I hear they can be noisy because the fan is always running? Is that true?
Also, do they make your van hotter because they are releasing hot air? And, do you need to defrost them more regularly?
Also, do they generally use more power?
Thanks so much!
We are looking at the TF65.
Greetings!
Any powered fridge that isn’t vented to the outside will indeed add a noticeable amount of heat to the interior. That’s just one of many reasons that I switched back to an ice chest until I could get a proper 3-way vented fridge/freezer.
Cheers!
"Be the reason someone smiles today!" ~ Van_Dweller
I don’t have one of these but have a friend who does and they love it. I never noticed it being loud or any louder than our dometic. Any fridge whether a standup or cooler style is going to have a running compressor generating heat and a fan running to cool it that makes noise. Both of those in my experience are pretty much negligible. If I did another build I would consider one of these. They are a considerably cheaper and can definitely fit into some layouts easier.
The freezer compartments on them are fairly small so I wouldn’t worry about the defrosting part too much.
I have an EuHomy 12v DC fridge and I struggle to hear it at all. A car passing by outside or people talking outside will be much louder than the fridge imo. I would say the noise level is negligible as Bretly said.
Heat-wise, the amount of heat it adds is very little. If it’s cold out I usually try to put it outside to save energy if possible depending on where I am. I can’t say I’ve really noticed the heat from the fridge causing any difference.
Frost is more of a problem on metal surfaces. These fridges generally are all plastic. I haven’t had any problems with frost build up except in my dorm fridge which has an aluminum freezer compartment.
Hey there! We have a Truck Fridge (model TF86), and we love it. It doesn’t make any more or less noise than a standard house fridge - it does turn on and off, and you can hear the fan when it’s on but it isn’t super loud. It does vent heat, like any other fridge. We don’t notice the heat though; it is negligible overall in the van. Like any other fridge, you want to make sure you have adequate airflow and venting; otherwise, yes, your fridge will overwork trying to disperse the heat and the fan/compressor will run more often. Our fridge draws about 15 amps overnight (when we don’t have solar recharging)… not sure about the power draw during the day since our solar recharge keeps up with the fridge’s demand.
We do have to defrost the freezer occasionally. We’ve defrosted it twice in the 12 months we’ve had it… I guess it’s like any other dorm style mini-fridge.