Once I first noticed the Ecoflow Glacier, introduced at final yr’s CES, I instantly thought, Nobody wants this. Nicely, not nobody. I would like it. However I stay full-time in an RV. I’m an outlier. Hardly anybody wants a transportable, battery-powered cooler. Not lengthy after that, I used to be on the seaside in Florida once I noticed two college-aged males struggling over the sand dunes with an enormous ice maker, semi-portable fridge, and gas-powered generator. I’m fallacious! Individuals do want the Ecoflow Glacier. It’s not simply me. The Ecoflow Glacier would have eliminated all of the humor from the scene, but it surely possible would have made this group’s spring break a bit simpler.
With an impressively massive storage space, a built-in ice maker, an honest set of wheels, and an optionally available battery, the Ecoflow Glacier is all the things it’s worthwhile to hold your meals and drinks cool on a scorching day on the seaside, or a weekend within the woods. It in all probability gained’t roll over dunes all that nicely, but it surely’s not too onerous to hold.
Ice Chest
EcoFlow targets the Glacier at full-time RVers, van lifers, and boat homeowners, however when you’ve received the area and cash, it’s an important alternative for an ice chest irrespective of the place you reside. It’s an important possibility for weekend journeys when you decide up the battery (bought individually), which can let you be off the grid for as much as 40 hours (much less when ambient temps are larger). Throw in 200 watts of photo voltaic panels and also you’ll be capable of have refrigeration almost indefinitely as long as the solar is shining.
Sadly, out of the field, the Ecoflow Glacier can’t cost off photo voltaic, nor do you get the battery. It’s nonetheless a positive fridge, and the value is aggressive at $1,000. That will get you the unit itself, 12-V and 120-V chargers, a basket, and a divider. The divider lets you break up the primary compartment into fridge and freezer sections. What’s good is that while you’re not utilizing it, the divider tucks neatly up into the lid, out of the way in which.
All the things in regards to the Glacier is extremely nicely designed. The seals are tight, but it surely’s simple to open. It’s mild sufficient that I can carry it round simply with the included handles (it’s 51 kilos when empty). When you load it up with meals it will get more durable, however two folks can handle it.
The management panel is straightforward to make use of; I by no means needed to learn the guide. Talking of, you don’t get a guide, which is disappointing in a product aimed toward folks going off-grid. You’ll be able to obtain the guide from Ecoflow, however I’d have most popular paper.
{Photograph}: Ecoflow
The Glacier has a 38-liter capability. For reference, that’s about 60 12-ounce cans. You should utilize it as both a fridge or freezer, setting the temp to anyplace between 50 to 32 levels Fahrenheit (10 to 0 levels Celsius) for the fridge mode, and 32 to –13 levels Fahrenheit (0 to 25 levels Celsius) for the freezer mode. In the event you use the divider you find yourself with one part that’s 23 liters and one which’s 15. You’ll be able to then set the temperature independently, with both facet as a freezer. The Glacier detects when the divider is in place, and robotically presents two temp settings on the display, which is fairly slick.
There’s one catch to the divider. The left facet might be as a lot as 77 levels Fahrenheit larger than the precise, however the precise facet can solely be 59 levels Fahrenheit larger than the left. This barely unusual limitation in all probability gained’t come up for most individuals because it’s onerous to provide you with a state of affairs the place you’d need that massive of a temperature distinction.
Temperature, together with all the things else in regards to the Glacier, might be managed both by means of the app by way of Bluetooth or you’ll be able to add the unit to your Wi-Fi community. In the event you don’t wish to use the app, you’ll be able to all the time use the settings panel on the Glacier. There are good massive plus and minus buttons that make it simple to regulate all the things on the unit. The app is great although and makes a pleasant possibility when you’re planning to place the Glacier in a drawer in a van or RV.
The constraints are that the Glacier can’t run immediately off photo voltaic panels with out the battery. You’re not powering the Glacier, you’re charging the batteries. Equally, you’ll be able to’t make ice off the 12-V energy provide. You want the battery (or to be plugged into the wall). For these causes, I extremely counsel you purchase the battery, which additionally provides you a bidirectional 100-watt USB-C PD port so you’ll be able to cost devices whereas additionally powering the fridge (powering each off photo voltaic when you have the panels).
Six Months of Testing
I examined the Ecoflow Glacier for greater than six months and located it delivers on all of Ecoflow’s claims. It cools the quickest of any transportable fridge I’ve ever tried, shockingly nicely, and it held its inside temperature after all the things summer time threw at it.
For some context, I stay full-time on 12-V refrigeration powered by photo voltaic panels. I’ve a Vitrifrigo fridge (which I don’t advocate) and an Engle freezer (which I like, though it may very well be quieter). For many of final summer time, I swapped out the Engle with the Ecoflow Glacier. Ecoflow charges the Glacier able to 40 hours off the 298-watthour battery. That is below fully very best circumstances with nothing within the fridge. In my real-world testing with ambient temperatures starting from 75 to 85 levels Fahrenheit, the Glacier’s battery held up for almost 24 hours, which is spectacular.
