Chefmate 1.7 cubic foot mini fridge on sale at Target.
Not. Outrageous case of fraudulent representation.
Outside of the box says "Compact Refrigerator"
Inside of the box, the manual calls it a "Refrigerated Cooler" and says "Your refrigerated cooler was desgines to operate at approximately 20-25 below room (ambient) temperature when set at maximum settings.
In other words, it is NOT a refrigerator, despite the way it is represented on the outside of the box at the time of purchase. It cannot prevent food from spoiling!
> Chefmate 1.7 cubic foot mini fridge on sale at Target.
> Not. Outrageous case of fraudulent representation.
> Outside of the box says "Compact Refrigerator"
> Inside of the box, the manual calls it a "Refrigerated Cooler" and > says "Your refrigerated cooler was desgines to operate at > approximately 20-25 below room (ambient) temperature when set at > maximum settings.
> In other words, it is NOT a refrigerator, despite the way it is > represented on the outside of the box at the time of purchase. > It cannot prevent food from spoiling!
On Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:02:24 -0700 (PDT), cs_post...@hotmail.com you wrote:
>Chefmate 1.7 cubic foot mini fridge on sale at Target.
>Not. Outrageous case of fraudulent representation.
>Outside of the box says "Compact Refrigerator"
>Inside of the box, the manual calls it a "Refrigerated Cooler" and >says "Your refrigerated cooler was desgines to operate at >approximately 20-25 below room (ambient) temperature when set at >maximum settings.
>In other words, it is NOT a refrigerator, despite the way it is >represented on the outside of the box at the time of purchase. >It cannot prevent food from spoiling!
fer gawds sake, just return the the thing then.
I bought one and it works fine. Then again, all I use it for is to keep my lunch cold until noon and keep softdrinks and water cold, which it does very well.
> Chefmate 1.7 cubic foot mini fridge on sale at Target.
> Not. Outrageous case of fraudulent representation.
> Outside of the box says "Compact Refrigerator"
> Inside of the box, the manual calls it a "Refrigerated Cooler" and > says "Your refrigerated cooler was desgines to operate at > approximately 20-25 below room (ambient) temperature when set at > maximum settings.
> In other words, it is NOT a refrigerator, despite the way it is > represented on the outside of the box at the time of purchase. > It cannot prevent food from spoiling!
I agree it's misleading, but not necessarily fraud. FWIW, a real refrigerator can't keep food from spoiling, either...it's just that if you keep your food colder, it spoils more slowly.
It sounds to me like this isn't really fraud...just a really poorly designed product. I've got a Coleman AC/DC refrigerated cooler. Depending on what power source I use, it will freeze water in anywhere from 12 - 96 hours. I wouldn't use it as a refrigerator, BUT... seeing that it's usually in an area that has ambient temperature from 68-73F, and it freezes water, it seems to be cooling to 40F or more below room (ambient) temp. Don't know how much you paid for the chefmate, but the Coleman I got is 40 quart size, and usually sells for about a hundred bucks on sale. I mainly use it to store lunches and lots of soda and water. The soda is ice old! -Dave
>> Not. Outrageous case of fraudulent representation.
>> Outside of the box says "Compact Refrigerator"
>> Inside of the box, the manual calls it a "Refrigerated Cooler" and >> says "Your refrigerated cooler was desgines to operate at >> approximately 20-25 below room (ambient) temperature when set at >> maximum settings.
>> In other words, it is NOT a refrigerator, despite the way it is >> represented on the outside of the box at the time of purchase. >> It cannot prevent food from spoiling!
>I agree it's misleading, but not necessarily fraud. FWIW, a real >refrigerator can't keep food from spoiling, either...it's just that if you >keep your food colder, it spoils more slowly.
>It sounds to me like this isn't really fraud...just a really poorly designed >product. I've got a Coleman AC/DC refrigerated cooler. Depending on what >power source I use, it will freeze water in anywhere from 12 - 96 hours. I >wouldn't use it as a refrigerator, BUT... >seeing that it's usually in an area that has ambient temperature from >68-73F, and it freezes water, it seems to be cooling to 40F or more below >room (ambient) temp. >Don't know how much you paid for the chefmate, but the Coleman I got is 40 >quart size, and usually sells for about a hundred bucks on sale. I mainly >use it to store lunches and lots of soda and water. The soda is ice >old! -Dave
What you're referring to is a "thermal electric cooler". The cooling part comes from something called the Peltier principle. Without delving into the scientific mumbo-jumbo on how it works it will lower the temperature approximately 40° below ambient temperature. A lot of truckers use these coolers. I used to but gave up due to the hassle involved. They were either too cold or more often to warm inside. If you were going across West Texas in July and your air conditioner quit you were totally screwed. At best you had a cooler full of warm pop or at worst a cooler full of ruined groceries. plus these things are quite noisy particularly with the truck shot off and they consume a lot of electricity. They also don't do a thing for dehumidifying the interior. I finally gave up and bought a portable refrigerator called an Engels fridge freeze. Even though I paid five to six times as much as a thermoelectric cooler and more than made my money back on my fridge freeze. I do not carry it any more as I no longer truck over the road, but hey, it's fantastic for hauling groceries to the lake cabin, or load of fixings for a picnic.
> What you're referring to is a "thermal electric cooler". The cooling > part comes from something called the Peltier principle. Without > delving into the scientific mumbo-jumbo on how it works it will lower > the temperature approximately 40° below ambient temperature.
I can definitely confirm that.
> A lot of > truckers use these coolers. I used to but gave up due to the hassle > involved. They were either too cold or more often to warm inside.
Odd, I find mine is just about right. But then, I'm on the road for weeks at a time, and the cooler is only unplugged when I'm on hometime. It does take several hours (5 or 6) to get cool when you plug it back in.
> If > you were going across West Texas in July and your air conditioner quit > you were totally screwed.
Well that would be true whether you had an electric cooler or not. :)
> At best you had a cooler full of warm pop > or at worst a cooler full of ruined groceries. plus these things are > quite noisy particularly with the truck shot off and they consume a > lot of electricity.
OK, as I said before, I've got a Coleman 40 quart ac/dc refrigerated cooler. When it's on, I have to put my hand near the exhaust fan to confirm that it is running. It is totally silent. In fact, that is the only problem I have with it. There is an led on the power plug thingie, but there is no indication on the unit itself that it is running! There should be, as you can't tell that it is running, when the power plug is connected out of sight. I'm sure they consume a lot of electricity. But I've had it running off of battery power alone for up to 48 hours and not had a problem (yet).
> They also don't do a thing for dehumidifying the > interior.
Well I have noticed that when it's unplugged, I need to prop the lid open so that water doesn't accumulate.
> I finally gave up and bought a portable refrigerator called > an Engels fridge freeze. Even though I paid five to six times as much > as a thermoelectric cooler and more than made my money back on my > fridge freeze. I do not carry it any more as I no longer truck over > the road, but hey, it's fantastic for hauling groceries to the lake > cabin, or load of fixings for a picnic.
I'm sure your fridge is great!!! I'm not sure I'd spend that much money on one. :) -Dave
>> I finally gave up and bought a portable refrigerator called >> an Engels fridge freeze. Even though I paid five to six times as much >> as a thermoelectric cooler and more than made my money back on my >> fridge freeze. I do not carry it any more as I no longer truck over >> the road, but hey, it's fantastic for hauling groceries to the lake >> cabin, or load of fixings for a picnic.
>I'm sure your fridge is great!!! I'm not sure I'd spend that much money on >one. :) -Dave
I'd tend to agree with you, if all you carried was pop and snacks. But when you try to live off your cooler on the road, efficiency trumps price. I still have my old igloo cooler sitting in the basement gathering dust. I'd carted enough groceries in the igloo to last me a week. I'd pack the top of the food with re freezable freezer packs. A lot of times I would reach in the cooler for a cold pop, only to find it was either frozen or too warm for comfort, even worse. There were times I had my groceries go bad. Add to that my igloo was quite noisy except if I had some ambient noise in the background to cancel it out. Now the way I look at it. My fridge cost me $650, my microwave was $50, and my inverter was $150,I guesstimated I saved $50 minimum per week over eating in the truck stops, and the food was just as good if not better. Now multiply that savings over the five-year period that I used my set up and I saved approximately $3000 or better. Now for an $850 investment. That's not bad savings. BTW if my air conditioner quit in the middle of the Mohave desert my fridge may run a little more, but it would definitely keep things at a steady temp.
> >> Not. Outrageous case of fraudulent representation.
> >> Outside of the box says "Compact Refrigerator"
> >> Inside of the box, the manual calls it a "Refrigerated Cooler" and > >> says "Your refrigerated cooler was desgines to operate at > >> approximately 20-25 below room (ambient) temperature when set at > >> maximum settings.
> >> In other words, it is NOT a refrigerator, despite the way it is > >> represented on the outside of the box at the time of purchase. > >> It cannot prevent food from spoiling!
> >I agree it's misleading, but not necessarily fraud. FWIW, a real > >refrigerator can't keep food from spoiling, either...it's just that if you > >keep your food colder, it spoils more slowly.
> >It sounds to me like this isn't really fraud...just a really poorly designed > >product. I've got a Coleman AC/DC refrigerated cooler. Depending on what > >power source I use, it will freeze water in anywhere from 12 - 96 hours. I > >wouldn't use it as a refrigerator, BUT... > >seeing that it's usually in an area that has ambient temperature from > >68-73F, and it freezes water, it seems to be cooling to 40F or more below > >room (ambient) temp. > >Don't know how much you paid for the chefmate, but the Coleman I got is 40 > >quart size, and usually sells for about a hundred bucks on sale. I mainly > >use it to store lunches and lots of soda and water. The soda is ice > >old! -Dave
> What you're referring to is a "thermal electric cooler". The cooling > part comes from something called the Peltier principle. Without > delving into the scientific mumbo-jumbo on how it works it will lower > the temperature approximately 40° below ambient temperature. A lot of > truckers use these coolers. I used to but gave up due to the hassle > involved. They were either too cold or more often to warm inside. If > you were going across West Texas in July and your air conditioner quit > you were totally screwed. At best you had a cooler full of warm pop > or at worst a cooler full of ruined groceries. plus these things are > quite noisy particularly with the truck shot off and they consume a > lot of electricity. They also don't do a thing for dehumidifying the > interior. I finally gave up and bought a portable refrigerator called > an Engels fridge freeze. Even though I paid five to six times as much > as a thermoelectric cooler and more than made my money back on my > fridge freeze. I do not carry it any more as I no longer truck over > the road, but hey, it's fantastic for hauling groceries to the lake > cabin, or load of fixings for a picnic.- Hide quoted text -
> - Show quoted text -
I just purchased a Chefmate .5 cubic refrigerator for my husband, who is a trucker. Will it work? I tried it at home, however, the slightest movement short circuited my stove and phone. I had to replug and and it worked. I opened the door to the refrig and the same thing happened. Is it worth while to give it to him or should I continue to look for a refrigerator that will fit the truck. It is hard to find something that is 15w x 17d x 20h. I found products at U- Line, however, I can't see paying $1,000 for a mini fridge or even $500 (at Flying J) for this. Any suggestions? I would really appreciate it. Thank you.
>I just purchased a Chefmate .5 cubic refrigerator for my husband, who >is a trucker. Will it work? I tried it at home, however, the >slightest movement short circuited my stove and phone. I had to >replug and and it worked. I opened the door to the refrig and the >same thing happened.
Wow. Ummmm...either there is something severely wrong with the chefmate refrigerator, or the circuit you plugged it into is simply overloaded. That is, you probably shouldn't run two refrigerators off of the same circuit in your house.
>Is it worth while to give it to him or should I >continue to look for a refrigerator that will fit the truck.
That depends. Is it AC/DC? From your description, it hasn't really been tested yet. If it works, and if it is AC/DC, then it might be OK for the truck. But first verify that it works? At all?
> It is >hard to find something that is 15w x 17d x 20h. I found products at U- >Line, however, I can't see paying $1,000 for a mini fridge or even >$500 (at Flying J) for this. Any suggestions? I would really >appreciate it. Thank you.
Do you or anybody else go out on the road with your husband? If NOT, then the dimensions of the fridge or cooler or whatever don't matter that much. I have a Coleman brand 40 qt. electric cooler. There is no room for it in the sleeper compartment of the tractor I drive. But it fits perfect on the passenger seat, and the seatbelt even holds it in place!!! I have it oriented so the vent faces the driver seat, and the door opens "UP". This way, I can use it without ever having to unbelt it.
No reason I can think of that you couldn't put a small fridge on the passenger seat. But it will need to be belted in place or strapped down or something so it doesn't go through the windshield when you have to stop quick. (!) -Dave
I have one of these Chefmates apart on my floor at the moment. The fridge stopped cooling and started clicking (a constant electrical sounding crackle). Turns out one of the transformers on the power supply is shorting internally. Useless.
