Two 12vdc Cooler Questions

[SV Demeter]

Following this thread with interest as Im looking to add a 12vdc cooler to serve as a small freezer. Just rebuilt our icebox and set it up as just a fridge due to size contraints. Used frigoboat mechanicals and am very pleased with energy use.

Ive been looking and the Waeco units, Dometic, and Engel but now Im seeing the Edgestar and the price seems quite a bit lower. We are looking for something around the 35-40 qt range and like I said intend to use it as a freezer. The thought is that if we are power poor we can choose to not run the freezer and just run the fridge, also would likely only use the freezer for passages or times when provisioning is challenged. We have 400 watts of solar and 1k AH battery bank.

My questions are for those who have used one of these units as a freezer. What were your experiences? Is there an appreciable difference in quality or effeciency between the Engel, Dometic, Edgestar or Waeco units?

[Dulcesuenos]

I think they are all great units. We went edgestar because price and they had a no hassle return policy if we weren't satisfied return it. We love it after two years of hard use and neglect. The one time we lost a power cord it kept ice cold for a week. Its VERY well insulated. The original power cord end sucked so I put a new heavier duty end on it. All we do is use ours as a freezer and to make ice. At freezing we had run it 3 days off one deepcycle before recharging. Power consumption is very low. I will admit the handles could be made better but they have not broken just feels like they could. Our friends have an demotic and they love theirs going on 4 years. I also liked the fact we got an extra 2 year warranty on it.for 59.99

[SV Demeter]

Originally Posted by Dulcesuenos

I think they are all great units. We went edgestar because price and they had a no hassle return policy if we weren't satisfied return it. We love it after two years of hard use and neglect. The one time we lost a power cord it kept ice cold for a week. Its VERY well insulated. The original power cord end sucked so I put a new heavier duty end on it. All we do is use ours as a freezer and to make ice. At freezing we had run it 3 days off one deepcycle before recharging. Power consumption is very low. I will admit the handles could be made better but they have not broken just feels like they could. Our friends have an demotic and they love theirs going on 4 years. I also liked the fact we got an extra 2 year warranty on it.for 59.99

Dulcesuenos it was your posts that got me interested in the Edge Star to begin with. Im glad to hear you are using it as a freezer as I intend. You mention power consumption being low, do you have any idea how many amp hours it is consuming per day or how many amps is it actually drawing when running? Also curious to know what sort of ambient air temps you are using it in, ie tropics or mild New England climates. Perhaps if you have a battery monitor you can extrapolate some amp hour info?

Im leaning towards the Dometic units now because they seem to be in the middle pricewise with the Engel at the top and Edgestar at the bottom and also in the middle with advertised power consumption with the edgestar at 5.4 amps, Dometic 3.0 amps and, Engel at 2.5. All for the 35-40 quart sizes.

[Dulcesuenos]

Were in Florida its roughly 80+85 in the cabin during the day when ac is off. Trying to figure out my xantrex monitor. When I power everything down. The AH goes up. Checking the manual and will let you know. Two boats ago we were 3 days offshore the boat only had two deepcycles and it didn't put a dent in it. Once she's freezing she stays freezing and the compressor barely runs.

[kismet]

Value is relative. I had an Edgestar. It worked great, until it didn't. Just a year after the warranty ran out. These are not well made and the company does nothing to make owning one any easier. They have terrible customer service, no spec. sheets, no local reps for service surly phone service people who know nothing about fixing these machines. They say ship it back to us and we will tell you if it can be fixed...right at $100 for shipping. Save your money and get an Engle.

Originally Posted by Dulcesuenos

Depends on your budget. The cheap ones will suck down a batt drawing 6-10 amps, and only cool 30-40 below ambient temps. Best value I found was an edgestar fp430 or 630 but they are $400. amp draw is very low under 3 amps.

[Feral Cement]

I bought an Edgestar FP430. The first unit didn't work at all - no lights, no cooling, no nothing. Edgestar replaced in 3 days.

New unit runs well, very cold, but the fan seems to run 24/7 (the compressor seems to shut off every 15 minutes or so). Is this normal?

John