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Old 02-07-2013, 08:46 PM   #1
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Portable Ref/freezer

Anyone carry a portable ref/freezer in the basement of their MH??? If so, what brand and size and how well does it work??
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Old 02-07-2013, 09:42 PM   #2
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i carry a norcold in the front of my 5th wheel. my wife likes to buy veges and freeze them. purchased mine at camping world in 2005. it runs on dc and automatically switches to AC when i switch to campground power. it works well.
i see some sold by Compact Appliances. don't know anything abt them though but they are cheaper.
i'm not concerned abt ventilation when i'm traveling but when parked, i open the front door.
my freezer compartment looks to be abt or a little bigger than a 48 qt ice chest. sorry, i dont remember the size. believe it was the largest norcold made at that time.
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Old 02-08-2013, 11:13 AM   #3
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I have seen several dorm sized fridges used that way in my stays at different CG's.
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Old 02-08-2013, 11:19 AM   #4
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Our outside kitchen uses a dorm-ish sized refrigerator .
Unfortunately its 110v only .

We use it for beverages mostly.
We turn it on upon arrival and stock with previously chilled beverages and in a few hours its maintaining cold and were good.
A lot of times we store left overs in it and re heat them in the outside microwave for a snack or what not.
We keep all our condiments in it as well as to not have run inside or camper all the time.
We rarely eat meals inside camper so it werks great for us.



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Old 02-08-2013, 04:30 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Helmsey View Post
I have seen several dorm sized fridges used that way in my stays at different CG's.
X2, just make sure it's secured well.
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Old 02-08-2013, 07:52 PM   #6
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I just purchased a 63 quart ref/freezer that is 12V or 110... It switches automatically between the two.... Also ordered a slider so that I can install it in the basement of my Berk.... Looking forward to a nice weekend so I can get everything installed....

Plan on using it on our trip this summer... No more ruined food floating in ice water in the ice chest....
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Old 02-08-2013, 11:41 PM   #7
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ernest, i had to put mine on 4x4 blocks so that it would fit. the electrical connections wouldn't clear(they are on the front. to keep the freezer from sliding forward, i slipped a 1X4 between the front and freezer. if i didn't do this, i'm afraid the connections would rub on front door. (the door that opens to get to the battery, hydrolic pump, and bat).
when i unload the freezer content, i put the board across the baskets to keep the freezer door open so the freezer compartment can dry out.

compact appliances, i have bought from before. quick service. what i bought from them (ice maker) seems to be holding up ok. just can't vouch for the frig/freezer quality.
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Old 02-09-2013, 10:24 AM   #8
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Ernest -

What model did you end up getting? Snap a few pics as you work through your install!
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Old 02-09-2013, 10:32 AM   #9
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I bought the FP630 - EdgeStar 63 Qt. 12V DC Portable Fridge/Freezer in Grey.... Got it for $550.00 with free delivery... also got three year warranty... Should be delivered Monday...

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Old 02-09-2013, 11:08 AM   #10
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Dometic

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Old 02-11-2013, 07:10 PM   #11
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Look what I got from FedEx today... Now if it would just stop raining I will get it installed and will be ready for those upcoming extended trips...

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Old 02-11-2013, 07:31 PM   #12
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That is a nice size freezer/ref. I may have to check into getting one. It will probably come in handy for some of the longer trips I am planning. Let us know how it works.
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Old 02-11-2013, 08:34 PM   #13
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I got it because the space in the freezer section in my fridge sucks... Even when you remove the ice-maker tray you can't put much in there...

We like to cook a bunch of meals ahead of time, vacuum seal them then freeze them. That way we can have really good easy to prepare meals while on the road... Not much time/effort required to fix a meal...

This portable ref/freezer will hold 63 qts which means a bunch of frozen meals will fit in there... You can plug into 110 and 12v and it will switch automatically....
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Old 02-15-2013, 12:12 AM   #14
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Ernest I looked at the ref/freezer looks like a great unit and a good price. I see it has two power. Cords do you plug them both in or did you hard wire the 12v? Also does it switch automatically? I also didn't see a slide kit for it. When it stops raining would you post pictures and more info. What side and door did you use and will it fit on the cargo slide that comes with our MH's? Thanks for sharing.



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Old 02-15-2013, 12:57 AM   #15
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As soon as I have time ill install it... It can be plugged into 12V and 110 at the same time and it switches between the two automatically...

I plan on hard-wiring the female end of the 12V and simply plugging it in that way...

I put a dish of water into it, plugged it in and set the temp at 10 degrees - was frozen solid in a few hours....
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Old 03-19-2013, 12:34 PM   #16
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I just wanted to follow up with Ernest to see if he had a chance to install the freezer? If you have installed it what bay did you use and did you end up putting it on a slide out tray. I have been looking at many different brands of freezers but was concerned there was not enough room to have it slide out for easy access.
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Old 03-19-2013, 02:24 PM   #17
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Choice...

Haven't had time to install unit yet.... Plan on doing so in the next couple of weeks... I'll document it with pics as I do it... According to my measurements, everything should work perfectly.... Will be using a slide out unit and installing it in basement on curb side....
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Old 04-06-2013, 06:21 PM   #18
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OK guys.... Here we go...

Had two beautiful days in a row so I started the install of the ref and slide to hold it in the basement...

1st - had to build supports for the two slide rails and did that by screwing a 2X4 and a 1X4 together.... That have me the exact height I needed to have the rails at the perfect height so the slides would now slide out of the basement...

2nd - now I had to attach two 18" pieces of angle (one per slide) so I would have something to attach the wooden tray the ref will sit on.... This was probably the most time-consuming part of the install because I needed the tray as low as I could get it so I'd have clearance for the ref up top and still not drag on the rubber gasket across the bottom... (Still had to change from using hex bolts to carriage bolts to hold wooden tray because hex heads would drag...) Messed up a couple pieces of angle before I finally got it right...

After I had angles and wood attached, I brought the ref out and set it on the tray - yea!!! It fit!!!

I then cut holes in the tray so that the little rubber feet on the ref would drop down into them thus doing two things - lowering the ref even more and helping hold ref on tray... I will now get underneath the tray, replace the short screws in the rubber feet with longer ones and using those, I'll put a thin circle of metal over each hole and using the longer screw, I'll firmly attach the ref to the tray...

I've done all I can do without an extra pair of hands so I'm waiting for my neighbor to get back in town so I can bolt the entire unit to the floor of the basement - gotta have someone hold the top of the bolt while I get underneath and add a piece of angle steel to each bolt to make sure it won't pull through.. Also still need to remove the little piston on the door...

I've attached a few pictures to let you see the process.... Sorry this got a little long...

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Old 04-07-2013, 05:02 PM   #19
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The install is complete - except for electrical - lol...

Got help from neighbor and got everything bolted down.... Had a little unexpected luck - while drilling the rear holes for the slide unit, I got lucky and went through one of the metal support tubes.... After I tightened down the loc-nuts and the unit isn't going anywhere...

I plan on running a dedicated 12V line with a fuse in it to the coach batteries and run the 115V from the compartment next to it...

Here are a few final pics....

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Old 04-07-2013, 05:16 PM   #20
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Nice Job!! it looks awesome. It is definitely something I will be looking into. Thanks for the pictures and explanation.
Happy travels.
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