Finally joined the fridge/freezer club! Costway 54qt

[ErnieC]

I'll let you know my test results next weekend. I just ordered one from FL off of Amazon for <$40 and expect to get it by this Friday.

I was curious to see how well this works compared to my tests so far of
1) just using the cooler (external temp zapped with IR thermometer 60F)
2) cooler wrapped by small camping blanket on top/front/left/right (55F)
3) same as #2 but with addition of sofa pillows stacked around blanket on all sides + 1 more around the back side too (43F)
4) for giggles I put it back in the shipping box and cut out sections for the air intake/fan exhaust and power cord area to see if the box could be used as a poor man's transit case with the only insulation being the top and bottom styrofoam shipping materials (49F measure the top cover only as I was too lazy to lift it up along with the contents in the cooler to zap the sides with the IR thermometer) I suppose I could go to the hardware store and get some insulation foam pieces for the front/sides/back but too lazy to consider that step yet

Can you tell I"ve got too much time on my hands playing with this new camping accessory?

Has anyone bought one of the insulating covers for their fridge? I am considering one as we live in Texas and Travel out west mostly. I don't want to spend the crazy money they ask for them if they do not work well to insulate. Thanks for any input. Joel

testing done. don't bother wasting money on the transit bag. I just posted my review on amazon for the bag that I got 2 weekends ago:

"I purchased this initially in the hope that it would provide some insulation benefits and reduce battery consumption while traveling in the truck or out camping. After testing for 1 week with this case and various other forms of insulation around the cooler it appears that there is zero benefit no matter what the insulation around the cooler is because of the design of the cooler itself. Heat gain introduced into the refrigerated compartment when powered off is the same because of the venting area underneath the non-refrigerated compartment.

Does it provide any insulation benefits? Yes, measuring the external surfaces with an IR thermometer shows that the exterior is actually 4-5 degrees cooler than without the transit bag on a cooler. Unfortunately due to the poor fridge design, it doesn't provide any benefit for the compressor running any less so the only real benefit of using this bag is to provide some exterior protection to your cooler from other things that might be around it.

0 stars for insulation
4 stars for cooler protection, 1 star deducted for design of the lid - this bag would have been better if the top was a separate piece that also included some velcro strips so that it could be attached to the cooler lid instead of other parts of the transit bag so it wouldn't be such a hassle to deal with adjusting 8 pieces of velcro when opening/closing the lid all the time."

 

[Reaper_st84]

testing done. don't bother wasting money on the transit bag. I just posted my review on amazon for the bag that I got 2 weekends ago:

"I purchased this initially in the hope that it would provide some insulation benefits and reduce battery consumption while traveling in the truck or out camping. After testing for 1 week with this case and various other forms of insulation around the cooler it appears that there is zero benefit no matter what the insulation around the cooler is because of the design of the cooler itself. Heat gain introduced into the refrigerated compartment when powered off is the same because of the venting area underneath the non-refrigerated compartment.

Does it provide any insulation benefits? Yes, measuring the external surfaces with an IR thermometer shows that the exterior is actually 4-5 degrees cooler than without the transit bag on a cooler. Unfortunately due to the poor fridge design, it doesn't provide any benefit for the compressor running any less so the only real benefit of using this bag is to provide some exterior protection to your cooler from other things that might be around it.

0 stars for insulation
4 stars for cooler protection, 1 star deducted for design of the lid - this bag would have been better if the top was a separate piece that also included some velcro strips so that it could be attached to the cooler lid instead of other parts of the transit bag so it wouldn't be such a hassle to deal with adjusting 8 pieces of velcro when opening/closing the lid all the time."

Thanks about that.

 

[Reaper_st84]

Installed a 90w solar panel this weekend,works awesome with my diy battery box and the fridge.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

testing done. don't bother wasting money on the transit bag. I just posted my review on amazon for the bag that I got 2 weekends ago:

"I purchased this initially in the hope that it would provide some insulation benefits and reduce battery consumption while traveling in the truck or out camping. After testing for 1 week with this case and various other forms of insulation around the cooler it appears that there is zero benefit no matter what the insulation around the cooler is because of the design of the cooler itself. Heat gain introduced into the refrigerated compartment when powered off is the same because of the venting area underneath the non-refrigerated compartment.

Does it provide any insulation benefits? Yes, measuring the external surfaces with an IR thermometer shows that the exterior is actually 4-5 degrees cooler than without the transit bag on a cooler. Unfortunately due to the poor fridge design, it doesn't provide any benefit for the compressor running any less so the only real benefit of using this bag is to provide some exterior protection to your cooler from other things that might be around it.

0 stars for insulation
4 stars for cooler protection, 1 star deducted for design of the lid - this bag would have been better if the top was a separate piece that also included some velcro strips so that it could be attached to the cooler lid instead of other parts of the transit bag so it wouldn't be such a hassle to deal with adjusting 8 pieces of velcro when opening/closing the lid all the time."

Thank you,

Installed a 90w solar panel this weekend,works awesome with my diy battery box and the fridge.View attachment 99186View attachment 99187View attachment 99188View attachment 99189View attachment 99192View attachment 99191View attachment 99193View attachment 99194

Your rig is really nice, yoir daughter is an Angel. How proud you mut be of her.

 

[britz]

Aaron has a nice little Bluetooth fridge temp sensor app/project for his fridge you may be interested in checking out. DIY Bluetooth Fridge Monitor

 

[PolarExpress]

So now with the hotter weather here in Houston, my fridge can’t be run like before. The Jeep gets too hot inside for the fridge and Jeep battery to keep up. Maybe if my commute was 45minutes each way instead of 20 it would top off the battery. Same with running off just the Yeti400. With the Jeep getting so hot inside the yeti doesn’t last more than 20hrs. With my two additional batteries connected to the Yeti400 it will last a couple days. I’m now testing out my 60w solar panel (40w output) with the Yeti400 to see how much it helps extend the drain times.

 

[britz]

So now with the hotter weather here in Houston, my fridge can’t be run like before. The Jeep gets too hot inside for the fridge and Jeep battery to keep up. Maybe if my commute was 45minutes each way instead of 20 it would top off the battery. Same with running off just the Yeti400. With the Jeep getting so hot inside the yeti doesn’t last more than 20hrs. With my two additional batteries connected to the Yeti400 it will last a couple days. I’m now testing out my 60w solar panel (40w output) with the Yeti400 to see how much it helps extend the drain times.

And where I am in the Idaho Rockies, even 100 degree August days, nights fall below 50F, 40s in the high country. So far, with the transit bag and an extra layer of reflective inside, I can turn the unit off for 8-10 hours and my goods will still be frozen.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

Aaron has a nice little Bluetooth fridge temp sensor app/project for his fridge you may be interested in checking out. DIY Bluetooth Fridge Monitor

I guess I will have to go to one of Bob Wells desert seminars to learn anything about all this solar mumbo jumbo, double and triple battery installations with solenoids, USB's , Inverters etc. . I'm not learning anything here. Not anyone's fault here, it's just my world isn't electronics and I don't know anyone who can explain all this to me. Maybe I should stay home and plug my frig in a wall outlet and not worry about the temperatures or running battery's down from sitting too long in the back of a hot rig.

 

[britz]

I guess I will have to go to one of Bob Wells desert seminars to learn anything about all this solar mumbo jumbo, double and triple battery installations with solenoids, USB's , Inverters etc. . I'm not learning anything here. Not anyone's fault here, it's just my world isn't electronics and I don't know anyone who can explain all this to me. Maybe I should stay home and plug my frig in a wall outlet and not worry about the temperatures or running battery's down from sitting too long in the back of a hot rig.

I learned from youtube videos, mainly on how to build your own solar generator. I fear electronics, but if sonething happened to my boyfriend, I'd have to learn pdq how to troubleshoot our cabin's system. The link I provided is a monitor on your phone that tells you the temp of a fridge, remotely. It's way over my head, but I'll order the parts and Aaron has offered to walk me through if I have questions.

But this thread is on the Costway 54 fridge itself, and how it holds up. A few posters showed they run off various solar and/ or multiple battery systems, I personally run the fridge off my single vehicle battery, without a hiccup.

Be sure to check out Youtube and DIY solar generator videos IF you have any interest in understanding solar, as well as a search for basic solar here on OB. Start with a very simple line diagram, understanding the key components. But with a good battery such as a Northstar, you don't have to get a complicated system to run this fridge.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

I learned from youtube videos, mainly on how to build your own solar generator. I fear electronics, but if sonething happened to my boyfriend, I'd have to learn pdq how to troubleshoot our cabin's system. The link I provided is a monitor on your phone that tells you the temp of a fridge, remotely. It's way over my head, but I'll order the parts and Aaron has offered to walk me through if I have questions.

But this thread is on the Costway 54 fridge itself, and how it holds up. A few posters showed they run off various solar and/ or multiple battery systems, I personally run the fridge off my single vehicle battery, without a hiccup.

Be sure to check out Youtube and DIY solar generator videos IF you have any interest in understanding solar, as well as a search for basic solar here on OB. Start with a very simple line diagram, understanding the key components. But with a good battery such as a Northstar, you don't have to get a complicated system to run this fridge.

Thank you, I'm not in the loop with smart phones. I do good to use my basic hand phone with itty bitty push buttons that I can barely read, texting is a no no except for short answers like yes, no, ok etc..

I watched several good youtube videos yesterday and there are some nice new kits on the market that simplify the whole installation . I realize the thread is about the Costway ref. But if you don't understand the installation process then having a ref is useless if you don't have the proper power to run it.

I think it's great that you have the interest in learning. Many men like myself are helpless when off the grid. You put us to shame. I can learn anything if someone shows me but I have a problem with following written instructions for some reason, maybe I'm just stupid but I blame it on educational gap between generations. If it was up to me I would just hook the ref straight to the battery and keep a generator handy. That I understand. :-/

 

[britz]

If it was up to me I would just hook the ref straight to the battery and keep a generator handy. That I understand. :-/

There is nothing wrong with this methodology if you are interested in a 12v fridge. The Costway 54 comes with the 12vdc outlet and an AC cord, so the genny option would work very well. Though not with this fridge/ freezer, I did play for several years with coolers, cold boxes and genny-run freezers to find what is most efficient for off-grid living, and depending on what area you travel, i've never needed to power any of the units 24hrs. I focus more on retaining the cold, and 12hrs works in all but 100F days to keep the my goods frozen solid. The transit bag with extra Reflectix (reflective bubble wrap) sandwiched between the unit and bag on all sides, and a top sheet placed inside the fridge REALLY helps.

A little Honda e2000 would power this on a gallon of gas for a good 8-10 hrs. Granted, I live and explore in a high altitude environment, where we get a nightly reprieve of any 100F days, so your mileage may vary.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

There is nothing wrong with this methodology if you are interested in a 12v fridge. The Costway 54 comes with the 12vdc outlet and an AC cord, so the genny option would work very well. Though not with this fridge/ freezer, I did play for several years with coolers, cold boxes and genny-run freezers to find what is most efficient for off-grid living, and depending on what area you travel, i've never needed to power any of the units 24hrs. I focus more on retaining the cold, and 12hrs works in all but 100F days to keep the my goods frozen solid. The transit bag with extra Reflectix (reflective bubble wrap) sandwiched between the unit and bag on all sides, and a top sheet placed inside the fridge REALLY helps.

A little Honda e2000 would power this on a gallon of gas for a good 8-10 hrs. Granted, I live and explore in a high altitude environment, where we get a nightly reprieve of any 100F days, so your mileage may vary.

I will mostly be in the 6000 foot plus altitude areas. I like higher altitudes so that I don't need air conditioning or much electricity. I plan to be in the boon docks for long periods of time so am mainly interested in how long a ref like The Costway 54 will run w/ two 135 amp hr. batteries @1A without re- charging. Also wondering what size solar (100w, 150w ??) system it would take to keep the batteries charged if I decide to go that route. I don't need electricity for anything else but I'm diabetic and need the ref for medicines. I will be traveling but I'd rather not have my extra batteries hooked into the vehicle charging system because of the cost and complicated hook up for that.. Thanks for your input, everything helps when you don't know anything to start with. If anyone else can answer my questions it would be much appreciated in this thread of knowledgeable people.

 

[wstark54]

Well I've had my fridge for about two weeks now and did a 4 night camping trip last weekend and fridge worked great. Just ran a 14ga line from my battery directly to the fridge. I did splice in a SAE connecter so I could do away with the cig plug. Battery shows 12.4V after 15hrrs of running and since I'm wheeling all day recharging the battery has been a non issue. My plan is to get a 100w foldable panel to use if I'm not wheeling and the rig is parked all day and at about 1amp/hr draw that should be more than enough even on a cloudy day. The fridge seems to be of good quality and for traveling here in the US where you are rarely truly off the grid I think this will work, for me anyway just fine. The multi-battery systems seem a bit over the top, I always carry a just start backup should I somehow forget to start the rig and recharge the battery. Anyone with any questions let me know.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

Well I've had my fridge for about two weeks now and did a 4 night camping trip last weekend and fridge worked great. Just ran a 14ga line from my battery directly to the fridge. I did splice in a SAE connecter so I could do away with the cig plug. Battery shows 12.4V after 15hrrs of running and since I'm wheeling all day recharging the battery has been a non issue. My plan is to get a 100w foldable panel to use if I'm not wheeling and the rig is parked all day and at about 1amp/hr draw that should be more than enough even on a cloudy day. The fridge seems to be of good quality and for traveling here in the US where you are rarely truly off the grid I think this will work, for me anyway just fine. The multi-battery systems seem a bit over the top, I always carry a just start backup should I somehow forget to start the rig and recharge the battery. Anyone with any questions let me know.

I have several questions. !. What kind of ref. do you have ? 2. What size is it ? 3. You run it off the car battery with a single 14 ga. wire ? 4. You have a SAE connector BETWEEN the battery and the ref. ? What is a SAE connector ? 5. did you ground the second wire to metal somewhere that goes to the ref. ? 6. You got rid of the connection that came with the ref. that has a cigarette lighter connection at one end, is that where you put the SAE ? I want a simple system and yours sounds about as simple as can be had. Big IF, if you had a separate battery @ the rear of the truck, that was connected to the alternator with a solenoid between the batteries to keep the second battery from draining from the car battery, what else would you need for that set up, if you know ? You say you have another battery just in case you accidently run down the single battery for your car anyway, so why not hook it up similar to the way of my question. If anyone knows anything it would be helpful to me. I know it cant be that hard and should not be costly. Knowing how is my big question !

 

[wstark54]

OK:
I'm using the Costway 54.
54qt
Two 14ga + and -
Between the two separate wires I've run from the battery
Yes I cut the wire that came with the fridge and put SAE connector on both ends of the cut wire so I could still use the cig plug if needed.
The separate jump pack is just for jump staring so no reason to connect to car system.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

OK:
I'm using the Costway 54.
54qt
Two 14ga + and -
Between the two separate wires I've run from the battery
Yes I cut the wire that came with the fridge and put SAE connector on both ends of the cut wire so I could still use the cig plug if needed.
The separate jump pack is just for jump staring so no reason to connect to car system.

Oh I understand now. Your separate jump pack is one of those emergency jump start gadgets. I think mine is called a power pack ??? I have one but don't trust it or rely on it for the big batteries for my big cars that need 750 amps to turn the big V8 engine. I was hoping to buy the Costway 54 that amazon was selling but they ran out before I could buy one. They have some other brands that are sold as used but I know nothing about them and waiting for someone on OB forum to give me their opinion about two different brands. No word yet.
As for your system it sounds good enough for me and is definitely simple. Thanks for the answers

 

[ErnieC]

Oh I understand now. Your separate jump pack is one of those emergency jump start gadgets. I think mine is called a power pack ??? I have one but don't trust it or rely on it for the big batteries for my big cars that need 750 amps to turn the big V8 engine. I was hoping to buy the Costway 54 that amazon was selling but they ran out before I could buy one. They have some other brands that are sold as used but I know nothing about them and waiting for someone on OB forum to give me their opinion about two different brands. No word yet.
As for your system it sounds good enough for me and is definitely simple. Thanks for the answers

it's actually a few bucks cheaper on the Costway website. The only reason I got mine through Amazon was because I had some gift cards and reward points to take advantage of.

Costway 54qt cooler

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

it's actually a few bucks cheaper on the Costway website. The only reason I got mine through Amazon was because I had some gift cards and reward points to take advantage of.

Costway 54qt cooler

The one advertised on Amazon was only $279. There is another thread talking about it. I found this one on this side that is rated five star and am curious about it.

 

[free to go]

Congrats! I’ve been looking at this one. Any chance you could report back on the temperature delta as that seems to a possible issue with these? The durability of the handle might be another. Enjoy it!

My wife and I just bought the Dometic

 

[Phessor]

Installed a 90w solar panel this weekend,works awesome with my diy battery box and the fridge.View attachment 99186View attachment 99187View attachment 99188View attachment 99189View attachment 99192View attachment 99191View attachment 99193View attachment 99194

Do you have any information on the parts you used with this system you can share? Thank you.