OT= Portable refrigerator for the patio?

caliking

I'm considering buying a portable refrigerator/freezer to take on trips (e.g. Dometic, ARB, etc.) and figured I could use it outside by the pool (under a patio) when not travelling. But, I'm not sure how those do when plugged in continuously, like an outdoor or indoor fridge is. 


Any thoughts/suggestions would be welcome. 

Legume

I got nuthin.

U_tarded

Last weekend our camping neighbor had a self built sprinter van rv.  He had a large ARB fridge in there.  Basically said it had been running non stop for 2 years, but that is inside his insulated van so I don’t know if that helps much. 

HeavyG

A coworker had an ARB on his sailboat that was run 24/7/365 via AC when docked and DC/solar when sailing. Never had problems.

RyanStl

The folks on the Land Cruiser forums love their ARB fridges.  I have no experience though.

fishlessman

i had a dorm fridge outside on the deck a good 10 years, i think my sister ended up with it. a good purchase at 75 bucks, survived college, survived the deck. about 5 cu ft

speed51133

are you thinking about a thermoelectric refrigerator (do not use a compressor or refrigerant)?? or just a small fridge?

https://www.thecoolerzone.com/best-thermoelectric-cooler/

caliking

fishlessman said:

i had a dorm fridge outside on the deck a good 10 years, i think my sister ended up with it. a good purchase at 75 bucks, survived college, survived the deck. about 5 cu ft

I have thought of that in the past, but figured I may get more use out of the portable fridge/freezer for trips, etc. 

The ARBs and Dometics are pricey. I ordered this form Costco:
https://www.costco.com/massimo-cx50-12v-portable-e-kooler.product.100566509.html

I'll return it if it craps out in less than 7 years   Will probably end up with one of these that has a rechargeable battery, and a solar panel to charge it.

fishlessman

caliking said:

fishlessman said:

i had a dorm fridge outside on the deck a good 10 years, i think my sister ended up with it. a good purchase at 75 bucks, survived college, survived the deck. about 5 cu ft

I have thought of that in the past, but figured I may get more use out of the portable fridge/freezer for trips, etc. 

The ARBs and Dometics are pricey. I ordered this form Costco:
https://www.costco.com/massimo-cx50-12v-portable-e-kooler.product.100566509.html

I'll return it if it craps out in less than 7 years   Will probably end up with one of these that has a rechargeable battery, and a solar panel to charge it.

thats a much better price than the ones i just googled.  i liked the fridge though, had all the condiments out there. after college that fridge stayed out there through our winters as well, i dont know how it kept running come spring when it got plugged back in.

frazzdaddy

I have had a 24x24 cube portable in constant use for over 20 years. 8 of those were outdoors.

caliking

frazzdaddy said:

I have had a 24x24 cube portable in constant use for over 20 years. 8 of those were outdoors.

Deets? 24” high won’t fit under the truck’s tonneau cover, but I’m interested in that size, if the price is right. 

caliking

speed51133 said:

are you thinking about a thermoelectric refrigerator (do not use a compressor or refrigerant)?? or just a small fridge?

https://www.thecoolerzone.com/best-thermoelectric-cooler/

The thermoelectric units can only cool down to a certain temp, depending on the outdoor temp. So, 40F below ambient temp , in TX during the summer,  is 50F-60F. I'm looking for a unit with a compressor that can freeze or refrigerate, as needed.

The ones with Danfoss compressors are pricier than the ones with LG or Chinese compressors. 

I bought the Massimo because of Costco's return policy. It's apparently a rebranded Alpicool product, which gets decent reviews on Amazon.