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I Tested my Dometic CDF-18 fridge freezer in Winter here and it only used 4.8 Ah per 24 hours, It does not come with 240v abilities unless you buy the Dometic 240v/12v Adapter which costs a quid, So I bought a 10A one from Amazon on line for about $30.00 and have been running it on 240v for a while now,
Now it's the start of summer here and I am still in lockdown I am now testing it running on 240v and I have it plugged in to a Kilowatt Meter and during it's first cycle it ran for 3 minutes and used the massive total of 2 Watts, So now it boils down to how long it's "Off Cycle" is and how many times per hour it does both it's On and Off Cycle per hour,
I love this little fridge because it does not have a Digital readout to give you wrong Temp readings and it has the same Control setup as the early Engels and the current Engel MD-14 with just a Dial temperature Control and an On and Off switch that also functions as the High and Low Battery protection setting and it has a single handle just like an Esky,
Out of all the fridges I have owned/used the CDF-18 in my opinion is the best little fridge on the market, It will hold 24 to 30 Cans and with careful packing it can hold enough for one possibly two people for a week or two, Just to prove the point to myself I actually managed to use it for 2 and a half weeks during the lockdown,
Setting the temp between 1.6/3.6 gives me an average of 2.6*c and the Beer seems really cold this was confirmed with the light Frost build up on the wall of the cooling element, Dometic claim it temp range is +10*c to -18*c but I have seen the CDF-18 hit -22*c and below, The speed it cools at is impressive and the Engel type Control/s make it a Joy to use, and regardless of the fridges I have got and used the CDF-18 has to be one of the nicest "No Fuss" fridges on the market,
When it comes to noise levels it is whisper quiet, I managed to sleep with it under the bed in my van with it within 600mm from my head, At first I was worried that it was not working so much so I had to keep checking that it was still working,
When it comes to power draw it can be pretty remarkable I have seen it use as little as 4.8Ah in 24 hours and about 14.5Ah when used in fridge mode, when I powered it by the Dometic PLB-40 Lithium Pack I have seen it run for 6 and a half days taking the power level down to 20% using 80% of it's power and in warmer weather I have seem the PLB-40 run the CDF-18 for 3 days 19 hours before it hit the recommended 20% limit, Running the CDF-18 from the PLB-40 allowed me to plug the PLB in to the vans Cigar socket replacing the power it had used over night with an hour of driving,
The low power draw of the CDF-18 does away with the need for fitting duel batteries and when combined with the PLB-40 and a 60 to a 120w Solar Panel without needing a Charge Controller makes this Combo the ultimate Bush setup or for use in a Boat,
Bottom line is that anyone who loves an Engel will love the CDF-18, the CDF-18 I think is grossly over looked, and if space is a premium then it will do the job if you don't have to keep every item of food and drink cold all at once,
Now it's the start of summer here and I am still in lockdown I am now testing it running on 240v and I have it plugged in to a Kilowatt Meter and during it's first cycle it ran for 3 minutes and used the massive total of 2 Watts, So now it boils down to how long it's "Off Cycle" is and how many times per hour it does both it's On and Off Cycle per hour,
I love this little fridge because it does not have a Digital readout to give you wrong Temp readings and it has the same Control setup as the early Engels and the current Engel MD-14 with just a Dial temperature Control and an On and Off switch that also functions as the High and Low Battery protection setting and it has a single handle just like an Esky,
Out of all the fridges I have owned/used the CDF-18 in my opinion is the best little fridge on the market, It will hold 24 to 30 Cans and with careful packing it can hold enough for one possibly two people for a week or two, Just to prove the point to myself I actually managed to use it for 2 and a half weeks during the lockdown,
Setting the temp between 1.6/3.6 gives me an average of 2.6*c and the Beer seems really cold this was confirmed with the light Frost build up on the wall of the cooling element, Dometic claim it temp range is +10*c to -18*c but I have seen the CDF-18 hit -22*c and below, The speed it cools at is impressive and the Engel type Control/s make it a Joy to use, and regardless of the fridges I have got and used the CDF-18 has to be one of the nicest "No Fuss" fridges on the market,
When it comes to noise levels it is whisper quiet, I managed to sleep with it under the bed in my van with it within 600mm from my head, At first I was worried that it was not working so much so I had to keep checking that it was still working,
When it comes to power draw it can be pretty remarkable I have seen it use as little as 4.8Ah in 24 hours and about 14.5Ah when used in fridge mode, when I powered it by the Dometic PLB-40 Lithium Pack I have seen it run for 6 and a half days taking the power level down to 20% using 80% of it's power and in warmer weather I have seem the PLB-40 run the CDF-18 for 3 days 19 hours before it hit the recommended 20% limit, Running the CDF-18 from the PLB-40 allowed me to plug the PLB in to the vans Cigar socket replacing the power it had used over night with an hour of driving,
The low power draw of the CDF-18 does away with the need for fitting duel batteries and when combined with the PLB-40 and a 60 to a 120w Solar Panel without needing a Charge Controller makes this Combo the ultimate Bush setup or for use in a Boat,
Bottom line is that anyone who loves an Engel will love the CDF-18, the CDF-18 I think is grossly over looked, and if space is a premium then it will do the job if you don't have to keep every item of food and drink cold all at once,
