Edgestar 43qt fridge/freezer

[GMAs]

Got ONE... about a year ago...

It works great but.....

Be very careful about the DC power cord on the side... you have a tendency to break it off if the cooler moves around.. and they are very EXPENSIVE... to replace. I broke mine.. and instead of buy'n another power cord I took it apart and installed a more common DC connector...went to the Electronics parts store and got the plug.. and put my own power leads on it. The Cig plug that comes with it is very cheep... china quality.

Other than that it is very quiet.. some vibration can be felt when its run'n but nothing more than the compressor and the internal cooling fan.

Like any other 12 volt elect refrig.. makes no matter which one you get.. they are are about the same quality these days ... probably made at the same place too... but remember it will drain the bat's if left on and you don't charge them frequently. (Don't believe the amp cap of the battery either... as it will suck 'em down faster than a kid drinking a soda...) The auto shut down voltage is below what you can start the van back up with.. so word to the wise.

As to the cooler.. yes we like it.. made a slide out compartment under the counter along the left side of the old van .. behind the drivers seat. Got some of them tool draw'r slides with the latches so it can be locked in position... yet can be unlocked and slid out for use.. and yes a kid can sit on the top of it without crushing it.. but wouldnt go over 75 lbs...

The nice thing about it is that you can unlock it.. and take it outside the van to use under the awning... or take it in the house and use it for party's n all... but way to heavy to load up in the house and try to one man carry out to the van... its got lots of room in it for a lot of HEAVY stuff (beer) etc...

don't expect to plug it in and get it to freezing temps inside very quickly... it will get their but... takes about 2 hours or so of run'n

As to freezing down everything.. nada.. put your greens in tupperware containers and place on top... the bottom will freeze.. so will the little side container.. but the big section won't get that cold... so things stay fresh if not in contact with the inside wall of the cooler.

Easy to clean out too.. and yes you can use ice in it as well if you don't have the power... nice thoughts on the drain on the bottom... but don't think I would drink the ice water as the alu inside is not food grade.. I recon...

A good buy and seems to be quite well made... except for the 12 volt power connector.

... as to the smaller ones... a couple of others in our group got the smaller ones so they can sit between the two seats in the ford van... and yep they are good.. but the first time out the latches on the smaller one broke...kinda weak area... but not matter.. the lid is heavy enough to keep the thing closed... most have changed them over to the ring snap latches and/or magnetic ones.

[louie]

I had one of these for three years and it took all kinds of abuse and just kept right on running. I could leave it inside my car on a 110 degree day and it always kept my food at a nice 35 degrees. The only reason it went out on me was I left it in the rain. Also like the fact it has a built in thermometer which is lacking in my norcold.
I am new to a Norcold fridge and norticed it said something about shutting off if outside temperature gets above 110. A bit concerned by this as summer days in the desert will easily get the interior of my van way above 110.

[BroncoHauler]

Had mine for just over a year now, but honestly, it's seen more use as a portable fridge around the house and special events, than it has as a vehicle-based fridge. It does continue to work well. Just this weekend, I used it to chill four 12 packs of sodas (fit perfectly in the large area still in their 'fridge packs' if you remove the metal large basket) for my son's birthday party. Used the small basket side to chill other items.

As has been mentioned the 12V power cord is crap. When I first got the fridge I already knew about that, and even while being super careful around the cord, I broke the connector where it plugs into the fridge. Fixed it, but still need to find a more robust and secure alternative. I am also considering some way to improve securing the fridge in a vehicle. I have concerns that the handles are not the most secure as tie-down points, but haven't taken the time to develop an alternative.

All in all it gets the job done. I think the new ARB fridge is definitely a better fridge, but I got this fridge for about half the price of the ARB so it's a tradeoff.


Herb

[GMAs]

Herb... others

What I did was go get a nlyon molex plug from the electronic parts store.. much more rugged as well as then both of the power inputs can be added to just one plug.. don't know why they didn't think of that... you can re-work the computer plug (120vac) to where the new 6 pin (0.093 dia pins) will work in the same spot...OEM Molex type 6 pin connector P/N 0003091062 it also then allows you to disconect it all with one plug... as the 12 volt power auto discon when its sees 120vac. The plugs are cheaper and more common... as I use 4 of the pins (each pin can handle up to 17 amps DC) for the 12 volts DC.. and the other two for the 120 v ac. I then have a cord made up so that when the refrig is outside under the awning or in back with the camp kitchen it still can be hooked up to power... outside protected plugs.

As to mounting it inside.. I have mine designed so it will slide out from behind the drivers seat along the left side wall... and back in when not needed to save the room. It is on drawr track rollers like a shelf. To which then we have feet recesses in the shelf to maintain the position... we also have it so its locked into storage position with a ball locking pin at the bottom edge of the slide drawr. That keeps it from sliding out when y ou make that fast corner or hit that "little" rock on the trail... grin

If one wants I figure that you can mount something on the bottom side where the feet attach.. otherwise I would be afraid of hitting the coils inside the wall area. murphies law you know...

But when the locking pin is removed the refrig can be slid out, unplug'ed and then lifted off for removal if needed... I have made up several other patch cords to hook it up to power either outside the van or at home. (them their plugs they use are expensive... ouch... for the same price I got 3 of the molex plugs... [photo][img]OEM Molex type 6 pin connector
[/img][/photo]
[photo][/photo]
well that worked... hmmm http://www.molex.com/molex/products/fam ... connectors