A fridge is one of the least-portable devices in existence. If you don't believe us, try moving one up a flight of stairs, then report back to us. But there are portable fridge alternatives that make chilling your food less back-breaking. In this post, we will give an overview of portable fridges, then tell you why we think the best of the lot is the GoSun Chill.
Lead battery portable refrigerators
The earliest modern portable, solar-powered refrigerators and vaccine coolers (which were critical for disaster relief groups who worked far from any electrical grids) used a combination of solar panels and lead batteries, which stored energy for cloudy days and at night in the absence of sunlight to keep their contents cool. Such fridge required heavy lead-acid batteries, which could quickly deteriorate in hot climates. The batteries also wore out quickly and had to be replaced every three years, and contained hazardous materials.
Thermal energy portable solar-powered refrigerators
Solar-powered refrigerators got an upgrade in the mid-1990s from lead batteries to phase change materials, which stored thermal energy rather than chemical energy. They did not require batteries, instead of using thermal energy from solar power.
Thermoelectric portable Refrigerators and Coolers
New Thermoelectric Refrigerators that ran or batteries were inexpensive, but the biggest disadvantage of most of these solar-powered refrigerators is that they utilized thermoelectric chips. These TE portable refrigerators could only provide cooling of about 35 degrees from air temperature and cannot produce ice.
The Chill: The best portable refrigerator available.
The chill is a portable refrigerator powered by a lithium-ion battery bank and topped off by solar panels.
By combining the technology of brushless compressor technology, with the insulated air gap canopy due to the shading from the GoSun Solar Table, the Chill can be powered directly by the portable solar panel or the rechargeable lithium battery. The GoSun Cooler is also completely portable, allowing the consumer to fold up the solar table easily and with its built-in wheels and pull out handle-- take it to the beach, while camping, fishing, sailing, or enjoy it in the backyard.
Why the Chill is the Best Portable Fridge For Camping
The Chill has numerous advantages over a regular cooler when it comes to camping.
First, there is no need for ice. Tired of having food turned into a soggy mush if it isn't protected by three layers of Ziploc bags? Tired of having to drive into town every 24 hours to replenish your supply of ice? Tired of being unable to completely disconnect from the grid? A solar fridge for camping is the way to get out of the ice age. Plus you can now utilize 100 percent of the space within a cooler when ice isn't part of the equation.
Second, this portable fridge can ironically help you to stay more grid-connected by being able to recharge your electronic devices. In the case of the GoSun Chill, it is powered by a portable lithium battery pack. The large 150 watt-hours solar power pack can also power laptops, cell phones, and many other portable accessories, making it the perfect outdoor product to be prepared for a power outage or emergency. The detachable power bank packs enough juice to charge your phone 20 times over.
Third, the highest-end models can be charged off the grid in only a few hours. In the case of the GoSun Chill you can recharge the battery with the solar table, equipped with a 60w panel that delivers a full charge in just three hours and keeps the solar fridge shaded.
Watch the video below to see the Chill in action.