Fridge/Freezer Anyone?

[Midnightsun]

I bought a couple of these back in October 2020 because they would come in handy on the boat. Bought them from Bangood which is a Chinese Amazon style store. I could not believe the price as they were only $155 at the time and one pays a lot more just for a high end cooler nowadays. The unit has a real compressor, runs easily down to -20c or can simply be used as a fridge if one desires. Very, very quiet by the way, almost completely silent. Tried dropping it into the Y just for fun. Holy *sugar*, it fits no problem! Plugged it into the 12v socket back there to see what happens. Runs fine and the circuit does not trip. I assume it will work fine as long as the car is running such as a road trip and once at destination simply bring it indoors and plug into 110v as it runs off both, adapters are included. Not huge but will hold 9 bottles of wine. Popsicles from the trunk?

Need to experiment a little more, right now it is in the car with temp set to -20. Another cool thing is there is an app that can control/monitor the unit from your phone. looking at it right now from my computer in my house and I see it has dropped from +15C to -8C in about 10 mins or less. 12v circuit so far has stayed alive but not sure for how long of if the main battery replenishes the 12v side if it gets low. Takes less than 15 minutes to go from room temp to -20C.

Pretty cool and may come in handy for several.

The brand on this one is iMars however the app says Alpicool who do make one which looks identical so I must assume they are the same.

[US$295.79 13% OFF] iMars C20 20L Car Refrigerator Portable Compressor Fridge Cooler APP Control Digital Display Freezer For Car Home Travel Camping Car Electronics from Automobiles & Motorcycles on banggood.com

 

[Midnightsun]

Also fits in the frunk however one would need to wire it to the battery.

 

[mark95476]

Thanks for the post.

I was looking at an Iceco Go20 freezer to keep in the subtrunk for when I start traveling. It's a bit pricey, but the German Danfoss compressor should be good for a long time.

 

[MY-Y]

Also fits in the frunk however one would need to wire it to the battery.

Where would the heat go? I don't think there is nearly enough ventilation in the frunk for that. Even in the back, I'd want the cover off.

 

[Midnightsun]

There is not much heat at all. After having the unit all night long at -20C in my home I could feel no heat whatsoever where the ventilation holes around the unit are. Not saying there is no heat produced however it is very minimal. I suspect the rear hatch has such a poor seal or lack there of that this is not an issue. The frunk on the other hand on a hot summer day may prove to be a challenge though. Ventilation could easily be added to the frunk by means of a small 12v computer fan. Lots of room if you pull out the frunk tub.

 

[fireball08]

There is not much heat at all. After having the unit all night long at -20C in my home I could feel no heat whatsoever where the ventilation holes around the unit are. Not saying there is no heat produced however it is very minimal. I suspect the rear hatch has such a poor seal or lack there of that this is not an issue. The frunk on the other hand on a hot summer day may prove to be a challenge though. Ventilation could easily be added to the frunk by means of a small 12v computer fan. Lots of room if you pull out the frunk tub.

Thread bump. Any new learnings from this one? I was thinking about long trips in the summer with a powered cooler (no need for ice, wheel it in and out of car without having to take stuff out, etc.). I'd be worried too about heat dissipation if seated in the trunk or trunk wells. FYI, Costco is selling something similar that's a little bigger (https://www.costco.com/massimo-cx30-12v-portable-e-kooler.product.100566474.html), not sure if it would fit the same way....

 

[Johnny Vector]

Thread bump. Any new learnings from this one? I was thinking about long trips in the summer with a powered cooler (no need for ice, wheel it in and out of car without having to take stuff out, etc.). I'd be worried too about heat dissipation if seated in the trunk or trunk wells. FYI, Costco is selling something similar that's a little bigger (https://www.costco.com/massimo-cx30-12v-portable-e-kooler.product.100566474.html), not sure if it would fit the same way....

Agreed about the heat. You can't fight thermodynamics.

However: If you pre-cool the things you put in it, then the only heat it has to lift is the leakage through the insulation. And based on the photos in the original post, it looks quite well sealed. So... maybe? I also would love to see a test of running it hard in the sub-trunk with the lid on and stuff above. Maybe put in a liter of water, set it to -10, and see how warm the sub-trunk gets while trying to cool and freeze a kg of water.

Hmm, if that's still the price, I might just buy a couple thermal data loggers and try it myself.

 

[Johnny Vector]

Also, how did I not know Banggood was a whole site??? I've bought a bunch of Banggood stuff from Amazon.

 

[Midnightsun]

UPDATE

The 12v plug in the back of the Y as we know shuts off when one leaves the car so I was looking for a solution to the issue. The on board 12v battery is so small it would kill it in no time with a direct connection plus the newer units with the lithium battery create an issue as once again just do not have the capacity to keep a fridge running for ant reasonable amount of time.

A battery lithium battery pack solves all these issues except one obviously need to recharge the unit which can be done on the 12v electrical socket of the car while driving although that would be rather long as the battery capacity is 1100wh. Best bet is to charge it up at home on 110v.

The battery pack fits nicely into either side compartment or can be inside the sub trunk which works very well also.

 

[tashtibet]

been contemplating for a while and decided not to get snuggly fit trunk cooler/fridge. watched no of people with trunk cooler and there're little tiny-hence, bought tall, bigger but fits into the trunk. it's

F40C4TMP 30 quart​

 

[Rotarybuddy]

I think 20L might be too small for me, does anyone keep a cooler behind their driver seat? If so, what size? I don't keep my seat back that much so thinking I could fit a 40 maybe.

 

[positiv]

UPDATE

The 12v plug in the back of the Y as we know shuts off when one leaves the car so I was looking for a solution to the issue. The on board 12v battery is so small it would kill it in no time with a direct connection plus the newer units with the lithium battery create an issue as once again just do not have the capacity to keep a fridge running for ant reasonable amount of time.

A battery lithium battery pack solves all these issues except one obviously need to recharge the unit which can be done on the 12v electrical socket of the car while driving although that would be rather long as the battery capacity is 1100wh. Best bet is to charge it up at home on 110v.

The battery pack fits nicely into either side compartment or can be inside the sub trunk which works very well also.

View attachment 826607

What brand or model battery is that?

 

[Rotarybuddy]

I’ve had great luck with a jackery for everything including the 30l I bought.

 

[ScubaStove]

UPDATE

The 12v plug in the back of the Y as we know shuts off when one leaves the car so I was looking for a solution to the issue. The on board 12v battery is so small it would kill it in no time with a direct connection plus the newer units with the lithium battery create an issue as once again just do not have the capacity to keep a fridge running for ant reasonable amount of time.

A battery lithium battery pack solves all these issues except one obviously need to recharge the unit which can be done on the 12v electrical socket of the car while driving although that would be rather long as the battery capacity is 1100wh. Best bet is to charge it up at home on 110v.

The battery pack fits nicely into either side compartment or can be inside the sub trunk which works very well also.

View attachment 826607View attachment 826608View attachment 826609

try turning on sentry mode to keep the rear 12V running, as that is how I get around that issue. Also I believe the car should auto top up the 12V battery when it is low.

 

[Midnightsun]

Yes, found all that out later and should have updated my post. Sentry works as well as camp and dog modes. The 12v battery does get topped off from the hv battery so no problem leaving the fridge running for extended periods.

 

[AnthonyC]

I bought one of these last year for a compact camping trip in my M3 (two adults, two teenagers, dog and bell tent!!). It fitted nicely into the under-trunk and kept our supply of frozen dog food safe for the two weeks we were away. The battery drain was negligible but I had be careful not to cover it as the unit got quite hot and cut out at one point due to lack of ventilation.
The only issue is that condensation forms on the outside of the handle and can drip, particularly when used as a freezer.

 

[drJazz16]

Hello!

Just wanted to ask if anyone has be able to secure a conventional fridge/freezer in the boot area. I’ve not noticed any tie down points or hooks. Mine doesn’t fit in the sub floor storage area as it’s 47L capacity.

Also, to answer the 12v powering down, myCOOLMAN brand has a 15 a/h lithium ion battery that can power the fridge while not plugged into the 12v. I’m not sure if it works with other brand fridge/freezer though.

 

[dafish]

Since we're necro-posting.. Anybody running a compresssor based mini-fridge at 16V (newer MY-3 voltage)?

TIA!

 

[carlrbrugger]

I’ve only had my model y since Thursday, but I have been keeping this in the back (not sub trunk) plugged into cigarette plug. I have my car in sentry mode when not home, and plugged into wall connector when home. I don’t think the fridge has ever lost power, as it’s always at 37f when I look at it.
In my previous car, I had this fridge plugged into a portable power tank 200 watt/hour which lasted like 10 hours if not parked in the Sun. The y is so much easier as I don’t even have to think about it now.

AstroAI 12 Volt Car Refrigerator,... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088FDTTY4?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

[Misterbee]

I have been running a 12-volt fridge in my Y occasionally for almost a year now, with good results. I never wanted to put it in the sub-trunk, out of concern for adequate ventilation. I just ran across this on Kickstarter, and it looks like they may have solved the ventilation issue: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/251809532/worlds-first-portable-freezer-for-tesla-sub-trunk