Looking to buy a Compressor Fridge

[RichT5.1]

Got our first van / camping trip booked for August so just trying to kit the van out in preparation.
I want to keep the van multi-purpose so today I picked up the Ecoflow River Pro 720Wh Portable Power station with 160 watt portable solar panel to keep us powered up.
I'm planning to use this to run a small portable compressor fridge/freezer. There seems to be a huge selection now available so was hoping for a little guidance on which fridge to opt for.

My budget is around £200, need at least 36litre storage, and like the idea of Bluetooth app connectivity.
As I'm running it on the Ecoflow I'm also trying to factor in a fridge that is efficient.
I keep seeing deals come up on Amazon but haven't pushed the buy button yet.

So far these two have made the shortlist:

Vevour, £230, 40 litre (energy class B) : https://www.amazon.co.uk/VEVOR-Car-Refrigerator-Portable-Compressor/dp/B09T985DXP/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1OZT3K3XS0V0Q&keywords=vevor+fridge&qid=1657879642&sprefix=vevor+fridge%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-4#

KITGARN, also looks good - £220, 35 litre, (energy class B with LG compressor) : https://www.amazon.co.uk/KITGARN-Co...fix=portable+compressor+fridge,aps,77&sr=8-22

From experience is there any good buys out there which I may have missed?
Any advice gratefully received.

Thanks Rich

 

[Pauly]

Loads of info here

Fridges & Cold Beer -- How I Done It --

Fridges & Cold Beer -- How I Done It -- For Most Beer Lovers, Cold Beer is a Must. (especially Larger) and for Her-Indoors a cold wine or G&T will always help smooth the situation . . . . maybe even Cold POP for the kids (My nanas term) Then there is the necessities of camping and Fridges...

www.t6forum.com

I went with a 35l vevor unit very similar to your first link and very happy with it, theres loads of copy/clones around that size/price

Fridges & Cold Beer -- How I Done It --

thanks so much for the replies what was the brand ?

www.t6forum.com

 

[RichT5.1]

Thanks for that. Glad the Vevour is working out well.
I did look through all 11 pages of Dellmassives post about cold beer and fridges which set me on the path to a compressor fridge.
It seems that some of the Vevor units run at 45w and some are 60w but that may be irrelevant as they all seem to draw the same amount of power - 0.2 kw·h/24h - according to their table at the bottom of this page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08L4RVWX7/ref=emc_b_5_t?th=1

Maybe the energy efficiency rating is a better yard stick but it's tricky to find information on this.
I've seen the Vevour 40litre listed on ebay with energy rating of A++ and the same unit on the Vevor site rated as F based on the reply to one of the customer questions that was asked.

Maybe I'm over analysing this too much, just want to be sure I can make the best use of my portable power station and get the most efficient fridge for £200.

 

[Pauly]

I've got the jackery 500 and its runs my fridge for 3 days easy with no input, if i connect my 100W solar panel then it will just keep going as long as its sunny

 

[nomislotsirb]

We have the Vevor 55L and very pleased with it. The Vevor 45L is £219.99 on their website (VEVOR VEVOR Car Refrigerator 45L Car fridge 12/24v Compressor Portable Car Mini Fridge Car Refrigerator Freezer Vehicle Truck RV Boat Electric Cooler for Driving Travel Fishing Outdoor and Home Use | VEVOR UK) but you can get a further £15 off with the code below (received by e-mail yesterday). This fridge is showing as being out of stock, which was the same when we purchased ours, but they were most useful when I phoned them and they gave an indication when they would be back in stock.

 

[T6.1 slayer]

Alpicool 36l with LG compressor had 2 years works well

 

[Sackmycook]

I've got the jackery 500 and its runs my fridge for 3 days easy with no input, if i connect my 100W solar panel then it will just keep going as long as its sunny

That reassuring, I will be having the same set up soon....

 

[T6.1 slayer]

That reassuring, I will be having the same set up soon....

Mine runs on eco on a 75ah car battery mains charged for 4 days the draw is 20w intermittent? But plugged into cigarette socket in t6.1 it will last 24 hrs as van battery always seems around 80% charge tops probably the intelligent charging ?

 

[Stuart D]

Alpicool

 

[Andysmee]

With that budget I'd look secondhand on FB marketplace. We picked up a built-in Wesbato Isotherm CR42 for £400 which was new and never installed. So deals on coolbox style ones should be possible, too. There's some good info on here, if you can navigate it, about which off-brands are versions of the main brands

 

[T6.1 slayer]

With that budget I'd look secondhand on FB marketplace. We picked up a built-in Wesbato Isotherm CR42 for £400 which was new and never installed. So deals on coolbox style ones should be possible, too. There's some good info on here, if you can navigate it, about which off-brands are versions of the main brands

Same quality as webasto all moulded shell with cheap Chinese inferior rubbish compressor or LG? Mines faultless and was used in a lodge for 6 months running continuously, also like the lid design very strong compared to some I use mine to stand on when undoing canoe straps and sit on while fishing? Seems a robust bit of kit nice to have choc ices besides the lake on a 28° day, alpicool 10 out of 10 for me

 

[T6.1 slayer]

The t36 is model alpicool I use because the lid opens from side instead of end ounlike some so I think it gives it extra strength ?

 

[RichT5.1]

Thanks for all the replies. Thought it would be good to report back after I made my choice. To see us through our first camping trip in the van I opted for the Alipicool CX50 (from Amazon), I paired it with the EcoFlow River Pro topped up by 160W portable solar panel. I ran the fridge at 3 degrees for 6 days and the solar kept us going. Got to say the 50litre fridge is a big unit but you can stand up 2litre drink bottles and there is enough space for all your food needs. I also ended up taking a separate cool bag for beer. The fridge did use more power than I expected but I did run it on Max and now realise there is an Eco option. Also I can see that a fridge bag would make the power consumption more efficient but I'm struggling to find one that is made for the CX50. Any advice / links on this would be welcome. The fridge App was a nice feature but not essential.

I have a T5.1 Kombi and found that I could squeeze the fridge between the front seats and the middle seats and because of the height of the CX50 the air vent is above the seat height which was a convenient added bonus.