we always wanted to but since we preferred dispersed camping we never got around to them. If your fridge has the option and you have the room, carry the 110V plug and an extension cord. We do not know if the build quality has changed since we bought ours but our 8+ year old unit is a trooper. Friends with ARB, National Luna, and other Engels all say the same. We only went with Engel because of our mounting location, we needed the hinge to be on the long side or we wouldn't be able to open it all the way due to our pop top frame.

 

[pcstockton]

Hey, OB community,

So I purchased a Dometic fridge a while back, which I had for 2 years. The compressor went out, and there is no way to replace it - at least Dometic said they would not replace it because it's not a serviceable part.

I do a lot of camping and mountain biking, so I leave the 4Runner sealed up in the sun for long periods, so I surmise with a hot car and no airflow, the compressor is maxing out, which led to the failure.

I purchased a cheap 12v fridge off of Amazon, but if the air temps are high, the fridge doesn't stay cool.

Has anyone had similar issues? Any fridge recommendations?

Which Dometic model?

My CFX3 rocks it in a hot car. Its been working well for at least 3 years and I never pull it out of the rig. It is almost always running, keeping the beers cold!

And yes it can handle very rough roads and washboards. No problem there. The CFX3s are a beast.

 

[pcstockton]

I would only ever buy:
- Dometic
- ARB
- Engel
- National Luna
- Snomaster