14.8.2019

This is a wonderful fridge, way better than a camping cooler box. Admittedly, it took some convincing that this is worth the ridiculous cost. It's a game changer when camping in France for example. It means that you can safely keep food at fridge temperatures even on the hottest days. It worked well even during a heatwave when temperatures reached 45C. In comparison, the Peltier cooler box failed dismally: not surprisingly as it only maintains a temperature at about 15C below ambient. So this fridge means no more daily trips to the supermarket and no problems when they're shut on Sundays and holidays.The 21 litre capacity looks small but we managed with a family of 4.Plenty of room for the all important wine and beers! It draws about 4.5A at 12V but once it reaches temperature it draws virtually nothing. Left alone it then switches on for about 1/3 or 1/2 the time. It's important to remember that there's only 50W of cooling so it needs to be treated with consideration and given undisturbed time to do its thing.It cools well but I've had to set it to 0C (and it really does freeze at the bottom). I don't know where its thermometer is but it reads 0C when the main body is at 5C or more. That's to be expected I suppose as the cooling is at the bottom and there's no forced circulation. The top shelf is typically at 12C.It works very well from the car electrics. The 3 level battery protection is excellent. I set it to high, so that it's only runs when the engine's running. I had problems running it off the mains via a 12V converter. It kept switching off in France even though it worked OK in the uk. Just switched off and sulks. Tried a different PSU with the same effect. Reconnecting got some life but then would switch off again. Maybe the French camp mains is a bit low? Decided to return to Amazon, it's too much to pay for the risk of the fault getting worse.After further research I think I know what the problem is. Both my mains adaptors are rated at 6A, easily enough to supply the 4.5A required by this fridge one would think. But these are un-stabalised supplies and its voltage fall from 13.8V no-load to 12V at the fridge current. This must have triggered the battery protection system when the local mains supply voltage is a bit low in the campsite. So if you're powering of a mains PSU, I recommend getting a more powerful one (possibly the 10A one in Amazon but I haven't tested this). A stabilised PSU is not a solution either for me, unless it supples 13.5V to match the car voltage.The only other irritation is that the lid hinges away from the front, making it awkward in the boot. The solution is to turn it the wrong way round but the controls are then out of reach. Also the lid comes off and is difficult to reconnect in the tight boot. It's quiet enough when running, acceptable in the tent for example.I'm going to replace the one I returned but I'm waiting for Amazon to stock the newer version CF26 model, which has its own mains converter.

12.7.2018

I ordered this as an alternative to the 3-way fridge fitted into my campervan which normally runs on butane while camping (I don't use sites or EHU). However, the 3.9kg bottles are very uneconomic to run and this size of bottle can be harder to source in some areas.This CDF 16 compressor coolbox is vastly superior. It uses 8-12Ah per 24 hours in real world use maintaining an internal temperature of 1-2°C in an ambient daytime temperature of 18°C. At night when the temperature falls to about 12°C it only kicks in once or twice to run quietly for 7-10 minutes. Standing it on a rubber mat, or even sheets of kitchen roll,

14.8.2020

Not used it out and about yet, but it's just what I hoped for.Delivery took a week longer than suggested (prime) so it missed it's first outing.I've been testing it at home, indoors, the last 24hrs on a power monitor via a mains power converter to see how it's going to eat into my leisure battery.Cooling to 5* from an ambient temp of 24*-25* . I've been opening, closing it regularly and even put in and swapped some ambient items for it to cool down, trying to simulate use a little.The results: Bare in mind this also includes the energy usage and efficiency loss of the mains convertor.Including the initial cool down the first 24hrs used 22.5Ah calculated from 20hrs of use.It spent 23 minutes cooling ...

27.10.2019

Ok pros and cons -Firstly I use this in my camper van and as in other review have found this fridge uses hardly anything from my 2 x 110w leisure batteries. They run off a 120w solar and I have left this running for well over a week and see no depletion in the batterries at all !!! - winner if you are off grid. it is very quiet and gets to required temperature quickly. Fits a lot in there too as well as fitting perfectly between my front seats.A few things that could be improved. the temperature and control is at the back of unit not the front and feels counter intuitive but I suppose this would depend where and how you are keeping it. It needs to be secured in place as not heavy enough to sit on van floor when moving and stay in place.

20.5.2019

I have just used this over a long weekend. From Thursday 5pm until Sunday 4pm. My camper was parked up. It was connected to the Leisure Battery (110 ah) via the 12v socket. I selected 4 degrees c as an ideal temperature for perishable storage. The ambient temperature was around 15c by day and 8-10c by night. First off it didn't flat the battery. It would turn on every two or three hours, work for 7-10 mins and then shut off again. It is quiet when it's on. My leisure battery had to provide the lights in the van as well as charge my iPhone twice. I am very impressed with this fridge/freezer. Only downside is it doesn't come with a lead so you can run it off the mains but these are inexpensive to buy.

10.12.2019

Having beening considering buying one of these for a while now to replace my traditional coolbox, as it pulls too many amps in my campervan. I saw this on an Amazon warehouse deal at over £175 off, because the box was damaged..Having now recieved the item and tested it I can say I am very pleased. It simply is a case of plug it in, preferably to the mains initially to reached the desired temperature and then transfer it onto 12v. Being that this is a compressor fridge which only turns on as the temperature alters from its preset setting, it pulls (supposedly) 0.4amps per hour as opposed to 4amps of a standard thermo electric toolbox which is on continuously.I set the temperature to +3 and within 20 minutes it was down from room temperature to 3 degrees.

5.5.2021

I bought this fridge for my van/camper conversion after a lot of research about the best type of 12v fridge for van life.After almost a year this fridge has not let us down!I have spoken to other van lifers on my travels who opted for an ordinary 12v fridge rather than the compressor version and really regretted it. We don't get huge amounts of sun for solar energy in the UK so this compressor fridge is perfect at doing its job and saving energy. I can run this fridge, lights, and laptop and phone chargers with 200W of solar no problem.If you are considering buying a fridge for van life/campervan touring do not skimp out and go for the cheaper option as tempting as it may seem!Also a little side note,

21.4.2020

This is a super little proper fridge!It’s often overlooked by its own company, and by outdoor retailers because they don’t think it’s big enough, but we find it to be just perfect in size, ideal for full bottles of champagne etc, not many with this volume have the right shape and depth! Handle is great and just looks right, it’s not noticed taken to a hotel for instance, just looks like a cool box but has real power to make your stay more enjoyable! Needs to be updated though, with a light inside, which it was advertised with, but didn’t have, like most do now! And it needs a digital temp gauge, instead of just a knob to control it! Apart from those minor things it’s excellent,

2.10.2020

Was a little reluctant shelling out so much on a coolbox, but its worth it.Preparing for a weekend away, it was plugged in to the mains on a 12v adapter and it was down to the set temperature in about 10 minutes. Packed the bottom with the BBQ and breakfast food, around the upright bottle of wine.When we got to site it was plugged in to a portable jump start device. This is fitted with a 12v 22Ah battery. It ran the coolbox from the Friday until the Sunday afternoon and still wasn't flat. This was with the fridge set to 4 degrees and an ambient daily high of 20. Food was kept like it should be, though definitely recommend pre-chilling where possible.

20.6.2016

A well made product - just as you would expect from Waeco. However, I have two issues. First, 21L is not much space for your goodies - a chunk of space is taken up by their compressor unit and second, I can't figure out why the controls are on the other side of the 'opening' side - other than convenience for the designers/manufacturer - for that's where the compressor is located. Anyhow, it's a problem - for when you have it in the boot the opening end is obviously where you stand and if you want to check if the temp' reading etc are okay, you have to swing it around; provided you have room to do that with all the luggage

1.8.2020

Originally purchased this for use in a car, but ended up in the beginning using it in a house. It was big enough to use as a day fridge for 2 people, keeping milk, soft drinks, butter and meat in it. Then after cooking the meat remove any soft drink cans and you can fit a bottle of wine. Then repeat the next day. Now it is in the car and I just store soft drinks and sandwich, after driving for 45 minutes to an hour it down to temperature and will keep everything cold till lunch time. NB my model didn’t work on 230v directly so purchase the power supply for it.

26.5.2020

Fantastic item, inaudible in the home or in the car, from delivery this was able to get to -18°C in less than one hour, and was at -10°C in half an hour (from +14°C). Plenty large enough for a family outing and is a complete contrast to the 'electric coolers' you buy from most high street retailers. An expensive item and we probably wouldn't have purchased had it not been so heavily discounted. Runs off a stand alone power pack for hours without having to drain your car battery ( which it wouldn't do in a day anyway).

17.10.2020

This sits in the boot of my car and all summer it has supplied ice cold drinks and kept packed lunches in perfect condition. Perhaps more importantly, it stops chocolate bars melting. You get what you pay for and this fridge will also act as a freezer in addition to a fridge (but not both at the same time) and can get its temperature down to -18 degrees C. Power consumption is not excessive and the unit will protect the car battery from getting too low.

17.8.2020

This is a wonderful device which actually works as a fridge/freezer, unlike the much cheaper Peltier cool-boxes.Its small enough to fit under the table of the motorhome when on the road and fits between the seats in the Fiat Ducato Cab when parked up. Appears to be very efficient on power even when set to very low temperatures.As to longevity, we'll have to see, but for the moment, highly recommended. Certainbly worth the extra money.

2.10.2018

Best investment I've made for my boat. It doesn't make ice very fast but buy a bag of ice it does keep it solid. Have managed to freeze bottles of wine by leaving temperature to minimum over night !!!If there is a weekness, it's the little flap divider inside, one of the swivel protrusions snapped off on the first day so now it's useless. I'll fix it permanently soon by replacing the plastic pins with a stainless rod.!!!

Dometic CoolFreeze CDF 16 - Reviews

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