School me on the ARB cooler

[Chrisjeep7]

i was looking on arb's website for info on there little fridge, well they dont have shit about it on there site. just wondering if anyone has specs on these little suckers. like amp draw, how cold it will get when its 110*+, stuff like that...anyone have one? do you like it? WTF dont you like about it...

Thanks

[ironpig70]

search its out there

[Chrisjeep7]

thanks.....

[camo]

all I know is they cost alot and they work great. my buddy has the large one and we were eating ice cream bars on the rubicon after 3 days.......bad ass

[Chrisjeep7]

how hot was it? never been to the rubicon...

i live in Ok were it gets 110* and 99% humidity.

[Rockcrusher]

Originally Posted by Chrisjeep7

i was looking on arb's website for info on there little fridge, well they dont have shit about it on there site. just wondering if anyone has specs on these little suckers. like amp draw, how cold it will get when its 110*+, stuff like that...anyone have one? do you like it? WTF dont you like about it...

Thanks

They draw 8-10 amps and they will cool your stuff down to about 30-40° below the outside temperature. They're also way overpriced considering the cooling parts (a single peltier chip, a fan and a cheapo thermostat) probably cost less than $30.

[cdarthvader]

coleman makes a cooler thats powered that seemed to work great for me.

[woooody]

I don't know about the little ones, but my 60 liter will freeze anything in 100+ weather. Mine is set up on my winch battery. You need to run the vehicle every day to keep up with the draw. Normally, we turned it down once it got dark, and turned it back to full cool during the day.

Expensive? yes. They are identical to ENGEL brand. But the nice thing about the electric fridge is that you don't have to deal with melted ice sloshing around. You also can pack more food than in a regular cooler.

Here's the specs from ARB's site (http://www.arbusa.com/):

Model: MT35FARB (Australia)
MT35F-AL (USA)
Weight: 21 kg (46 lbs)
• Capacity: 32 litre (33 quart)
Dimensions: H408 x W631 x D360mm
(H16 x W24 7/8 x D14 1/8")
*Average DC Power Consumption:
0.7 to 2.7 amp hr

Model: MT45FARB (Australia)
MT45F-AL (USA)
Weight: 24 kg (53 lbs)
• Capacity: 40 litre (42 quart)
Dimensions: H508 x W631 x D360mm
(H20 x W24 7/8 x D14 1/8")
*Average DC Power Consumption:
0.7 to 2.7 amp hr

Model: MT60FARB (Australia)
MT60F-AL (USA)
Weight: 32 kg (70 lbs)
• Capacity: 60 litre (63 quart)
Dimensions: H441 x W790 x D490mm
(H17 3/8 x W31 1/8 x D19 1/4")
*Average DC Power Consumption:
0.7 to 4.7 amp hr

So max draw on the largest is less than 5 Amps.

[ForestCam]

Originally Posted by Rockcrusher

They're also way overpriced considering the cooling parts (a single peltier chip, a fan and a cheapo thermostat) probably cost less than $30.

Tried making one once, a freind gave me a few peltier chips to play around with.
Ever get frostbite forefinger and a 2nd degree burn on your thumb AT THE EXACT SAME TIME?!

[rusted]

My dad's a truck driver, been using the same coleman-style powered cooler 5 days a week for about 7 years. Probably cost 1/5th what ARB wants, I *ASS*ume the ARB is outrageously expensive.

[dieseltoy]

As far as I know ARB fridges are made by Engel.

I got my Engel light 30 a few years ago.


It's like the MRFD15, except it's twice as big, and 12V only. draws a little over two amps, has thermostat, two setting, 40 deg and 0 deg. it was 350$ from sailnet.net. Too bad they don't make this model any more, it's the perfect wheeling size for a day or three.

IMD is the main dit. for Engel in the US, but you will get a much better deal on ebay, if you keep your eye on it. (check the completed listings) you will definately save 50% off a retail "ARB".
http://www.i-m-d.com/engel/1products.htm

[LordRatner]

ForestCam- Yes, but we were making a CPU cooler.

[Simon]

If anyone knows anything about an off the shelf solar panel setup that will run one of the ARB freezer/fridges, please let me know. The idea has been at the back of my mind for the last year since I bought the medium size ARB. I love it. Took it for a week long trip in temps up to 100-105 (at the highest) last summer, adn I had to kep it turned down to about 1/3 of the way up the dial to keep from freezing stuff.

Simon

[dieseltoy]

Originally Posted by woooody

So max draw on the largest is less than 5 Amps.

Yes, plus there is a thermostat so the unit turns off after reaching temp. Obviously, the lower the temp setting, the less current they will draw.

The cheapo Colmans and Igloo's don't have a thermostat, so they suck juice non-stop (like 4 amps constant), and only get 40 deg below ambient, so if it's 110 outside, your beer will be 70 deg if you are lucky.

[Rockcrusher]

Originally Posted by ForestCam

Tried making one once, a freind gave me a few peltier chips to play around with.
Ever get frostbite forefinger and a 2nd degree burn on your thumb AT THE EXACT SAME TIME?!

We had the same idea but we couldn't find a suitable temperature controller at a reasonable cost. Our plan was to custom build coolers to fit the oddball spaces in a rig and still keep the cost within the realm of the average wheeler's wallet.

Woooody . . . ARB's numbers are for average current draw over one hour after the cooler temperature stabilises. Peak draw is a lot higher than their advertised figures.

[dieseltoy]

Originally Posted by Simon

If anyone knows anything about an off the shelf solar panel setup that will run one of the ARB freezer/fridges, please let me know. The idea has been at the back of my mind for the last year since I bought the medium size ARB. I love it. Took it for a week long trip in temps up to 100-105 (at the highest) last summer, adn I had to kep it turned down to about 1/3 of the way up the dial to keep from freezing stuff.

Simon

I usually take a unisolar 64 watt solar panel camping w/me, just in case the tent is too far from the truck. A charge reg and a deep cycle batt will run an engel/arb for quite some time. (I tried to use two 64 W panels with the colman cooler and they could barely keep up).

Lately I have been thinking about getting some of the smaller more flexible modules though.

http://www.uni-solar.com/cons_products_tech.html

[woooody]

Originally Posted by Rockcrusher

Woooody . . . ARB's numbers are for average current draw over one hour after the cooler temperature stabilises. Peak draw is a lot higher than their advertised figures.

Yeah, I think the fuse on the large one is a 12 Amp. Small one is a cigarette lighter (8 Amp?).

[Chrisjeep7]

well there not overpriced when you figure i spend 300 bucks a summer in ice at the jobsite.

how well made are they, can your abuse them?

[redramsport]

Here is an article from Off-Road.com, thought they had an ARB cooler, but its a Fridge/Freeze: http://www.off-road.com/dodge/deserttank/index6.html

This is supposed to be a ARB vs. Fridge/Freeze thing, but sounds kinda biased to me. Didn't see any info about amp draw or anything in either of these articles though
http://www.off-road.com/dodge/deserttank/2002_07/

Another one here: http://www.off-road.com/dodge/deserttank/2002_08/

[woooody]

Originally Posted by Chrisjeep7

well there not overpriced when you figure i spend 300 bucks a summer in ice at the jobsite.

how well made are they, can your abuse them?

Had a guy at Rubithon 2 years ago roll off the base of Big Sluice, with his big ARB hanging off the back of his rack. Bent the cooling area a little, a couple of dents in the side, but the lid closed and continued to work just fine. He moved it inboard last year, still dented, still working fine.

[woooody]

Originally Posted by redramsport

Here is an article from Off-Road.com, thought they had an ARB cooler, but its a Fridge/Freeze: http://www.off-road.com/dodge/deserttank/index6.html

This is supposed to be a ARB vs. Fridge/Freeze thing, but sounds kinda biased to me. Didn't see any info about amp draw or anything in either of these articles though
http://www.off-road.com/dodge/deserttank/2002_07/

Another one here: http://www.off-road.com/dodge/deserttank/2002_08/

The reason the fidge/Freeze is better is that it is 2 " thick, where as the ARB is less than 1" thick. That extra 2" can make a world of difference on your ability to pack it in your rig.

In my FJ 40, I can load a large Action Packer and the 63 Qt ARB side by side (long ways) between the wheel wells. If it was a Fridge/Freeze, I'd have to go to the next size down. They are a bit more expensive than the ARB as well, and don't let you plug into 110V

[Simon]

ARB makes a blanket for theirs, and a guy I was on a trip with last year had one. Another guy, with the same ARB unit, didn't have the blanket. The one with the blanket cycled on a lot less than the one without.

Simon

[Haole]

Originally Posted by Rockcrusher

They draw 8-10 amps and they will cool your stuff down to about 30-40° below the outside temperature. They're also way overpriced considering the cooling parts (a single peltier chip, a fan and a cheapo thermostat) probably cost less than $30.

Not the same thing. The ARB is a true fridge not a cooler.

It draws 2.7 amps at full freeze mode. Gotta have a battery bank or run the engine on a regular basis to keep it running. That's four hours on my Heep and 36 hours on my PSD.

I got mine for 40% off. It was dropped by the shipper.

[RockTonka]

I've had the 42 qt. ARB for a couple years now in the back of my open CJ. It gets sand, mud, leaves, pine needles, dust and dirt, every bit of trail debris you can imagine throughout it. My kids will climb/stand all over it. It'll then get rained on before I take it to the carwash and blast the hell out of it. It has always worked, and like mentioned previously, will freeze items if left on the higher settings continuously.
But................it takes a few hours to get down to temp unless you pre-chill items. Another issue I have is that water will leak down between the inner/outer shells and become stagnant. No biggee, just have to turn it upside down and let it drain out. Current draw can be excessive though, draining a yellow top down overnight when set high. I've blown that in-plug 8-10-12? amp fuse a couple times.
Knock on wood, but this thing has impressed me given the abuse its received.

[Serious One]

Have three of 'em. One medium and two large. I've beat the medium size one to death for over 4 years, no problems.

The large ones are mounted in my trailer occasionally. I"ve also use them on job sites for months at a time plugged into the wall (one as a freezer, one as a fridge). Did the same thing when we moved into our new home and had to wait 2 weeks for our real fridge/freezer to show up.