When I first noticed the Ecoflow Glacier, introduced ultimately 12 months’s CES, I instantly thought, No one wants this. Well, not nobody. I want it. But I reside 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 mistaken! People 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 probably 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 non-obligatory battery, the Ecoflow Glacier is the whole lot you might want to maintain your meals and drinks cool on a scorching day on the seaside, or a weekend within the woods. It most likely received’t roll over dunes all that effectively, however it’s not too onerous to hold.
Ice Chest
EcoFlow targets the Glacier at full-time RVers, van lifers, and boat house owners, however for those who’ve obtained the area and cash, it’s an amazing substitute for an ice chest irrespective of the place you reside. It’s an amazing choice for weekend journeys for those who decide up the battery (bought individually), which is able to let you be off the grid for as much as 40 hours (much less when ambient temps are greater). Throw in 200 watts of photo voltaic panels and also you’ll be capable 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 wonderful 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 means that you can cut up the principle compartment into fridge and freezer sections. What’s good is that if you’re not utilizing it, the divider tucks neatly up into the lid, out of the best way.
Everything 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). Once you load it up with meals it will get more durable, however two individuals can handle it.
The management panel is straightforward to make use of; I by no means needed to learn the handbook. Speaking of, you don’t get a handbook, which is disappointing in a product aimed toward individuals going off-grid. You can obtain the handbook from Ecoflow, however I might have most well-liked paper.
Photograph: Ecoflow
The Glacier has a 38-liter capability. For reference, that’s about 60 12-ounce cans. You can 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 employ the divider you find yourself with one part that’s 23 liters and one which’s 15. You can then set the temperature independently, with both facet as a freezer. The Glacier detects when the divider is in place, and routinely presents two temp settings on the display, which is fairly slick.
There is one catch to the divider. The left facet will be as a lot as 77 levels Fahrenheit greater than the precise, however the precise facet can solely be 59 levels Fahrenheit greater than the left. This barely unusual limitation most likely received’t come up for most individuals because it’s onerous to give you a state of affairs the place you’d need that massive of a temperature distinction.
Temperature, together with the whole lot else in regards to the Glacier, will be managed both by the app through Bluetooth or you may add the unit to your Wi-Fi community. If you don’t need to use the app, you may all the time use the settings panel on the Glacier. There are good massive plus and minus buttons that make it straightforward to regulate the whole lot on the unit. The app is superb although and makes a pleasant choice for those who’re planning to place the Glacier in a drawer in a van or RV.
The limitations 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. Similarly, 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 provides 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 the whole lot summer time threw at it.
For some context, I reside 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 really like, though it may very well be quieter). For most 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’s beneath fully splendid 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.