This was posted 11 months 16 days ago, and might be an out-dated deal.

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Brass Monkey Half Price Fridges (e.g: 55L Fridge/Freezer with Wheels $224, Sold Out) + $12 Delivery ($0 C&C) @ Jaycar

790

Larger-medium size portable fridge from Brass Monkey at Jaycar.
Single zone that operates as either a fridge or freezer and pull-along wheels. This is their more modern style and also can take the removable battery and/or a solar panel. It comes with a car 12v socket AND 240v adapter so you can use it at home.

Brass Monkey have been around long enough now and are generally considered robust and reliable. Made from plastic, they are obviously not as good as an Engel but they are pretty good from all reports and will take quite a flogging. Saving of $225.00.00 from RRP of $449

Also Half Price:
35 Litre dual zone $299 https://www.jaycar.com.au/35l-brass-monkey-portable-dual-zon…
74 Litre single zone $274 https://www.jaycar.com.au/74l-brass-monkey-portable-low-prof…

Specs:
55 litre capacity
Large, sturdy wheels
Extendable handle
High efficiency
Single zone cabinet can be run as either a fridge or freezer
Reversible lid includes drink holders and a ruler for measuring fish
Digital temperature controls
Dual mode operation (Economy or Maximum)
Internal LED light
Operates on 12 or 24 volts DC
Included DC power cable to suit cigarette lighter and Merits sockets
Battery protection
Battery cradle to suit optional Brass Monkey batteries
Solar charging socket to suit optional dedicated solar panel or optional charging network adapter
Large wheels and carry handles for easy mobility
Sturdy plastic case
3 Year Warranty

Related Stores

Jaycar Electronics
Jaycar Electronics

closed Comments

  • +4

    Very good fridges.
    For proper compressors, i was amazed how quiet it was. Simple road noise absolutely drowns it out.

  • Thoughts on running one of these 24/7 rather than a spare fridge

    • Its a compressor, and has temp control.

      If youre kind on the temp settings to keep the duty cycle low, you might be OK.

      • +2

        FWIW been running one as a little freezer for over a year - no problems other than it working harder than a dedicated freezer probably would when it gets over 35c
        From my experience, running it as a 24/7 fridge would be no sweat

    • Too small as a spare, get 100L+ 240v off marketplace. If you only have enough extra to fill 55L you probably don't really need that extra stuff.

    • +1

      thoughts on running one of these as a hack air con fan in summer.

      • +1

        Terrible idea. There's no fan for a start. Buy
        a portable AC off marketplace.

        • If you can bear the noise, go with an industrial fan. 10 times better

      • Google will explain why you can't do it. Better off with portable AC

      • Have a search on YouTube for "DIY Swamp Cooler".

        Quite a few people have made variations of this using similar process.

        Basically a fan is placed on top of a bucket/container and water circulated through the container via a fish tank pump.

    • I ran a 75L one as my fridge while iso with COVID for a week, recommend getting the cover if its going outside, but otherwise worked fine

  • What would you need to run the solar?

    • +1

      Panel and battery - the controller is built in

    • Unfortunately I think you need a portable battery to be installed in order for the connecte compatible

      solar panel to run. Oh,……and some sun and/or battery charge too lol.

      • Does the previous version battery not work with the 35L fridge / freezer?

        • +1

          Not sure, only works with batteries listed. Point I was making is does not work with solar alone, has to have battery installed too.

          • @ozhunter68: Oh okay, thanks. It's just hard to cross reference battery model numbers with Alpicool. Can really only go off what they physical look like

            • @Sean8802: Yep, measure twice and cut once. Make sure you keep receipt in case lol.

          • @ozhunter68: I will test this tomorrow and report back.
            this fridge is meant to draw 45w. my solar panel is 120w. I ran it with the 15.6mah battery installed for first test. On a sunny 35 degree day, and fridge under a tree, battery stayed fully charged and kept the beers at an icy cold 1-2 degrees all day.

            • @Captain Cheapskate: Great result. When you reach your limits with battery capacity and weather, either make do or get more capacity.

              • +2

                @ozhunter68: In hindsight, I should have saved the $270 I paid for the 15.6ah brass monkey battery, and put it toward a bluetti EB70 (716wh) power station

                • @Captain Cheapskate: Maybe. Or get a box and decent cheap 100Ah lithium battery and away you go. A 240v inverter is not always needed for everyone, and you could add a low cost one for not too much more (Giandell are great value).

    • +1

      When I got mine the entry level battery was $35. With a basic solar panel from eBay, works a treat.

      Just dawned on me, will substitute the solar panel input for my drill batteries at night (ie just have break out + /- cable coming from the drill batteries).

      • Link/specs of batt?

    • I purchased the 42L solar version and it did not come with a solar cable. This is a separate purchase along with a battery.

  • +1

    Good deal but only a few models it seems I'm after 50 L with the divider was on sale for $219 few weeks ago but no stock .

  • +1

    I wish their batteries would go on sale. I purchased the medium battery but it only lasts about 2 hours.

      • Unfortunately this is the older model discontinued battery. My little fridge requires the version 3 battery.
        Solar wouldn't suit either as I was wanting battery to suit leaving in my car's boot while I work.
        Current smaller battery suitable when doing shopping, so long as there is a decent drive to get to shops first to charge battery.

        • +1

          Search on AliExpress and you might find the right one. Alpicool is the keyword

        • +1

          You can put the fridge in the boot, and solar panel on the windscreen / dashboard.

          • @tunzafun001: Pretty sure these fridges with inbuild batteries require a battery to be installed if using the solar input,

            unless you can wire up battery external like battery two comments above and get solar to

            charge that.

          • @tunzafun001: Maybe they are parked all day in basement carpark or with little sun/light?

          • @tunzafun001: If you're thinking to leave it in there in the summer sun - very bad idea: boot would get >50 c in high summer and your fridge would be at best working overtime and likely break, worst: meltdown and fire.

            Better outside in shade even in full heat.

            • +1

              @nessism: Yeah for sure.
              I just put mine in the car, solar panel in front of sunshade while at the shops..

    • +1

      I bought the smallest battery + 30w solar panel with a 5m cable from ebay ($15.. all gone now for that price, but the concept is still there). Works a treat and will go all day.

      Alternatively, just solder in a couple of connectors on to the DC battery input pins and connect up drill batteries. Something like this would look like it's meant to be there.

      https://www.printables.com/model/264288-powerpole-mount-for-…

    • +1

      they do go sale but rarely. i got battery last year. if do get internal battery, remember set cut off voltage to low or give you a f1 error. this can be done through the bluetooth app

      • And put it in eco mode (lower power).

        • Does eco mode reduce the temps? I don't understand eco mode in a fridge… will ice melt? Can you explain the effect it has on operation?

          • @cerealJay: Eco just lowers the amps/ speed of the compressor. Also the frequency of running is reduced.
            Cool shady spot is all good. In full sun/ hot car, it might not keep up.

            • @tunzafun001: Picked the 35L up today. Definitely fun-size & shoebox freezer. I like the bottle opener fixed to the side, and bread board under lid.

              I like the size but the 45L would be better for a lot of people mainly due to the bigger freezer.

              I couldn't spot any power draw difference with compressor running between eco and max, so maybe max only kicks in when fridge is first starting up, or in extreme conditions. Or maybe as you say, the frequency of running changes - but in that case you'd think the temps would increase over time if the compressor wasn't running as much as it should.

              • @cerealJay: I have the 45L (same energy draw). A full cartoon of beer slips perfect in the fridge area.
                Battery showed an F1 error when not in ECO. Guessing eco has temp variation. Say -10C to -3C. Normal mode only changes -10C to -9C etc

                • @tunzafun001: Luckily I never buy cartons!

                  I got the F1 out of box. Setting the low-voltage setting to "L" fixed it. I will leave it on L because I will never run this fridge from a source like a lead-acid battery that needs that protection. Eg, a Bluetti power station has its own management and will shut down by itself when battery is low.

                  I really like how the fridge battery has its own power switch and can be switched off independent of the fridge. This is handy for storage, no need to remove the battery. The design features of this fridge are smart.

                  • @cerealJay: Agreed, its the best fridge on the market …yet the cheapest.
                    90 odd Litre version is now $300 odd!!

                    They say it can handle up to a 50v solar panel…So a standard house panel should work (normally around 36v). They are free everywhere these days. Could have it running in the shed all day for nothing with one panel.

                    BUT..not brave enough to test that part yet..but have a 36V 9amp panel sitting there (about 300w).

                    Anyone tried it?

  • Bought the 60L on sale during black friday week. Was $274. Arrived yesterday and fits perfectly in the car!

  • I don't really know much about fridges, how does this compare to something like the Dometic 36L that costs more than twice the price of this one before discount.

    Apart from brand and Bluetooth, why is the Dometic so expensive?

    • +5

      Dometic Waeco and Engel use their own compressors, all the cheapies pretty much use the secop (formally known as danfoss) compressor.

      Nothing really wrong with the secop, slightly less efficient but get the job done.

      Other than that you just need to look at the build quality of the actual fridge and decide what you want to spend.

      • Stainless models have LG compressors I believe.

      • Google tells me Brass Monkey use LG compressors.

        IIRC, Seacop is what become of Danfoss when it was sold and production was in China, its when Waeco (Dometic) had some failures and wrongly earned a reputation. Dometic invested in its own compressor based on its Danfoss experiences.

        Engel always used the sawafuji design. Its a decent compressor for cold, buts its noisy. We had a Waeco 40 and an Engel combi 45 in the car, had to try get a bit of sleep roadside and the Engel was annoying as hell. Waeco had a little hum, you hear it but its not interrupting like the Engel woodpecker.

  • Has anyone had any experience with the Brass Monkey drawer fridge?
    https://www.jaycar.com.au/20l-brass-monkey-sliding-drawer-fr…

  • What is the top speed for this vehicle?

    • +2

      10C to -20C so it can go 20 * the speed of light but only in reverse.

  • Been 2 weeks and my order is still processing #cry

  • +1

    Says 10% off accessories, So we need these things to run on solar? do i really need to get from them or these are cheaper alternatives on ebay….

    Adaptor
    https://www.jaycar.com.au/brass-monkey-solar-input-adaptor-l…

    5.2 battery.
    https://www.jaycar.com.au/5-2ah-removable-lithium-battery-ve…

    100 watt panel (can it be smaller/cheaper?)
    https://www.jaycar.com.au/100-watt-solar-canvas-blanket-for-…

    • +3

      Fridge will draw about 4amps with about 50% duty cycle, so about 2 ah per hour. That 5.2ah battery will only last about 2 hours without sun.

      100w solar panel will probably only give you about 5amps in full sun. So can produce 5ah per hour. Given the fridge is gonna consume 2ah per hour you will have 3ah surplus that you could store if you had a decent sized battery.

      So if you had say a 30ah battery and you were storing the 3ah surplus in that, you could fill it from flat in 10hours of sunlight. The 30ah would give you 15 hours of runtime for the fridge getting you through the night, ready to charge again in the morning.

      • Good breakdown, but I think they want to know if needing to buy original or aftermarket/cheaper

        alternatives via ebay ( or other places ). Answer is, as long as it fits and compatible, Yes. Just depends

        how much time you want to research, take risk, and/or get creative with custom set ups as explained

        in detail in comment above can work out cheaper and/or better/more capacity>longer runtime.

      • 50% duty cycle is a lot though, the insulation must be terrible if that's realistic…

        • Set low on a hot day with regular openings, definitely not unheard of. Overnight it would drop the average and even out to 33% or so, but I was simplifying things and you should be planning for the worst case scenario.

  • Why 35L is more expensive than 55L………………..

    • +1

      Dual zone

      • Still…….same compressor…….Too bad they don't have LG compressor anymore.

        • Have not heard of a compressor failure yet - it may have happened to somebody but it's not a common issue.
          For $224 these are good value IMHO. Have punished two of them for over a year so far - 0 issues

          • @King Tightarse: Yes, LG compressor is more silent and efficient.

            • @Panpanw: If anyone wants LG compressor, look at Companion Stainless Steel models

  • How do these compare to this kind of thing? https://www.4wdsupacentre.com.au/fridge-freezers/escape-50-f…

  • Marked out of stock for the 55L online - in store only now

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