Bushman Fridges 35−52L Portable Fridge Freezer

G'day Gary,

It cant, sorry - the lid is attached on one side by a fixed hinge.
Look at the Evakool DownUnder series, or the MyCoolman for fridges that can have complete lid removal.

G'day Steve,

You're right, the Bushmans fridges are tough as hell.
Their fridges are fitted in 4WD, canopies & caravan that travel all over Australia, both on the tarmac and off it.
As long as your fridge is well secured, so it's not actively bouncing around, you shouldn't have any issues.
If you have leaf-sprung suspension and you're driving endless consistent hours across hard corrugations, you'd potentially be looking at doing something to support the fridge, but otherwise you'll be absolutely fine.

G'day John,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you!
We've contacted our mates at Bushmans who have tested out this fridge on a 16v setting in their workshop.
The fridge appears to start up and run as normal, so all evidence points to this being a suitable option.

G'day Sarah,

The Bushman has a lower power draw on average 0.67Ah/h while the Dometic CFX3 at 1.03 Ah/h making the Bushman more efficient. The CFX3 is lighter and smaller at 18.7kg while the Bushman weighs 24.5kg. The Bushman has a Secop Danfoss compressor well known for its reliability paired with a 5-year warranty and 3 years on the fridge, Dometic has their own compressor with a 3-year warranty and 2 years on the fridge body.

Overall you get a sturdier steel cabinet with the Bushmans compared to the plastic Dometic, and will get an efficient reliable fridge that will last. Both are great fridges but worth the extra dollars for the well-made Bushman. 

G'day Jamie,

The total height with the 52L extension on top is 545mm. There is a helpful diagram on Bushman's website with all the dimensions with each extension attached.

G'day Phillip,

According to Bushman's specs, this fridge will on average draw less than 1A.  There are obviously a few variables that affect this, but the power consumption is fairly negligible & shouldn't put much of a strain on your battery system.  You'd probably find a 120-150W panel sufficient to keep you topped up, however, the most common size people go for when investing in solar in 200W.  It pretty much covers a range of applications, and you'll get more output from it in less than ideal conditions then you would from a smaller panel.
What solar option you go with also depends on if you want a fixed panel that can be mounted to your roof racks or on a camper trailer/caravan, or if you are wanting a solar blanket.
Check out our range here.

G'day Matt,

No, theres no light in the Bushmans 35-52L fridge.

G'day Michael,

Yes, the Companion 40Ah Rover Lithium will be able to run the Bushman Fridge with no worries. We'd recommend having a way to keep the battery topped up if you're stationary camping, so it's worth keeping that in mind too.

G'day Kelly,

The Bushmans is a fridge/freezer, so will run at whatever temperature you set as opposed to being a straight-up freezer.
The basket in the main body is 38L x 28W x 25H.
Hope that helps!

G'day Mat,

Yes, you can run the unit as a fridge only, most people opt for this configuration. If you're using the extra extension and the domed lid then the top section won't be overly cold unless you drop the temperature quite low.

G'day Mat,

Yes, you should be able to run this fridge directly from a 12V outlet in your Subaru, however, you'll need to unplug it when you make a stop, or set the battery protection so you don't accidentally flatten your main battery. You could use the PLB40 overnight to run your fridge, we'd recommend charging the PLB40 from a separate 12V outlet in your vehicle while driving as it will charge faster than if you're charging the unit while running the fridge.

G'day Aldo,

Yes, you are able to run this fridge off of a portable power pack such as the Dometic RAPS 44 or the Engel Battery box however you won't get more than a day out of it. You'll therefore need some way of keeping it charged - this is where solar panels and the like come into it! For further information about powering your gear off-grid have a read of our blog HERE.

G'day Lyndal,

I've double-checked with our display model and the baskets can sit on top of each other or if you spin it around 180 degrees it sits down inside the basket below it - this is to accommodate whether a collar is on or not! The small basket can sit on the larger basket without the medium in between.

G'day Christian,

The Bushman is certainly a tough fridge - its simple and strong, with its steel casing. However, it is made for use undercover so we don't recommend leaving it out in the elements.

G'day Glen,

I've just found a schematic diagram on the Bushman website, so that will probably be the best place to grab the size with and without the extra attachment. You can find the diagram here.

G'day Bree,

I believe you've spoken to one of my colleagues Susie, we don't actually sell drop down fridges so best bet will be to touch base with Bushman and see what they suggest.

G'day Dan,

We've just double checked and the lid on the Bushman 32-52L Portable Fridge Freezer isn't reversible so you won't be able to switch it to open from the opposite side.

G'day Mike,

I've just spoken with Bushman and the 35-52L fridge has 55 grams of refrigerant when new.

G'day Scott,

I've been and measured our display model for you. Measurements were done with a tape measure so not super accurate, could be plus or minus a few mm's. The dimensions are 39cm wide and 29cm deep. 35L capacity gives you a height of 24.5cm, 45L capacity is 32.5cm and 52L capacity is 40.5cm. 

Bushman fridges are all made overseas in China now. But... they own all their own tooling and use high-quality factories that also manufacture equipment for BMW, Mercedes and Scania. On top of this Bushman do all of their own quality control here in Victoria, Australia, to ensure that every fridge they sell is in perfect working order for their customers.

G'day Vicki,

We'd recommend at least a few centimetres of space around the compressor of the Bushman Fridges 35-52L Portable Fridge Freezer but aiming for 10cm would be ideal. You'd probably want to do something similar with any other fridges with external compressors or vents. As for the compressor placement. It is only on the one side. 

G'day Adrian,

The width of the Bushman 35-52L Portable Fridge Freezer without handles is 66cm.

G'day Janet,

Absolutely, the Bushman Original 35-52L can be run as either a dedicated fridge or freezer with any size configuration.

For your information, the Bushman Original 35-52L can also be simultaneously run as a fridge, keep-freeze and crisper all at the same time. To do this, you set the thermostat to -5º, then use your top basket as a crisper, your middle basket as a fridge and the lower basket to keep things frozen.

G'day Maz,

There aren’t individual fridge and freezer sections in this model, so you won’t be able to set the temperature separately.

This model has one large compartment, with three baskets that sit on top of each other. To use it as a freezer and fridge at the same time you set the thermostat to -5 degrees, and then the top basket will act as a vegetable crisper, the middle basket will keep meat and dairy cool, and then the lower basket will keep food frozen.

One thing to note is that to use it at -5, you won’t be able to freeze anything, it will just keep your goods frozen.

This fridge has an extension collar so you can fit between 35-52L in here, but when you’re using it as a fridge and freezer at the same time, only the bottom half will keep the foods frozen.

If you want some more in depth detail, you can have a read of the Bushman brochure here which will give you the full lowdown on how it all works.