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Brass Monkey Fridges: 95L Dual Zone $399, 74L Dual Zone $349, 25L $174, 15L $129 @Jaycar

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Brass Monkey Fridges: 95L Dual Zone $399, 74L Dual Zone $349, 25L $174, 15L $129 @Jaycar
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King Tightarse on 09/12/2022 - 11:06 jaycar.com.au (2531 clicks)
Last edited 19/12/2022 - 11:48 by 1 other user

Some pretty sharp prices from Jaycar on cheap and cheerful but fairly bulletproof Brass Monkey fridges.
The larger ones are dual zone with battery compartment, the 25 litre is metal body, single zone 15L is plastic, single zone.
These are over 50% off:

75L $349 / save $450 https://www.jaycar.com.au/75l-brass-monkey-dual-zone-portabl…
25L $174 / save $175 https://www.jaycar.com.au/25l-brass-monkey-portable-fridge-w…
15L $129 / save 140 https://www.jaycar.com.au/15l-brass-monkey-portable-fridge-o…

There are others with a % off too but these are the standouts IMO

Sports & Outdoors Brass Monkey Portable Refrigerator

Related Stores

Jaycar Electronics
Jaycar Electronics

closed Comments

  • Tafe on 09/12/2022 - 11:14

    Looks like there's some similar sale pricing from other retailers if you're inclined to avoid Jaycar.

    • outlander on 09/12/2022 - 20:20
      +2

      Considering Jaycars scummy history, I always avoid them if possible.

      Sometimes the price is too good though :/

  • Thrawn on 09/12/2022 - 11:15
    +1

    Also on eBay. Wish I saw this yesterday with the Shopback deal !

    • Bimbobob on 09/12/2022 - 20:49
      +1

      Trying to buy off ebay and its wanting to charge $8 for each item ordered, something wrong there?

  • razorite on 09/12/2022 - 11:50

    buy asap or wait? maybe for an ebay code to stack with my GCS?

    • King Tightarse on 09/12/2022 - 12:05
      +1

      Last time eBay went OOS quite quickly and were not replenished during the sale

      • razorite on 09/12/2022 - 12:10
        +1

        jaycar chat told me about 50 units in stock but cant say how accurate that is haha

  • Kamsi on 09/12/2022 - 11:55
    +2

    Bargain if you need a on the road cooler.

  • sp432 on 09/12/2022 - 12:17
    -4

    Stay clear. These are not well made, you get what you pay for. Bought 45L Rovin during their last promotion, comes from the same factory. Worked for a day and died after. Ruined the trip as we were on the road for another 5 days…

    • Waygood_deals on 09/12/2022 - 12:52
      +3

      My rovin has been humming along.

      • Mesky on 09/12/2022 - 13:06
        +7

        Same here got the same, been to the beach and plugged in at home running without issue.

        Having one bad one doesn’t mean they’re all bad

        • ratsackgamer on 09/12/2022 - 15:51
          +1

          And usually their warranty is awesome too. The only problem you have with warranty is if you want a refund. They don't mind giving a brand new replacement, just hate giving you your money back.

  • pennypacker on 09/12/2022 - 12:23
    +13

    Fun fact*. "It's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey" came from the term used for a pyramid stack of brass cannon balls, for reasons lost to time, which is a "brass monkey".

    As the temperature dropped, moisture would accumulate on the brass monkey, eventually freezing. At this point, some cannon balls would topple off the frozen brass monkey due to the expanding ice, hence, it was cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.

    Note *: may or may not be fact

    • Cerdig on 09/12/2022 - 18:05
      +3

      Urban myth. Brass cannonballs? lol

      • lost in transit on 09/12/2022 - 20:57

        When i jumped into the bay a month or so ago I’d swear my cannon balls were made of brass, was walking on water in 10 seconds flat…

  • joshjosh210 on 09/12/2022 - 12:24
    +4

    I've got the 15L unit in the car for drinks, ripper of a unit. I paid about $219 from memory so this is a bargain.

    • snapper on 10/12/2022 - 11:02

      I'm considering a similar set up. Do you have it inside the car or in the boot? How do you power it? Cheers.

      • joshjosh210 on 12/12/2022 - 08:11
        +2

        Sorry for the late reply. I have two setups.

        The 15L I mentioned here has the option for a battery but I found they wouldn't be suitable as they don't last forever and need to be charged from 240V power. I just put it whatever car I see fit, usually just on the back seat / floor and plug it into the cig socket so it only runs when the car is on, but I found it suitable for keeping lunch cool or bottles of water when out working. If storing for a period of time or going camping, see my below 50L setup (which would work for any fridge)

        I have a 50L fridge in my camping dual cab ute, removed the back seat and it's on a platform. It's powered by a 110A deep cycle battery (independent of the starting battery) with DC DC charging off the vehicle so when I'm on the go (ie. driving the vehicle daily, on holidays, etc) that fridge is on 24x7 and can run for 2 - 3 days comfortably off the second battery without needing a recharge.

        • snapper on 27/12/2022 - 23:14

          No worries, thanks for the reply. Sounds like a good setup. I bought the 15L fridge and will try it for use in the car or a short camping trip.

  • Grevhimself on 09/12/2022 - 12:33

    How are the compressors on these?

    • HappyPants on 09/12/2022 - 12:40
      +1

      I've noticed that a number of the different sized fridges all have the same sized compressor @45 watts. So I guess the bigger the fridge, the harder the compressor is working. The 75 litre seems to be a good sweet spot. Just in my opinion. And I have had a Rovin 35 litre running literally 24/7 for the last 10 months and it has not skipped a beat. It DOES need defrosting quite regularly, like every few weeks, so I guess the door seals are maybe not as good as they could be. But I think these fridges are absolute bargains.

      • King Tightarse on 09/12/2022 - 12:43
        +1

        They seem to have a larger 90w compressor in the specs for the larger ones. From my reading of various camping forums, failures are pretty rare although you can break anything if you try lol. The main thing with portable fridges is not to invert them and to give the gas time to settle before switching on. I would wait 24 hours at least if it had just been delivered

        • HappyPants on 09/12/2022 - 12:50

          The 95 litre definitely has the 45 w compressor. But yeah, maybe the next size up has a bigger compressor. I'm still checking out the range.

          • King Tightarse on 09/12/2022 - 12:55

            @HappyPants: The specs say 90w consumption but the website says 45W compressor so on second thoughts, it's a bit unclear. I cant imagine they would take another 45 watts for the light and controls

            • Grevhimself on 09/12/2022 - 13:55
              +1

              @King Tightarse: Thank you both for the info, everywhere say 90w, have yet to check their website.

              Surely these would be okay for the (discounted) price.

              • King Tightarse on 09/12/2022 - 14:33
                +1

                @Grevhimself: Cant really go wrong. There's lots of cheap fridges these days but this Brass Monkey (Alpicool) brand seems to slowly proving itself. Lots of positive reliability stories on the forums, plenty of Youtube reviews and very few horror stories. Most people seem happy enough with them 'for the price'. They are not as well made or insulated as the top range fridges like Engels and can be a bit plasticy but after being around for quite a few years now and for the price, they are more than decent.

      • tunzafun001 on 09/12/2022 - 13:48
        +1

        Interesting… I noticed these fridges have a gap at the back of the seal.. I assume its so it doesnt get stuck if you open, close then open quickly again.

        But could explain your freeze situation.

        Maybe get the silicon out.

  • slartibartfast960 on 09/12/2022 - 12:38

    How are they as a freezer?

    • bigjobme860 on 09/12/2022 - 14:53
      +1

      I've used my 25L one as a freezer. No problems. I had expected it to die by now, but (famous last words), no problems so far…
      Mind you if you're taking 2 weeks off work and travelling the nullabor in a 80,000$ Prado, I would probably get a better one, and not risk ruining your trip.

      I have one permanently in my car, with a deep cycle battery near the spare wheel. Really useful for shopping, drinks etc etc.
      For this kind of $, I've been very happy…

  • xtracrazy69 on 09/12/2022 - 13:17

    If you use afterpay as payment on eBAY it looks like you can get $10 off. eBAY jaycar also has the batteries for those version of fridges. Also noticed that other retailers on eBAY seem to have battery adapters for some powertool batteries.

    • Dirkmirk on 09/12/2022 - 14:09

      I couldn't see any saving, promotional deal for new customers?

      • xtracrazy69 on 09/12/2022 - 15:04

        Sorry if it doesn't appear on yours. Might just be a promo as I don't use afterpay. Would appear as a checkbox in checkout if you were eligible. Sorry again for confusion.

  • LoungeLizard on 09/12/2022 - 14:04

    Has anybody used a portable cooler in their hybrid vehicle, powered from aux 12V socket? Anything to be aware of? I'm thinking of getting the 25L model (45W) for an upcoming road trip. Fridge will be plugged into mains overnight.

    • pk2018 on 09/12/2022 - 19:48
      +1

      Can run fine off the 12v socket. I had an Anderson plug fitted as cigarette lighter joints pop out. I also have a 105 amp hour battery so fridge keeps running if the car is off - car to battery to fridge/freezer. App is simple to manage. First unit had issues after 5 months, but Jaycar happily swapped with a new unit.
      Mines the 55L unit.

    • tunzafun001 on 10/12/2022 - 00:44
      +1

      If you are talking about a Mitsi PHEV hybrid, then the Aux battery is powered from the drive battery when turned on (full drive mode).

      In all other states, the Aux battery would have to supply the power. They are pretty small and not ideal.

      I bought a 5ah fridge battery ($35 last week) and a small 30w solar panel from eBay.. seems to work well for times when the car isnt in run mode

      • HappyPants on 11/12/2022 - 07:59

        Which little 5ah fridge batt did you buy? Thanks!

        • tunzafun001 on 11/12/2022 - 10:06

          The original 5.2ah battery.

          I rang Rovin and they said the cells are the same as the new version. The difference being a small revision to the hand grip and the new version has some protection built into the charge port (apparently people plug in 40v solar panels directly into the batteries and fry them). If you dont do that, then the older battery will work the same.

          • Note - If you do buy a mix of old and the new batteries, then you can't use the original seperate 240v battery charger adapter to charge the new batteries. They have a revised adapter as well. But you dont need it, as you can charge both when inserted in the fridge.
          • King Tightarse on 11/12/2022 - 10:40

            @tunzafun001: Thats interesting! Seems the Jaycar rep told a completely different story (with somewhat elaborate details)
            Did you get the impression the Rovin person was on the money?

            • tunzafun001 on 16/12/2022 - 10:13

              @King Tightarse: This whole crew are hopeless. The specs are all wrong. They have no clue how the products work. I mean you could buy the newer 5.2ah battery and return it later (as it states something like 160wh at the bottom of the listing). Then the cream / white fridges are actually two tone grey.
              So who knows. But I would trust the Rovin guy over Jaycar… just.

              Fridge seems ok..once I worked out you need to run it on "eco" mode using the battery. Runs the compressor slightly slower.

              That being said. I charged the battery via the solar panel with the fridge off. Came in to find it beeping and turning itself on / off continuously. One of those turn it on / off all good now fixes (red flag 1).

              • King Tightarse on 16/12/2022 - 11:04

                @tunzafun001: Hmm sounds a little concerning.
                They say 'solar controller' onboard but not what sort - I am guess it will be a basic voltage based one of some kind, not the newer mppt type ones. So you are you saying it was turning the fridge off and on, like some kind of error state? Did it give a code on the screen?
                Using the fridge to charge the battery - was it in fact able to achieve a full charge with the V2 battery? (making the Jaycar blokes elaborate explanation about voltage cut offs invalid) because they told me it would only be possible with the newer V3 battery.
                It was pretty convincing at the time but possibly just elaborate salesman baloney.

          • HappyPants on 11/12/2022 - 12:48

            @tunzafun001: Any chance they are still on sale at that price somewhere? $35?

      • bargainshooter on 16/12/2022 - 08:20

        How long would the 5ah battery run it for?

        • tunzafun001 on 16/12/2022 - 10:08
          +1

          As a guide, the compressor uses around 4A. So numbers say 5.2A/ 4A = 1.3hrs.

          But the full 5.2 isn't really usable to zero.

          I ran it from. scratch and empty esky, about 40mins continuous runtime.

          If already cold and the esky is near full, then a couple of hours (as the compressor will cycle on/ off). Still to be tested.

          I'm basically using it for going out for an arvo bbq, or a transition between power sources. You would hope it will stay cool anyway for a few hours. Boosted a bit longer being a bonus. But It won't keep your ice cream frozen all night.

          If you "boost" it with any size solar panel, then it will last a lot longer. Ie.I used a cheap / small 30w panel from eBay. It kept it going for a full arvo (as the compressor cycles). A solar panel >50w and it will charge the battery while running.

  • AussieMark on 09/12/2022 - 14:18

    Just thinking to keep one in my bedroom what do you guys think or is a bar fridge better

    • LoungeLizard on 09/12/2022 - 14:31

      If it's only for drinks it'll be OK. If it's for everyday mixed use (food etc) it's a bit of a pain since there is no shelving meaning you have to unpack/repack stuff all the time. For a similar price you can get a used fridge with a lot more capacity/flexibility.

  • Mischaseb on 09/12/2022 - 14:43

    Wow, bargain

  • happyadventurer on 09/12/2022 - 15:00

    Similar discount on the 95L and 115L ones too.Wish there similar discount on something around 50L.

  • GCJT on 09/12/2022 - 15:02

    Any idea how long they run when using the battery pack?

    • LoungeLizard on 09/12/2022 - 15:12

      The 12V 5.2Ah battery gives you ~60Wh, but this is only at low discharge rates. Using the quoted 45W average for example, I'd expect you'll get around an hour. A lot will depend though on ambient temperature and the setting. If you only want to cool to 10deg for example, and ambient is 20 the compressor will ran far less often than -5deg and 35deg ambient, for example.

      • Sensei888 on 09/12/2022 - 18:08

        If you bought the 15.6AH battery and their solar blanket would you be ok camping for 5 days. Or if it rains one day would you be screwed?

        • gumbs on 10/12/2022 - 07:37
          +1

          Absolute no chance that's going to work.

          A camping fridge on a 5 day trip is going to get reloaded with warm drinks every day and you're going to use around 50ah a day. This can be replaced by solar but you'll want a decent solar blanket. If it rains you're going to need to run the car for 3 hours a day to keep it all charged.

          I run a 200w (in reality it out puts like a 140w) blanket a 120ah lead acid battery I can do a weekend trip without caring about solar. 2 nights needs the solar blanket out or I'm getting into the deep discharge range of the battery.

    • King Tightarse on 09/12/2022 - 15:28

      There are three different battery sizes. Allegedly you should get (very ballpark) 8 hours with the 15.6Ah, assuming running only on battery with a medium sized fridge and reasonable ambient temperature. Obviously less if hot and with many door openings.

      • Bimbobob on 09/12/2022 - 16:08

        8hrs maybe if its precooled already and its just running overnight and isnt opened.

        Personally wouldnt rely on it if camping, far better value buying something like a kings agm battery with battery box which will run it for days

        • King Tightarse on 09/12/2022 - 16:23

          Yes, I think they are more beach trip or as a float charge when using portable solar panels

  • Blunglefortness on 09/12/2022 - 15:41
    +2

    Used to have a 95L dual zone. Literally the only good thing about my year of ownership is that Jaycar had a changeover warranty, which allowed me to swap mine 3 times before just getting a refund.

    It would regularly just stop cooling, citing low power, even if plugged into 240V. It would randomly set one zone to -18 with the other to +12. F4 and F3 errors were coming up more often than not, on three separate fridges.

    Absolute garbage in my opinion.

  • worker on 09/12/2022 - 15:44

    18L for $129 as well absolute bargain

    https://www.jaycar.com.au/18l-brass-monkey-portable-fridge-f…

  • sb1981 on 09/12/2022 - 17:26

    Very good price.. I bought 75L fridge for $599 couple of month ago..

  • outlander on 09/12/2022 - 21:12
    +2

    For anyone thats curious on the internals, Alpicool (which seem to make the reference design, as pointed out by KT) have a youtube account with repair videos
    https://www.youtube.com/@alpicoolinc6139/videos

    The C15/C20 is equivalent to the 18L it seems

  • Grevhimself on 09/12/2022 - 21:57

    According to this page https://campoutdoors.com.au/brass-monkey-fridge-review/#What…
    they use LG compressors, I have no idea how accurate this is though.

    • outlander on 11/12/2022 - 14:19
      +1

      Definitely not. Maybe on the higher end models, but the cheaper ones use a ZH25G or DC25H compressor

  • dammit on 09/12/2022 - 23:44

    I need a car fridge / freezer for a multi week camping trip- is this 75L worth investigating or is it unreliable / cheap and inefficient?

    • gumbs on 10/12/2022 - 07:46
      +1

      What will happen to your multi week trip if it dies? Is your holiday ruined?

      I have a 60L engel combi (I wouldn't recommend dual zone engel fridges) it's 7 years old and has never missed a beat. I paid $1400 for it including a cover. It's worth between $800 and $1100 second hand. I've lost a little more than the value of this fridge on sale in 7 years and mine will be good for another 20 years.

      Cheap fridges are a false economy. It cost me nearly a grand to setup the dual battery and solar system to support it (doing all the install myself). You then end up with something unreliable storing your food.

      If you want to save money just buy a big esky and get dry or slab ice when you use it.

    • outlander on 10/12/2022 - 12:11
      +2

      Depends on how far deep your camping I suppose, and how crucial the goods are. If your just at a national park half an hour away from a supermarket and your keeping milk for coffee, I'd say sure.
      If your deep in the outback 5 hours drive from the nearest sign of civilization, using it to hold your kids insulin, you might want something more a touch more reliable

      • dammit on 10/12/2022 - 12:13

        Fraser Island for 3 weeks but planning some other remote trips, no essential medication but just to have some cold / frozen food compared to tins of half price woolworths canned ham :D

  • MEDBEDb on 10/12/2022 - 17:23
    +1

    Noice

  • Bimbobob on 12/12/2022 - 13:30

    Had an notification earlier that all my accessories have been posted but no fridge yet.

  • ATangk on 13/12/2022 - 10:31
    +1

    Some of these can be stacked with 10% off ebay cashback.

  • outlander on 17/12/2022 - 13:36

    15L sold out now

    I picked up the next cheapest one, the 25L for $174 on ebay. It arrived yesterday. Listing said it didn't come with an AC adapter, but mine did?

    • King Tightarse on 17/12/2022 - 15:00

      Thats excellent - you can run it inside as a drinks fridge or whatever over Chrissy

  • snapper on 19/12/2022 - 10:43
    +1

    The sale has ended. Must have been until 18/12/22

  • B-Man02 on 21/12/2022 - 15:06

    Anyone do an online order and then basically a week later get told that it's damaged and have to wait 2 months or a refund?
    I feel like they sold more than they had and it's basically a 2 month preorder…

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