The Professor reviews the Water Resistant APL55 12v “Flexi-Zone” convertible fridge freezer from ICECO with 5 year warranty SECOP compressor. The perfect cooler for your overland camping & off road adventure.
Summer travel season is right around the corner and many folk are gearing up to hit the road. One of the biggest hurdles to being off the grid is keeping your food and drink cold on the go. What if you want to have ice cream or frozen food too? Your only real option to have both refrigerated and frozen food is a dual zone compressor fridge, and if you want to run it off of a battery it needs to be a DC fridge. But what if sometimes you don’t need a dual zone with a partition down the middle? Say you need to take a huge turkey dinner to Grandma’s one weekend but the next you need to haul 20lbs of frozen food from COSTCO? ICECO’s latest dual zone fridge-freezer the “APL55” has a unique feature where it converts from a dual zone into a single zone just by removing the center partition. They call it a “flexi-zone”. And get this, it’s also “rain resistant” and can operate in ambient temperatures up to 131F. But, is it any good? Let’s find out!
Features:
Main Features:
The main feature on the APL55 58QT fridge is the new “flexi-zone” feature that turns it from a dual zone, to a single zone, and back simply by removing the partition in the middle.
As mentioned in the intro, this fridge, unlike most, is designed to operate under extreme desert or “hot car” conditions and can hold freezing temperatures even if the ambient temperature is up to 131F. The compressor is also designed to run up to a 40 degree angle from horizontal so it’s no problem in the back of your 4×4 overlander.
While the APL55 doesn’t seem to have an IP rating, ICECO does claim it can be used under “light rain” conditions. They say you need to keep the vents clear of water and keep the fridge off the ground if it is wet. Now, I have used 4 different 12v fridges, from cheap BougeRV models to expensive Acopower ones on my side by side in heavy monsoon rain and muddy conditions and have had no failures to date. Those claimed zero water resistance. So no doubt this ICECO being designed to be in the rain should hold up really well even if the rain is moderate.
The fridge operates from 110v-240v AC and 12/24v DC so you can use it indoors or out in virtually any country.
If you don’t have a power station or solar generator and wish to power the APL55 from a battery, ICECO does sell a separate magnetic 250wh battery that can be charged with solar that I demoed in the previous ICECO review. I’ll include a link to that product in the description. Note that the APL55 does have a magnetic panel on the back to attach the battery.
Size/Weight: approx. 29x19x19 ins @ 55lbs
Build: ICECO has always been known for the high build quality of their top of the line refrigerators and this is certainly no exception. It’s metal covered on all 6 sides, includes removable aluminum handles front and back, an aluminum lid handle, and aluminum clasps. The side walls contain a massive 2.4 inches of insulation trading a bit of internal space to keep power consumption to a minimum.
Display: The display is also no joke. This is the best display I’ve seen to date on any refrigerator. Its super bright and clear, easy to read. The UI is also easy to use with 6 clearly labeled buttons. Eco and Max mode is a single button press. No hunting for that. The Gear icon takes you through all the settings including the dual zone temperature settings. There is a separate light button and a separate power button. Nice.
Special Features: As for other features it has a double internal light so no problems seeing inside. It also has a drain plug which is great if you fill it with ice or just want to hose it out. It has two removable baskets, a “dairy” compartment, and check out this bling. Yeah, a soft close door! No more listening to the kids slam the crap out of your fridge door. Last but not least, a feature I really like, is the APL55 has it’s own external lantern built in for lighting up the area around the front of the fridge in the dark. You can also change it to a really annoying blue color perfect for messing up your night vision but it certainly looks bling. I personally would have made it a red LED light so that you could use it at night and not ruin your night vision.
APP/Other Features: Of course ICECO now offers an app that lets you remotely control your fridge.
Warranty: ICECO offers a 5 year warranty on the compressor with 1 year on the rest of the electrics.
Testing :
(Dual Zone) 12hr consumption test at 0F/32F: 131wh (262wh/24hrs)
Noise db on MAX: 44
Noise db on ECO: 43
What I think:
I love the flexi zone design. That is so innovative. The entire unit feels so substantial and tough with all the aluminum. The lighting is fantastic, the screen is fantastic, and it seems to hold temperature very well. It’s also one of the quietest fridges I’ve tested and that they also tout it is rain resistant is just icing on the cake.
I also like that it’s very efficient on power at only 262wh for 24 hours. This is the lowest I’ve ever seen for a dual zone fridge/freezer. They typically take 350wh or more. ICECO has obviously done a bang up job with the insulation and compressor efficiency on this model. Of course, your mileage will vary depending on ambient temperature, how often you open it, how long you pre-cool, and the temperature of the stuff you put in it. I test under specific, fixed lab conditions year round so that you have an accurate comparison of power consumption between models. Every fridge review I’m told that I’m doing this test wrong and it’s not accurate to real world conditions. My answer is that ICECO offers a free 30 day return window so do your own testing and if you don’t like it, send it back.
I do have a couple of minor gripes with this design. First, it is a bit on the heavy side at around 55 lbs empty. Add some food and drink you can easily crush 80lbs. It would have been nice if ICECO would have added wheels and a pull handle at this weight class and size. Otherwise, this may become a two person job to move around. Of course if you’re using this in a stationary setting you won’t care and probably are happy it doesn’t have wheels and a handle.
Next, I really wish this had a built in battery instead of an optional external. I’ve used the older ICECO JP50 Pro for about a year now on every major road trip I’ve been on. The magnetic external battery works great, but it’s clumsy. You still have to worry about the 12v plug coming undone like in a power station. It would be nice if the battery sat in a flush compartment on the side and hooked up with 100w USB PD. I have yet to see any fridge offer PD input. It’s long overdue and would allow the fridge to run at a more efficient 20v instead of 12v and get rid of the wonky cigarette lighter socket.
The last thing is really minor but there is no place to store the partition when you remove it, and it’s something you really don’t want to lose. They should have had it snap to the inside of the lid or at least clip on to the outside somewhere. There are these loop things on top they call a “door extension ports” but there is no mention of their use in the manual. I’d find some bungees that fit and strap the partition on to the lid. It’s better than losing it.
Pricing and competition
Product Price with current discounts:
The APL55 retails for $859. Yes, this is no cheap plastic Alpicool with a loud Chinese compressor. This is a premium aluminum-wrapped ICECO product with a whisper quiet, power sipping, 5 year SECOP compressor. That being said, of course viewers of HOBOTECH will never pay the retail price. I did score an exclusive discount code that will knock over ONE HUNDRED BUCKS off the price, but this phat discount is for a limited time only.
You can also get an additional $30 off the magnetic battery using the same code at checkout. Discount code with link is in the description of this video.
Main Competitor:
ICECO’s main competition are the high end brands such as ARB, Dometic, and Engel. All of these brands offer dual zone fridges in similar sizes to the APL55, are all well over a grand, and only offer a 3 year warranty at best. ICECO is literally the best bang for the buck in the premium fridge category which is why I keep reviewing their new models as they come out. I’ve never been disappointed.
If you’re interested, use this link and code HOBOTECH at checkout for the best price online!
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Last fall I reviewed two of the new Ecoflow River 2 series power stations but the largest model the “Pro” wasn’t yet ready for prime time. This product has now hit the virtual retail shelves and it’s time to see, is it any good? Let’s find out!
Features:
For clarification, the River 2 series consists of 3 different products. The base 256wh River 2, the 512wh River 2 Max, and the 768wh River 2 Pro. Since I’ve already reviewed the smallest two models we’re solely focusing on the Pro version today.
Battery Capacity/Tech/Cycles: The River 2 Pro sports a 768wh LiFePO4 battery rated 3000 cycles to 80% capacity
Size/Weight: Approximately 11×10x9 inches @17lb
Design/Display: Has a basic black and white LCD display that shows input/output watts, battery % with icon, and time to charge/discharge
Inverter Size/Type (constant/peak) and #outlets: The Pro sports an 800w pure sine inverter with 4 outlets and offers Ecoflow’s proprietary X-Boost feature that allows you to run some appliances up to twice the rated wattage of the inverter. It does this by dropping the voltage to allow higher amps. It is not recommended to use this feature on appliances that are computerized, run a high draw electric motor, or a compressor. Fortunately, X-Boost can be easy disabled within the app.
Ways To Charge (and times for each): This unit offers 4 ways to charge. AC charging at up to 940w claims to top up the Pro from dead to full in just over an hour. The Pro supports up to 220w of solar from 11-50v and will charge this model under perfect conditions in about 4 hours. 100w max of 12v car charging means zero to full in about 8 hours . Last but not least, you can charge the Pro via 100w USB-C PD charging. This too will take about 8 hours from empty. Note that both the AC charging and 12v car charging maximum speeds are selectable within the app.
12v Output Types: The Pro version offers a 10A vehicle accessory socket along with a pair of 5521 barrel plug outputs rated 3A each with all outputs regulated at 12.6v. The max output for all 3 combined is 126w.
USB Output Types: The Pro sports 3 standard USB ports good for charging up your dinosaurs and a single 100w bidirectional USB-C PD port.
Other Features: All River 2 series supports the EcoFlow app for remote access which allows the user to adjust charge rates, timeouts, and enable or disable the X-Boost feature. I’ve covered this app in detail many times in the past. Here’s a quick peek.
Warranty: Ecoflow offers a class leading 5 year warranty across the board on all River 2 series products.
Testing:
DC Battery Capacity Test (time lapse): This unit scored 670wh/768 for an impressive 87%
AC Battery Capacity Test (time lapse): We were able to pull 640wh/768 for a respectable 83%
So I’m pretty blown away by these numbers because both the River 2 and River 2 max scored quite poorly on both of these tests with results in the low 70th percentile. We’re seeing a 10-15 point increase in the Pro probably due to 6 months of firmware updates. The River 2 and River 2 Max were first production models and I even said in that review there was a possibility that Ecoflow would fix the capacity issue via firmware and it certainly seems they have. Kudos Ecoflow!
Sine wave check under load: 119v/60hz @600w
Inverter capacity test (max): 1000w <5s
Cooling ability test (rated @ 5mins): 830w pass
Inverter fan noise db: 46
Max Charge Rate @ watts/volts: AC 900w, DC 12v 96w, 19v 150w, Max 50v 218w
We’ve seen massive improvements in both battery capacity and fan noise in the current Pro model. Unlike the River 2 Max in my previous review, the Pro model passed the UPS laptop test with flying colors and with a real world measured 15ms switchover time – and to all the haters it was done without the battery being full. It’s much better than the 30ms “EPS” Ecoflow claims. You can legitimately use it as a low latency UPS to keep a computer online regardless of the stability of the grid power coming in.
With the Pro there’s not much to gripe about feature wise except the lack of USB quick charge ports and no wireless charging pad. These are things you’d expect on the top of the range model. They wasted no expense on a SOS flashlight so no flagging down our little buddies upstairs. It is a minor bummer that the Pro fails the amp interference test and doesn’t support any kind of simultaneous charging. I hoped to see improvements there for something they are calling a “Pro version”.
Let’s get something straight. Ecoflow isn’t an entry level brand. You can find models around this size all day long on Amazon, for hundreds less from fly by night brands you can’t pronounce. However, there is serious bang for the buck here since the Pro offers a 10 year battery that charges crazy fast with a 5 year warranty at a reasonable price. Ecoflow also seems to have the least complaints of the “big three” when it comes to customer service.
Pricing and competition
Product Price with current discounts:
The retail price for the 800w River 2 Pro is $599 but of course I have an exclusive discount code that will knock off a chunk of change for viewers of the channel. The link and code are below.
Who’s It Aimed At? (market focus):
These small sogens are meant mostly for portable power while camping or to supply power to small devices like laptops or televisions during a blackout or at a location without power. These are not meant to run residential refrigerators, air conditioners, or heaters although the Pro can handle those for a limited time if they are smaller appliances. The Pro should have no problem handling most personal computers, TV’s, and other midrange appliances under 800w. Certain appliances over 800w such as coffee machines and hot plates can also be run if you activate the X-Boost feature, but use it at your own risk.
Recommended Solar Panel Type/Size:
The Pro supports up to 220w of solar. Your best bet since these are portable products is to get the appropriate Ecoflow folding solar panel to match. The 220w bi-facial is a fantastic, if pricey, choice. You can use 3rd party panels but be aware that none of the River 2 series includes a MC4 to XT60 adapter. I do have those available on hobotech.tv/amazon under solar adapters. If you want to check out other less expensive options for solar panels you can click on “solar kits” on the same site to see what I have there.
If you’re interested, use this link and code EFHOBOTECH8 at checkout for the best price online!