The Best Portable 12-Volt Refrigerators For 2022
(Camp Addict does NOT accept payment from any company to review or endorse their products.)
Going on a road trip and want to keep your favorite beverages and food cold? Need to supplement that small refrigerator in your RV or van?
You need a portable 12-volt refrigerator! But which one??? And what should you look for in a portable refrigerator?
Read on to find which 12-volt fridge freezer is best for you.
Portable Refrigerator Guide
Do you need an electric cooler or an actual 12-volt portable refrigerator? Do you even know what the difference is? Read our Portable Refrigerator Guide today and learn all the things!
Why Only Dometic 12-Volt Portable Refrigerators?
If you own an RV, then you most likely have at least one Dometic product in it.
Dometic is a trusted RV appliance manufacturer, but that's not why we rank their portable refrigerator-freezers and their 12-volt coolers as the best.
We do so because, well, they ARE the best!
Here's our reasoning:
What about ARB fridge freezers, Engel refrigerator-freezers or Whynter 12-volt portable refrigerators?
These are three well-known brands in the portable 12-volt fridge market, so why not include them?
Simple.
Either they are (sometimes WAY) more expensive than the Dometic offerings, or they don't have the superior cooling capability of Dometic's CFX line of portable fridge freezers, or sometimes even both.
Dometic has positioned itself to be the leader in the small portable refrigerator marketplace and we see no reason to not go with the leader when they are the best!
ICECO Portable Refrigerators
We recently reviewed an ICECO VL60 dual-zone portable refrigerator freezer and found that it is a good alternative to the Dometic products reviewed below. Once we update this page, we will make additional recommendations.
In the meantime, please read the ICECO VL60 review.
12-Volt Portable Refrigerator Reviews
We broke down 12-volt refrigerators into a few different categories so you can find the one that will best meet your criteria.
These include the best overall 12-volt portable refrigerator-freezers, the best dual zone refrigerator-freezers, and the best 12-volt coolers.
Each of these serves a different need, so let's get to reading and find out which refrigerator review best suits your needs!
Best 12-Volt Portable Refrigerator/ Freezer
Dometic CFX Fridge / Freezers
Pros
Cons
Dometic's CFX line of small portable refrigerators offers efficient compressor technology which means they function like a house refrigerator OR a freezer.
They are small and lightweight so you can take them on the go.
Choose Your Capacity
Continue Reading Dometic CFX Line of 12v Portable Refrigerator Freezers Review
Best Dual Zone 12-Volt Refrigerator/ Freezer
Dometic CFX-65DZ / 95DZW
Pros
Cons
Need to have both a refrigerator and a freezer compartment at the same time?
Then the Dometic CFX Dual-Zone portable refrigerator-freezers are just what you need.
The CFX-95DZW offers true dual-zone capability in that you can set an individual temperature for each of the two compartments.
However, the CFX-65DZ relies on air spilling over from the freezer compartment to cool the refrigerated section.
CFX-75DZ
CFX-95DZW
Continue Reading Dometic 12v Dual-Zone Portable Refrigerator Freezer Review
Best 12-Volt Cooler
Dometic Tropicool
Pros
Cons
The Dometic line of Tropicool 12-volt coolers are a great option if you are looking for cooling (and/or heating) capability without needing a true portable refrigerator.
This is a great option for short trips.
Choose Your Capacity
Continue Reading Dometic Tropicool Portable Electric Cooler Review
Portable Car Refrigerators: True Compressor Technology in a Compact Size
The Dometic Tropicool line has some great 12-volt car coolers.
However, what if you want an actual car refrigerator, there are better (but more expensive) options.
That said, what do we mean by a car fridge?
We mean a portable DC refrigerator that uses compressor technology (like your home's refrigerator) instead of the imprecise thermoelectric technology used by the Tropicool line (and all thermoelectric plug-in coolers).
Dometic CF-18
Dometic CF-18
The Dometic CFX line are true portable refrigerators using a compressor to cool the units. They are great choices for portable car refrigerators.
If you are looking for a smaller portable car fridge, then the three choices below from the Dometic CF line are worthy options.
If you want anything larger than the three below choices, then it makes sense, from a cost perspective, to go with an offering from the CFX line of portable 12v fridges.
(They have a better compressor than the below three CF line offerings, allowing the CFX line to cool to a lower temp).
Dometic CDF-11, CF-18, and CF-25 Portable Car Refrigerators
The Dometic CDF-11, CF-18 and CF-25 are narrow, small capacity portable car refrigerators that have true compressor technology.
They allow you to precisely set the interior temperature.
They can operate as either a refrigerator or freezer, with the capability of cooling down to 0º Fahrenheit (-18º C).
Dometic CF-25
Camp Addict co-founder Marshall had a Dometic CDF-11 (pictured below) for a while.
He was impressed with how well it maintained its cool (see what we did there?).
It is the smallest portable compressor refrigerator Dometic makes, with a capacity of 0.4 cubic feet.
You aren't going to fit much into it, but it will keep the contents at a precise temperature.
And it makes a great center console, cup holders included (2.67" in diameter).
Dometic CDF-11
Dometic CDF-11
CDF-11
CF-18
CF-25
This portable mini-refrigerator costs more than the Tropicool line of thermoelectric portable electric coolers.
This is because they offer the same cooling technology as a full-size household refrigerator.
You get much better cooling capability with one of these DC fridges.
If you need a larger capacity portable car refrigerator, then you should check out the DC fridges in the Dometic CFX line reviewed above.
Dometic CDF-11, CF-18, and CF-25 Features and Specs:
Capacity (in cubic feet, quarts and liters) and Dimensions
Model | Capacity (cu ft/qts/liters) | Dimensions (W x H X D) |
|---|---|---|
CDF-11 | 0.4/10/11 | 9.4" W x 14.1" H x 21.6" D |
CF-18 | 0.7/19/18 | 11.8" W x 16.3" H x 18.3" D |
CF-25 | 0.8/19/18 | 10.2" W x 16.7" H x 21.7" D |
Weight and Power Usage
Model | Weight | Rated Current |
|---|---|---|
CDF-11 | 19 lbs | 2.5 amps @ 12v |
CF-18 | 25 lbs | 3.1 Amps @ 12v |
CF-25 | 28 lbs | 3.1 amps @ 12v |
Specifications:
- True compressor technology allows for precise temperature control
- Power source: 12/24 volts DC or 120 volts AC
- Made from high-impact resistance plastic with extra thick insulation
- Set temperatures between 0º F (-18º C) to 50ºF (10º C) so these portable car fridges can function both as a refrigerator and as a freezer
- Electronic thermostat with digital temperature display
- Three-level battery monitor to prevent the fridge from draining your vehicle's battery (you can choose at what battery voltage the fridge shuts off to prevent complete battery drain)
- Dometic CDF-11 cup holders are 2.67 inches (68mm) in diameter
- Warranty: 2 years
Dometic Portable 12-Volt Refrigerator Accessories
Now that you've purchased that shiny new Dometic CFX portable fridge, it's time to treat it right!
Dometic makes insulated, protective covers for the CFX line of 12-volt fridge freezers.
They also make slides that allow you to access your CFX fridge when it is in tight quarters.
Dometic CFX Insulated Covers
Dometic makes protective, insulated covers for their CFX line of portable 12-volt refrigerator-freezers.
Made from high-quality nylon fabric with extra insulation, these covers improve the cooling capability of your portable fridge (and thus reduce the battery power used), while providing some protection.
The top flap(s) open to allow easy access to the fridge contents, and exterior pockets provide extra storage space.
Dometic CFX-40 Cover
Dometic CFX-65DZ Cover
Dometic makes an insulated cover to fit various sizes of their CFX line of portable fridges.
Click on the 'Buy on Amazon' button below and then choose the model you need a cover for:
Choose Your Cover
Dometic CFX Slides
If you want to install your Dometic CFX portable refrigerator in 'tight' quarters and need a way to access it, the CFX slide is the answer.
You can install your CFX refrigerator freezer on the base of the slide.
Connect it either via the supplied straps or by using screws into the bottom of the fridge.
The slide itself is mounted onto your vehicle, and you simply 'slide' out the tray to access your 12-volt portable freezer/refrigerator.
Each size slide fits two different sizes of CFX portable fridge freezers.
If you have a CFX-35 or CFX-40 refrigerator, then purchase a CFX-SLD3540 slide.
If you have a CFX-50 or CFX-65 fridge, then purchase the CFX-SLD5065 slide.
Finally, if you have a CFX-95 or CFX-100, purchase the CFX-SLD95100 slide.
Choose Your Slide
Conclusion
Having a portable 12-volt refrigerator is handy if you need to keep your food safe and cold for extended periods.
They are great for off-roading and to have extra storage space in your RV for longer trips off-grid.
Read our Portable Refrigerator Guide to learn more about these 12-volt appliances.
Now you have the tools to decide what portable refrigerator will work best for you.
Whatever you pick, just make sure you get out there and use it.
Question? Comment below, but read them first- we don't answer the same question twice!
Now, Camp on, Addicts!
Authors: Kelly Beasley & Marshall Wendler
Kelly Beasley
He-llllo. I'm the co-founder of Camp Addict, which my biz partner and I launched in 2017. I frigging love the RVing lifestyle but in December of 2020, I converted to part-time RV life. Heck, I lived in my travel trailer for over 5.5 years, STRICTLY boondocking for pretty much all of it. Boondocking is a GREAT way to live, but it's not easy. Anyway, I'm passionate about animals, can't stand campgrounds, I hardly ever cook, and I love a good dance party. Currently, I can be found plotting and scheming whether or not to start collecting farm animals (or plotting my next RV trip!) at my beautiful new 'ranch' named 'Hotel Kellyfornia', in Southern Arizona.
Marshall Wendler
Camp Addict co-founder Marshall Wendler brings his technical expertise to help explain RV products in an easy to understand fashion. Full-time RVing from April 2014 - December 2020 (now RVing about 50% of the time), Marshall loves sharing his knowledge of the RV lifestyle. Marshall spends the majority of his RVing life boondocking. He is the part of Camp Addict that knows 'all the things'. He's good at sharing his technical knowledge so you can benefit.
Gee, sponsored by Dometic?
Hey Vanner,
Possibly you missed this at the very top of the article? 🙂
“Camp Addict does NOT accept payment from any company to review or endorse their products.”
It’s simply a matter of feeling that Dometic makes the best 12-volt refrigerators on the market. For reasons listed on this page. While this is true at the time that we wrote the article, that’s not to say it will always be this way. If/when a better product comes to market we will take a hard look at it.
Did you all know that there is a recall on Dometic CFX3 products?
Hey Ben,
Thanks for that. Just don’t have the fridge plugged into both an AC and DC power source at the same time (that seems like a weird combination, so pretty easy to avoid). Dometic will send owners a sticker and revised instructions indicating such.
Domestic is probobly the best, like Ferrari, but most of us cannot afford that! It would be like sell a kidney expensive for many people camping because they cannot afford lodging, etc., in order to vacation. I was disappointed that you did not offer alternatives that rank in reliability and capacity for the price as I had to on Amazon, checking reviews, and finding Alpicool, Kalmera, Jetpower and IceCo. I think just like Honda and Toyota make great cars, which could never be the incredible engineering and designing feat of a Ferrari or Porsche, they meet the needs of most people very well and are a viable option for them. I honestly will never by a Dometic even if I win the lottery because there is a difference between luxury and function, and I think their prices hurt to even look at. I can think of so many more important things to spend money on when preparing gear for camping than a thousand dollar camp refrigerator. I am sure the Glamping crowd will find them perfect, but the rest of us are camping for simplicity and peace, not luxury or to show off how much we can spend on camp gear. There are plenty of wonderful reviews for the other brands by people using them for years, and I think they deserve at least an honorable mention.
Hey Heather,
You bring up a great point – the price of Dometic 12-volt refrigerators. Yes, they are on the pricey side. Yes, we should have alternatives. Yes, that is on our to-do list (update this page).
Thanks for your comment!
You’re right, they are in the upper class, but you always kinda get what you pay for. I bought a VL60 single zone Iceco first of December 2021, and first lasted 3 weeks, replacement died, and 3rd replacement died. I’m looking at the upper end models now, its really hard to say which will last longest…
You should look at National Luna. They are a lot more expensive but they are also far superior, and yes they go down to -30c. They were originally developed to deliver vaccines in Africa and are arguably the best. Made in S. Africa.
Hey David,
That looks like an intriguing portable fridge for sure, but it seems like it’s a more difficult unit to obtain. This brand seems to only be sold by specialty dealers so you have to really, really want one of these to take the time to hunt it down.
The portable fridge freezers we feature on this page are readily obtainable and meet the needs of the vast majority of users.
Thanks for pointing out this brand!
Where is the noise information? It’s mentioned, but the chart near the bottom doesn’t have it.
Hi Joe,
Great catch! Thank you!
That section heading was copied from the reviews above where there is actual noise data shown. But the portable car refrigerators section features units that Dometic doesn’t appear to publish noise specs on.
I’ve updated that section to remove the noise information from the chart header.
Thank you again for pointing this out.
What about the new Truma portable refrigerators? Have you reviewed them? How do thy compare to Dometic?
Hey John,
We haven’t taken a look at the Truma fridges, but at first glance they look a lot like the Dometic portable fridge freezers. Dometic manufacturers portable coolers for multiple other companies, though they won’t confirm who they manufacture for. This is their corporate response:
“Dometic is one of the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile cooling products (including portable fridge/freezers). We manufacture our own branded items and we are an OE supplier to brands around the world. We don’t publicly discuss our private label business; however, our partners are free to disclose from who they purchase product.”
We will be taking a look at current portable fridge freezers, including the new Dometic CFX3 line, later this year. It’s on our to-do list.
Hello Marshall
The Truma Cooler Portable Fridge/Freezer is not manufactured by Dometic. Truma manufactures all our own products.
Please reach out to me if you would like an opportunity to learn more about the Truma Cooler and discuss the possibility of testing a unit for review.
Thank you,
John
Head of Marketing Truma North America
info@trumacorp.com
Hi John,
Email has been sent to your private email address. Looking forward to hearing back from you.
Thank you!
You guys paid by Domestic or what?
Hi “Z”,
Absolutely not.
As stated on every review page on Camp Addict, we do not accept any kind of payment for endorsement of the products we review.
All of our reasons for loving the Dometic portable refrigerators that we do as well as reasoning for why we don’t recommend any others are clearly stated in this article.
Like your site! Not understanding the Dometic pushing on this article. There are good alternatives. And Dometic is not all roses. They bought out fantastic fans and cheapened the motor on them, turning these legendary fans into just another cheap ( yet expensive) fan.
Hey “Guest”,
Glad that you like Camp Addict! Sorry that you don’t understand why we chose Dometic (though we do explain it in this article).
Also not sure what a Fantastic Fan has to do with Dometic’s 12-volt fridge/freezer offerings, other than they are owned by the same company. But we do prefer the Maxxair Maxxfan Deluxe over the Fantastic offerings.
I do have a Fantastic Fan that came from the factory in my 2014 Lance Travel Trailer and have been using it as a full-time RVer for 5.5+ years with zero issues. This is A LOT more use than the typical RVer will ever see with their fans, so I don’t think that the Fantastic is a piece of crap.
We aren’t all unicorns and rainbows with Dometic. We just happen to like their portable fridge/freezers.
I will give you the fact that there seem to be a lot more portable refrigerators on the market now then when we first published this article. We will be revisiting this page in the future to see if Dometic should remain at the top spot.
Thanks for your comment “guest” (and don’t hesitate to use your real name – we don’t bite! 😉 )
Hey, here’s one reason they are pushing Dometic on here. I bought a CC40 in April 2019, plugged into the the 12 volt outlet in my semi on May 1st 2019, set it at the lowest temp and I have had frozen food everytime I’ve open it. I drive all over North America, from 100+ degree temps in the southern U.S. to -40 in northern Canada. It runs 24/7 for the most part. Once a month I shut it down and give it a “rest” and a good cleaning. Best $1000CDN ($700US) I have ever spent!!! I am here looking for a small 12 volt fridge because the 12 volt cooler I have can’t keep up to the temperature inside the cab of my truck never mind the 100 degrees down south. Found some other brands for about $300US but I am going to pay $600+ for Dometic cause as Grandpa use to say, “you get what you
pay for”.
Hi Larry,
Thank you for the real-time review from a happy consumer! The old saying mentioned by yourself (and your grandpa) is absolutely correct… “You get what you pay for”.
These are the best we found to be on the market and so of course they are going to be more expensive than the ‘cheaper’ ones due to the quality, manufacturing, and research that went into creating a product that is superior to the rest.
Happy travels down the road and thank you for the supportive comment!
Hi. I have to say, the information here is astounding. I have decided I will get the compression refrigerator from Dometic. I will be taking a long road trip in my car, but I don’t want to rely on the battery from my engine for charging. Can you recommend a good battery to use with the Dometic that is safe to keep in the car? Thanks!!
Hey Paula,
Glad you like our portable 12 volt fridge page!
If you truly want a safe battery to use inside a vehicle, I’d consider a lithium 12-volt battery. They are really pricey, but they don’t off-gas like a lead acid battery does (they require venting to the outside).
You could get something like a Goal Zero (or one of their competitors – I think Dometic even makes one now but we haven’t reviewed any of these units). This is a lithium power pack that is used for recharging computers, cell phones, and can be used for running 12-volt fridges.
Hope that helps! Have fun on your road trip!
I have a goal zero 1000 lithium battery station. Which is the largest model it will power? I also have a goal zero 400 lithium power station. Will the 400 power any of these?
Hi John,
I cannot answer that question for you as there are too many variables. How long do you want to run a portable fridge off your battery pack? What is the outside temperature? The higher the temperature the refrigerator is in, and the longer you want to run it, the larger battery pack capacity you need.
What I suggest is to find out the usable amp hours for the 400 and 1000 battery stations. Then look at the power usage charts in the above reviews.
Notice that on the charts that show two power usage numbers, these are based on ambient temps of 50º F (20º C) and 90º F (32º C) and with portable fridge interior temp of 41º F (5º C).
You will have to do some math, but it should be fairly easy to get an idea on how long the Goal Zero’s can run the different size Dometic portable fridge/freezers.
Thanks for the question and best of luck finding the right fridge for you!
John, No worries I have the same GZ 1000 Lithium, it’s a beast of a portable power provider, plus it charges quickly from multiple sources concurrently 12V/120V/Solar. I think it’s actually 1045WH using a 96.8AH Battery. If you use a conservative number of 25 Amp hours per day for a 12V typical fridge. (remembering that you have compressor duty cycling) you should get 3-4 days, but beer never lasts that long anyway…
This is an ad for Dometic- I have an AC/DC Engel 46 qt. wired to two golf cart batteries in my truck and it is one of the best investments I’ve ever made. Keeps food cold as long as there is the battery power to run it. Had it for 5+ years so far- no problems with it and I can plug into shore power if I want.
Glad to hear the Engel is working out for you, Al.
As we state all over our website, we do not accept money from anyone to promote a product. We do not run ads. We are unbiased. And everything on Camp Addict is ultimately our opinion, but an opinion based on extensive research and personal experience.
If you look below to the April 30, 2019 comment by Sabrina, I thoroughly cover all the points you bring up, and why we feel Dometic is the better product when it comes to portable refrigerator freezers. Please take a moment to review this.
Every point that I address in Sabrina’s comment is applicable to the Engel line.
Ultimately you will purchase whatever product you feel is right for you. Everyone’s situation is different. There is rarely any one size fits all solution. But that’s what’s awesome about the world we live in – choices.
Thanks for the comment and Camp On!
Would any of the portable coolers work best with my 12 volt aux. supply or my 120 volt aux.supply. My Jeep has both in the cabin.
Hey Dan,
It really doesn’t matter if you use a 12-volt or a 120-volt power source for these portable refrigerators. The units are just as happy with one over the other.
The compressors aren’t more efficient with one source over the other.
So it boils down to which is more convenient for you to use inside your vehicle. If it’s easier to plug into the 120-volt outlet that is fed by your Jeep’s inverter, then go for that. Or if the 12-volt power outlet is in a more convenient location, use that one.
My previous tow vehicle, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, had the 120-volt outlet on the backside of the center console (probably where yours is located?), so this was super convenient for a fridge. However, my current Ram has the outlet on the dash (why????) so it would be a pain to use.
Thanks for comment and best of luck keeping your goods cool!
I”m going to guess you’re sponsored by Dometic, because in my opinion the best 12 volt true compressor refrigerator is an Alpicool. Uses very little energy and the cost is only about 1/2 to 1/4 the price of a Dometic.
Hi Sabrina,
Camp Addict is not sponsored by any company. Just sponsored by myself and Camp Addict co-founder Kelly. 😉
We post the following statement at the top of all our guide pages: “Camp Addict does NOT accept payment from any company to review or endorse their products.” This is also on our disclosure page. We take our integrity very seriously and will not compromise it thru a sponsorship. Not worth it to Kelly or I.
Regarding only featuring Dometic products on this page, we address this above. What we say holds true to the Alpicool line (doesn’t have as low of temps, etc).
Also, if you read the Amazon reviews for the Alpicool, you’ll notice quite a few cooling issues. Food for thought (no pun intended).
Thanks for the comment and Camp On!
Hi Marshall – silly but very important question – I’m mostly considering the CDF 11 to fit between the seats in our sprinter van and act as a console and to keep ice in. But I need to know if our Yeti cups will fit in the cup holders! They are the 20oz rambler size.
Hi TMarie,
It’s a great question. We have contacted our friends who are Dometic reps to see if they can give us an answer on the cup holder size. Once we hear back, we will let you know. Thanks for your patience while we find out!
Thank you!
Hi T Marie,
We heard back from Dometic. The cupholders are 2.67 inches in diameter. A soda can is 2.6 inches in diameter, so they fit perfectly in the cupholders.
It appears that your Yeti is 2.75 inches at the bottom and tapers up to 3.4 inches across at the top, so they won’t fit. Boo!
We’ve updated the CDF-11 portion of the reviews above to reflect the size of the cupholders.
Thanks for your question and Camp On!
Hi, I am interested in Dometic CFX 95DZW 12v for my research purpose. This one has a temperature range from -8 to to -50F. How precisely the temperature is inside? I will be using this to study insect survival, so temperature accuracy would be very important. Thank.
Hi Juan,
That’s an interesting use for a portable 12 volt fridge!
I couldn’t find any data on the temperature swing of the CFX series, so I reached out to the National Dometic Representatives to see what they knew. They in turn reached out to the product engineer that came back with the reply that the allowable temperature swing is 4ºF, +/- 2º from the set point.
For example, if you set the temp to 40ºF, the allowable swing ‘range’ is 38ºF to 42ºF (2º on either side of the set temperature).
Dometic also recommends that if this is acceptable and you are gonna use this for precious research cargo you might want to have some sort of battery backup option (depending on how you plan to power the fridge), use one of the optional insulated covers (we discuss them above on this page), and might want to use an aftermarket temperature recorder to keep track of the actual temps. They suggest the SensorPush Wireless Thermometer/Hygrometer.
I hope that helps and best of luck with your insect research!
just want to ask why is it that after we use the Thermoelectric Cooler under cool mode, water leaked inside. Is this okay?
Hey Noela,
We’d suggest you reach out to the manufacturer and ask them since they are the experts on the ins-and-outs of what is OK and what is causing what with their units. I’m sure they will be happy to help!
Hi Noela.
All air contains moisture. When air warms up, it can contain more moisture. That’s the main reason clothes dry faster with heated air. When the air gets cooled down, it can’t hold on to as much water, so the water condenses on the coldest surfaces.
That’s why we get rain, (moist air from ground level rises up high, where it cools down and the moisture become condensed into droplets), windows fog up on cold days and why fridges etc get wet inside. It comes from the air that we let into the fridge.
In a normal home fridge, that water is drained to the bottom of the fridge, where it’s vaporised back into the air by the heat from the compressor. Portable fridges normally have no drain, so the water collects there. You just have to mop it up…
What happens when i turn my car off and leave the mini fridge in a car for few hours, would it still keep my meat for example cold and not going to spoil it?
Hi Igor. That depends on a lot of factors. How hot is it in your car? How many hours is ‘a few hours’? Does your car have a 12 volt outlet that remains powered when the ignition is off so that the cooler can continue to run (but you have to be careful with this so that your car’s battery doesn’t run down)?
If you are going to do this on a regular basis, and to avoid running your vehicle battery down, I’d consider getting a battery pack (lithium would be good, but pricey) that you can plug the portable fridge into so that it runs while the vehicle is off.
Of course, if you are talking about the middle of winter in Wisconsin, then it won’t be any problem leaving the fridge in the car for a few hours. ?
Hi Guys, as always a good article. There are many other good brands that we’re not typically exposed to in the RV Community. Don’t you love target marketing!! After attending Overland Expo last week in Flagstaff I’m pretty impressed with National Luna, Snomaster, and Engel units and more. Some have built in battery monitors, and low battery shutoff so you don’t kill your house batteries, cool features and most had what I’d consider a low current draw. Dometic was there also, which I’m a fan of, but they have some good competition with experience in harsher Australian Outback and African environments. More choices, they just don’t market to RV’ers.
Thanks, Paul!
There certainly are a lot of brands out there. We chose Dometic for a number of reasons, not the least of which we truly feel they make a quality portable refrigerator/freezer unit.
Little known fact about Dometic portable refrigeration units – Dometic actually owns WAECO, which is an Australian company that specializes in portable fridges and freezers tailored for the harsh environment of the Outback. So, yeah, Dometic has that kind of experience for sure! (Dometic uses the WAECO products and rebrands them as Dometic in other parts of the world, including the US).
Thanks for the comment, Paul, and Camp On!
What portable backup battery would you recommend with the CF-18?
Hi Lisa,
I don’t fully understand your question. What do you mean by ‘backup battery’? How are you trying to operate the CF-18? It sounds like you wouldn’t be using it in a vehicle… Is this true?
The power source size would depend on how long you want to run the CF-18 (or any other 12 volt refrigerator) off the source. The longer you want to run it, the larger the battery (power source) would have to be.
Thank you so much. Here’s our application. We are going to a fly-in for one week. Outside temps will be in the 90s. Each morning we will drive 30 minutes and park for the day. We’d like to have the fridge keep everything at 38 degrees all the time. So I thought I’d plug it into a power brick ($150 on Amazon) to power it during day and overnight park? Is my thinking valid? We could charge the brick overnight at the hotel. Thanks so much for your expertise.
Sorry for the late reply, Lisa. Still getting used to this new commenting system. Grrrr!
Yeah, I like the way you are thinking! Totally doable – using a power brick during the day to keep the fridge cooled. Then recharging the brick overnight.
I’m assuming the power brick you are eyeballing has a 12 volt outlet (cigarette style round outlet) so you can plug the CF-18 into it?
With outside temps in the 90’s it’s gonna be toasty in the vehicle, so the fridge is going to run frequently. Bigger portable battery the better. But what size?
Doing some digging around (thank you Dometic for making this a treasure hunt!), I found the power consumption for the CF-18 to be the following:
At an interior temperature of 41 degree F, and an ambient (outside) temperature of 90 degrees F, it consumes .64 amp hours every hour. So if you are going to run the fridge off your battery pack for 12 hours, you would need at least 7.68 amp hours worth of usable battery. I’d want probably double that to be safe.
Which exact battery pack were you looking at?
Would love to see some info on most efficient power source for Dometic CFX series fridges, they take AC or DC current but which does the compressor work the most efficiently on?
Hey Dan,
Good question! Even though the CFX series can run off of 12, 24 or 120 volt power sources, the compressor itself is one voltage. In other words, the voltage ‘in’ is converted to the whatever voltage the fridge runs at, so the actual compressor efficiency doesn’t change depending on power input voltage.
If you were thinking of running a CFX fridge on 120 volts via an inverter, then this would definitely be far less efficient than running it on 12 volts as there is a loss of energy when you convert 12 volts into 120 volts via an inverter.
If you are plugged into shore power (120 volts), then it’s up to you if you want to run the fridge off of 12 volts or 120 volts. The fridge compressor doesn’t care and is the same efficiency regardless of which voltage it’s plugged into.
Hope that helps!
Is there a big energy consumption difference between the models: 25, 40, 50, 65DZ and 95DZ? Is the consumption a lot more when setting a single zone to freezer instead of refrigeration? What is the difference (other than color) between the blue DZ models and the Grey DZ models? Is one an older model? I had heard one had more extreme cooling capabilities? Thanks
Hi Dean,
The energy consumption specifications that we could get our hands on are all listed in the corresponding reviews. You have to expand the ‘continue reading…’ section to view the specs. You might wish to contact Dometic directly if you need more specific information about power consumption.
I’m not familiar with the blue Dometic models. The only blue portable refrigerator I’m aware of is the ARB line of fridges.
These are not made by Dometic.The current line of Dometic compressor portable fridge/freezers is capable of cooling down to -8 degrees Fahrenheit. I believe older models were rated at closer to 0 degrees, but Dometic has been offering the -8º compressors for a little bit now.
Camp On!
Sorry But, ARB are in fact made by Dometic for ARB to ARB’s Specs and Designs, Side by side ARB are better and once ARB made their Blue series many of the features started appearing on the Dometic Products along with other brands, One of the great features of Dometic Fridge Freezers is the side opening models and the Twin Lid versions, but for a true off road fridge it has to be ARB or Engel.
Hey John,
Yes, the Classic II series of ARB portable refrigerator freezers are indeed made by Dometic. I misunderstood something a Dometic rep told me. The above comment has been modified.
We stand by our assertion that Dometic is the better choice, for the reasons we state here.
However, per ARB, they are coming out with a new line of portable fridge freezers called ZERO in the very near future. They say they will be using another manufacturing partner besides Dometic.
We will take a look at these units when they come out. It’s very possible that we will be adding a best off-road portable fridge freezer category in the future.
Thanks for your comment!