Thinking of heading off-grid for the weekend? Charge up the Lithium Rechargeable Fridge/Freezer from Companion before you go and enjoy all your food and refreshments without having to worry about cables and power.
An innovative leader, this fridge can operate wirelessly through the rechargeable and removeable Lithium battery. It’ll give you 16-hours of battery life off one single charge and with 4 USB outlets, it doubles as a power pack for all your devices as well. No worries if you want to stay a few extra days, just connect your solar or Anderson plug directly to the unit and it’ll keep on chilling with the dual-speed SECOP compressor. With an average power usage of 2.0 amp per hour and dual direction lids allowing access to each compartment separately, you can grab your cold one without having to shuffle through your food.
There’s a 3-stage battery monitor and digital LED display control panel plus a whole lot of other little details that make Companion’s Lithium Rechargeable Fridge/Freezer an incredibly impressive addition to your camping setup.
Hi, wondering what size solar panel would suit this fridge - companion have a 200W set, would this suffice?
G'day Kirsten,
The 200W panel would be a great option. The Companion solar panels are the only ones compatible with the Lithium rechargeable fridges as they require a specific regulated voltage. Other brand or generic solar chargers do not have this capability.
Hope that helps.
Hi. Understand you need to be able to regulate the charge output to 12.8 volts from solar. Which products do you stock other than the companion brand that can do this. Ta
G'day Peter,
There's no other solar panel option that we carry that will allow you to tailor the charge output to the 12.8V required. The Companion Solar charger panels are the only ones we have in our range.
I'm not aware of any solar panel sets around, but you may be able to find a stand-alone solar controller with this capability to pair up with a solar panel of your choice.
If the battery faults can you remove battery and run from external source say a battery box.
G'day John,
Yes, you absolutely can. This unit will power from an external source, either 240V or 12v, when the battery is removed.
With the companion being slightly longer than other 12v fridges this capacity, are there fridge slides out there that are compatible with the extra length of the fridge?
G'day Jason,
There may be, but unfortunately nothing suitable in our range.
As long as the internal dimensions of the slide line up with the Companion Fridge, it won't matter what brand it is.
It might be one for googling, there seem to be a few businesses around that make generic fridge slides.
Hi, can you run and recharge the fridge battery simultaneously from a battery box? Is there anything special to ensure about the battery box? E.g. I note the 12.8volt requirement for solar input. Cheers
G'day Peter,
Yes, your fridge will run and simultaneously charge the battery from a 12v power supply of any kind.
12v outputs are usually rated to 10A so that'll more than cover you for the fridge requirements.
Hi, if the companion is mounted in vehicle is it possible to take the battery/power pack out and charge via USB or other means? Or does the entire fridge need to be connected to charge the battery?
G'day Darren,
Unfortunately, there's no option to charge the battery outside of the fridge.
It would definitely be handy, and it's something we have recommended to Companion for future consideration.
Can i use the rover companion 70AH battery pack to run this fridge
G'day Jeff,
Yep, no problems!
This fridge also has an onboard battery with around 16hrs run time, & with combined solar input for the Rover to keep it trickled charged, you'll be covered.
can you switch off one compartment and run only one ?
G'day Michel,
Yes, each zone is able to be independently switched off. You can find out about all of the modes and options in the owners manual, which can be downloaded on the product page.
What is the length of the F/F only without the battery compartment.
G'day Peter,
From outside edge of each door, so incorporating both compartments, we've got a measurement of 71cm.
Hope that helps!
Can all power inputs, 240/12 and sola be connected and used at the same time? Will 240 volt take preference.
G'day Michael,
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you on this one, I was waiting on confirmation from Companion who has been playing catch up since the QLD lockdown.
Whilst you can physically plug all inputs, only one will ever be utilised. There is apparently no default prioritisation for a particular input, so we can't be sure exactly which one would actively be charging.
Companion have advised that it's probably not best practice though, if you are concerned about 12v solar charging cutting out in low sun or overnight, your best bet would be to have an external battery supply that you can charge with 240v as a backup power supply.
As the fridge has dual anderson connections, can you connect 2 x Companion 200 w solar chargers at the same time?
G'day Paolo,
The maximum solar input is 12.8V, so you won't be able to charge the battery faster by trying to attach 2 x 200W panels. You'll need to ensure that the solar regulator on the panels you've got can be limited to 12.8V maximum.
G'day Paolo,
Just to follow up on this, no - you can not run two separate solar inputs through multiple Anderson points.
You can only have one solar input at any given time.
You would be able to hook up a second identical solar pannel to the original in parallel, however, you would need to make sure you are running only one solar controller. If the second solar panel has the solar controller attached, you would just bypass this.
Hi I was told that this unit has a built in solar regulator so if charged by solar it will only work if the panel is not regulated.was informed by a big brand camp store is this correct
G'day Sam,
The Companion Lithium 75L Dual Zone Fridge doesn't haven't a built-in solar regulator, so you will need to ensure the panels you use are regulated. Companion mentions the following in the fridges user manual: 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. Hopefully this clears it up.
Can this be connected to a solar panel to keep it charged?
G'day Sam,
Yes, they've been designed with this in mind, so you can plug regulated solar panels into the unit with an Anderson cable. We'd recommend having a read of the user manual for extra details about this (you can download it at the bottom of the specification section).
How long is the expected life span of the battery before having to replace it, and will there available battery powerpacks to replace it when the does time come?
G'day Ben,
Companion hasn't listed a specific life span for the battery, however, in general, most lithium batteries will last a few hundred charging cycles if looked after. There are a number of tips to keep your lithium battery healthy, one of which is to make sure you fully charge the battery at least once a month. When the battery does come to the end of its life, Companion brands should have some options for battery replacement available.
Should have replacements ? or do have replacements ? this is a big selling point.
G'day Tony,
Companion currently holds stock of replacement batteries, we'd just need to special order them. We assume they will continue to hold replacements of these batteries while they are a current model.
Hi, just wondering if the fridge can be recharged by plugging into 12v socket in the car whilst driving? Cheers.
G'day Dean,
I've just watched a short video on this fridge and yes you can charge the battery from your 12v socket whilst driving. You can find the link to the video HERE.