DOMETIC CFX3 45-Liter Portable Refrigerator and Freezer, Powered by AC/DC or Solar, Black

We used this cooler on a 4000 mile trip over 2 weeks and it worked great. I put it in the back of the van where we could easily access it through the back doors and it kept Our Favorite Drinks cold the entire time. We left it in the van plugged in the entire trip, even overnight, and it never drained the battery. It was set to medium batter saver so the cooler shuts itself of when battery voltage goes below a certain threshold. The drinks were around 54 F in the morning but once the van was fired up it cooled right back down to 34 F in an hour or so. It was so nice having what we wanted to drink, not what some gas station, truck stop or rest area was selling, available to us. And the drinks were much colder than you can get from a convenience store cooler or rest area soda machine. The ice maker works great too, it makes enough ice for 2 - 14 oz glasses, we didn't use it on the trip but I tired it at home on 120 vac before the trip to test it out, it made ice in about 2-1/2 hours. It's pricey but I got it on sale at $800 and used a $200 gift card to get it down to $663. Not having to deal with ice, drying off wet drinks and dumping the water every day is, IMHO, well worth the cost. In hindsight we probably could have gotten by with a smaller one but hey, we put homemade dip, candy, drinks and all kinds of other stuff in there :-)>

This item was promptly delivered in good shape while the packaging box was damaged on one corner. DC and AC cords were in the box. The included manual provides specs, but you have to go online to access the complete user's booklet. The product appears to be well built and sturdy. Inner wire basket included. I tested the fridge half full over a couple of weeks on AC and DC current and it works ok at 20°C ambiant temperature. Set at 4°C, it oscillates between 0°C and 5°C on the display. A thermometer placed inside will indicate 4 to 5°C. Disconnected for 5 hours and without opening the compartement the thermometer (not the fridge display) moved from 4°C to 7°C. I expect this to vary with higher or lower ambiant temperature, depending. The real test will be when we use it on the road, at the back of the pickup. It will be hooked up to the AC120V of the running truck, and then to a Mini100ah LiFePo4 battery. Tested at 20°C, it runs for a solid 84 hours on the battery with about 40% charge left - those batteries should not be discharged below 20%. So far so good. Addendum July 2024: tested during a roadtrip at ambiant temperatures ranging from 25°C to 30° it provided stable inner cooling ranging from 5°(compressor starts) to 0° (compressor stops) over 48 hours at a time; it used 25% of a fully charged 100 ah Mini LiFePO2 battery. Cooling setting was 4°C. THIS IS VERY SATISFYING. The LiTime 20A charger worked well to restore the battery to full charge.

I looked at many different 12v fridge/freezers and it seems every reviewer online holds these coolers as the gold standard. It wasn't cheap but I work away from home and the ability to bring frozen and prepared meals with me has saved time and a lot of money. It works perfectly and it's nearly silent other than the odd time the compressor runs (which most people won't hear unless they sit right beside it). The wifi seems finicky but the bluetooth works great with the app. It is worth the extra initial cost. I also bought the cover for it, fits well and it seems to aid in keeping it cool.

I can't believe I waited this long to buy one. Gone are the days of finding my soggy sandwich floating in my cooler. So quiet you can barely hear it running, yet so efficient it will run all day on my trucks battery. The automatic shutoff is nice, I've never ended in a position that the engine wouldn't start in the morning. 100% recommended to anyone that does any sort of camping or who works from their vehicle.

I love this portable cooler/fridge. It is rugged, well built, the application to control it is easy to use, the electric connector plugs (120v AC / 12v DC) are rugged. My experience showed it doesn't consume much energy when using the 12V which is when it really counts. In some cases I had to leave it unplugged for some time and the temperature raised less than I expected. I was going to buy a Global-Zero portable energy box but since most places where out of stock, I just bought a 12V deep-cycle battery and an adapter for the car-lighter adapter that connects to the battery. My only disappointment was when I received it, I realized I bought the one section fridge instead of the 2 sections. I would have really preferred the 95L model (albeit 5% smaller) but I needed immediately. My must say it was my mistake and my mistake only. Any improvement I wish? Yes, although minor. The documentation specifies you should not power both the 12v DC and 120v AC simultaneously. I wish I could do that. Like many people on the road, I have a generator that I run from time to time. When the generator is running and 120v DC is have available, that should be the energy source for the fridge and whenever the generator is stopped then it should automatically default to the 12v battery connection. Today you can do that, although you have to manually change the connectors to the desired power source, and it is easy to forget. I would be nice if it was automatic. It is possible to make it automatic with the addition of a 120v to 12v DC charger to the battery and only use 12v connection all the time but it is one more item to forget, lose of break.