Fridge Recommendations for Beach

[Carlosvandango]

Hi there

I'm looking at getting a fridge for my beach - any recommendations? Was thinking of getting the vw climabox unless anyone has a better suggestion

Regards

Keith

 

[MattBW]

Hi Keith,

I would personally avoid the climabox, it is a thermoelectric coolbox and will run continuously and run a battery down very quickly (less than a day usually) as it does not shut off when down to temp. It also will only reduce internal temperature to below ambient not to a set temp. The VW box is great when the engine is running but not for camping long term in my humble opinion.

You ideally want a compressor fridge but they do cost more.

If your budget stretches to it I would look at a Waeco CFX series, the 28 is very highly regarded and popular as the perfect size vs capacity for a Cali beach.

Alternatively if you don't want to spend as much as a compressor fridge you can go for something cheaper but with mains functionality, that way you can run it on the 12v when driving and plug it into hookup when you arrive.

Other makes of fridge worth a look are Engel and Webasto.

 

[Sad]

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/recommendations-for-fridge-for-2-seater-beach-please.24459/

Few recommendations through this thread... Have a look with the search for more threads covering the same...

 

[MattBW]

There are a lot of threads on the forum, worth a search (top right) and have a read through a few.

Good examples here:
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/compressor-fridge-question.26095/
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/another-fridge-thread.16752/#post-187590

 

[hirsty]

I think we should have pinned threads at the top of some of the forum headings - fridges being a prime candidate.

 

[MattBW]

When I get a bit of time I may merge a few fridge threads and pin the resulting one.

 

[Melanie Day]

We have a dometic one, fits between front seats has 12v and plug charging and can even freeze. It's sturdy enough to stand on and although inside is a little small it does what we need.

It's easy to move, we put it inside awning if on EHU.

Currently getting cold prior to our trip today, note essential beers not purchased yet!

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[soulstyledevon]

Hi Keith,

I would personally avoid the climabox, it is a thermoelectric coolbox and will run continuously and run a battery down very quickly (less than a day usually) as it does not shut off when down to temp. It also will only reduce internal temperature to below ambient not to a set temp. The VW box is great when the engine is running but not for camping long term in my humble opinion.

You ideally want a compressor fridge but they do cost more.

If your budget stretches to it I would look at a Waeco CFX series, the 28 is very highly regarded and popular as the perfect size vs capacity for a Cali beach.

Alternatively if you don't want to spend as much as a compressor fridge you can go for something cheaper but with mains functionality, that way you can run it on the 12v when driving and plug it into hookup when you arrive.

Other makes of fridge worth a look are Engel and Webasto.

Agree with Matt.
Get a Compressor Fridge/Coolbox. Complete different beast.
I had the Webasto Isotherm, incredible fridge

 

[Borris]

If you can afford it I think that the Waeco/Dometic CFX range is the Rolls Royce of portable fridge/freezers. Whilst we have the CFX35 I believe most people find the CFX28 ideal for family use. The other advantage of that model is that you can get a purpose built floor mounted securing fitting. With our model we have to strap it down which is fine but not quite as slick.

Our experience with our CFX is that it's almost completely silent, uses very little energy, is extremely well made and does what it should do brilliantly. We used it during the recent hot spell stuffed with ice creams at -20c. The kids loved it.

These units also run on 12 or 240volts so you can use them in the house or preload them and bring them down to temp (4c) before loading into the van.

 

[Matty]

Dometic CFX35, it’s expensive but a great bit of kit. Plenty of room for us (2 adults and a 1 yr). Sits on top of the multiflex board plugged into the 12v socket and is silent, never hear it when we are sleeping up top. Really can’t recommend it enough.

 

[Stoneybroke]

The Weaco 35cfx sits nicely on the storage box on the 2-Seater beach, runs on 240 or 12 volt, and doesn't drain the battery over a couple of days or more off grid.

 

[flying banana]

that vw cooling warming box is rubbish. no one ever keeps them. they are usually free with the beach. get a compressor fridge. I have dometic 26 something or other and crikey...are my beers cold. awesome machine

 

[Borris]

that vw cooling warming box is rubbish. no one ever keeps them. they are usually free with the beach. get a compressor fridge. I have dometic 26 something or other and crikey...are my beers cold. awesome machine

They're great for warming stuff up though! One of us once inadvertently pressed the wrong button on a trip to the Cotswolds. By the time we found out all of our lovely cheeses had turned into a pongy liquid fondue!

As for the cooling function, if we ever use it which is rarely, we stuff freezer blocks around the contents and treat it purely as an insulated box. It's good for days out but little more IMO.

 

[soulstyledevon]

They're great for warming stuff up though! One of us once inadvertently pressed the wrong button on a trip to the Cotswolds. By the time we found out all of our lovely cheeses had turned into a pongy liquid fondue!

As for the cooling function, if we ever use it which is rarely, we stuff freezer blocks around the contents and treat it purely as an insulated box. It's good for days out but little more IMO.

We did that with some pheasants we were given. Luke warm carcasses, not a sight I want to see again...

 

[Borris]

We did that with some pheasants we were given. Luke warm carcasses, not a sight I want to see again...

Ooooof!

 

[Ciki62]

Climabox

Chose model from CFX range from dometic.
https://www.dometic.com/en-us/us/products/food-and-beverage/coolers/electric-coolers

I use cfx 28. low energy. solar panel compatible. super satisfied


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[Carlosvandango]

Thanks for your recommendations - I have decided to go for a cfx 35 or engel MT35G-P or webasto TB41 . I have read that the dometic/ waeco fridges are brilliant but reliability and customer service are not always ideal. The engel and webasto from what I read seem very reliable with good backup.

Does anyone have any experiences to report re reliability or any issues after purchasing?

Regards

Keith

 

[MattBW]

My Waeco CF40 is 4 or 5 years old and still working well. I had a few issues when new but I think mine were user error rather than hardware error.

 

[TrevorH]

There are so many fridge threads that I don’t want to start a new one but on the general theme of Beach fridges I have a Dometic CF35 which has been working perfectly well for the last 2 years but now refuses to keep its cool. It will work fine in the house with mains connection but even though set to 3 degrees C or so will be fairly shortly up to 9 or 10 in the van , with the compressor continuing to run. Is there any way my leisure battery could be at fault since I haven’t been on hook up for a long time. Surely if it is under par the fridge simply wouldn’t run?

 

[Neilos]

Or save some cash and go for an Outwell deep cool! Then if it dies in a few years it’s not quite so annoying.

Mines a year old and I’m pleased with it. It’s not the same build quality as the other more expensive options probably. There’s no app or anything clever.
But, keeps your beer cold and does that very well for the price. (I actually am a bitter drinker and find fridge cold beer a bit too cold!) but you get the point. I wrote a review on it on here somewhere. If you search for it.

For our family of four with the costs adding up after we bought our beach it’s spot-on really


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[Pd.]

I can only comment on the Engal fridge that I have used in another vehicle for about 15 years and its great.

You can get slide kits, floor mounting plates and insulated transit bags. In addition you can or at least could get an add on section that can increase the volume considerably which uses the original lid and hinges.

This then gives you the option to run it as a fridge/cooler or fridge/freezer configuration really nice. However they are not cheap but have a good reputation in the overland travel fraternity and I have been very pleased with mine, so much so that I'm considering using it in my SE as a freezer.

 

[paul_f]

I just bought a fridge from here using this code which gave 10% off ocd1st

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[janeadley]

We have a dometic one, fits between front seats has 12v and plug charging and can even freeze. It's sturdy enough to stand on and although inside is a little small it does what we need.

It's easy to move, we put it inside awning if on EHU.

Currently getting cold prior to our trip today, note essential beers not purchased yet!

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

How do you secure it so doesn’t move around or go flying in an accident?

 

[Melanie Day]

It's quite robust and seems to stay put although probably in an accident it may move!

When between the seats it is proper jammed in, although now we keep it behind the passenger seat and it is jammed in by our small table leg.

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[tuono001]

Bought this last week as an extra for between the front seats. It's almost silent and got down to temp very quickly.

It's an indel tb18