The Setpower FC15 & PT45 - Are budget electric coolers any good?
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- čas přidán 3. 06. 2023
- The Setpower FC15 & PT45 - Are budget electric coolers any good?
I've been on the fence about getting an electric cooler for a while now. One of my least favorite things to do after a trip is clean out the ice cooler. Invariably, melted ice water gets into any food in tupperware or ziplock containers. And then there's the water that gets caught between the label and the bottle of Gatorade. Seriously, what sadist designed that thing?
My research said Iceco or Dometic make the top of the line electric coolers. But I really, REALLY don't want to spend that much money. I'd heard that Setpower made a great budget friendly option, so here we are. Can a $370 electric cooler do the trick? How about a $140 one? Come to find out, Setpower makes a solid electric cooler. If you want good features, good quality and don't want to break the bank, Setpower is the way to go.
Discount code (16% off - it was 12%, but they updated to 16%!): Jerry Arizona
Discount link: www.setpowerusa.com/discount/...
I bought the 15 quart version a couple weeks ago for $118. I thought what the hell for that price. I have a 42L Iceco but it's a bear to lug that around and get in the backseat. I thought the 15qt would be too tiny but is the perfect size for day trips. As Jerry said, it will go cooler than your setting. I started at 32 but it would go to 27/28. Temps are spot on. I leave it at 32 as nothing will freeze if just doing a day trip. I did leave it in the car for a few hours while I went camping and it held the temp but it was only 90F, not the crazy heat in Phoenix. Unless your car is running, I would get a small solar powersupply. Mine is 600 watts and would run the fridge for two days. I also have a 100 watt solar panel and with that, if you have sun would run it forever with plenty of juice to spare for batteries, phones, etc...
I had a Dometic front loading frig/freezer - piece of crap. Removed it from my RV and replaced it with a 45 qt ARB top loading frig or freezer (not both) - much better. The PT45 seems like a great deal for what it does. Thanks for the review Jerry.
i am looking at a fc15.
i am adding a roof rack to my impala and plan to add the biggest solar pannel i can fit. i plan to get two 100ah lifepo batteries i can mount in the trunk one for my CPAP when tent camping and one for an electric cooler for trips and camping.
I have the PT55 and it's great. We can load up all kinds of drinks plus food for weekend trips, but i'm confident we could go much longer. I'm interested in the FC15 just for a drinks / snacks cooler for non camping based road trips.
Thank you. Very thorough. I have been investigating these two for a little while.
I appreciate this video I’ve been getting so many adds for this cooler so I wanted to check it out and find a real review, I live in Tucson and I do a lot of camping and hunting and off roading so I’ve been very interested in a nice cooler like this but don’t make a lot of money so this caught my eye but wondered how good could it be at such a low price compared to the big brands thanks for a good review👍🤘
They will handle it! LOL! Awesome video! My PowerSet is coming in the mail today! 20 liter one.
Thanks for your honest, thorough and entertaining review of this electric cooler. I'm looking for a smaller electric cooler for my hiking trips and have been going blind reading reviews of a bunch of other brands. This one popped up and I thought, "Oh no, another one to consider." But watching your review as an actual user (not an obviously biased infomercial/review), has pretty much convinced me to pull the trigger on this one. I'm gonna give it a try. Thanks again.
I've been leaning more and more to using the smaller unit on my shorter trips. Just not enough space in my 4Runner for the large one. It's working great so far.
Great review.
Thanks so much for this! Much like yourself we've been looking at purchasing an "electric cooler" for some time now but haven't made the plunge. This has been very informative. Looks like you can get something that's decent without breaking the bank! Likely will now take the plunge with your generous 15% off and review as the carrot!
Hope you enjoy. I'm definitely a fan so far. Gonna keep using and testing them.
Thank you Jerry!! We bought the aj40 and saved $32.00. 😊
U have nice way of teaching
Do they offer solar charges for there coolers
Dometic has partnered with igloo and has the 83 qt 80dz. I line the idea of just hooking up the cooker to 300” watt Lion Safari slolar generstor. Put the solar panels on the roof of your mini van while you are there. Put solar panels inside van windshield when ur at work. Plus if you have a portable ac running inside ur van that will prevent your electric cooler from over heating.
In Alaska your truck is hot cause your trying to stay warm, in Nevada your keeping your rig cool so fridge would work better in hot areas if you already keep it inside clinate controlled environment
Jerry, have you tested the coolers through the summer heat yet? Specifically leaving it in the vehicle here in AZ. That's where I believe most fail to keep things cool / cold.
I haven't, but I will be using them moving forward, so I'll find out.
My Setpower AJ50 will keep below 32 F inside my vehicle when parked on a hot day in the Socal desert (but it will draw 55 watts continuous if the vehicle is 100 F all day even in ECO mode. My AJ50 is 3 years old now... works great. I am going to pickup a FC15 to be strickly a freezer for an upcoming camping road trip.
@@nr552 i would normally recommend to just go up to the fc20 but if using just as a freezer then the fc15 is plenty.
The exterior mounted handles are not only there for lifting the fridge and transporting it, but are also there to tie down the fridge when traveling down bumpy roads.
ARB, Dometic, Snomaster, National Luna and Engel. They all have benchmark testing. These inexpensive fridge/freezers I'm not seeing that. Or any published data. It reflects in pricing. Not saying the inexpensive fridge/freezers are bad. But it's not uncommon to see ARB's, National Luna, Engel and older Dometic/Waeco fridges that are 10-20+ years old in the back of trucks in Australia and South Africa. And the aforementioned companies sending out 100's of test samples.
It's pretty easy to get away with the less expensive ones when they are not subjected to everyday use in pretty extreme environments.
I think the inexpensive ones are fine for weekends and various things. And will probably do great in a van, big truck or where they are not subjected to the extremes.
Within the last 5-6 years the explosion of 12v fridges have came onto the market. And it generally causes high priced items come down. I'm not seeing that with the higher end companies. So it tells me they aren't so worried.
Great reviews. 😂 I loved this guys humour 😂. Most likely around my age mid 40s and I felt every joke lol. To be honest I’d likely buy both. That 15 would be great for the summer… I live in southern commiefornia and it gets really hot in the summer and not having ac I’m always chilling in my tundra in the park reading or playing on my switch for a few hours to not die at home… but I also lived in the mojave desert for 5 years and I’m a huge fan of camping. The 15 looks like it would be a permanent stay in my truck being so small and the big boy for camping.
Good review. Thank you. Wondering where you found the info on how to adjust the temp offset (display vs actual). Please help point me to where I can find that info.
The person I spoke to at the company told me about it. I swear I saw it again in the manual or from an online search, but I can't find it again now. You can probably reach out to customer service if you can't find it.
“….I don’t need to know Celsius.” Love it. 😂
I wonder how long the cooler will run if the car is parked just out of curiosity I know you can set the three different levels but is it going to run for 8 hours or 3 hours curious minds want to know
Unfortunately, I can't test that. With my 4Runner, when you turn off the ignition, it kills the power to the outlets. Really a pain in the butt. But you can check the website or other sources for approximate run times.
I would highly recommend a portable power station to go along with your portable fridge err cooler. Why worry about a dead car battery at all. Also, in the heat crack your windows to allow the heat to escape.
@JerryArizona actually there is a nod to fix that so you can get power from all the 12v outlets in the car even when the car is off and key out of the ignition. I've done it myself, it's easy, and it works. czcams.com/video/McTsV9Hd8ss/video.htmlsi=CUV3kdf8E633Gv3E
Does anyone know if the PT series will run on 24V?
Suggestion: compressor cooler and non compressor cooler. Then you don’t have to be concerned with the word fridge.
Excellent review; I want to keep equipment smaller, of course, but without sacrificing minimum needs.
For me, two-compartment unit is ideal. Can even freeze small water bottles and use them as ice packs for smaller, day trip, soft side coolers.
What kind of warranty does this product have?
Wait there are 2 of you?
Just ordered a the same PT 45. It was 303 usd total. Hard to believe this will work, but giving it a chance. Lol
Bought a cooler yesterday on Walmart for 200 usd. Mentioned 9 days ice. But I watched a review, and it looks like it needs to be fully loaded with use to still have some at day 9. Lol
Hope you get your Forerunner back!
Soon! I'm ready for it.
Are you concerned that it is made in China? Electricity codes, etc.?
I wouldn't. There's a lot of USA made gear that's garbage.
All your pro top of the line camping cook gear like anything made from Jet boil, Coleman, Stanley, or top line lithium batteries like Jackery, Eco Flo, Goal Zero, bluetti, etc. camping gear from well known companies like One Tigris, Nature Hike, Carthartt, Dometic Coolers etc .... They are all solid pieces of gear and are all made in China. Not all china made stuff is garbage. Likewise, Not all USA made stuff is good quality or up to code.
Most of these portable freezer refrigerators are made in china
Awesome！Setpower fridge freezer are kind of like ours. Antuncle made in China. We are the wholesaler having over15 years experience in this industry. If someone is interested in it, feel free to contact me.
For business
Costco will sell you the igloo 83qt elec cooler for $700