Fridge/Cooler for 8.1

[ahmic18]

For those with a quicksilver...do you use an electrical cooler or a bar-type fridge inside?  Any recommendations?  And recommendations about where to keep it?  How long can you run it off of the battery?

[admin]

I've been toying with the idea of a fridge or powered cooler of some type. In my searching I've yet to find something that is in my price range that seems to do a decent job. All the 12 volt solutions are either WAY too expensive for my taste, or they are so small they are impractical. I've also noticed that the "powered coolers" cant keep up with real refrigeration temps, so if you plan to keep any raw foods the coolers most likely wont be able to keep them cold enough to store safely.
Another option I've thought about were the really small 120v fridge in the 1.7cuft range. Without taking measurements I was thinking it could fit on the floor for travel, and still be small enough to setup when at camp. I have a 2012 QS 10.0 so I have a little table like area above the AC unit that could work well for this. However I'm having a hard time picturing exactly how much this would actually store so I dont know if it would be worth the space/weight. Plus it cant be used much during transport. I think it could be run while packing and if filled with could non-perishable items like soda/water/etc it might keep things cool depending on travel time. With that in mind, I'd still have to use a cooler during travel, or plan to buy groceries near or at the camp ground.

As of now I'm content using my Coleman 5 day cooler. It seems to live up to its claims of keeping ice for nearly 5 days as long as its not in direct sun in the hottest parts of the summer. Plus its still a heck of a lot cheaper to buy a 10 or 15lb bag of ice every 3-5 days versus going out to buy another appliance with limited usage.

Maybe one day I'll end up with some thing powered...

-Sean

[aznighthiker]

We use ice chest and use ice and or dry ice. We use a Coleman Extreme cooler for food, a regular Coleman cooler for sodas and water. We also have a thick walled styrofoam cooler that we use with dry ice for the longer trips. Keep the coolers off the ground and in the shade and the ice lasts longer.

[m0brando]

We use a Mobi-cool DC powered cooler.  It is small, but it handles all the important stuff... A cooler bag with an icepack can handle things like fruit or yogout that don't go bad without constant refridgeration.  We plug it into the van while driving, and then we bought a long extension cord and an AC/DC converter that goes into it, so that we can have the cooler outside, under our tarp, in our 'kitchen' during the day.  At night we bring it into the QS 8.1 and plug it in.  Works very well for us!

Hope this is helpful.
Sue.

[jaredudall]

We have the Coleman thermoelectric. I think it is called the power chill. When we are driving I can plug it in to the DC outlet in the back of the van, so it is also good for regular vacations

[walt3]

We use the two cooler method large one as fridge then dry ice for the freezer for a few years now. Started that when we would tent camp.

[hiker74]

Lots of reviews out there comparing the Coleman Extreme coolers to much more expensive coolers. I may give that a try. Maybe I'll do that and then make some ice tubes so I don't have to mess with ice!!!

[vmcmn]

Used the 12v even had it set up for that,went back to ice chest

[husaberger]

I've been dreaming and drawing up some plans but its just a dream.

Remove the sink portion box (the top part) and make a new box with a built in fridge, yes oddly shaped and wide, but squatty, as long it will work, and yes that as my fridge.

when we go, 12v from the TV keeps it cool to our next destination or back home, then arrive, swing the fridge up and have it running over the weekend.

we can dream can we?

[debiski]

We got our QS 8 last year and bought the smallest mini fridge we could find (I think it's 1.7 cu. ft. or so) but I was super disappointed when I found out even that TINY fridge was too tall to keep in the camper when it's folded. I'd like something to keep the food cold that will be able to STAY in the camper when traveling. We are not foodies and rarely cook while camping so we eat mostly sandwiches and such. We have so far only camped where there is electric hook ups and we'll probably remain that way so plugging something in is no problem.

[admin]

I'm a little surprised to hear you say that @debiski. I have one of the cheap 1.7 cu. ft. fridges from Walmart (also available at amazon here http://amzn.to/1nW6ZtL ) and it fits in the walkway of the 10.0 without a height issue. Was it too tall that it rose over the lip of the wall, or did it just not leave enough room for the top to fold in?

Side note if I recall our fridge is around 20" tall.

-Sean

[husaberger]

if they are all the same at L & W & H

this one is smaller height wise, at 15 inches, almost 4 inches shorter - should easily fit if the width its good enough at 15.31 vs 19.4

Not sure if the fridge is good enough tho.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Igloo-1.7-cu-ft-Refrigerator/24309896?&u1=VnJxNGRRb0tNcXdBQUlHT1ZLTUFBQUNF&oid=368707.1&wmlspartner=NKa3hZyYoHA&sourceid=18943447350624348024&affillinktype=10&veh=aff

Amazon has it WAY cheaper at 60.00 but hits you with a 49.99 shipping charge

http://www.amazon.com/Igloo-1-6-Refrigerator-RED-color/dp/7897979458 (home depot has it cheaper and can do ship to store free too)

[quote source="/post/18561/thread" author="@admin" timestamp="1455049986"]I'm a little surprised to hear you say that @debiski . I have one of the cheap 1.7 cu. ft. fridges from Walmart (also available at amazon here http://amzn.to/1nW6ZtL ) and it fits in the walkway of the 10.0 without a height issue. Was it too tall that it rose over the lip of the wall, or did it just not leave enough room for the top to fold in?

Side note if I recall our fridge is around 20" tall.

-Sean[/quote]

[debiski]

The fridge is stored in the garage so I can't measure it ATM, but the problem was that we could not fold the top all the way down with the fridge in it. We've had to transport the fridge in the back seat of the car to the campsite and then move it to the camper once we have it set up.

[daplumbr]

I realize this may not fit into the "affordable" category for occasional camping, but we have this portable refrigerator and I can vouch for it working extremely well. It will keep a set temperature very accurately on either DC or AC power and is very efficient. This is the 40 qt size, but they come in many sizes. This is large enough to hold several days worth of cold food for 2. We bought this as an emergency refrigerator for our cabin when the main refrigerator was not available for a couple of weeks. Since then, we have used it regularly in our cars for many trips as a cooler, plugged into the 12VDC outlet in the rear of the vehicle. At our cabin, a 100Ah deep cycle battery had no trouble running this for almost a week with outside temps in the 60sF. 

http://www.amazon.com/Dometic-CF-040AC110-CoolFreeze-Gray-Refrigerator/dp/B0030G4VBA/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456186197&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=Dometic+CF-040AC110+CF-40

[admin]

Out of curiosity @Merlin, when you were looking at the Dometic did you check out the Whynter models? A 65qt model for less than the 40qt Dometic is listed here: http://amzn.to/21b1Jo8
I'd love to eventually move to something like this both for camping, and backup refrigeration if needed.