Ironman 50L fridge

[Ballzy90]

Not sure if this is the right place for this but I was in the market for a fridge. I'll be putting it in a toolbox so space is kind of limited. Ironman seems to fit the mould for right price and shape for what I need. Has anyone on here had much experience with these fridges? Most reviews I see are generally pretty good but I'd like to hear what some of your experiences are.

Cheers

 

[Old.Tony]

It has a Secop (Danfoss) BD35F compressor. Only a slightly higher power draw than the Sawafuji that you'll find in an Engel, but very good and very reliable. You'd get the same components in most non-Engel 12/240V fridges. It's down to a difference in electronic circuitry and cabinet build. If you're happy with the build, the circuitry can't be too far wrong.

 

[ShortyNavros]

I have had one for a year or so now, I am pretty damn happy with it, comes with a free cover. Only thing I have negative to say is the LED interior light it a bit dodgy sometimes it doesnt work and needs a bash with a fist to flick on, some elec component in there must be loose but I havent worked out how to get the cover off to have a look yet. It does come with a 3 year general parts warranty and a 5 year compressor warranty which seems decent.

 

[ShortyNavros]

Other downer is they are a bit more pricey than when I bought mine, I got mine for $775 with a free bag, they now retail for $850 but you still get a bag with it. I got the fridge for the same reason as you, I wanted to be able to fit it through the back door of my D22 to fit on the rear seat, so tall and skinny was the go.

 

[happy john]

I've seen it discussed on a few other forums and all of the owners seemed pleased. The only issue that is well known to affect the BD35 is insufficent wiring to the fridge causing the odd error. That is getting a bit pricey now, I'd be inclined to stretch to an Engel for a bit more coin.

 

[ShortyNavros]

Quick update. My interior light was flickering and I pulled it apart today. Easy to get to just gotta pop the whole thing up and out. The blade connector for the negative looked a bit ordinary so I touched it up with some sandpaper and a tiny bit of silicon spray to both terminals, put it all back together and works nicely. As a bonus the led light looks like a standard festoon jobbie like the interior dome light in the d22. So easy to replace if it ever dies by the looks of it.

Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk

 

[ShortyNavros]

The other odd thing to me is all the ironman IceCube fridges are powered by the bd35 secop compressor which has a pretty good reputation, but the power consumption ironman list is the same across their 30l to 50l range. In my mind the 50l should definitely draw more power than the 30l model due to the extra volume of space trying to be cooled. That being said I run a 100ah dual battery and have had no issues with excessive current draw. However max I have camped for is like 4 days. Will get a good test in the cape in 2 no the time for 3 weeks straight

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[Oldie]

I've got a Giant Power 45L fridge, same Danfoss compressor as all the other brands except for the Engel.
The only reason I got mine is coz the insulation is thicker than the rest. It has been bloody excellent and I can't fault it.
There was a write up in a 4x4 mag a while back about fridges.
The outcome according to the mag was, the Engel drew more power with the Sawafuji compressor.
The fridge they judged the best was the CFX type from a certain maker. I won't get into an argument about it but, it might have been something to do with one of their sponsors and major advertisers.
Go figure. I like my fridge and it cost half the price of all the named brands.
As for current draw, I use 3 AGM batteries to run the fridge, 2x 100ah and 1x 130ah. I can get 3 days out of a 100ah AGM battery before I have to change and my beer is always cold haha

 

[happy john]

This is a good fridge comparison test, all have the same compressor aside
from the Engel. Insulation pays an important part.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD2D8tA7Vuk