Jump to content

Smad 12V fridges any good?


Tiboo

Featured Posts

I came across these 2-way 12V/240V "Smad" fridges on amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/page/16E952CF-AA97-49E0-B14D-AF8EDCD15DDE?ingress=0&visitId=ce803f5d-af3b-47ed-af30-425e50a2e8ca&ref_=ast_bln

They seem to be quite competitive in price with the usual 12V fridges (Inlander, JKF, Swan etc.), with the advantage of the 240V option which would come in handy when on shore power.

Does anyone have experience with any of those?

It looks suspicious that I can't easily find information about power consumption though. This page seems to suggest bad news on that matter https://refrigeratorreviews.org/index.php/2019/12/06/smad-12v-compact-mini-fridge-quiet-no-noise-refrigerator-with-lock-40l-1-4-cu-ft-black/ "0,8kW/24H" which on 12V would be an average 2,8A/h, which is quite a bit more then the 1,09A/h of the usual 12v fridges... It also states "DC is the auxiliary function, the power consumption is larger than AC". I wonder if that means that there's actually just a small inverter fitted inside!?

  • Horror 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, Njiruk said:

It also states "DC is the auxiliary function, the power consumption is larger than AC". I wonder if that means that there's actually just a small inverter fitted inside!?

 

It may possibly mean that are the same as the old 3-way (gas / 12v / 230v) fridges where the 12v side is not thermostatically controlled.

These were designed for caravans where when you were towing you would switch to 12v but on the campsite you'd switch over to gas or 230v

 

The handbook / manual instructed you not to leave the fridge on 12v if you stopped in the services as you may be unable to start the car when you came out (after your coffee / toilet break)

 

Extremely 'thirsty' and would totally kill a battery in a matter of hours.

 

Do more research before buying. Expensive 12 v fridges are expensive for a reason.

 

Edit to add :

The ad does say it is an absorbtion fridge NOT GOOD. Boat fridges need to be compressor fridges.

 

If it is using 90w continuously thats about 180Ah per day. You would ideally need 4x 100Ah batteries to run JUST the fridge, and (probably) around 6-8 hours of running the engine per day to replace it.

 

My Compressor fridge is bigger (80 litres) cost £600 but uses less than 30Ah per day.

Edited by Alan de Enfield
  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As Alan ;and says, its an absorption fridge but without the gas option. Even if the 12V does have a thermostat it seems they are far more current higher than a 12V compressor fridge r a high efficiency compressor fridge plus an inverter. Be very careful and resolve the thermostat issue on 12V

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, Njiruk said:

Thanks for the advice! Sounds like I'll not go with it!

Ahh, I checked out on absorption fridges, makes sense why it's a "silent" fridge! No good indeed, low efficiency when electrically powered...

 

Depends on what you mean by efficiency. As far as cooling and maybbe freezing goes well designed ones work well. They do, however use more or a lot  more  electricity

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

Depends on what you mean by efficiency. As far as cooling and maybbe freezing goes well designed ones work well. They do, however use more or a lot  more  electricity

Yep, you're right, good to precise... I meant power efficiency indeed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Phoenix_V said:

 

 

There appears to be some muddled comments in that link :

 

 

Any car after 2009 has a smart alternator which does not charge the battery when normal driving, only on braking. This is the same for the fridge, it needs at least 13.9V to work properly. A modern car will only provide 12,5V. Just look at the transformer that comes with it. 14.5 volt, the only time you will get that from a smart alternator is during braking. It is my fear that every review on here has brought this for a campervan that has a second leisure battery that is probably charged via a smart relay or a DC to DC charger. These cost £240

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

There appears to be some muddled comments in that link :

 

 

A modern car will only provide 12,5V. Just look at the transformer that comes with it. 14.5 volt, the only time you will get that from a smart alternator is during braking.

indeed muddled no reason to think it would not work on a boat

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.