Fridge Freezer Question

[Pick Teej]

I just put mine in the garage, loaded it up with warm drinks, and plugged it into the wall. I figure it is best to start out with everything cold and not make the fridge do the hard work on the Jeep battery. Then, I'm going to drive my Jeep to work tomorrow, let it sit all day, then pull cold drinks out as I go watch a football game! (I'm a middle school principal). I think I will really enjoy this thing! Btw, it ran perfectly when plugged into the 12v in the back of the Jeep. I set the compressor speed to auto and the voltage guard to 10.7, for now. I may raise it to the high setting, which I think is 11.7. It is VERY quiet, even when on high speed.

Very exciting stuff happening in this thread!

 

[DanW]

Welp..... here goes nothing.View attachment 64193

Fantastic! I won't be surprised if you just got the deal of the decade. That thing might just run for years and years. It has a good bit more capacity than my Snomaster, too! I'm dying to hear your initial report on it!

 

[DanW]

Very exciting stuff happening in this thread!

Honestly, I've never gone to bed looking forward to, yes, an ice cold drink the next day. Like a kid at Christmas! Lol!

 

[sabjku]

Honestly, I've never gone to bed looking forward to, yes, an ice cold drink the next day. Like a kid at Christmas! Lol!

LOL that's exactly how I feel when I come out from work at the end of the day. It's funny how people respond when they see that you have a real fridge in the back of your Jeep, with cold beer!:)

 

[DRLExpress]

Are you using an ad blocker? If so, it doesn't show Amazon links. Disable it for overlandbound.com, 'cause we don't have any ads here anyway. :)

Thanks Steve and Pick. I learned something today.

Doug

 

[DanW]

LOL that's exactly how I feel when I come out from work at the end of the day. It's funny how people respond when they see that you have a real fridge in the back of your Jeep, with cold beer!:)

Unfortunately, mine won't have cold beer today. I'm a middle school principal. BUT, you can bet that come Saturday....

 

[Pick Teej]

Fantastic! I won't be surprised if you just got the deal of the decade. That thing might just run for years and years. It has a good bit more capacity than my Snomaster, too! I'm dying to hear your initial report on it!

I mean worst cause, it's basically an appliance and if it does die, I'm assuming you can take it to an appliance repair specialist and they can get it back into tiptop shape. I'll be testing it for a week or so prior to our assateague trip on the 25th!

 

[Pick Teej]

Expected to arrive Thursday!

 

[systemdelete]

My ARB 50qt is essentially completely sustained by the 80w lensun solar panel I've mounted to my hood with my stock panasonic battery as a buffer. I'm still planning to add a second battery later this year but graphing the input vs output, there is VERY little overdraw, typically covered my my typical commute drives. The hotter the sun shines, the more amps the panel provides to the fridge, I couldn't imagine a more perfectly balanced system.

 

[1Louder]

If it has the same compressor as the Indel/Smittybilt/Ironman/I don't know what other names, it should do ok. If it doesn't who knows. Only way to tell is to hook something like this up between the fridge and battery to see.


T-Trees FT08 RC 150A Watt Meter Power Analyzer With Backlight LCD Hight Precision
by T-Trees
Link: http://a.co/iX4xNnD

Here's an article I wrote which included my old Indel 51 fridge performance numbers.
https://www.4xoverlandadventures.com/2017-winter-fridge-shootout/2/

 

[JeffBett]

I received my Costway a few days ago, so far it's great running in the garage on 120 volt. I'll be doing a 4 day trip during Labor Day weekend, we'll see better then. I am pretty sure the Costways (and a couple more names) are the same as an Indel B with the controls slightly moved, etc. They have the same controls, connectors and switches. I have seen some specific plastic moldings in both that would be to big of coincidence. The Costways do NOT have a 120 volt power converter built in, 12 volt only with an external converter, must keep the cost down some. One option it that they sell for $399 on Ebay and then Ebay has 15-20% everything coupons about once every month or 2. That takes $60-80 off. They charge CA sales tax. The question is how good are they? Does this fall under the Harbor Freight style of purchases. If you can buy 2 or 3 for the price of 1 of the others do you come out ahead?

 

[DanW]

I received my Costway a few days ago, so far it's great running in the garage on 120 volt. I'll be doing a 4 day trip during Labor Day weekend, we'll see better then. I am pretty sure the Costways (and a couple more names) are the same as an Indel B with the controls slightly moved, etc. They have the same controls, connectors and switches. I have seen some specific plastic moldings in both that would be to big of coincidence. The Costways do NOT have a 120 volt power converter built in, 12 volt only with an external converter, must keep the cost down some. One option it that they sell for $399 on Ebay and then Ebay has 15-20% everything coupons about once every month or 2. That takes $60-80 off. They charge CA sales tax. The question is how good are they? Does this fall under the Harbor Freight style of purchases. If you can buy 2 or 3 for the price of 1 of the others do you come out ahead?

Can't wait to hear updates on how this fridge does! Crank that sucker down as low as it will go and let us know how cold it gets. For $320 bucks, and if it works well, this one should win a medal. After living with my Snomaster for just a few days, my wife has come to love it and wants another for her van. I don't want to drop another huge wad of cash, so this may be a great option this time around.

 

[JeffBett]

I am sure it will pass initial tests just fine, it's how it holds up over time that I wonder about. Amazon reviews are good but Smittybilt reviews not so much with some saying it died after a year or 2. It chills very cold, the only thing I see so far is that the temp readout on the display is higher than what a thermometer says hanging in the middle of the empty space, about 10 degrees difference. Not a big deal and I am sure that would change some when it has food/drinks.

 

[DanW]

I am sure it will pass initial tests just fine, it's how it holds up over time that I wonder about. Amazon reviews are good but Smittybilt reviews not so much with some saying it died after a year or 2. It chills very cold, the only thing I see so far is that the temp readout on the display is higher than what a thermometer says hanging in the middle of the empty space, about 10 degrees difference. Not a big deal and I am sure that would change some when it has food/drinks.

Since the Smittybilt has a Danfoss compressor, I wonder what is failing? Or is the Danfoss compressor not what it used to be? I'd be interested to see long term feedback on them. Maybe they aren't as well protected from vibration and dust as other brands?

 

[Pick Teej]

I received my Costway a few days ago, so far it's great running in the garage on 120 volt. I'll be doing a 4 day trip during Labor Day weekend, we'll see better then. I am pretty sure the Costways (and a couple more names) are the same as an Indel B with the controls slightly moved, etc. They have the same controls, connectors and switches. I have seen some specific plastic moldings in both that would be to big of coincidence. The Costways do NOT have a 120 volt power converter built in, 12 volt only with an external converter, must keep the cost down some. One option it that they sell for $399 on Ebay and then Ebay has 15-20% everything coupons about once every month or 2. That takes $60-80 off. They charge CA sales tax. The question is how good are they? Does this fall under the Harbor Freight style of purchases. If you can buy 2 or 3 for the price of 1 of the others do you come out ahead?

Do you have a means of checking power consumption? If so this would be great information to have.

 

[dezracer]

So I ordered a factory scratch and dent from eBay...it was listed for $280, but with the eBay 15% off....it came out to $238 with free shipping. The eBay ad didnt say the name of the fridge, but all the pictures and descriptions were excatly the same as the Costway.

The package came and it was indeed a Costway fridge. The only damage was to the cardboard box. The fridge was in brand new condition.

So far so good...only tested in my house, but will be putting it thru its paces Labor Day

 

[Pick Teej]

Apparently these are just starting to pop up lately.. havent found anyone yet with some time in use with it

 

[Pick Teej]

So I ordered a factory scratch and dent from eBay...it was listed for $280, but with the eBay 15% off....it came out to $238 with free shipping. The eBay ad didnt say the name of the fridge, but all the pictures and descriptions were excatly the same as the Costway.
View attachment 65013
The package came and it was indeed a Costway fridge. The only damage was to the cardboard box. The fridge was in brand new condition.
View attachment 65014View attachment 65015
So far so good...only tested in my house, but will be putting it thru its paces Labor Day

That's a screaming deal!

 

[dezracer]

That's a screaming deal!

I'll post a link to the eBay listing...they are currently sold out, but who knows...it may get more stock

 

[OnlyTaco]

Wow what a deal. Is thay 15% off from ebay still active?