1-Year Review of My CHEAP Portable Car Fridge (Alpicool C20 Long-Term Review)
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- čas přidán 9. 04. 2021
- I've been using the super cheap Alpicool C20 portable fridge for all of my car camping adventures over the past year. How has it held up, and what do I like and not like about it?
** The fridge on Amazon: amzn.to/3s6ohpg (Affiliate link)
** Inner and outer dimensions: suvrving.com/wp-content/uploa...
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#fridge #portable #camping
Thanks for watching! Here's the direct link to the fridge on Amazon: amzn.to/3s6ohpg (affiliate link)
good to know! i MAY GET ONE FOR THE TRUCK OUTINGS.
I appreciate your honest, not paid for reviews. 👍
Just bought one using your link,thanks for the review😎
Good review!!
It’s been 3 years, is it still kicking?
One thing I found was good to do with my fridge to help even out the temperature swings was to freeze some bottles of water and stick those in with my normal bottles of water and food and drinks..
It's like adding ice, but without the mess, and you do eventually drink the water at the end of the trip so it's not really wasted space.
You could wash your dishes, hands have a shower or even give it to your dog to drink? Also always keep a couple gallons of distilled water for emergency radiator issues if your going out bush! This could be the difference between getting to a mechanic or being stranded!
I have Alpicool 53 quart which gives me fridge and freezer separately and I love it !!!
Nice! I don't have a huge need for a freezer on my trips... except for maybe ice cream. How great would it be to have a dedicated ice cream freezer? 😁
Good review. Nice to see a review by someone that uses the product for a long period of time.
And someone who actually purchased it themselves. Too many product whores on CZcams pretending getting something for free doesn't affect their reviews. They goes against every study ever done on gifts.
I have the exact same fridge. It worked out well on my 7-week trip last summer/fall. What worked well for me is to plug my jackery 500 into the car and the fridge into the jackery. The jackery would charge faster then the draw from the fridge. So the fridge never had to turn off during my trip. It came in handy recently when I was getting a new fridge for my home. I put the Alpicool in freezer mode and stored my freezer contents in it. I stored the refrigerator contents in a cooler with freezer packs.
Thanks for sharing, Peter!
Thank you for the comment. I’m going to try this on my road trip!
Peter, I am curious which model of Alpicool that you are using? Thanks.
@@johnberger3338 Same as Tristen's. The C20.
The problem is that Jackery supports pass-through usage like this, but the manual states it will damage the battery life. I returned my Jackery and picked up a LifePo4 pack.
I always like how you speak in practical, everyday terms. Your use of anticipating scenarios of how people might use and item, or want to use it, I think is a great way of presenting. Thanks. I've already decided that out on the road this year I'm going to "graduate" from a cooler to a fridge.
Thanks Eric, I appreciate the kind words. I think you'll be really happy with the fridge upgrade. It's definitely worth it.
I made a simple Reflectix cover (made sure not to cover the side vent👍) for my Alpicool. Keeps it cooler and takes care of the bright display at night. 👍
Nice! Thanks for watching, Judith.
i went all last summer and fall just running mine off a jackery 240 with a 100 watt solar panel plugged into it o it charged in the day and powered the lpicool all night and never got below 70% ever. it worked great. pass through charging is awsome !
Great to hear it worked for you! Thanks for watching, Dave.
This is the comment I wanted to read!
THank you! This was my exact question. I bought the solar panel/ generator combo and was wondering if itll keep my fridge running
Thank you. This comment is about the only useful comment here.
I have the Alpicool mini. Only holds 10 liters. It takes a much smaller footprint. After using it for month long trip, I wish I would have gone a little larger. Same with my jackery. I had the 240 for this trip and I ended up buying the jackery 500 when I returned home. The 240 worked fine because I moved around a lot. I had no issues and didn't notice a noise while trying to sleep. Love my Alpicool!
Those really tiny ones look great! Thanks for watching, Cathy.
I can think of a reason to use the Alpicool for making ice. I could set the Alpicool at it's lowest temperature to function as a freezer and also carry an ice box. I could use a jug of frozen water to cool the ice box and keep another jug to freeze in the Alpicool. I would keep the food that I don't want to freeze in the ice box and keep it cool by exchanging the frozen jugs daily. This would allow me to take ICE CREAM in the Aplicool !!! Excellent review Tristan. Thanks for the video!
This is the best review, with the most detail, I have seen on these types of refrigerators. Good job. Great details without being overly complicated.
I use my Jackery 240 with my C20. I set it at 38 f, and at 70f ambient temp the Jackery will last about 9 hours. So it’s ok for overnight camping but then I have to recharge the Jackery and try to keep the Alpicool cold. The Jackery takes 7 hours to recharge to 100%. So, I wish I had the 500 or 1000 model. But, I also camp with a regular ice cooler and both will keep my food safe. When we travel and stop to sightsee, I unplug from the car and plug into the Jackery. Overall, I make things work as needed and do not mind having the regular cooler and the Alpicool. Mostly we have power at campgrounds, but some trips we are in both non electric sites or electric sites That’s when we plan food for ice only. Then the car takes care of the Alpicool when traveling. We have camped this way for almost 2 years in our Runaway Range Runner . Your review is right on with my experience. Thanks.
Great, sensible long term review. Thank you. I've got a C20 that I plan on putting in my Sienna between the front seats, and possibly attaching the console "tray table" to the top of the alpicool, if clearance allows. Keep on travelling, and thanks for bringing us along, it's very inspiring!
Just got one on Prime Day. Holy Hell.... They're $230 now, just a year later! I paid $170 and thought I got a deal.
Really impressed with how effective and compact it is. It fits nicely in the rear foot well of my 97 4runner. By the time you deduct the volume of Ice, it fits as much as I was packing in my 50L Yeti. Fits 1L bottles standing up. Haven't calculated the power draw yet.
I put mine on a foam pad to keep it off the hot floorboards & that significantly reduced the noise.
I kept the foam packaging that it came with and it helps significantly, especially the foam on top of the bulbous lid.
I've had mine for 2 and a half years and it works great!. Thanks for the video.
Great to hear! Thanks for watching, Mike.
So glad that you gave this review! I have been researching exactly this one you are reviewing and was looking for info on how the Jackery 500 would do with it!
Totally stoked! You made my day! Thanks! 😃🙌🏼🚗
Fair review. I have the sane unit, and have run 24/7 for about a year in my garage to keep beverages and it works very well. No complaints. Thanks for sharing.
Ive had my Alpicool C20 for about 2 weeks. It sips energy. Very pleased with it so far!
Great review... particularly the Q&A at the end - very informative, straightforward responses.
Really appreciate the review. I'm currently working on outfitting my SUV for short camping trips and have been on the fence about whether to get a cooler or fridge. Definitely leaning toward the fridge now. Thanks!
Thanks for the review on how it's worked. Since I'm in CA could not get it shipped here (prop 65 and cancer warnings) so got the JoyTuTus brand. I'm very pleased with it and it's nice having cold food on the road. I power it with my Jackery 300, I'm on the move everyday so that works. My compressor does not come on much, maybe once or twice a day for 15 minutes. I've been using it in freezer mode before taking off on a trip, I've gone two days without the compressor coming on. Then it just slowly warms up to 35 degrees. Glad it has worked out for your needs, sweet price you got for it. 👍😊
Tristan, in my opinion - nobody explains it better! You answer every question I get as you go along. Best reviews! I can’t wait to get a frig. Ice is very hard to find here at Lake Mead area!
Have this exact same fridge and run it using either my truck when driving or a Jackery 1000 when parked, and I love it. Was a little worried since I do a lot of off-roading when traveling, but the bumps and uneven terrain have not effected its performance at all. Totally agree that it is a big improvement in convenience and space saving over an ice chest/cooler. Highly recommend it!
Thanks for an honest and thorough review. I have been wondering how well an Alpicool works versus some other more expensive (and they are all more expensive) units. And, thanks so much to all of your subscribers who commented about their experiences in using these units. I now feel confident that an Alpicool would be sufficient for my needs. It is great to know that I can get a unit that performs well without spending several hundred dollars.
Everything you said about this is exactly correct. I have my Alpicool with a Jackery 240. On a multiday trip, I found that it would keep cold overnight, but the power station needed to be recharge fully over the day. Great for a long roadtrip, driving 8 hours or more a day. I always felt that it would hold 2 weeks worth of cold food if you only cooled a few drinks as needed. 20 liters of food (in plastic bags) would be a lot of packages of meat or veg!
I kept the Jackery plugged into the car 12v, so that it would recharge when the car was running during the day. Whenever the car was turned off, during the day at stops or all night, the fridge would keep running. A+ review and fridge.
Thanks Gene! If you're going to be running it off of something like a Jackery 240 (and have no solar), you really need to drive a lot each day, as you said. Just an hour or two won't cut it. And yes, my fridge is often at least a quarter full of drinks 😁
Thank you so much for this I've been wondering about the Apicool.
I'm so happy to see your review. I bought the same one about the same time. I've been very happy with it, I went through a learning process re car charger vs battery pack (aimtom 540wh). I appreciate your posts.
Great video! I've had the same one for about a year and love it too. I got a little fridge thermometer to throw inside that's been helpful
Great review. It was a pleasure to watch.
I’ve had a great experience owing the Alpicool C20 as well. Good review. Thanks!
I’ve had my Alpicool 15 for 3 years and it has NEVER FAILED ME! I live in my minivan & buy only the food I need for cooking 1-2 full meals with my instant pot. I put that food into storage container and place in the fridge once cooled. The rest of the fridge has fruit so I can make fresh liquids to drink. I agree it’s a fantastic buy with small footprint. Also I want to say I really like your channel been watching for a loooong time thanks again!
How much power do you need to run it? I have a jackery 300 and 160 at the moment
Very nice review. I have the Alpicool c50 and really am glad I purchased it.
Thanks. You always give valuable info! And like someone said a review from something you’ve been using for awhile! Thank you
This was the best review I have seen yet thank you very well balanced video
A great and honest review and so many are not. I agree it is all dependent on what you expect and how you plan to use it. I have a C30 because it has handles that I can strap it down but I have been pleased with it. The fridge keeps a steady temperature of 38 on ECO mode and I use it from my 520wh RockPals. In some of my testing I have gotten 2 12 hour runs out of the power station without having to charge it. In reality that would not be happening but it is nice to know. For the money you can have anything better.
Great informative review. Just purchased from Amazon and look forward to using for long camping trips.
Really great review, the Q&A adds quite a bit of context. Prices have definitely crept up on these.
Your reviews are always grande!
Thank you for explaining everything. I was afraid I would have to spend 3 or 4 times as much but for now this is all I need.
You have so many very informative videos! Thank you!
I use my Alpicool 20L primarily as a freezer and it does fine. Temp never rises above freezing so frozen food stays well frozen.
It takes months before defrosting interior seems appropriate. Don't worry about that.
Let's Roll!
🐺
Good to hear it's served you well :) Thank you for the review :)
Good review, I bought the C40 a little over a year ago. Didn't know if I would like a fridge or not, so I didn't want to go expensive. The fridge works great both on the road/off the road and at home for extra fridge capacity. Also have a solar generator which runs it fine when camping.
For the price this has been excellent! There have been a few times that i’ve used it in my home as extra frig for drinks or as a freezer. As I have home canned meats, dehydrated foods and freeze dried foods I just needed something small to carry a gallon of milk but have decided to use it as a freezer by putting in a gallon of water and smaller quarts of water and use those in a small regular cooler to keep my drinks cold but have another set of water bottles freezing to rotate. Our family goes to Yosemite every year and the ice is very expensive! This worked very well for that and of course, my husband had ice cream for those hot days. I’ve had my Alpicool for over 3 years and when it gives up well, didn’t pay that much for it so it’s paid for itself already.
I have the same fridge and the Explorer 500. In the eco mode at 37F , ambient room temperature of 75F , the explorer powered it for 37 hours with 25% battery life left.
Appreciate you for the review
Thanks Jeff!
I've been using this same fridge on my sailboat for about 2 years now and it is fantastic and totally agree with everything said. Your comments are exactly the way I use this fridge, economy mode and set the temp about 39 degrees, run off my house batteries and have never had an issue. I actually came back to the Amazon Alpicool site to buy another one, one to use as a fridge the other to use as a freezer for longer off-grid stays and saw this review.
Great review! So much helpful information-
Excellent review, very thorough! thanks!
Thanks Stephanie!
I used the AlpiCool C15 for several years full time van living
---running from a 105 Amp hour AGM 12 volt (which also serviced my heavy computer usage) charged from foldup solar panels
---the math was pretty much the same:
28 Watts for 5 mins. out of every 23 minuets (or 25% of the hour) =7 WH,
plus 2 Watts for (75% of the hour) = 1.5 WH
---so overall just under 9 WH
---9 WH / 12 V = 0.75 AH x 24 hours = 18 AH / day
---or 9 AH over-night when I didn't have solar input
---it is so much better on a Jackery 500 because you have the full 41 AH rated capacity instead of just the top 30 AHs usable portion of a standard "100 AH" AGM battery
We have an Alpicool 60qt. pretty much the same as yours, but much larger. Ours has wheels with retractable handle. We made a trip from Texas to California and back hitting Disneyland and several parks, Sequoia, Yosemite, along the way. The thing works great, no ice to deal with. We freeze some of our bottles of water and set the set point 40 degrees while on the road. When we would make an extended stop, say like at Meteor Crater in Arizona and the unit was off for several hours at a time the frozen water bottles kept is cool just fine. The thing works great. We would take in to hotel rooms and plug in with no issue. Next morning load in back of Tahoe and plug in with 12v cord. Well worth the money for anyone who travels the roads.
I have used mine on a couple of trips, one 11 days and it worked well. I only have a Jackery 160. I used the Jackery on a couple of nights in the 50s and it worked but had to recharge the Jackery by morning. Thanks for the info about the car battery option. I will check into that further. Good video.
Great, informative video. Thanks, Tristan.
As usual great helpful video
Thanks MUCH for great share and video! Great information and put in on my wishlist for my next Van I hope.. Saw the Rav in background, and had to search for solar on roofbox, as it seemed like another great idea! Thankas again, and ALL THE BEST to you! Cheers from PNWest :)
The solar on the cargo box works great!
Great review.....excellent explanations!
thank you!
Great information, Tristan. Appreciated.
Great Review 👍
Good review !👍
Excellent review. Thank you.
A suggestion for more room harbor freight sells the cargo carrier to install in the trailer tube hitch at night you could place it outside covered or open depending if is raining or cloudy, for more room in bunking time. Also wrap a bungee cord around it outside to keep out small animals out of your freezer. Hope that helps with you extra space in the car.
I wish I had one of these on my trip from Chicago to Anchorage in 1993. I got a nasty case of food poisoning after something in my cooler went bad (even though I was consciousness about keeping it filled with ice). I had to give up camping and got a hotel in Trout Creek, MT to ride it out. Not fun. BTW, the CDC recommends keeping food at 40⁰ or less for cold storage.
Thanks for the detailed review.
I don’t know if somebody else already mentioned this, but like in my car, all the cigarette lighters were switched, but I was able to get in the fuse box and move a fuse to a different location, and that allowed one of my cigarette lighters to stay on all the time you may look into that😊
I've ran one of these for several years non stop on my boat as a full time freezer... never failed me though before putting anything in it I ran it full power for 3 days to ensure it was fully chilled inside... I power it by 2 120aph leisure batteries hooked into 2 150w solar panels... just bought an alpicool 50l fridge to go alongside it too
I'm very pleased with my Alpicool C20 in that it has a small footprint and does well to keep my food and beverages cold on my overnight trips. I use a Jackery 240 and it's fine for one night. I do plan to get a Jackery 1000 when I trade my Jeep SUV for a van or pick up. In the winter I sleep in my SUV and haven't had any issues with "hot air" or noise.
Thanks much. Very detailing, I like it!
Getting one very soon!! Thank you
Great review. 👍 I'm in the market for a travelling fridge , so this has helped. Thanks!
Good honest review thank you.
My daughter and traveled 3000 miles cross country and the Alpicool worked very well keeping our food and drinks cold. The temperature did fluctuate but never caused us concern for the contents.
I have the older version of this. I've had it for 3 years and it is still running. I keep a thermometer in it to make sure it is keeping the correct temperature, and made a custom case for it, out of reflectix and it helps it run a little less. I also typically throw a blanket over the top when not using, which keeps the sun off of it, and provides a little extra insulation. I run it off the car while driving (and have a sticker to remind me to plug it into the Jackery on my dash) and I keep it plugged into a Jackery, and the Jackery is plugged into a foldable solar panel, while in camp. Love the Alpicool!
How many watts is your jackery? Could I run this on a 300w?
@@einnockate I have a 500, but you could run it on a 300w if you are not running much else, and you charge the Jackery every day with an ample-sized panel or by plugging it into your car while driving. I used a 240 watt Jackery for a weekend trip and did this. I typically charge my phone and ipad with an external battery (charged by a small panel) anyway or charge your electronics while driving. Summer will not be an issue, but in Winter you might need to use car battery to fully charge the Jackery, if you panel is not at least 100 watts. The trick to using this efficiently, is to always use it in “Eco” mode, and keep it plugged in while you are charging your Jackery, (to make full use of all the available sun if you are using solar) or if you are charging the Jackery from the car….same thing. It is surprisingly power efficient.
I have the same brand fridge but the smaller one. Love this fridge. Not fancy and it sips power. I run it on my Battle Born 100 AH battery with no problems. I charge my battery as I drive and so it works great for me.
Have you frozen ice with it?
How many hours will it run on your 100ah lithium?
Great and thorough review tysm🎉
Very helpful!! Ive been thinking about getting this exact fridge. I think you sold me on it.
This is a helpful product review, thank you
Great review! We use the smaller one, Alpicool C15, hooked up with a Jackery 500 and it keeps us going for about 4 days at around 8-10°C without charging or using the car alternator to power the fridge. We chose the C15 so that it could fit underneath our sleeping platform in the back och our Defender, easily accessed on a slide-out platform from the rear passenger door. I'd say a Alpicool + Jackery combination is an affordable and robust setup for most car-camping situations.
If I wrote a review on my C20 (or C16) it would go exactly like this-Right down to the panel lights, which I solved by putting it under the bed. The vibration from the compressor starting DOES wake me up at the beginning of a trip, but after a night or two, I sleep through it. I run it on a timer so it shuts off at sundown and comes back on in the morning, so the solar can support it. I keep water bottles in the bottom to keep it cool at night. It’s nice to have a cold drink but in the end, I find it is a luxury. I usually travel with non-perishable food so in the winter, I leave it at home. However, in the Utah desert in the summer…it’s VERY nice to have.
Come on folks....this channel ROCKS. Lets get some more SUBS here !!
Thanks for the review....getting ready for long road trip and will be buying based Aplicool C20 on your review.
Best Regards
Excellent review.
I have all those Jackery power stations too! Kid of overkill, but I love them! ❣️
I have the Alpicool T36 Dual Temperature Control 12 Volt Refrigerator 38 Quart Portable Car Fridge Freezer (-4°F~68°F) - I make dinners
and place them into the freezer section - I move one package into the frig area early in the morning and its thawed for dinner time.
Perfect timing -- I was literally just thinking about what kind of fridge I'd want to live in my car or a pick-up truck (still in the dreaming/planning stage). Now I know! Thanks. (Edited to say: I'll buy it through your amazon if you have one to get a commission, btw.)
Thanks Julie! It's a good little fridge for the price.
thanks for this review, great information.
Thanks for watching!
Good review ! 👍
Good review! The price is not that high. Would like to see how it holds up over the next year or two. We bought a Dometic 55IM CFX3 (pricey but with great warranty) and have used it constantly for 1 year as a spare home fridge/freezer. We mainly have it for power outages during wildfire season in California and for camping.
Very good info. Thanks!
Great review. Thanks
Great review
This is a very helpful video, I am converting a shortbus and considering option that will use less power than the mini fridge I have.
I ordered this after watching this video. I tried using the referral link, not sure if it worked. Thank you for making this video.
Thank you for the vid, I think your reviews are very practical! Can you do a video on beginner camping price points ex: what you may need under 200$ or 500$ i don’t know what I would need to camp in vehicle, is power bank necessary right away etc. thanks!
Tristan: I recently bought the next size up (I think, c30), have used it for 2 trips 10 days each, quite satisfied with it, powered it from car during day, from a battery during night if it was not cold out, worked good for us. Wanted to get away from buying ice, and as you say, the mess of melted ice getting the food wet. Before that we tried the Coleman "thermo-electric" cooler, which claims to keep contents 40 degrees cooler that ambient temperature, that did not work satisfactorily. It did cool somewhat, but 40 degrees was probably a stretch, and the variablity of the temperature made it useless. That is the big advantage of the compressor refrig in my opinion, the interior stays reasonably the same temp, good enough for food preservation, and no water, no hunting for ice.
Thanks for this review. I was thinking about buying one. I would have to buy a bigger Jackery. I only have a 160.
Well presented. I'm actually taking a break from installing a Engel combi and Duel input 50 amp Renogy controller/charger. My requirements are different then yours. It's a good thing there are so many options out there for us now!
Great video. If all that money spent on bags of ice I/ we could afford several Alpicool refrigerators. Thank you for sharing. Aloha🤙
Thanks for your review it help me out thanks
I have the same fridge and I use it with my Jackery 500 and I love it, I think for the price it is well worth it.
I agree. It's a convenient little fridge. I have a little Jackery 240. What I do is plug the Jackery into the car and run the fridge off the Jackery. When driving the Jackery stays charged.
just plug into car, and leave the full jackery alone
Great review. I was wondering what your estimate is of the AVG watt draw over 24hrs set in eCo mode. Your info on the % used looks to be about a 10w/hr draw average over 24hrs. Sound close?
I think I'm going to buy this frig. Thanks bro
ty 4 sharing!