Change is always hard, no matter what the context is and in this case, it was putting aside the traditional cooler for that portable electric fridge you’ve been eyeing for years. It’s new, it’s shiny, but is it worth it? The short answer is yes – and in most scenarios, it will always be yes.
Traditional coolers still have their place, but the weight of these rotomolded coolers versus their ability to keep up in extreme conditions (think Joshua Tree in late June) pales in comparison to the convenience and reliability of electric coolers.
Dometic’s All-New CFX2 37L Electric Cooler aims to be your go-to solution for all your weekend adventures whether that’s your next bucket list camping trip exploring Sequoia National Park or a Sunday picnic with the family.
It’s one of the best and easiest ways to upgrade your camping setup, but the tricky part is making sure your power management setup is just as convenient, albeit a little more complicated. There are multiple avenues you can take when mapping out your power management system for your vehicle.
From the fully-built Redarc and Victron Energy power management systems to portable battery stations and everything in between, finding the right combination to suit your needs will help you in the long run.
But once you have your system dialed, it takes camping with convenience to a whole new level. Gone are the days of worrying about your ice melting, and soggy and spoiled food.
Dialing In Your Vehicle
My 2015 Chevy Silverado 1500 doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of a new truck, but at almost 10 years old, it gets the job done. After installing a secondary battery and putting my cable management skills to the test last year, rerouting power to the bed of the truck was quite easy when purchasing Dometic’s hardwiring kit.
It comes with everything you need to relocate power in your vehicle, which allows us to run the cooler from the bed of the truck by utilizing the dual outlets from the hardwiring kit.
Referencing Dometic’s website and product pages for useful electric specs is extremely important for several reasons such as knowing how much amperage the cooler is drawing from the power source which helps you identify the right gauge of wire you need.
Making the right decision on wire gauges depends on a few factors such as how much current the wire needs to carry, the type of electronics, and the distance the wire is traveling. For our application, we will be powering the electric cooler and the wire will be running the full length of the vehicle, from the secondary battery in the engine bay to the bed of the truck on the passenger side.
In this case, Dometic’s hardwiring kit comes standard with 20 feet of 10 AWG wire, perfect for this application. Putting your mind at ease, the CFX2 cooler also features a 3-stage battery protection system that monitors the vehicle battery draw and prevents draining, allowing you to run your cooler without worry.
Electrical specs on the Dometic CFX2 Cooler
- Rated input current (AC), [A] 1.63A at 100V, 0.78A at 240V
- Rated input current (DC), [A] 8.7A at 12V, 3.85A at 24V
* Sourced from Dometic’s website
Off-grid powering with the Dometic PLB40
When our rig is stationary and the vehicle is off, we can utilize Dometic’s Portable Lithium Battery (PLB40) to power our cooler, without worrying about draining our secondary battery on the truck.
Yes, one solution would be to purchase and install an in-vehicle DC battery charger between the secondary battery and isolator that is solar-ready, but we aren’t there quite yet with the build.
Per Dometic, the PLB40 promises to deliver 40 hours of mobile power while off the grid. It’s designed to power your Dometic cooler or other 12V appliances with a built-in 8A charger and battery cells that provide 512 Wh of energy, 40 Ah.
The integrated LCD touchscreen allows the user to easily monitor the battery level, charging status, and output. The versatile compact lithium battery also boasts three-way charging via 12V socket, AC house power, or solar panels using a standard Anderson connector.
If you were to utilize solar to charge your PLB40, it is crucial that you know the charge times for your battery when referencing your current solar output. For example, charging time = battery capacity / solar panel output.
Where:
- Charging time is in hours
- Battery capacity is in ampere-hours (Ah) or watt-hours (Wh)
- Solar panel output is in watts (W)
If we were to utilize a 120W solar panel with an MPPT Solar Charge Controller Type, where our PLB40 (Lithium LiFePO4) battery voltage is 12 and is 40 ampere-hours, it would take roughly 5 peak sun hours to charge to full capacity. This is assuming the battery depth of discharge is 100%.
In most cases your battery will not be completely dead, and solar charging times will then vary based on the DoD variable, as well as external factors including direct, indirect, or filtered sunlight. When using the PLB40 outdoors, make sure the battery is not in direct sunlight. Utilize the online calculator below for your set-up to best know your charge times when on the road.
Testing the Dometic Portable Lithium Battery and CFX2 37L Electric Cooler
As a benchmark, we wanted to test the PLB40 and the CFX2 37L Electric Cooler in a controlled environment to get a baseline of how both products would perform. Using Dometic’s Mobile Cooling App, it was extremely easy to connect to the cooler via Bluetooth and set our base temperature at 39 degrees.
Using the PLB40 for power, the empty cooler only took 8 minutes to cool down the ambient air within the cooler from 70 degrees to our target temperature. Once our cooler had reached 39 degrees, we inserted two 1-gallon water jugs at room temperature (68 degrees) into the empty cooler which can hold up to 48 cans.
For this test, we wanted to utilize a substantial amount of water to test the cooling efficiency as water is a great form of thermal mass.
Dometic states that the energy-efficient compressor allows for cooler optimization and an adjustable temperature range of –7 F (-18C) to 68 F (20C). Consistent temperature control is one of the biggest advantages of switching over to an electric cooler.
Recording the temperature and battery capacity remaining at intervals over the next 24 hours, we found the cooler to be extremely efficient once it was able to reach and maintain the target temperature. To note, between the 6 hours elapsed between hour 6 and hour 12, the cooler was not opened to simulate how the cooler would act overnight when the user is sleeping.
Living up to the claimed efficiency, the cooler will drop lower than your set temperature when unopened, showcasing the quality of insulation and effectiveness of the onboard compressor.
| Time Elapsed | Battery Capacity Remaining | Temperature |
|---|---|---|
|
2 hours |
90% |
39° |
|
4 hours |
85% |
39° |
|
8 hours |
76% |
34° |
|
12 hours |
70% |
36° |
|
24 hours |
53% |
39° |
|
36 hours |
36% |
39° |
|
40 hours |
30% |
39° |
The quick-shut latch to the cooler opens front to back, allowing you to access the cooler from either side, which is an added benefit when you have the cooler mounted on a fridge slide in the bed of your truck. It makes it very convenient to access from inside the bed or outside the truck.
Analyzing our benchmark test, the PLB40 Lithium Battery will in fact deliver more than 40 hours of cooling on a single charge. Obviously, this number will fluctuate depending on external factors, such as daily temperature fluctuations, cooler usage and latch opening frequency, and different food and water stored within the cooler.
In addition, during this test, only the battery was used to power the cooler. If you were running multiple devices off the battery at once, like charging your iPhone or tablet while powering your cooler, the cooling time will be affected.
I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of the battery and cooler over the course of the test, as it far surpassed the expected outcome. At 37L, the cooler is on the smaller side for longer trips in the backcountry depending on how much food you are planning to consume, but for the overnight stays and weekend adventures, this small footprint setup has been working seamlessly.
The ability to pack your normal day-to-day groceries has been a game changer. Especially for those that are wanting to stay as consistent as possible in consuming fresh, unprocessed food. Switching to an electric cooler was the smallest upgrade with the largest impact.
Conclusion: A Sensible Upgrade and No More Digging Through Ice!
With its incredibly compact design and powerful lithium cells, the PLB40 might be the perfect solution for off-grid power. Portability and convenience are the two main features I look for when upgrading my gear, and by combining the portable lithium battery with the all-new Dometic CFX2 Cooler, it has never been easier to keep your food fresh while on the go.
Where To Buy
CFX2 37L Electric Cooler - MSRP: $699.99
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