What temperature do you run your portable fridge at?

[Jason]

Choice recommends that domestic fridges run at 3 degrees as it's the best temp below 4 degrees but also keeps food safe from freezing. I think 3 is a bit low for a portable fridge as you need to trade off with power consumption to find a nice balance to get the best efficiency.

I have previously had mine set to 4 degrees but have just recently bumped it up to 6 degrees to see how things go.

What do you set yours to? And any thoughts?

Choice link.

 

[KraftyPg]

Under normal conditions (ambient up to about 35) mine swings between 0 and 4 in warmer conditions I'll let it swing between -2 and +2.

If it's not opened regularly (i.e when traveling) mine usually switches on 3 times an hour and the fan usually only kicks in at the end of the cycle and runs for maybe a minute after the cycle has finished, unless it's really hot or on 240V when it runs all the time because I'm not worried about power consumption on 240V

 

[Jason]

Hmmm, maybe I should set it around 3 then.

Might be worth throwing in a couple of large bottles of water as well for when it isn't full, might help as a bit of a dampening load.

 

[KraftyPg]

I always thought they suggested milk to be stored at or below 4, yet strangely enough many domestic fridge doors where milk is stored do not get that low.

I make use of frozen water bottles if I know it's going to be hot and there is space. I do like to keep some cold water in the fridge but if space allows a bottle of frozen water or two can help keep the internal temp down and theoretically make it so the fridge doesn't have to switch as often. It's not an exact science and wont work forever but anything I can do to make the fridge's life a little easier is a good thing.

I'll also alter the fridge settings to cycle below 0 if I'm coming home with a bunch of frozen prawns or fish and even after 6-7 hours they are still frozen when I get home...so is the milk and other stuff but I only do it on the way home where there is milk and beer already waiting.

 

[joe2006]

Slightly OT but a Milky I knew said that for every hour milk is left out of the fridge takes one day off it's shelf life.

Not sure at what temp "left out" is. Big difference between a 6 deg morning and a 41 deg day.

Anyhow that was the very broad calculation given.

 

[KraftyPg]

The amount left out also has a bearing on how quickly it turns. It also pays to remember that (not just for milk) when you are playing with fridge temps.

You might leave home with a few stubbies, a few bottles of water or milk and some meat packed into a full fridge and you don't freeze anything even cycling below 0 but then when you come home you've got half a bottle of milk and 3 stubbies left sitting in a fridge cycling below zero and there is a good chance they will freeze after a time.

Setting fridge temps in some cases should actually be a variable thing taking into account things like temps, quantities of stuff in the unit etc.

 

[shaggy]

Hi Jason

I have my ARB fridge set at zero when it runs 240v but when it is the back of the nav running on 12v it is set about -3 c everything is always cold

Shane

 

[04SilverSTR]

mt engel usually hovers from 0-4deg, dont have stuff freeze, just keeps it cold, i usually dial it back at night when i go to bed A. to save power and B. its cooler out side at night so it doesnt need to work as hard.

bryan

 

[Old.Tony]

I try to keep mine around 2C. Milk stays fresh, drinks are lovely and cool and fruit/veg remains nice and crisp. We also drop a loaf of bread in to keep it fresher for longer.

Putting warm things in obviously raises the temp but she gets back down soon enough. I use both a digital Engel thermometer and a "mechanical" fridge thermometer which I try to keep in the middle of the green "food safe" zone (0 to 4C).

 

[mike1303]

Running a waeco cf80dz
I keep mine at -2 works well for such a large fridge.
Trying to keep things that freeze easily away from the back edge.

 

[garfish]

Running an evakool 70l fridgemate run it generally between -1 to 3. The drinks have just a touch of ice to them, still playing with this but have almost worked out the settings to keep it there

 

[fourocker]

I'm running my 60ltr evakool 0-4 deg (set at 0 and drifts out to 4) get some iciness to milk etc, think maybe set at 2 or 3 might be better.

 

[YBOD]

I have a 45l Weaco and while I don't have a thermometer in there I find that if I run it on anything other than the lowest possible setting (turbo off, compressor on low, emergency freeze off and the thermostat at one light) then it freezes everything within one day of setting off. Bloody pain in the arse to be honest.

We taken to setting it to about three lights on the thermostat and using it to keep stuff frozen and simply switching ice blocks around with a regular eski with beers/milk in.

 

[user 10312]

Close to zero when running off the car. Gives it a little carry over. Turn it up a bit when off the auxillary bat. Beer goes in the esky but usally only do weekenders away.
As a beer fridge at home (240VAC) I've worked out you can get full strength down to about -4 before freezing

 

[Cooper]

Engel 42ltr(?) When driving set it to 0. When camped set to 3 & keep it in the shade. Before leaving I get everything cold and set the temp of the engel to lowest possible. I dont leave it at lowest as its never been made for a freezer for long only to chill it down quick before packing.

I get all the food ready into glad bags to save cooling cardboard and shit like that. Works mint.