After receiving a few ads and watching review videos I was sufficiently intrigued by the prospect of a 12v fridge with a built-in battery and integrated solar panel capabilities. I ordered the Lioncooler X50A kit which included 2 batteries, cords for 110v 12v plus a long cord for the solar panel, and a 90w tri-fold solar panel.
TLDR: good size, batteries seem to last but would definitely want two. Dealbreaker: It overheats quickly, and can’t recover if you are on the road.
It arrived on Thursday afternoon just in time for my weekend fishing trip in Tahoe. I charged both batteries but didn’t fire up the cooler until around 2pm Friday just in case the compressor needed to settle after shipping. 2pm rolls around and I put two 1-gallon frozen milk jugs inside and I fire it up. The intent was to pre-cool the fridge before I loaded it up so the temp was set to 0*. It quickly cooled from room temp to 20* which was great, 30 min tops. It never quite got lower than that which should have the first sign the cooler might not be as advertised.
The cooler was loaded and put in the cab of my truck, then plugged into the 12v port. Off we went to Tahoe, roughly a 2 hour drive. I could hear the compressor cycling but after a pit stop the screen indicated 46 degrees (set at 36*). I put it on battery power and it ran for roughly two minutes before tripping error code F5, overheated. Instructions said to let it sit for 30 minutes before restarting so we continued on to our destination with the cooler completely off and didn’t turn it back on until camp was set up, roughly an hour total.
Another 2 minute run and error F5 again. Now it’s almost 8pm and the cooler has been over 45* for 2+ hours. I give up and run to town for ice, hoping the drain plug doesn’t leak. Good news, it doesn’t.
Back at home I let it sit for a few days before trying again. It gets filled with assorted bottles and cans from the beer fridge, turn it on battery mode and set temp at 36 degrees. A few hours later the screen still shows 36 degrees and only one bar of the battery has dropped (out of four), things are looking up! I decide to have a celebratory Coors and to my surprise it’s definitely not a frosty 36* beer. Instant read thermometer placed inside shows 47 degrees.
I bumped the temp setting down 10 to 26 degrees to try and bring the inside temp down accordingly but all I got for my efforts was the F5 error. Damn.
I still think it’s a cool concept and would work well for areas where you need to use a bear box since it can run all night in the box without needing to be hooked up to the car. Can set it in camp running off a battery while you charge the other one either in the car or with the solar panel. There are a few other brands with solar/battery capabilities I may try before going back to the ol’ ice chest with frozen milk jugs. But this one is going back.
TLDR: good size, batteries seem to last but would definitely want two. Dealbreaker: It overheats quickly, and can’t recover if you are on the road.
It arrived on Thursday afternoon just in time for my weekend fishing trip in Tahoe. I charged both batteries but didn’t fire up the cooler until around 2pm Friday just in case the compressor needed to settle after shipping. 2pm rolls around and I put two 1-gallon frozen milk jugs inside and I fire it up. The intent was to pre-cool the fridge before I loaded it up so the temp was set to 0*. It quickly cooled from room temp to 20* which was great, 30 min tops. It never quite got lower than that which should have the first sign the cooler might not be as advertised.
The cooler was loaded and put in the cab of my truck, then plugged into the 12v port. Off we went to Tahoe, roughly a 2 hour drive. I could hear the compressor cycling but after a pit stop the screen indicated 46 degrees (set at 36*). I put it on battery power and it ran for roughly two minutes before tripping error code F5, overheated. Instructions said to let it sit for 30 minutes before restarting so we continued on to our destination with the cooler completely off and didn’t turn it back on until camp was set up, roughly an hour total.
Another 2 minute run and error F5 again. Now it’s almost 8pm and the cooler has been over 45* for 2+ hours. I give up and run to town for ice, hoping the drain plug doesn’t leak. Good news, it doesn’t.
Back at home I let it sit for a few days before trying again. It gets filled with assorted bottles and cans from the beer fridge, turn it on battery mode and set temp at 36 degrees. A few hours later the screen still shows 36 degrees and only one bar of the battery has dropped (out of four), things are looking up! I decide to have a celebratory Coors and to my surprise it’s definitely not a frosty 36* beer. Instant read thermometer placed inside shows 47 degrees.
I bumped the temp setting down 10 to 26 degrees to try and bring the inside temp down accordingly but all I got for my efforts was the F5 error. Damn.
I still think it’s a cool concept and would work well for areas where you need to use a bear box since it can run all night in the box without needing to be hooked up to the car. Can set it in camp running off a battery while you charge the other one either in the car or with the solar panel. There are a few other brands with solar/battery capabilities I may try before going back to the ol’ ice chest with frozen milk jugs. But this one is going back.
