Alpicool K18 Car Fridge Portable 12/24V 18 Litre Mini Fridge Freezer Car Refrigerator,Electric Cooler Box for for Camping, Campervan,Vehicle, Truck, RV, Boat, Travel, Pinic

I'm using this in a little transit connect microcamper powered by two 120w solar panels on the roof, which split over two charge controllers and which feed 2x banks of batteries. My "primary" bank for cooking, lighting, usbs and the inverter (150ah - 2x75ah deep cycle in staggered parallel) and a second "auxiliary" bank of two random mismatched car batteries (also staggered parallel totalling 135ah), which is purely dedicated to the fridge.Previously I was using a peltier-based (thermoelectric) cool box which drew 3.7a *constantly*, and would drain the fridge bank completely in under 24 hours so I fitted a 30mins on, 30mins off timer and whilst that just about worked at the height of summer due to lots of solar power (tested during literally the hottest days on record), even with bottles of ice to help it along, (or ice bought under way) it was still only achieving around 9-10 degrees C, so food was spoiling much quicker than it should.As soon as the weather got to be less than monster sunshine the peltier setup quickly proved no longer viable. At the time I was only using one panel so my first thought was MORE POWER so added the second panel but even that wasn't enough for the increasingly grey uk weather, so I had to go for more efficiency instead. gah!First I tried to buy one of the yokekon fridges which looked pretty decent but unfrotunately the one I bought got damaged in transit and needed to return it, and there were no others to be had so was back to the drawing board.Eventually after much frustrated digging through lots of reviews it seemed like the Alpicool devices looked like the most promising - and whilst this one (G22) was a bit more expensive than I could really afford, the ice-cube tray is what swung it for me.I'll need to double check but if memory serves me correctly it was using about 2.8amps when the compressor was running (which is less than the stated 40w which should work out to 3.3a) , and whilst obviously it needs to run continuously initially, it doesn't really seem to need to run that often to maintain temp.As soon as it arrived i let it stand for the required 6 hours, then tested it to 0C, then down to the max frosty setting of -17C and then put it in the van, set it to 2 degrees c and set off on my travels. It was a bit of a gamble as to whether it was going to work power-wise but thankfully it didn't disappoint.Even on a very grey weekend trip away where it rained most of the time (late october in uk) my fridge battery bank ended up with power left over. With the peltier unit it had always been struggling but thankfully with this one I had power to spare - which was just as well because it was very cold and I was getting very little from the solar. Even so there was enough juice left over that I could actually heat using that bank, which I very much appreciated because it was pretty much brass monkeys weather.Even with the fridge maintaining 2deg C, running some USB stuff off that bank and even some heating, we still never dropped below 12.2v which is pretty impressive (3 days away, 2 nights, pretty much constant rain with just a few non-rainy interludes). The fridge never reached the safety disconnect voltage so can't comment on how well that worked, which seems like a win tbh.The build quality seems nice and there's some well thought-out touches. There's a little chain to stop the lid from bending back too far and damaging the hinges (which the yokekon doesn't have), the light inside is very handy for when you're looking for a late night snack without having to turn lights on (also not something the yokekon has) and the controls are pretty intuitive and work well. Tbh I wish our house fridge worked this well and the controls made as much sense.I wouldn't suggest sitting on it but other than that it seems sturdy enough, and given it's a tiny van, any available flat surface is much appreciated. The insulation seems pretty good and my food stayed pristine throughout the trip. I literally didn't need to even think about it the entire time, and to me when something is that good that you forget it was even an issue before, that's a really good sign.Apparently there's an app which connects to the fridge over bluetooth, and which I didn't really see the point of, but being a tech geek I tried out of curiosity. However it wasn't happening on my android phone and just crashed when trying to connect, but really.. whatever, no big deal. I found I just set the temp and then left it alone, and didn't really need to worry about it again, so not really sure why I'd need an app anyway.There's also a couple of nice thoughtful touches like as well as the current temp the display shows the battery voltage and it also has a usb charging point. I've not actually tried using the usb socket since my rig is littered with USB sockets anyway, but i thought it was a nice feature.For me though, the thing that sets this fridge apart from the others I was looking at, and which convinced me to go a little over budget was the ice-cube tray. If you look on amazon you'll see there's plenty of similarly sized fridges, and some of the bigger ones have ice compartments but most of the smaller ones do not, and as someone who enjoys a G+T with ice along with her spectacular views, this was definitely a stand-out feature, and worked very well.Some of the reviews seemed to be a bit underwhelmed by the ice-cube-making but perhaps the temp of the ice tray is affected by the temp of the main compartment. I ran it at 2deg C and whilst the ice took a while, it was solid all the way through and worked great.You can actually run this as a freezer too - when I first got it and was checking it worked (after my previous disappointment with the damaged yokekon) I was very wary of the claims that it would reach 0deg in the 20mins or whatever it claims... but it absolutely did! so once it reached 0 deg C I cranked it all the way down to minus 17C or whatever the max was just to see if it would do that and it just did that too with very little effort.Presumably it'll use more power to maintain lower temps so prob bear that in mind but my freezer thermometer confirmed it was getting around the claimed -17C. awesome :)Unfortunately I don't yet have readings of the actual watt/hours used since I was running direct off the battery with the shortest possible cable to minimise attenuation, rather than through the charge controller, but I'm about to fit a power analyser so if that works out I'll update this review with actual power usage figures over time.It's now been just over a week or so since I got back from my trip, and I've just left it running and despite it basically chucking it down with rain most of the week - the fridge is still just in the van doing its thing. Spot on :)It does seem kinda ridiculous that in the house we're getting price-gouged by the energy companies to the point that we're sitting in the dark and cold and having to obsess about turning everything off, yet in the van there's always cold beer and more power than I know what to do with thanks to free sun energy.. but hey.. strange times.In conclusion - whilst I definitely overspent on this quite a bit, I really don't regret it. I love devices that spark joy, and ones that spark joy and can bring forth icy G+Ts I like even better, and this does exactly that. Maybe I'm easily pleased, but being able to sit and enjoy a spectacular view and then just be like "ok well I might just have some ice-cubes with that" just seems like pure luxury :)Great job Alpicool! Thank you :)

Bought this to go camping. Tried it on 240v at home, worked well but couldn't get it to make ice cubes, which was annoying as why we bought this G22 model. But when using on 12v in field it did produce ice, so no worries.!We ran it at 4 degrees celcius sat in a hot tent, and it worked very well, cold drinks etc, ice cubes.Used a 12v 100ah lithium leisure to run it, and was playing with a solar panel ( sometimes 1x100w or 2x100w together in series) and controller to see if sufficient power to keep battery powered up to run fridge... Long story, but seems that even in hot sunny weather and set at 4 degrees celcius it used 10wh at most on most days, and two days it was 20wh. So not very much, and little solar set up was plenty to keep battery fully topped up while powering fridge.Happy with fridge, keeps things cold, makes ice cubes in 12v mode, remarkably economical with power. You can hear the compressor kicking in, turning on and off, not completely silent, but not a great noise. We didn't turn off at night, but that is an option to avoid noise and save yet more power. Size of this G22 seems just right for two people who like cold milk, beer and cheese! Think it 20 litre, possibly 22 litre..We're happy with it.

I recently had the opportunity to try out the Alpicool K25 25 Liter Portable Car Fridge Freezer, a portable 12v fridge that has quickly become a must-have item for my outdoor adventures. Whether I'm camping, tailgating, or simply taking a road trip, this fridge has proven to be a reliable and convenient addition to my gear.One of the first things I noticed about the fridge was its compact size. It's small enough to fit in the backseat of my car or the boot, but still large enough to hold plenty of food and drinks. The interior of the fridge is well-designed, with an additional comparnment that make it easy to store a few cans of coke!The fridge is also incredibly energy-efficient, thanks to its 12v power supply. It runs quietly and smoothly, and I can easily power it with a car battery. The temperature control is accurate and consistent, and I can set it to keep my items at the perfect temperature for hours or even days at a time.Another great feature of this fridge is its durability. It's made from high-quality materials that can withstand rough handling and outdoor conditions. I've taken it on bumpy roads and it has held up perfectly. The compact size also makes it easy to carry around.Overall, I highly recommend the Alpicool Portable 12v fridge to anyone looking for a reliable and convenient way to keep their food and drinks cold on the go. It's a well-designed and energy-efficient fridge that is perfect for outdoor enthusiasts, travelers, and anyone who wants to enjoy the convenience of a fridge wherever they go.