I am a long time off grid homesteader and I have struggled to find a fridge/freezer that would would work on my small 400 watt system and I have tried just about everything. The Dometics and ARB and Engle are great but they are just too expensive for most of us cheap off gridders to invest in. Ice chests are not efficient and won't keep food frozen and you spend as much on ice in a year as this C20 costs without any of the hassle.
I have had the C20 for over a week now and it works excellent for a single guy and I use it as my regular fridge freezer in my cabin but can also take it with me camping and adventuring which I do a lot. No more messy ice chests and buying ice. It runs great off of DC and at 3 amps on the eco setting with battery protection it won't leave you stranded with a dead battery.
The picture shows the C20 loaded with a weeks worth of food. 2 frozen dinners, pound of hamburger, package of lunch meat, 2 frozen burritos, 2 frozen pizzas, , package of hot dogs, package of salad, bottle of past sauce, bottle of salsa, bottle of mayo, 2 cans of soda, package of shredded and sliced cheese and a quart of milk.
Just a heads up. When I first got this fridge I set it to the lowest -4 setting because I didn't think it was cooling fast enough and by morning EVERYTHING in the fridge was frozen solid. If you are using it as a fridge set it on 20 and then the stuff at the bottom will stay almost froze and stuff on top will stay fresh and ready to use.
It has enough room for an adequate supply of food and still small enough I can take it with me camping and adventuring which I do alot..
Another idea is you could use this as a freezer for all the stuff you want frozen and put in a couple of those reusable blue ice packs and freeze those to use in your ice chest for fresh foods and could even be used in one of those homemade chest air conditioners to keep your places cooler in summer.
I am going to try that when the weather warms up!
I have a full review of this Alpicool C20 on my Solarcabin channel: Alpicool C20 Off Grid Fridge Review
1 month update: I am using this as my full time fridge/freezer in my off grid cabin. I have finally found the perfect temp setting to be 20 which keeps everything just above freezing and that will keep frozen stuff frozen for 3-4 days and keeps my soda and beer at just the perfect temperature.
I am running this off my small 400 watt solar power set up on DC power and it uses so little power I see hardly any drop over night just on battery power.
I noticed compressor noise which is very soft just the first day or 2 and then it faded in to the background I no longer even notice it is running. Kicks on maybe every 5 to 10 minutes just to keep the temp at the setting.
This has just enough room for a weeks supply of food and replace items only as used.
I would give it 10 stars for price, low power and excellent for off gridders!
LaMar- Simple Solar Homesteading.
| Brand Name | Alpicool |
|---|---|
| Model Info | C20 |
| Item Weight | 19.8 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 23.54 x 12.6 x 12.6 inches |
| Item model number | C20 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Capacity | 0.7 Cubic Feet |
| Annual Energy Consumption | 150 Kilowatt Hours |
| Installation Type | Outdoor |
| Part Number | ALPFBM |
| Form Factor | Chest |
| Special Features | Portable |
| Color | Gray |
| Voltage | 240 Volts (AC) |
| Wattage | 45 watts |
| Door Material Type | Plastic |
| Shelf Type | Plastic |
| Included Components | Handles |
| Batteries Included? | No |
| Batteries Required? | No |
| Battery Cell Type | Alkaline |
| Item Weight | 9 Kilograms |
| Number Of Doors | 1 |
