Best Fridge-Dometic or ARB?

[roaniecowpony]

I found a website that compared some fridges. I'm not familiar with GearLab.
Best Powered Coolers - GearLab (outdoorgearlab.com)

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[Adv_aw8s]

Does the arb wire plug into the iceco fridge with no issues?

I looked at that for when I buy my fridge. But I couldn’t find anyone who had done this. Only other thing I could think to do was splice the iceco fridge side plug into the arb wire. I like the screw in plug for off-roading.

Yep, the arb fridge cord plugs right into the iceco. No need to do any splicing. I didn't feel comfortable using the cigarette lighter plug in the back of the jl. I felt alot better about using the arb kit and making a straight run to the battery and knowing the wire size was sufficient. We have had no problems. The fridge ran for 10 plus days on a trip to lake Tahoe last summer from Colorado.

 

[falcon241073]

Yep, the arb fridge cord plugs right into the iceco. No need to do any splicing. I didn't feel comfortable using the cigarette lighter plug in the bag of the jl. I felt alot better about using the arb kit and making a straight run to the battery and knowing the wire size was sufficient. We have had no problems. The fridge ran for 10 plus days on a trip to lake Tahoe last summer from Colorado.

Luckily I’ve already ran wires back there for my compressor. And I have a place to mount the ARB 12v plug in.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Learning on the fly on this...

ARB seems to be a significantly large presence in the US, which should have infrastructure for customer service, repair, parts, etc.. Not sure who actually is the manufacturer. Could be a major brand is under contract, don't know, but they have a good reputation. I've used a 65qt that my brother has. I also used his early (maybe 15-20 yrs old) metal 35qt ARB that appears to be a twin to an old Engel. ARB USA Opens New East Coast Warehouse • RockCrawler.com | RockCrawler Forum

Dometic is a huge manufacturer of refrigeration products for our needs, RVs, ships, and about any other mobile needs, and has roots in some form or another for almost a century. Their customer service model seems to be to use the many retailers as their service centers
Dometic Outdoor USA - Compact solutions for Outdoor living | Dometic.com

Looking into Engel....

 

[Adv_aw8s]

Luckily I’ve already ran wires back there for my compressor. And I have a place to mount the ARB 12v plug in.

Nice set up! You are good to go then, should be a quick easy install for you. ?

 

[roaniecowpony]

Just for background, I looked into Alpicool since they are fraction of a Dometic or ARB. Looked at their products on Amazon and then their webpages. Couldn't find anything about warranty or service. Amazon comments showed some complaints that indicated poor quality and said they got no reply to request service from them. They are located in Ontario Calif. Looks like a straight import and sell deal.

 

[falcon241073]

Just for background, I looked into Alpicool since they are fraction of a Dometic or ARB. Looked at their products on Amazon and then their webpages. Couldn't find anything about warranty or service. Amazon comments showed some complaints that indicated poor quality and said they got no reply to request service from them. They are located in Ontario Calif. Looks like a straight import and sell deal.

I promise I’m not shilling for iceco lol. But it’s the lowest cost fridge I have found that uses the secop/Danfoss compressor. If I was not considering the iceco for the price I’d only look at ARB, Dometic or Engle units. But the two videos I linked has more info on the “cheaper” fridges.

 

[jlrubeinswaz]

Been thinking about a fridge. Not looking for the cheapest. Looking for the best, most reliable, best features, best warranty, best customer support, etc..

I will give you my personal experience with a number of 12v fridge/freezers. I currently own the Iceco JP 40, Iceco gogo 20, and Engel MRO40F-U1 40 QT. I currently use the Iceco JP 40 in the back of the JL. I have used it for over a year now with no problems. Plenty of room and light weight. Nice dimensions for my configuration. Has not shut down under steep angles and Iceco states it can be operated up to 40 degrees angles. One of my main concerns is power draw. On normal mode when compressor is on it uses 2.2 to 2.4 amps. Max mode it uses 4.2 amps. The Iceco gogo 20 is dual zone and it seems to draw a little more in dual zone. One zone being refrigerated and the other being freezer mode. If I remember it was about 4 amps when compressor running. I have had it shut off once because of steep angles. Since that time I have gone over the same angle and never have shut off again. The Engel is one of my favorites using 3.2 amps. I have not used it in the Jeep because of size and the way I have the cargo area set up. But I have had the Engel for over 5 years and not one problem with it. I have friends with both ARB and Dometic. What I have experienced is both of those brands use at least twice the power draw of the Iceco and the Engel. Could there be a difference in insulation? Might be but I have not seen in my experience any difference that would make me want to go with ARB and Dometic for that reason. Are they quality units? You bet! I would love to have a 40 qt. dual zone but have not found a quality unit in that size. Hope this helps with decision making. Sorry I can't help with customer support.

 

[DLW]

For what it's worth, I have both and ARB Zero 47QT and a Dometic CFX3 45QT.
When I was buying, my main goal was it needed to be as big as possible and fit in the cargo area driver side.
The ARB fit's fine without a slider, and the Dometic fits with a slider.
Both are excellent cooler's. The Dometic looks to be about $300 cheaper right now than the ARB though, that would be my choice if buying again because of that. If they were priced evenly, it would be a coin flip but that extra 2 QT's in the ARB might be the tie breaker.

 

[roaniecowpony]

For what it's worth, I have both and ARB Zero 47QT and a Dometic CFX3 45QT.
When I was buying, my main goal was it needed to be as big as possible and fit in the cargo area driver side.
The ARB fit's fine without a slider, and the Dometic fits with a slider.
Both are excellent cooler's. The Dometic looks to be about $300 cheaper right now than the ARB though, that would be my choice if buying again because of that. If they were priced evenly, it would be a coin flip but that extra 2 QT's in the ARB might be the tie breaker.

Those two were on my radar. Thanks much.

 

[donmontalvo]

Dometic is a huge manufacturer of refrigeration products for our needs, RVs, ships, and about any other mobile needs, and has roots in some form or another for almost a century. Their customer service model seems to be to use the many retailers as their service centers
Dometic Outdoor USA - Compact solutions for Outdoor living | Dometic.com

I had to choose between ARB and Dometic. I chose the later. When it comes to market saturation, parts availability, service, support, hard to beat.

I used a Dometic PLB40 (40ah) LiFePO4 battery, worked like a charm. I recently upgraded to a 100ah kit, since I now have a RTT and need to power more stuff.

https://donmontalvo.com/2022/03/09/main-line-overland-lifepo4-ftw/

 

[legacy_etu]

ENGEL. Sips energy. Dead reliable and not made in China.

 

[zouch]

so, do either/both of these fit in the rear on the left side with the rear seat up in a JLU?

my challenge is i want a fridge that will fit on the left side of the vehicle oriented long-ways front/back even when the rear seat is up.

EDIT:
i do NOT want to install a slide, as i need keep the back of the vehicle configurable for too many other things.

For what it's worth, I have both and ARB Zero 47QT and a Dometic CFX3 45QT.
When I was buying, my main goal was it needed to be as big as possible and fit in the cargo area driver side.
The ARB fit's fine without a slider, and the Dometic fits with a slider.
Both are excellent cooler's. The Dometic looks to be about $300 cheaper right now than the ARB though, that would be my choice if buying again because of that. If they were priced evenly, it would be a coin flip but that extra 2 QT's in the ARB might be the tie breaker.

 

[BeechAV8R]

I have a 20 year old ARB steel body fridge/freezer in the back of my CJ7 that I leave running 24/7. Its been left out in the rain and is faded and rusty. It had a bad thermostat once and I was directed to Engel coolers for replacement parts. I guess Engel was making the units for ARB back then. It still works good even to today. Not sure who makes the newer ARB fridge/freezers with the updated plastic housings.

 

[OffroadCalling77]

I’m happy with my Dometic. Bought some Amazon brand originally and it was a genuine piece of crap. I did buy it from REI, which has incredible return policies.

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