Similar to previous deal but cheaper with code.
Oztrail 37L fridge/freezer offers cordless cooling with a rechargeable lithium battery. It runs for up to 32 hours and features a dual-speed LG compressor, USB outlets, Bluetooth monitoring, and an integrated bottle opener.
Haven't got one, but I think Oztrail fridges are generally OK.
Personally I'm not a fan of these types of all-in-one things, they're convenient but one thing goes and the whole thing is potentially useless, and I'm guessing it's a proprietary battery so you're relying on the continued availability of that. You're potentially almost better off getting a fridge without a built-in battery and get one of the smaller external boxes out there, and given the fridge doesn't need space for a battery compartment the external dimensions should be smaller.
Cost of one of those lithium battery boxes is at least 300ish so if you specifically wanted portable fridge and battery set up this is probably cheaper.
I would think it's probably a pretty cumbersome thing to move though, a separate battery box should win there
Kings sells a 36ah battery for $240 or less on sale.
The battery this comes with is 30ah
even if the battery dies you still have a standalone fridge isn't it?
Depends how it's designed, some devices (in general) can't work hardwired without a battery. If the inbuilt charger dies you're likely to be equally screwed.
At least if you buy the parts separately you can replace/upgrade as required, and you're not tied to the one brand. Moving the battery away from the area is probably going to be more efficient too, given the compressor isn't fighting against the heat from the battery/charger.
@dav3: this particular fridge is setup to run with/without the battery/with solar (has a built in mppt)
I scored one during clearance in Anaconda for 299 which is pretty decent.
@theoscat: Page 6 of the manual mentions you can run it off AC without the battery, no mention of DC.
Biggest problem with this unit is it misses the real benefit worth paying for of a fridge over an esky, which is longevity. Eskies are fine for overnighters 99% of the time, but start to get annoying for more than a couple days especially in warmer weather as you either need to be religious about managing how much heat gets in or top up ice (which in many parts of the country can mean a long detour or trip away from camp), both of which suck when the whole point of going camping is to relax - you don't want to be spending mental energy stressing about your food staying cold. This unit quotes "up to 32h" which means in real world conditions you're probably looking at one day or even less, in which case why bother spending $450 when an esky will do?
TL;DR if your use case actually justifies a fridge, you wouldn't be looking at this one.
Would be good for touring though. Turn the car off at the end of the day and battery runs the fridge overnight. Recharge the next day when you do your next leg. Or handy for trades to charge overnight and run in the ute during the day.
I probably should have added some preamble. After 15yrs+ camping with eskies, I'm acutely aware of how much of a pain in the arse managing ice is. As I said, the versatility of this unit is what interests me. It seemingly shines in the short trips and is also more than capable on longer ones. I have a 150w solar panel that I used to use for small batteries (7-15ah) I'd get from work that had been decommissioned but never invested in anything decent, so keeping this topped up is no problem.
Is your tldr basically that 32ah is too small for a fridge?
IMO it is. What's your plan if there's insufficient sun to charge the battery? You'll be running the car a long time as the manual states it can only accept 46 watts when charging with battery installed, which is a pitiful amount. For comparison, a cheap $299 120ah adventure kings battery (which isn't even using grade A cells like higher end brands) can take a max charge rate of ~1700w, far more than a stock alternator can put out.
From completely dead, you're talking ~9 hours of running your car to fully charge.
I have one of these. What I like is that it has a smaller storage capacity other the larger model with the same battery, so the run time is for longer. I like that the battery is replacement but it's just silly how pricey the replacement is.
If you need to store it unused for a while, remember to turn off the battery via the switch on the battery so that it doesn't self discharge and brick itself over winter.
Also, heads up last black Friday sales had the custom thermal insulated cover that keeps the vents unobstructed went for sale for $99 + p/h, so I'm glad I held off on them till then.
22.6kg weight wow and how much heavier it will be once filled up with drinks and meats etc.. 25kg? Ah sorry 37L wont fit much anyways
Literally the only use case for one of these I've found in my life was when I was living for a few months on a very old yacht that could only generate electricity via the alternator when the wind was down and therefore you'd turn the onboard motor on and cruise under motor for a few hours. We'd never be under power for long enough to keep the fridge/freezer in the galley properly cool, so would keep key commodities (largely beer) in something like one of these and the occasional few hours of electricity from running the motor would top the little thing up with enough power to keep the temp of the beers down.
Outside that, no idea when or where anyone would ever use one of these over a proper Esky with some ice. Or if you know you're going to be away from town for a long haul, dry ice.
Everybody’s distance will vary with this sort of fridge. Myself, I didn’t want to fit a dual battery system in my car. We travel with a caravan so it will be good for when we stop for lunch or fuel and the fridge keeps running. The main use for us will be weekend use going to local footy on Saturdays and Sundays and grabbing a coldie and some food out the fridge whilst we tailgate. From reviews on the website the ability for the fridge to run and charge the battery at the same time means it’s always charged. I looked at a normal 12v fridge and one of those battery packs but it’s cumbersome compared to an all in one unit. Also a 30 something litre fridge plus a battery pack with similar AH will cost more than $450. That would be against Ozbargain religion to spend more than needed.
There's a 2 for $500 50L deal at the moment, and Kings 40l have been under $200, so it's certainly possible to build a decent setup from deals.
I'm waiting for a Kings 24Ah pack to arrive now (as a backup for my 100Ah battery box), I think the deal was $160ish packaged with some rechargeable torch, something like that should keep a small fridge charged for a little while.
I'm really keen to hear if anyone has used these. It's been on my mind ever since the original deal was posted. Obviously the ideal situation is having a large dedicated external battery to feed a fridge but the versatility of this version has really stuck with me.