Gear Review- EdgeStar Freezer/Refrigerator

[Greg]

Yep, bringing up the dead here. lol I just bought a used edgestar fp430 and wondered how long should it take to get to 39* say ambient temp of 90* yeah it's hot here Arizona low desert. I also see that someone added a bullet piercing valve on it to add refrigerant. I put a gauge on it and it was about 1 psi low side so if anyone has any info on any of this stuff would be appreciated.

I would think that if your vehicle is running and you're charging at over 13.5 volts, then it shouldn't take more than an hour to get down to your set temperature. You could also try putting it on fast freeze (FF) to lower the temperature quicker, but make sure you're not freezing your food inside the fridge when it gets to that point.

 

[craigrrr]

Thanks Greg, I guess mine is working ok then. It took about 4 hours but that was in 102* day inside a vehicle.

 

[Greg]

Well, after almost 10 years the Edgestar may be giving up on me. When I plug it to the Jeeps 12v power (with the Jeep running or not), the temperature isn't dropping. If I plug it into 110v, then the temp drops just fine and the fridge operates like normal. I've truly gotten my moneys worth out of the Edgestar, it's seen use often and has been thru a lot since I've owned it. It owes me nothing.

While it's been a good fridge, I may be stepping up to either an ARB or Dometic... we will see. I wasn't planning to buy a new fridge. I had a weekend camping trip planned, the fridge is loaded up but I may have to cancel the overnight plans if the fridge isn't operating.

 

[Tonkaman]

Well, after almost 10 years the Edgestar may be giving up on me. When I plug it to the Jeeps 12v power (with the Jeep running or not), the temperature isn't dropping. If I plug it into 110v, then the temp drops just fine and the fridge operates like normal. I've truly gotten my moneys worth out of the Edgestar, it's seen use often and has been thru a lot since I've owned it. It owes me nothing.

While it's been a good fridge, I may be stepping up to either an ARB or Dometic... we will see. I wasn't planning to buy a new fridge. I had a weekend camping trip planned, the fridge is loaded up but I may have to cancel the overnight plans if the fridge isn't operating.

Is your battery getting weak? I had a similar problem with my ARB fridge just before my battery crapped out. Strange because the battery would start the truck, but the fridge just didn’t like how much power it was receiving.

 

[DAA]

The ARB will signal if it's not liking the battery. Does yours do that Greg? If it's adjustable for shut down voltage to avoid killing your battery, you might try setting it as low of voltage as it will go.

- DAA

 

[Greg]

Is your battery getting weak? I had a similar problem with my ARB fridge just before my battery crapped out. Strange because the battery would start the truck, but the fridge just didn’t like how much power it was receiving.

I have my doubts that the battery is failing. It's maybe 2 years old at the most and is a high quality AGM battery. No other indicators that the battery is weak, but I could load test it and see. Good feedback!

The ARB will signal if it's not liking the battery. Does yours do that Greg? If it's adjustable for shut down voltage to avoid killing your battery, you might try setting it as low of voltage as it will go.

- DAA

I don't think this one is that fancy, but I believe it will automatically turn off if the voltage falls below 10.4 volts.

What's funny is that I ended up taking the Jeep out with the fridge loaded all day yesterday and kept checking the temperature frequently. Everything worked as it should, the fridge stayed at around 38ﾟ all day long. I'm thinking my power cord might have a few broken strands of wire in it and when the cord is sitting a certain way the fridge was not getting enough amperage to operate properly. I moved my power cord when I was checking things out and wonder is perhaps it's sitting in a way where all the wires are making contact...?

My power cord has been replaced once before after it was crushed and wires were exposed. I think I will replace it again and see what happens.

 

[Greg]

I'm thinking my power cord might have a few broken strands of wire in it and when the cord is sitting a certain way the fridge was not getting enough amperage to operate properly. I moved my power cord when I was checking things out and wonder is perhaps it's sitting in a way where all the wires are making contact...?

My power cord has been replaced once before after it was crushed and wires were exposed. I think I will replace it again and see what happens.

The damn Edgestar just doesn't want to die... I replaced the power cord (this is the 3rd one since I've owned it) with a Whynter Brand 12V power cord and plugged the fridge in for a 3 day trip up to Utah and back.... the fridge worked flawlessly. It was in the back seat of the truck, where I could keep an eye on the digital temp. setting over time. It seems that some of the power wires in the 12V power cord had broken, providing enough power to turn on the fridge, but not enough to keep operating at cold temps. Makes sense why it would work fine on 110V and not on 12V.

The new power cord plug at the fridge is a 90* plug versus the Edgestar plug that stuck straight out and the power wires seem larger, so that's a good sign and the 90* plug should help keep the power wires more protected. I need to do a better job of protecting the cord while the fridge is in the back of the Jeep, perhaps some kind of beefy wire loom is in order. Even though the fridge is tied down, some times the power cord gets pinched while bouncing around offroad.

I was ready to buy either an ARB or an Engle fridge, settled on an ARB since it has some better features!

 

[craigrrr]

Hey Greg, good news! So when your old cord was plugged in it showed the temp and the red display looked fine? just would not drop in temp..Did I get that right. thanks

 

[Greg]

Hey Greg, good news! So when your old cord was plugged in it showed the temp and the red display looked fine? just would not drop in temp..Did I get that right. thanks

Yeah, that's correct. With the fridge running on 12 Volt power it would power on, the display would light up, but the temperature wouldn't drop much at all. Once running on 110v power it was fine, temp would drop like normal. The power wire had been pinched, but wasn't broken... from the outside. I suppose I could have checked the power wire for resistance with a meter.... but I didn't.

 

[Deleted member 12904]

So mine has an issue where it will randomly set the temp to 0 deg. Had an issue this summer with it freezing and exploding all the drinks. I'm a little gun shy on using it now.

 

[Greg]

So mine has an issue where it will randomly set the temp to 0 deg. Had an issue this summer with it freezing and exploding all the drinks. I'm a little gun shy on using it now.

Mine hasn't done that, but every time I plug it in, I double check the temperature it's set to.

You could call Edgestar... could be a fault in the control panel?

 

[Greg]

At this point, it's been over 10 years and my original Edgestar FP430 is still going strong. For the last year, I have been using is weekly transporting perishables for my week of work away from home. It's showing some wear and tear, the plastic handles on the sides have broken and the plastic coating on the wire baskets have worn thru and started to rust. I need to replace the handles and baskets, hopefully upgrade to steel handles. I was looking at replacing it, but think I'll just repair the broken/worn parts and keep it in service.

I've been super impressed with this thing lasting for so long. It's probably not the most efficient, doesn't have all the fancy options, etc... but it does the job and is built to last.

 

[J-mobzz]

So a few post up I reported mine would reset to 0. It ended up being a seal issue. I replaced the seal and haven’t had an issue since.

 

[Stephen]

I was cleaning my fridge yesterday after its most recent outing and I was thinking the same thing as you, Greg; I'm consistently impressed with this thing. For the price, they just cant be beat. Like you said, they are simple with no frills; but they're just workhorses.