Marine Refrigerators?

I have been doing a bit of research and wondering if anyone here has thoughts/opinions etc about marine refrigerators? They are designed for boats that experience waves, swells, etc. In other words, they are designed to work regardless of whether they are perfectly level…Some vanlifers have discussed them as insurance that if they are stuck someplace hilly - they will be able to maintain refrigeration and not lose food, etc. Are the more conventional options, Dometic, etc. really that prone to simply not work if not completely level? They are seriously more expensive - so - just wondering if anyone here has used them or not?

Thanks heaps in advance!

Try this style. Different placement but works very well- Bluetooth -12v or 120 v. Compressor operation. Less than 50 Watts of power.

Thanks for your post.

Have you purchased this refrigerator or used it? This particular one wouldn’t work since it is not available and (beyond that :slight_smile: - it is wired for U.S. - not European electric (230) systems with continental plugs, etc.

Taking that into account - I have actually found some AC/DC refrigerators on Amazon.nl - about twice as expensive - so getting into the Isotherm price range.I keep hearing DC would be more energy efficient - so - it makes sense to explore that option as well. I saw one refrigerator that would convert among gas, AC and DC. That seems like a nice option with some flexibility. (Spending 50w an hour on just a refrigerator would “cost” 1200w over a 24 hour period…about 1/3 of my total capacity. Not impossible - but - since it is one of the loads that will effectively be working 24 hours a day, it’s something I need to consider.)

Before anyone suggests an “ice chest” - I do understand that is the low-tech and much cheaper option. However - ice is not something you see sold in gas stations or grocery stores over here. Out of curiosity, I asked several Dutch friends where I could buy ice - and no one had any idea. (Ice is not routinely even served in beverages.)

But - thanks for getting the wheels turning - it is much, much appreciated!

Yes I purchased the Alpicool 44qt. a couple years ago. I connect it to my 12v power supply. While these run at 45 watts they do not run constantly- they cycle at at least a 50-60% run time in that 24 hr day.
This model performs quite well after in high temperatures- I live where summers are near 100 degrees or more for several weeks.
Like with any refrigerator having adequate airflow to the condenser is key to the longevity. Mine is completely enclosed in a sitting bench that’s multi purposed. But I have a vent hole directly connected to the fresh air intake for the condenser.
Having a front door opening refrigerator would make fresh ventilation more difficult enclosed in a cabinet. I also like many things want stability in the van as much as possible. These units have an LG compressor-( good brand).
I’ve had mine for two years with no issues. I only have 340ah Of battery but with my 400 W solar this refrigerator is of small consequence.

I can’t see spending three or four times the cost for an isotherm or a Dometic that is essentially the same equipment in a different configuration. I’ve been a commercial refrigeration tech for 20 years-…
I would happily buy two of these over the next 10 years rather than a name brand twice the price .

Where you can cut costs I would say this is worth it but it has to fit your configuration as well. I’ve attached some pictures where I have stowed mine. Good luck and happy Van building.





It may be more expensive but in the end we went with a dometic. It’s nice having both a fridge and a freezer. I will say it does perform better than the cheaper one we originally bought in hotter temps. It also it put together a lot better. It just feels more solid and the handle won’t break off like they did on the knockoff. It certainly runs quieter.

Either will likely be fine, but if you want a fridge freezer combo or the ability to monitor and control it from your phone, you’ll pay for it.

For what it’s worth Dometic makes a lot of gear for marine application as well, not just RV’s. The hill won’t matter, we’ve never had an issue. I think you’d have to park at something like 30-45º of more for to be an issue.

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One of the nice things about this line of coolers is they do make a Bluetooth app to control the unit for cooling or freezing temp. It makes it easily visible when it’s tucked away. It worked surprisingly well knowing that a lot of apps for equipment can be subpar.

Hi Trav,

Thanks for the information - it really is useful. But, I work in cybersecurity…and the last thing I want is a “smart” or “bluetooth enabled” anything… :slight_smile: Fighting off hackers, securing systems against malicious intrusion and trying to keep data private is turning me into a neo-Luddite!

Cheers…

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Hi there-

I took your advice and purchased the Alpicool T50. It was just delivered today and I had a couple of questions.

  1. The temperatures don’t seem to “stay” where I set them. I have set the fridge for 32 degree F and the freezer for 0 degrees. (Based on recommendations on safe food storage.)
    However, the Alpicool freezer keeps moving up in to the 14 degree range and the fridge section closer to 39 degrees. Any idea why that would be? Also, the manual is awful. Just “select x” - but no idea how to actually select something - which button, etc. - so hit and miss right now.

  2. I noticed when having it plugged into 12V outlet, that it was drawing 5W even when turned off…? Which seemed weird…?

Overall, happy with the purchase so far - just growing pains getting used to it… :slight_smile:

Thanks for any help you can give!

It may just be too hot for it to keep up with temperatures. We’ve had issues with the cheaper models like this when it’s extremely hot out, though we’ve never had an apicool, but they are pretty much all the same just in different boxes. I have noticed with our dometic that iif we keep the freezer and fridge compartments at closer temps it seems to work less and work better. We set ours to 15 and 37.

Also, they have a high and low range set and you can adjust that on some of the fridges. So if it set at 10º with a of range of 3º on each end it will start cooling at 13º and cool until it reaches 7º

Hi Bretly -

Thanks for the information - but this unit is sitting inside the house and the outside temp is only 75 - so, probably not an external temp issue…I now realize I may have addressed this to you in error. I am so sorry - but still thank you for the good information…!!!

Cheers!

Hi Trav -

I purchased the Alpi T50 and had a couple of questions I thought maybe you could answer?

The temperatures don’t seem to “stay” where I set them. I have set the fridge for 32 degree F and the freezer for 0 degrees. (Based on recommendations on safe food storage.)

However, the Alpicool freezer keeps moving up in to the 14 degree range and the fridge section closer to 39 degrees. Any idea why that would be? Also, the user manual is awful. Just “select x” - but no idea how to actually select something - which button, etc. - so hit and miss right now.

I also noticed when having it plugged into 12V outlet, that it was drawing 5W even when turned off…? Which seemed weird…?

Overall, happy with the purchase so far - just growing pains getting used to it… :slight_smile:

Thanks for any help you can give!

Cheers!

Greetings!

When I occasionally hit an area where ice isn’t handy, I’ll buy a couple 1 gallon jug of water and ask them to stick them in their freezer overnight for me. I rarely get told no…

Cheers!


"Be the reason someone smiles today!" ~ Van_Dweller


Greetings!

When I upraded from an ice chest to a fridge/freezer, I went to a junk yard and bought a used 3-way (propane/AC/DC) for $50. I mounted it on a gimbal, like on a boat, so it stays level when my van isn’t.

Running it on fuel is a much better choice than on power, and the lack of electronics is much more trouble free as well.

In a recent build for someone else we put in a cheap dorm fridge/freezer with an inverter, a temperature probe into the freezer compartment, connected to a relay to turn the inverter on/off to conserve power. It was cost efficient, energy efficient, and works well.

I HATE ice chest style fridges, and the constant necessity of digging through them to get to what you’re looking for. Even my ice chest was an upright style. Convenience is high on my priority list.

Cheers!


"Be the reason someone smiles today!" ~ Van_Dweller


Hi congrats on the new fridge. Sorry I’ve been away for a few days currently parked in a national forest with no signal. I do not have the dual temp model. Mine has the ability to run between 55 and -4 but not the separate zones.

The fridge should hold a pretty constant temp, although I’ve read there can be a bit of a challenge the farther apart the 2 temps.
set. The 2 zone model you purchased seems to get very good overall views on Amazon.
I recommend placing a glass of water in the fridge and set the temp accordingly. Check the water temp after sitting in the fridge for 12-24 hours. Medium temperatures I would say is more important to maintain at 35 or below. Many things will freeze or can be frozen I n a range from say 25 down to 0° depending on the product density and more or less water content etc. with that said I’m not sure how the separation between the two zones works such as with with bar or a hotel fridges many times many times relying on direct contact with evap plate to maintain freezing not necessarily meaning that it will remain at 0° or below air temp. Try placing some products in the freezer section And see how they maintain. Most freezers are relatively small and therefore keeping for long periods of time is not as important. I set my fridge at about 29 to 30° and it keeps everything nice and cold. Sorry I can’t be of more help on your exact model.

I have not had a problem with my fridge in a very hot van. Excellent ventilation in and out of the condenser which is the compressor area on the bottom of the fridge is critical. Fresh air into the condenser and free space for it to move out. Obviously yours is not in that condition yet but for future reference purposes. Good luck to you and hopefully it works as designed and you will be satisfied as I have for the last 2 years.

Thanks for the reply and all of the good information! It is very, very much appreciated!

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