Car Fridge Freezers – Different 12v Options


One very useful addition many people like to make to their vehicles is the installation of a car fridge freezer.  A 12v fridge freezer installed in your car provides the capacity to keep cold drinks and snack with you wherever your vehicle takes you.

Before running out any buying a 12v car refrigerator however, please be sure you are buying the right model for you. Car fridges come in two basic types – low end models using absorption technology, and the better models that are based on compressor cooling.

If you will only be using your car’s 12v fridge occasionally, then an absorption style cheap 12v car cooler may work for you.  These cheap units can be found in most discount stores, and offer in car cooling for a bargain basement price.  Unfortunately these devices are horribly inefficient.  This means that unless a vehicles engine is left running they will quickly drain a car battery.

Cheap car fridges are best for casual users.  If you just want some way to keep drinks cool when picking the kids up after school, these cheap fridges may be a good match for you.

For someone who plans to use their car fridge freezer heavily, a compressor style 12v fridge freezer is the appropriate solution.  These models are not cheap, and the top notch units have prices in the high three figure range.  However, they do offer a lot of great features for the money.
Being designed specifically to run off of 12 volt, these refrigerators are very efficient units.  With tiny current draws – in some models less than 1 amp – these devices can run off a car battery for extended periods of time without running it down.  Vehicles properly equipped for extensive trips can often power these car fridge freezers for days without needing the battery topped up.

Depending on your particular needs you can choose a cheap car fridge for casual use, or alternatively a high quality 12v fridge freezer – such as an Engel refrigerator – for heavy duty serious applications. You should also look at  cheap camping generators that can power the fridge is not running.

Comments are closed.