Fridges Are A WASTE of Money! (mostly)

Camping fridges are a waste of money! Does that sound right? In this video we'll explore that statement with a versus shootout of the twelve volt fridge against the cooler/ice box. If you are considering purchasing either of these items, I'd love if you could use the affiliate links below where you'll get the best price, and I'll also get a small kickback :)

[mortyoreilly]

My mates chipped in and bought me an Engel 40l for a wedding prezzo. My wife was not impressed. That was 23 years ago and she now thinks it’s the best thing ever. So many uses and it’s never missed a beat. A week ago it served up ice cold beers from the back of my 4wd after we’d been hunting for 3hrs in 35C. A cooler box would have melted by then.

[glennjackson]

Combination of both for 3 week plus remote trips for us. We freeze bottles (becomes our emergency water) put in a very old, fiberglass "cooler" with our fresh meat (Fiberglass gets 7 days easy). Set the fridge to -18 for our frozen meals/meat. Once through the fresh stuff, a frozen meal goes to the cooler then when enough room, a bottle goes into the freezer and each day swaps with another bottle to re-freeze. We have spent many weeks at a time without having to see another soul using this approach. And yes, you nailed it!

[Anglesandacid]

Fridge in the 4WD has been handy for me beyond camping trips, as I can reach for a cold drink after work, decide to hit the grocery store first when doing a long errand trip and not worrying about milk etc going bad, and lastly you can throw things in while en-route on unplanned day trips when you find a nice bakery but aren’t hungry enough to eat that vanilla slice they sell so you can eat it later (when they would otherwise be closed when you’re on your way home).

[maxhugen]

You summed it up pretty well. 👍 Having been camping for _many_ decades, long ago I had an 80L Engels fridge in a camper trailer, which could be divided into freezer and fridge. It was powered from an aux. battery which I'd recharge by running the 4wd on idle for 1-2 hrs/day. After 5 years the compressor packed up, which I replaced. A couple more years and all the mechanics had rusted too much, not helped by camping near the sea. End of fridge. Expensive for the amount of actual total use.
Now I'm tent camping with daughter and 3 grandkids, and use two mid size coolers. One for food, some which is packed in good water proof plastic containers, chilled by frozen water in a 2L plastic milk bottle, frozen meat and frozen precooked meals, plus a bit of ice. The other cooler has two frozen bottles of water and lots of ice, for the drinks. 😎

[stevepark]

Many years ago, before getting
dual batteries. I ran an Igloo esky. High quality. After a long day of driving up and some steep hills and rough track. I found the ice smashed all my cans, sausages and burgers. After an hour or so of boiling up warm water to clean the Esky... That was it !! Spent the money on second battery. And got my Engel. And never looked back at ice again. Cheers thanks !!

[scottbeattie]

Great information backed up with facts Alex. Another pro for the cooler is that it makes a great floatation device to hang on to if the boat capsizes. I survived my first 5 years of camping with an Esky but when I got the call for a 3 week trip to Fraser I stumped up the cash for the Engel and it’s been an awesome addition for the last 20 years. Keep up the great content

[Weston_Works]

I like your point of view and your practical way of thinking. Something people don't realise is frozen "hard" water (ice) can be -2 degrees or -20 degrees and that makes a massive difference when buying from an open pallet outside the servo on Australia Day or taking it out of your deep freezer at home. So make sure you get the coldest ice possible for max long term coolness. 😎

[FergHyde]

I like camping for an extended length of time when possible. Before I bought my fridge, I had (and still have) a 70lt cooler. A hot tip is to put a couple of inches of dry ice in the bottom of the cooler, then a couple of layers of cardboard, then your ice, etc, like you would normally use your cooler. It gives you a minimum of an extra week to ten days out of the same amount of ice. Next hot tip - put your frozen goods down the bottom on the cardboard and not your beers because they will freeze. The cardboard will not go soggy, initially, because the dry ice keeps it below zero degrees.

[grahamwilkins]

You nailed it, but and you know there’s always a but lol. The battery set up is rarely only to run a fridge, usually to run lights cooking etc depending on how much you want to take with you. So probably fairer to add the extra pros of fitting the battery system.

[toddmillar]

Definitely nailed it. One pro for the fridge you didn't mention is you can use it as an extra fridge at home when required say like hosting Xmas lunch. I use one of mine to get my beer to perfect drinking temp as my big beer fridge isn't cold enough (poor on my behalf, I know) but that temp control you mentioned perfect funnily enough I'm out bush for the weekend watching this and have a new vehicle that I haven't set up a battery system in yet so I've compromised, I borrowed a battery box and run my 60lt as a freezer with meat and ice, using the ice in an esky for drinks. Not having decided on how to power up a camping gear review on the pros and cons of dual batteries v battery boxes v all in 1's could make a good vid. A lot of research for you but a good vid.

[OnCountryWithMick]

Absolutely love having a fridge in my car. I would have to say its about the best upgrade I have done. While there is nothing wrong with using a cooler when out for a trip, having the fridge in the car is a permanent thing. I always have cold drinks in the car so no matter where I go I don't have to worry about ice, I can throw cold foods in there when doing groceries on a hot day to stop things like ice creams melting on the trip home, I can throw cold foods in there for a picnic lunch etc etc etc etc. I do still have my old Kmart Coolers and there is nothing wrong with them as a back up but my fridge is brilliant.

[Ranger]

I inherited an original yellow 40 litre Engel fridge from my father in law that did the Gibb River Rd back in the early '90's. It still works perfectly albeit a bit less efficiently than my newer model which is at least 10 years old which I bought 2nd hand at a good price.
The whole of life costs on both these Engels (and the associated battery and solar set up) makes them an affordable and convenient camping option while underlining why buying quality (the best you can afford) is the way to go. With each trip away, the cost equation makes them "cheaper" to use.
Another enjoyable episode. I like your analytical, numbers based approach. It's certainly how my brain works.
Thanks.

[seanchristie]

Fantastic breakdown, love the detail you went to as usual.
Convenience would have to be the main reason for a fridge. I have mine on the back verandah with drinks in it.
The other thing that you save is space for a fridge as esky's usually have thicker sides for insulation. A great way to conserve ice is to pre prepare meals n cryovac them and your meat in portions and freeze them as flat as possible

[markrossnagel]

Great video, thanks. I weighed the pros and cons for quite a while before making up my mind. I got the Ninja cooler with the built in food drawers to keep things dry and cold. Never looked back, it was the best thing. It kept ice for 5 days without having to replace any and food stayed cold and dry. The hype to get "new and improved" stuff is so crazy. At 66 yrs old and having been camping all my life, I have found that many times, the old ways are the best ways.

[baconliontigers]

The main pro is not driving an hour to the nearest town everyday just to get ice

[Verdigris.]

I recently bought a dometic ~46l fridge to replace my yeti icebox. It's immediately become a drink cooler on the laundry bench, so I think you may have missed that a powered fridge could be useful all year round. The Yeti is good for camping and for parties, but not all year round. Secondly the Yeti which I think is about ~35l seems to loose about hajf the capacity to ice. I find if I fill it first, then I can add maybe 2 bags of ice. Point is no volume loss with the electric. Still I think your advice that new people should start with an esky and it will last and be useful for probably longer than the electric fridge is valid. I've seen a few of your videos now, and after this one I've chosen to subscribe. Thanks.

[timbucktoonotforyou.]

Fridge is always good for backup if you suffer from blackouts at home.

[michaelnotarianni]

Perfect time as I’m looking at investing in a fridge but can’t decide what brand or if it’s even worth it
Great work love you’re videos and appreciate you’re effort

[ElfAzzid]

I have the set up for a fridge. 138aH GSM batterybox, a single flexable solar panel on the roof, and wired to the crank battery via a voltage sensitive relay. I installed it all myself, as simply as possible. I have a Cheap fridge from Kings. Ive had it for about 3 years so far.
My fridge is on 24/7 as all my food and beverages for work for the week are in it. I pack it all on sunday and I'm good to go.
Couldnt do that with a cooler.

[imac]

Well done on a great vid. A help full tip ! I have an engel and bought the outer insulation cover and the first thing I did was get a box cutter and cut that fly screen material out around the air vents . Made a big difference so the fridge can breath as it should.