ICECO JP40 12V Fridge Review

ICECO makes the JP fridge in 3 sizes, 30 liter, 40 Liter and 50 Liter. This is the 40 Liter or 43 quart JP40 12v fridge. We have been using our Canyon cooler 55qt hard cooler for camping trips, and that can hold enough food for a 4 or 5 day overlanding trip. But we usually put at least 6 quarts of ice in it, so it’s closer to 49 qt actual usable space. That’s still more than this 43 qt fridge, but you can see that you need subtract ice space when comparing a fridge to a cooler.

The fridge has 2 cooling modes. In MAX it’ll get up to temperature faster using more power. In Eco mode it runs at lower power. I’ve found that if you get the fridge up to temp either on 110 power or MAX mode, and fill it with cold food and drinks then you can set it to ECO for the rest of the trip. I have not used it in hot weather yet however.

ICECO sends you the fridge in a nice box with more extras than you get with other fridges, which is nice. This one came with a 12v adaptor and a 12v extension, which is very nice to have if you need to go a long way to get to that power outlet. It also comes with an AC adaptor if you want to plug it in at home, or into an inverter or shore power when you’re at a site with full hookups.

It also comes with this transit bag that you can use to protect the outside of the fridge in the back of your truck or trailer. The bag/cover also provides some additional insulation.

The fridge, like most similar fridges comes with this basket inside. It has a divider and you can take it out to fill or empty. If you have the fridge strapped down like I do here, it’s handy to be able to do that.

Power usage is going to vary depending on what the fridge is doing. If it’s going from wam to cold, it may pull up to 55 wats in max mode or 33 wats in eco mode.

Once it reaches operating temperatures, it’ll draw 1 – 2 wats with the lid closed. With the lid open it’ll draw 5 or 10 from what I’ve observed.

I run the fridge on this Jackery 300w battery pack that I charge from the inverter in the Tacoma, or a 12v outlet that I have in the bed. The battery will power the fridge for more than 24 hours when fully charged, and It charges when I’m driving, if I remember to turn on the inverter. Either way, the fridge will easily run continuously with the battery if you remember to charge it now and then. With this Solar panel to charge the jackery it’ll run forever because the panel makes more power in a day than the fridge will use in a day. At least until it gets hot…

What if you don’t have a Jackery, can you still run this fridge? Yes. Fridges like this come with battery protection. This one comes with 3 stage dynamic battery protection. What that means is that In low protection it’ll run the battery down to 9.6v in low protection mode,  10.1v in medium and 11.1 v in high.

So using the medium or high protection setting you can run the fridge off your car battery and be sure you’ll still have enough to start your car.

The fridge seems to be built quite well. Compared to similar high end products it has a simpler user interface with less options and tech. There is no bluetooth, wifi or app. For me, that’s a pro. I really don’t see the need for that stuff. I certainly don’t need to use my phone to check on the fridge from the driver seat. Whether the control electronics are as good or better than other high end fridges, I couldn’t say.

One thing that is the same as other fridges is the compressor. If you remember from the coolers and fridges video we did a few years ago, Harry mentioned Danfoss compressors that come in Dometic and ARB fridges. The ICECO JP40 has a SECOP or Danfoss compressor as well. Whether it’s “the same” compressor you find in more expensive fridges like other videos claim, I also don’t know. But they can at least say that it’s made by the same ocmpany.

The plastic body seems solid enough, though the fit and finish isn’t perfect. Whether that ends up being a problem over the long term we’ll see. The lid is fairly thin and light and doesn’t seem to have a ton of insulation in it.

There is a good seal around the rim and the latch has a positive catch and is easy to open.

The transit bag is kinda fiddly to use. Where dometic designs theirs so that it is a perfect fit that ataches to the lid, the ICECO cover has a full zip closure. So you either have to zip it up, or leave it open where it’ll flop and blow around. Probably not a big deal and it’s likely worth having it on to protect the fridge and aid in insulation.

I have several friends who have been using ICECO fridges for years and are very happy with them. While they’re cheaper than “premium fridges” they’re not as cheap as some low end fridges you can find on amazon. So hopefully the middle of the road price and quality is enough to get you down the road a few times.

Happy Trails.

-M