AC/DC refrigerator

[garmp]

Looking for an ac/dc refrigerator For camping. I, and recently, my wife require medication that needs refrigeration, and it was recently suggested that ice & coolers are not recommended, versus refrigeration.
We camp out of a full size van, but are basically tent campers, as that our van affords little room for appliances. Anyone out there know of a worthy unit that is portable, runs on ac/dc, can hold more than one beverage can and doesn't cost an arm and leg? Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

thank you

[markopolo]

A dormitory or hotel room sized fridge might be worth considering. The specs on some indicate that they'd use 500 watts per 24 hours so basically one good deep cycle battery would run the fridge for 24 hours using an inverter. The battery would need to be recharged after that. You'd need a second battery for other stuff like lights and fans etc. Maybe mount it on some material that would dampen the vibration from driving as they're not "mobile" fridges.

Other than that, I can only think of using a normal small rv fridge but I bet they're not inexpensive.

[garmp]

Thanks for the info. My wife found a medical cooler designed for this that isn't too expensive. It doesn't have a compressor, but will only cool up to 40 degrees less that the ambient temp. So we can't go camping when it's hotter than 86. But that's fine with me. Our regular full size van (that we camp out of) is pretty full and the unit would have to be pretty small. Also this is not a permanent thing, so this dedicated unit might be the answer till we can get over this medical phase and keep saving for our B. One of these days.

a B wanna B

garmp

[Mike]

Here's some info from Oasis Montana about solar/DC fridges/freezers. They seem kinda pricey to
me, but might be able to be resold, when your requirement is done, to recoup some of the cost.
http://www.eco-fridge.com/dcfridge.html
or an lpg powered option, also not cheap, but looks useful and is compact
http://www.lpappliances.com/RC3000.html

Or, if you did have room for a small propane tank, you might get a portable camping fridge from
C/W or some place like Bass Pro or Cabelas or Gander Mountain. The propane powered camp fridges
generally seem pretty reliable and don't use all that much propane, as far as I know. You can
usually find a refill place unless you're really "out there" some where.
http://www.campingworld.com/category/rv-appliances/130
http://www.insideyourrv.com/buying%20an ... ator.shtml

Just some other thoughts/options if the small meds-fridge doesn't work for you.
Good luck with it.

[VernM]

My Engel AC/DC 40-quart refrigerator-freezer runs solely on solar; a Group 27 powered by 190 watts of solar on the roof of the van. I rarely take advantage of AC since the DC works fine even after 2-3 days of no bright sun. They have several sizes.

[Mike]

You do have some great toys.
Not much by way of updates I can find on the missing Alberta seniors.
The suspect's sister defended him, said he wouldn't/couldn't do it. Blood/water?
I think the trail is slowly going cold....

[Photog]

Edgestar has the AC/DC fridge units that would meet your needs. They are about $200 less expensive than the Engle, ARB, etc. They can take a beating on bumpy roads, and keep on ticking; because they use a Dan Foss compressor, not a normal refrigerator compressor.

http://www.compactappliance.com/FP430-C ... s-Freezers

The controller box and compressor areas need to be opened up, and make sure all electrical connections are properly seated.

Folks in the overlanding community, use these for all their refrigeration needs, when away from civilization. Low power draw allows them to run on vehicle battery for a couple days. They are sooooooo much nicer than a cooler box puddle.