Battery Operated Portable Fridge
The old days of an iced down cooler are long gone with the new high-tech portable refrigerators on the market. There are many companies trying to make the best version, but the most eye catching has to be the SunDazzer battery operated refrigerators and freezers. Their model runs off of a 12 or 24 volt VDC and claim to be “high efficiency units with exceptionally low energy consumption.” Their price is a bit steep at over $1100, but the SunDazzer claims to be well worth the cost.
While researching the SunDazzer and another portable fridge, I came across a few safety regulations that all of these battery operated portable fridges have in common. Printed all over each piece of material is the warning of plugging one of these units into an AC adapter. This should never be done because of risk of electrical shock, or destroying the refrigerator or AC outlet. Also, these units are the perfect size for a child to fit into, therefore these companies warn against the danger of suffocation from being trapped inside a unit. A normal-sized refrigerator lock would prevent this.
The battery operated unit also differs from a regular-sized refrigerator because of its start up time. After plugging in this unit, one must wait 4 hours before adding any type of food. Note that because of its small size and lessor amount of energy consumption, this refrigerator should not take place of a conventional sized unit and will not get to the low temperature of a regular unit. Keeping the cabinet full of food or containers of water will optimize its cooling potential. When the use-time of the refrigerator is complete, one must let the unit stand for at least two hours to let the oil or water settle (depending on the model). The companies warn to never let the unit stand on the power cord or not to turn the unit to its side, as these would both damage the refrigerator.
There are also a few useful hints to operating a battery operated unit. The first would be minimizing exposure of the unit to direct sunlight, this makes the unit heat up and might damage it as well. Also, make sure that the cabinet is always closed tightly and food inside is sealed properly. A model like the SunDazzer would be a great addition to an RV or the family van-making a camper’s life easier than ever before.
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