SnoMaster Dual Zone Fridge/Freezer Questions

[Blowby]

Quick question do these fridges generally run on both 12V and 110 or are they generally strictly 12V.
Glen I am now going to blame you when my wife asks why i am spending more money on van accessories

[Otter]

Originally Posted by Glen

... When I'm looking a the specs & comparing the electrical draw between similar units, what should I be looking at/for? I see info on amps, amp hours, watts, jiggawatts, Etc. I'm assuming this will be a concern when not hooked up to power or when driving.
Thx

You want to compare what each fridge is drawing at amps-per-hour (usually APH). But this is a weird thing because compressor fridges aren’t always “on” meaning they’re only drawing amps when they’re actively cooling. So the manufacturers usually post numbers that describe an average draw and with modern chest-type fridges it’s usually in the 1-5 aph range. Looks like yours is running from 3-5 aph. The Dometic I have uses a little less 2 aph. The reason you care about this is because you’re not on shore power, you’re pulling amps out of your battery. So, if you have 100 amp hours available to you in your batteries (remember, only 50% is available from lead batteries; near-100% is available from lithiums), at 5 aph, you divide 100 amps by 5 amps and, theoretically, you can run the fridge for 20 hours. If your draw is 2.5 aph, you could run for 40 hours. Make sense? So, the lower your amp-per-hour draw, the more hours you can run your fridge.

As far as putting your batteries inside... yes, if they’re lithiums. A) no off-gassing issues and B) so much easier to work on and C) they’ll stay warmer so you won’t have charging issues.

https://www.snomasterusa.com/faqs/

I’m assuming that you don’t have the fridge yet and you’re building the cabinet before you get it. If I could make an obvious suggestion, it would be a heckuva lot easier to build it when you have the fridge. Then you don’t have to guess at anything and maybe tear it all out when you’ve guessed wrong. Don’t ask me how I know this.
.

[Glen]

Originally Posted by Blowby

Quick question do these fridges generally run on both 12V and 110 or are they generally strictly 12V.
Glen I am now going to blame you when my wife asks why i am spending more money on van accessories

It seems like most of them can run on both. I'm now leaning more towards the TruckFridge. I gotta make a decision soon, while she's still saying yes...

Otter: I am going to have the fridge in hand before building the cabinets around it. At this point I'm just trying to get a general sense of how big of a fridge and how much space it will take up. Initially, the depth of the cabinets on the fridge side is what I'm trying to estimate.

[Blowby]

Originally Posted by Glen

It seems like most of them can run on both. I'm now leaning more towards the TruckFridge. I gotta make a decision soon, while she's still saying yes...

Otter: I am going to have the fridge in hand before building the cabinets around it. At this point I'm just trying to get a general sense of how big of a fridge and how much space it will take up. Initially, the depth of the cabinets on the fridge side is what I'm trying to estimate.

Thanks Glen, after doing a little more research I also found that a lot of them do run on both.I figure if I do get one I will just move it to the garage between uses.
The Truckfridge is definitely a contender,and I was also looking at the Dometic due to the low amp draw that it states.
Another thing that is evident is that they must be selling very well as most manufacturers appear to be out of stock of the popular models.

[VOLT]

Suggestion is to go with a Truck Fridge. Hinged door . Cleaner install. Not the sand capacity as a cooler style. Maybe they have a 5 cf ? You don’t want to be sliding the big cooler out and the have to open the lid. If your set on that style look at an edge star ! Half the money. I have one and it’s been tested in Costa Rica for 6 years and never failed. Not loud and not hot. Isotherm Boat fridges is a better choice if you like the sliding deal.