Companion Lithium 60L Single Zone Rechargeable Fridge/Freezer

G'day Karen,

The Lithium 60L Fridge isn't really designed to be used on an open ute tray, due to the potential weather and dust exposure. If you wanted to temporarily attach the fridge to the tray we'd recommend using tie-down straps and pairing this with some chain link and a padlock to deter thieves.

G'day Tim,

As far as I'm aware there's no hard and fast rule, but the general buffer is around 2-3" of clear space around the compressor and battery end to allow adequate airflow and ventilation.
Hope that helps.

G'day Terry,

This fridge has an inbuilt battery so stand alone without an external power source, on a full battery, you'll get on average around 16hrs runtime for the fridge based on the temp conditions stated in the power consumption specification.
If you are running your fridge differently to these specs, you may get more or less battery time.
Hope that helps.

G'day Dallas,

No, you can't unfortunately. The Anderson ports on these fridges are input only.
If you have a battery box or similar for your 100Ah battery, you'll have inputs and outputs on the, so you run the fridge and charge through solar from that.
If you don't have a battery box, etc it would be worth looking into getting one.

G'day Ryan,

Depending on the size of your solar panels you will usually generate multiple hours of fridge run time from one hour of sunlight, its not a 1 for 1 exchange.
As an example, we can look at the Companion 200w Solar Charger. This has a max output of 11.1A, which on an average clear sunny day will give you 9-10A.  In this scenario, with these specific panels, you would get on average 9 hours of fridge run-time per hour off solar.  If its overcast and cloudy you may be getting around 2A which will give you around 2 hours of run time.

G'day Ryan,

The estimated runtime is based on a few factors, and realistically you'll most likely get a slightly longer runtime depending on the conditions and the temperature you're running the fridge. The average draw is 1.1A, which should mean you'll get a little longer than the estimated 16 hour run time, but as there are numerous conditions at play its hard to give a direct answer as every situation will be different. We've not yet had any reports of people running out of battery overnight, and Companion did some fairly rigorous field testing before releasing these new fridges, so we're confident that you should get battery life to last overnight. If you're worried you won't, you could also opt to add another larger battery into the system (outside of the fridge) or install a dual battery system in your vehicle.

G'day Dave,

Yes, an extra battery for the Companion Lithium Fridges is available, although we dont have them in at this stage. 
I've checked in with Companion with regards to a larger capacity battery in the future, and at this stage there's nothing in the works on that.

We've not heard of Helux fridges, it looks like they might be a new player on the market and not Australian based.
There look to be a few key differences, one of them being the battery size which does look to be bigger in both physical size and amp hours.  Second being the compressor, with Helux using an LG compressor and Companion opting for the SECOP compressor.
The fridge would seem otherwise identical.

G'day Lachlan,

Yes, you will be able to purchase a second battery however we haven't quite got our hands on these yet - watch this space.
The Companion Lithium Fridges have a built-in battery monitor system that requires you to select one of 3 different low voltage cut out settings - you can read more about these in the PDF Owners Manual online - but ultimately this will prevent the battery from fully discharging.

G'day Steve,

Yes, the Companion Lithium Fridge runs whilst also charging the battery.
You're looking at around 8.5 hours, providing your 12v outlet in your car is capable of 6.0A output.
If you happen to have a 5.0A socket, your battery will just take longer to charge.

G'day Antonio,

The battery charge time on either 12v/24v or 240v is roughly the same.  The 240v cable has an inline transformer that converts the AC to DC, so both cables push 6.0A.
The fridge draws around 1.1Ah of average, so we could work off 4.9Ah being available for the battery, which leaves us with approximately 8.5 hours of overall battery charge time.

G'day Nathan,

The average draw is 1.1A/h, so it is possible that you might be able to run the fridge a little longer from the battery, however, the 16 hours specified by companion does give some buffer room for varying temperature conditions, fridge settings and a few other factors. We'd recommend sticking to the 16 hours run time, and having options to replenish the battery in the field via Solar or 12V from your vehicle.

G'day James, 

There is a little bit of information regarding solar charging in the downloadable user guide, so it might be best to have a look there. As we're not too sure of the output of your panels and the specifications of your solar regulator it's hard to be sure whether they'll be compatible. I've included some information from the user guide below that might help to determine if your panels and regulator will suit. 

"We recommend the use of the quality regulated portable solar panel kits from 60 to 250 watts for use with your Fridge/Freezer. IMPORTANT NOTE: The solar controller being used must be adjusted to only output a maximum of 12.8V to suit the integrated Lithium-Ion power pack specifications if charging the integrated power pack directly via the Anderson plug/s."

Hi again Clare,

We've got a few 15A Solar Controllers that should do the job well. The Hard Korr PWM Smart Solar Regulator, and the Roman Inline Solar Controller

G'day Clare,

You will need a solar controller in the system between the solar panel and fridges battery. The controller should ensure that there is a maximum output of 12.8V to ensure the Lithium battery isn't damaged.

G'day Scott,

Great question! They're both pretty new on the market so it's hard to know which option is going to be better! The Companion has a built-in battery, so there isn't a secondary cost when compared to myCoolman. However, myCoolman has a slightly longer warranty period on the compressor. It's a tricky one at the moment, but I think the extra 2 years on the compressor puts me slightly over on the myCoolman side personally.