12V Freezer

[Lumpy Waters]

The 12V fridges seem to be pretty popular these days. I'm curious if anyone uses one exclusively as a freezer to make ice for beverages, store frozen goods or freeze reusable ice packs. I have a small Dometic 18L fridge which has served well for weekend trips with a family of four and for weeklong solo trips. Usually if I desire clean ice cubes for beverages, I pack it in a separate small cooler which is good for 1 or two days at the most. Though it does have a small chiller section that stays 5-10 deg F warmer than the bottom of the main section, the fridge is basically a single zone unit that can be run either as a freezer or a fridge but not both. I've been thinking of using it as a freezer for the three purposes I mentioned above. My thinking is that, with a really good, well insulated 20-30 Qt cooler, I could rotate a set of reusable ice packs once per day from freezer to cooler, maintain ice cubes for beverages, and have a little bit of room for frozen goods. Another advantage would be that the cooler could easily be secured in a bear box if needed since it is not tethered to the trailer power. Has anyone employed a similar strategy? How has it worked out for you?

[western traveler]

Interested in hearing about battery draw on one of those units.

[Socal Tom]

For me dry ice in a good cooler (outside a sleeping compartment) works well for a few days keeping frozen goods/meals frozen. Interested in hearing about battery draw on one of those units.

I have the waeco Cf35, I usually use it as a fridge, on average over 24 hours it pulls 6 to 7 watts per hour.

[mtbikernate]

I got lucky last year and found a Dometic CFX3 55IM at the local REI in their COVID garage sale. Basically, instead of having an event for it, they just repurposed a corner of the store for garage sale items, and they restocked it as items trickled in throughout the year from the distribution center.

The fridge just happened to be there one day when I went with the wife while she was shopping for boots.

I just finished building the slide for it today. I used it for one short trip last fall and burned through my battery (a 100Ah lithium), and got the wiring done just before that trip. So I've got a couple things I need to straighten out to reduce my power draw. I haven't calculated out what it actually drew, but seems like I should be able to go a couple days solid without recharging. I think part of it was simply that I didn't have enough food/icepacks inside it to keep cold. I had some, but it's a big fridge, so I probably needed more frozen water bottles or something. Some folks have also suggested using a fan for some active ventilation in the space where I keep it. I may try that, too.


0313212113 by Nate, on Flickr

This fridge is handy because it's got an ice maker built in. For short trips, I don't see much need to run it as a freezer full time. That said, if I was doing a longer trip, I could definitely see doing that. I'd need to boost my solar capacity to keep my electrical system going, but I could definitely keep things frozen in it, then move them to a cooler to thaw and keep "refrigerated".

[MickinOz]

The 12V fridges seem to be pretty popular these days. I'm curious if anyone uses one exclusively as a freezer to make ice for beverages, store frozen goods or freeze reusable ice packs. I have a small Dometic 18L fridge which has served well for weekend trips with a family of four and for weeklong solo trips. Usually if I desire clean ice cubes for beverages, I pack it in a separate small cooler which is good for 1 or two days at the most. Though it does have a small chiller section that stays 5-10 deg F warmer than the bottom of the main section, the fridge is basically a single zone unit that can be run either as a freezer or a fridge but not both. I've been thinking of using it as a freezer for the three purposes I mentioned above. My thinking is that, with a really good, well insulated 20-30 Qt cooler, I could rotate a set of reusable ice packs once per day from freezer to cooler, maintain ice cubes for beverages, and have a little bit of room for frozen goods. Another advantage would be that the cooler could easily be secured in a bear box if needed since it is not tethered to the trailer power. Has anyone employed a similar strategy? How has it worked out for you?

My little 18L Engel can be run as a freezer too. I considered (still am) doing what you suggest.
I'd find some containers for water that fit fairly closely in the fridge compartment - say 4 containers that fit 2 at a time in the Engel.
Freeze all 4 at home before the trip, then 2 in the cooler, 2 refreezing in the Engel.
You'd think if they were say 5L blocks of ice, and the cooler was decent, they'd probably not completely defrost in a day, and should refreeze during the rotation..
That'd give a continuous 10kg of ice in your cooler. Enough, you'd have to think, for continuous use.

[GerryS]

I’ve got a cf35 and a bigger ARB. These Danfoss fridges are fantastic, though a little noisy. Much better than the days of soggy food in an ice water bath.

I would probably avoid the cheap China knocks offs, but that is mostly because the last year shows us why red China should be treated with much more suspicion that we do. Functionally, I love being able to take ice cream if I want, not to mention; a frosty adult beverage or so...

They will get there....less than 10 degrees to be sure. I wouldn’t make ice in one, but keeping it is definitely not a problem. The ARB even has a drain plug...

[mtbikernate]

I wouldn’t make ice in one

the icemaker in mine works quite well, actually. even when I'm using the rest of it as a refrigerator. the icemaker has fairly low capacity, though. fine for having ice for your drink on a hot day, but not really enough for much else. also, given that the ice maker module has its own power control, I don't think I'd use the icemaker unless I was on shore power or was certain my solar capacity was more than enough to keep my battery charged.

[GerryS]

I wouldn’t make ice in one

the icemaker in mine works quite well, actually. even when I'm using the rest of it as a refrigerator. the icemaker has fairly low capacity, though. fine for having ice for your drink on a hot day, but not really enough for much else. also, given that the ice maker module has its own power control, I don't think I'd use the icemaker unless I was on shore power or was certain my solar capacity was more than enough to keep my battery charged.

No argument it can....it just that you have such limited space. The floor of the unit , and you would need to stack on top of the trays if you wanted to keep food at the same time. You’re better off buying a bag and keeping it frozen. But, technically...sure you can do it.


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[mtbikernate]

No argument it can....it just that you have such limited space. The floor of the unit , and you would need to stack on top of the trays if you wanted to keep food at the same time. You’re better off buying a bag and keeping it frozen. But, technically...sure you can do it.

the icemaker in the IM models is a separate space. yes, you'd wind up stacking food on top of the lid of the icemaker. but there's a lid on it so you're not going to disturb anything in doing so.

but you're also not going to use that icemaker space for anything else. the question is whether you want to use the power to use the icemaker. if I'm on shore power and want a luxurious icy drink, then sure, I might use the icemaker.

but that's not what OP was asking about, anyway. if I was doing a longer trip where I wanted more food capacity (and had the power capacity), I could easily add a cooler, use the fridge in freezer mode, and use frozen water bottles to keep the cooler cold, rotating them back into the freezer when they've melted. keep some frozen food items (meats, ice cream, etc) in the freezer until I wanted to thaw them out.