After I first noticed the Ecoflow Glacier, introduced at last year’s CES, I instantly thought, Nobody wants this. Nicely, not nobody. I would like it. However I dwell full-time in an RV. I’m an outlier. Hardly anybody wants a conveyable, battery-powered cooler. Not lengthy after that, I used to be on the seashore 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 flawed! Individuals do want the Ecoflow Glacier. It’s not simply me. The Ecoflow Glacier would have eliminated all of the humor from the scene, however it possible would have made this group’s spring break a bit simpler.
With an impressively giant storage space, a built-in ice maker, a good set of wheels, and an optionally available battery, the Ecoflow Glacier is all the things you should preserve your meals and drinks cool on a sizzling day on the seashore, or a weekend within the woods. It most likely gained’t roll over dunes all that effectively, however it’s not too exhausting to hold.
Ice Chest
EcoFlow targets the Glacier at full-time RVers, van lifers, and boat homeowners, however for those who’ve bought the area and cash, it’s a terrific alternative for an ice chest regardless of the place you reside. It’s a terrific choice for weekend journeys for those who decide up the battery (bought individually), which is able to help 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 have the ability to have refrigeration practically 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 advantageous fridge, and the worth 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 permits you to cut up the principle compartment into fridge and freezer sections. What’s good is that once you’re not utilizing it, the divider tucks neatly up into the lid, out of the way in which.
Every little thing in regards to the Glacier is extremely effectively designed. The seals are tight, however it’s straightforward 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 tougher, however two individuals can handle it.
The management panel is easy 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 geared toward individuals going off-grid. You possibly can obtain the guide from Ecoflow, however I might have most well-liked paper.
The Glacier has a 38-liter capability. For reference, that’s about 60 12-ounce cans. You need to use 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. If you happen to use the divider you find yourself with one part that’s 23 liters and one which’s 15. You possibly can then set the temperature independently, with both facet as a freezer. The Glacier detects when the divider is in place, and mechanically affords two temp settings on the display screen, which is fairly slick.
There may be one catch to the divider. The left facet could 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 most likely gained’t come up for most individuals because it’s exhausting to give you a state of affairs the place you’d need that large of a temperature distinction.
Temperature, together with all the things else in regards to the Glacier, could be managed both via the app by way of Bluetooth or you may add the unit to your Wi-Fi community. If you happen to don’t wish to use the app, you may at all times use the settings panel on the Glacier. There are good large plus and minus buttons that make it straightforward to manage all the things on the unit. The app is great although and makes a pleasant choice for those who’re planning to place the Glacier in a drawer in a van or RV.
The constraints are that the Glacier can’t run instantly off photo voltaic panels with out the battery. You’re not powering the Glacier, you’re charging the batteries. Equally, you may’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 recommend you purchase the battery, which additionally offers you a bidirectional 100-watt USB-C PD port so you may cost devices whereas additionally powering the fridge (powering each off photo voltaic if in case 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 effectively, and it held its inside temperature after all the things summer season threw at it.
For some context, I dwell full-time on 12-V refrigeration powered by photo voltaic panels. I’ve a Vitrifrigo refrigerator (which I don’t advocate) and an Engle freezer (which I really like, though it could possibly be quieter). For many of final summer season, I swapped out the Engle with the Ecoflow Glacier. Ecoflow charges the Glacier able to 40 hours off the 298-watthour battery. That is underneath utterly ultimate situations 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 practically 24 hours, which is spectacular.