Indel B Travel Box Fridge Test and Comparison

[frans]

I think these types of tests are informative and useful. Thank you for doing it. The fact that people are nitpicking particulars simply proves just how valuable the test is ie: it provided information and got people thinking. In order to make an informed decision it is necessary to have information to start with. Otherwise a person may as well pick a vendor and go with whatever they say without any thought at all.
I personally am more comfortable using various sources of information to make a decision.

 

[TexGX]

Graham,

Thanks for the correction. That is really good to know. I look forward to the next full fridge comparison so we can get comparable information.

TexGX

 

[zimm]

jesus. it was a test.

was OJ started by statisticians and lab directors?..... clearly not. scott once wrote a "white paper" complementing a jeep compass. (i know, i just cant seem to let that one go ) but, if youve followed this group from its inception, they have come an awful long way. long enough that their testimony would stand up in court as a professional witness in certain areas of claimed expertise. any slight lapses in method or bias arnt enough to toss the baby out with the bathwater, and are more than offset with the real world knowledge of HOW these devices are used and the circumstances of their use. using consumer reports as the forum whippy, i personally learn much more from a very slightly technically flawed real world review, than a technically perfect test that tells me a jeep is top heavy when compared to a rav4.


criticism is good if its constructive, but once again all im reading is carping... like me and the compass review.


equipt, OJ and its peeps are necessarily polite in not telling some people to buzz off. im not.

 

[TexGX]

Taken from the first post:

"If we were going to offer this fridge, it needs to stand on its own merit. Good quality, fit, finish, efficiency, all of it. And we wanted to know exactly where it stacked up again against the other fridges in that test."

The comments in this tread are discussing the fact that this test does not show how the Indel B compares to the rest of the field. Yes, some people prefer actuate information to marketing data.

TexGX

 

[1leglance]

Zimm I will call BS on your post.
OJ has always prided themselves on scientific testing testing vs the junk most of the 4wd mags in the US publish....Graham's water filter testing, the fridge testing, the winch testing, heck even the awning test was all about windspeed and forces and such.
So even though this was NOT an OJ test we as customers have been educated and weaned to expect a standard from Graham and company.
There is no way anyone in their right mind would accept a 20% variance in conditions between test as "comparable".
That is like saying that my $100 price was "comparable" to your $80 price...nope not at all....a very small percentage yeah, but 20% no.

I have no problem with Paul wanting Equipt to carry a value line of fridges, and I trust him to bring in a quality value line. At the same time I like Paul and don't want to see his long term business suffer by him dealing with a product line that folks won't buy since they could get a Waeco for less money that works better (or near the same), looks the same and have better name recognition.
Not only that but the more we can do in this thread to help Paul & this community understand "why" they should buy the Indel B the more of them will be sold. And if the community judges against the Indel, well better that it happen now than after Paul, Ben, Bev and all other Equipt's downstream folks have invested a bunch of time in marketing and pushing the product.

As a National Luna owner (and supported way back when by Paul...full disclosure moment) I have to say there is no better fridge on the market than NL based on everything but price. However not everyone can justify the cost so if Paul brings in something else I want him to maintain his rep for only handling the best the market has to offer in a particular price range.

 

[YukonRob]

Would the detractors of the test have prefered no test at all? I think we run the danger of letting the perfect become the enemy of the good if we go down that road.

Clearly, we'd all have prefered to run all the units under identical conditions, but that is not practical, short of re-running the entire series of experiments with the new unit included.

As was mentioned earlier, lab data is really only a point of departure - the true test will be real-world experiances and product reports from end users.

 

[LandRoverHyter]

I just picked up a 50l and am trying figure out my slide options... Anyone have any solutions?

 

[ETAV8R]

Glad I found this thread. I recently acquired a lightly used Ironman 4x4 50L fridge which is the same as the Indel B/Truckfridge models. I needed an Amp/h rating for a future solar set up. Really looking forward to getting it all set up and testing out the fridge.

 

[nuclearlemon]

I just picked up a 50l and am trying figure out my slide options... Anyone have any solutions?

any review/thoughts on it yet? i'm looking for a new fridge freezer since my waeco has become just a freezer. my waeco is an older unit and their quality may be better now, but their hideous customer service will keep me away, so i'm looking at other options.

 

[LandRoverHyter]

Very happy with my truck fridge. No problems at all. Not using a slide don't really need one for our application.

 

[Jerimiah_Gentry]

Can the Indel cool double as a bench? In our current configuration the cooler serves dual duty as a seat.


Great thread thank you.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[Equipt]

I just went out and tried our display fridge. I'm 240lb on a good day and it seems very stable. It's not recommended as a step stool, but sitting on it seemed fine.

Cheers,

 

[NMBruce]

in the current buyers guide http://expeditionportal.com/buyers-guide-portable-fridge-freezers/ it shows the Indel B pulling 4.16amps when almost all the others pull around 2.5 amps, is that during running or start up and does it make that much of a difference?

 

[TacomaAustin]

in the current buyers guide http://expeditionportal.com/buyers-guide-portable-fridge-freezers/ it shows the Indel B pulling 4.16amps when almost all the others pull around 2.5 amps, is that during running or start up and does it make that much of a difference?

I've thought about testing my TB41A in both the Max and Eco modes. I only use the Max mode with 120 A/C. The numbers I've seen vary. Indel claims that it takes 45 watts to power the fridge - which is less than the 4.15 amps mentioned. You may want to read the thread below:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/81797-Truck-Fridge-sale-Prices-only-visible-in-checkout?p=1170710#post1170710

Hope it helps.

 

[TacomaAustin]

With regards to amp draw, my main concern is to get a handle on the average number of Ah that the fridge will pull from the battery per hour - which unfortunately varies depending on the outside ambient temperature and how cold a temperature that you set the fridge to.

The Ironman Ice Cube fridges are pretty much identical to the Indel B. Their .PDF spec sheet shows an average amp-hour draw of .7 Ah - when the fridge is set to 40°F and the outside ambient temperature is at 68°F.

http://goo.gl/l0dwZz

The number of Ah used will rise significantly when operating the fridge on a Summer day - especially here in the Southwestern US where temps will easily reach 35°C/95°F on a cloudy day.