SMETA 12V Compressor RV Refrigerator Compact Chest Freezer (0℉~50℉), 54 Quart, Perfect for Truck, Camper and Outdoors

There are a few things I really like about this portable refrigerator which I will get to in a minute. But first, sorry for the long review. There are just a few things you cannot mention technically how well they work without a few words. I have several portable refrigerators as camping and solar are hobbies of mine. I like how there are more inexpensive choices now compared to years ago.The compressor is the heart of the fridge and since Smeta uses the Secop (Danfoss) PBC-2.0 compressor, that eliminated a lot of the worry about this fridge. I purchased this fridge mainly as a portable unit to be powered with 12vdc when I go camping and road trips. While it is only a DC compressor, Smeta provides a built in AC to DC converter for use with 120VAC power so that it can be run at home without having to use a separate AC to DC converter. The fridge is very quiet and I feel I could sleep nearby without it bothering me.I love that Smeta put the hinge for the lid along the wider dimension. I've got a couple of Indel-B type fridges and on a 50 quart size, that makes for a tall set up with the lid poking up in the air. With the Smeta, the lid is hinged on the long side instead of the short side. This helps a lot when it is used where clearance may be a problem. It just makes sense to have the controls right in front of you and where the latch is.The wire basket has a middle separator which can be placed in one of two locations or be removed altogether. I found the temperature in the smaller compartment (above the compressor) to be about 15 to 20 degrees warmer than the main compartment. Like on most of these portable fridges, the evaporator coils just run around the wall of the main compartment, so it will be colder on that side.Power consumption is important to me when camping. You'll notice in one of my pictures, I have a kill-o-watt meter that I'm using to measure power over time. Even though its plugged into the 120VAC, I can estimate the 12v DC power from the fact that the PBC-2.0 compressor is a DC only compressor. Smeta provides a built-in AC to DC converter for when you use the 120VAC plug. These converters typically have a 12% efficiency loss. So whatever power I measure from the AC, I should get about 12% better (or lower DC current) when running it from my vehicle.Over a period of 17.2 hours the fridge consumed 210 watt-hours which equates to 12.21 watts. Now divide that by your vehicle voltage and you're going to average less than 1 amp. That's actually pretty good for a portable refrigerator. That's running it over night where no one was in or out of it and down in my basement where its 70 deg F. Results will vary depending on use and ambient temperature.Another important aspect to me is how stable is the temperature inside. That's a function of 2 things: 1) placement of the temperature sensor, and 2) how much temperature hysteresis between compressor turn-on and turn-off. Keep in mind the temperature display isn't exactly the temperature inside the fridge but is the temperature of where it is placed inside the wall of the fridge. These values vary all over the place from one manufacturer to the other. The most important thing is to balance hysteresis and duty cycle with whatever the temp sensor gives you. Smeta has done a good job here.I found the temperature delta between where the compressor kicks on and where it kicks off to be 5 deg C or 10 deg F. In my personal example, I have the fridge set to -2 deg C. That means that when the display hits +3 deg C, the compressor turns on. I found with this setting that the air temperature ranged from 32 to 35 deg F with the liquids coming in at an average of 34 deg F. I was getting a duty cycle of 3:28 on and 22 minutes off. Results will vary depending on ambient temperature and how often you are in or out of the fridge. By the way, you have the option to switch from C to F if you like.The only negative that I can think of is that the buttons on the control panel tended to periodically not respond to presses, but is in no way affecting the performance of the refrigerator. Being an EE, I would think its a function of software decoding and probably could be improved with a software change in my opinion. Definitely not a deal breaker in my opinion.

Last Update: Not long since last updte. Now the unit is making noise, over heating, and a smell of burning electrical wiring. Very disappointed that this is as long as it would last.Update: It has almost been six months since my purchase and I must say, if I could give it a zero I would. It has become very noisy now and we are going to look at other models and get a replacement. It is a shame it only lasted 6 months and I notice from the other review by "Outdoor Enthusiast" that they give a lot of technical details and do not use a real name and giving it a 5.0. Maybe it is just my unit, but with only two reviews, I would guess not.I purchased the unit because of the words in the title "Dual Zone" . To me, this meant that you can control the temperature in both zones but the unit does not do that. After using it the first time I also noticed that the temperature is contantly changing and going form a set temperature of 33 F and going to 44F and then back down again without opening the door and this is concerning. Also the programming pad when moving temperature up and down to set, sometimes skips numbers 2 or 3 at a time making it dificult to get the desired result. It does seem to be made well, and is the correct size I wanted. Although there listing may not be false, to me it is certainly misleading and that is the main reason for the rating. If you are looking for real dual zone temp control, this is not the unit.