Inq720
Odysseus, expert on the Siren's call
I'm starting to go through and recreate the tests
Here are the results of repeating "Expedition Extreme's" test number 2 - Power Consumption.
The conclusion of their tests did indicate the Snomaster was "their" choice as it has two speeds and could let you chill stuff quickly or save energy. The Engel used less electricity, but was far slower chilling. Here is their original chart. It might be easier to read. I've repeated their data below and added the results of the Aspenora. All their data is in metric and I followed suit.
Procedure of the test.
I'll second the Snomaster - They're decent units, and designed for offroad vehicle use.
A comparison video between common offroad/overland fridges. performance, power consumption etc.
There's a series, but here's the first one Engel vs SnoMaster vs ARB vs Waeco Ep 1 of 7 - YouTube
Here are the results of repeating "Expedition Extreme's" test number 2 - Power Consumption.
The conclusion of their tests did indicate the Snomaster was "their" choice as it has two speeds and could let you chill stuff quickly or save energy. The Engel used less electricity, but was far slower chilling. Here is their original chart. It might be easier to read. I've repeated their data below and added the results of the Aspenora. All their data is in metric and I followed suit.
Procedure of the test.
- Load with 250 ml water raised off the bottom by a box.
- Set fridge to minimum temperature it supports (Aspenora = -20°C)
- Measure amps, watts and amp-hours, water temperature, and interior temperature (by different gauge than display). Do this at startup, 1 hour mark and 2 hour mark.
- The Aspenora started cycling (indicating it had reached its minimum temperature) at the 1:23 mark. They did not indicate whether any of the others did that although the SnoMaster 2 hour temperatures indicate it might have.
- The Aspenora 54 qt, even though larger, chilled the water faster than all others including the SnoMaster 42L that was their winner. The Aspenora was well into icing up at the top of the bottle at the two hour mark where the sensor was located (note below).
- Like the SnoMaster, the Aspenora has two speeds. They liked this feature because it lets you choose to chill thing quickly or to save electricity. The Aspenora out chilled the SnoMaster. Also, in economy mode it approached the Engel's energy efficiency, yet was colder than the Engel (note below).
- Also noted during the tests, the Aspenora has a slow ramping of current during startup. I noted that the current rose over about a sixty second period. No spike!
- Above, I noted that the sides were made of aluminum. I was mistaken, they are steel. Magnets stick.
- I did not see where they discussed construction. Being off-roaders, I suspect they might have had concerns about the plastic of the Aspenora, otherwise, I suspect they would have picked the Aspenora as their winner.
- SnoMaster 42L, 53 lbs, $1150
- Aspenora 54qt, 43 lbs, $340
Water Temp | Fridge Temp | Watts | Amps | Current Draw Amp-hours | ||||||||||||
Ambient Temp | Start | 1 Hour | 2 Hour | Start | 1 Hour | 2 Hour | Start | 1 Hour | 2 Hour | Start | 1 Hour | 2 Hour | Start | 1 Hour | 2 Hour | |
SnoMaster 42 L | ||||||||||||||||
Auto Setting | 25.0 | 22.2 | 8.4 | 0.2 | 21.2 | -18.0 | -19.9 | 46 | 60 | 59 | 3.66 | 4.81 | 4.77 | 0 | 5.6 | 9 |
Low Setting | 23.0 | 22.4 | 8.9 | 0.2 | 21.0 | -15.0 | -19.4 | 40 | 33 | 31 | 3.20 | 2.67 | 2.50 | 0 | 3.1 | 5.8 |
ARB 40 L | 25.6 | 22.8 | 10.9 | 0.0 | 22.0 | -14.5 | -19.7 | 44 | 45 | 41 | 3.50 | 3.65 | 3.39 | 0 | 4.3 | 7.8 |
Engel 40 L | 22.7 | 22.2 | 14.1 | 2.7 | 21.3 | -3.7 | -12.1 | 37 | 28 | 22 | 3.00 | 2.33 | 2.11 | 0 | 2.3 | 4.6 |
Waeco 40 L | 26.5 | 22.6 | 14.3 | 1.4 | 22.5 | -10.5 | -16.4 | 42 | 39 | 28 | 3.50 | 3.00 | 2.35 | 0 | 3.4 | 6.1 |
Aspenora 54 qt | ||||||||||||||||
MAX Setting | 23.0 | 23 | 8.1 | -0.4 | 20.8 | -13.7 | -19.7 | 37.0 | 40.9 | 44.5 | 2.91 | 3.22 | 3.50 | 0 | 3.53 | 5.96 |
ECO Setting | 22.3 | 22 | 8.0 | 0.0 | 22.1 | -6.0 | -12.9 | 35.6 | 30.5 | 28.6 | 2.80 | 2.40 | 2.25 | 0 | 2.52 | 4.83 |