Avanti AC/DC Superconductor Refrigerator, Model# SHP1712SDC

• Features full-range temperature control, soft interior light with on/off switch and auto defrost
• Tall bottle rack on door holds a 2-liter bottle
• Adjustable, removable shelf
• Stainless steel door has reversible swing
• Includes 5-ft. AC power cord and 6-ft. DC power cord

The fridge arrived with several large dents as other reviewers have mentioned they only include 1/4 inch of Styrofoam for packaging. It also would not turn on... upon further inspection I could see the internal AC hot and common connections were disconnected so I opened it up and plugged those back in.

I put a remote temperature sensor in the fridge and let it cool to 32 degrees (cold as it will get on high) then put a 20 oz pop bottle in that was full of 80F degree water. It took 3 hours to cool to below 40 degrees and it actually warmed the air temp of the fridge up to 42 at one point. If you put a lot of room temp stuff in there I imagine it would take at least 24 hours to cool it all.

Pros:

-Lightweight (really easy to move it only weighs like 23 pounds)

-Efficient (pulls less than 100 watts and keeps stuff cold)

-AD/DC modes is nice

-No moving parts except for heatsink fan and coldsink fan.

-Lots of space, due to the lightweight frame/insulation and lack of compressor what you see is practically what you get.

Cons:

-Lightweight (don't drop it or you'll definitely add to the dents from shipping, also the insulation can't be that great at that thickness)

-Not very powerful, it will take quite a while to cool things down and cannot handle high air temps or direct sunlight.

-As other reviewers have mentioned you can count on it being damaged in shipping. Ours arrived with one of the back corners crushed and a couple good sized dents in the rear panel. It also had apparently jostled loose the internal AC connections.

-Made in china, and it feels like it too.

Summary: It works pretty well for its intended purpose and although it feels cheap and likely to breakdown luckily there really isn't that much that is likely to break since there is no compressor and the only moving parts are two small fans. If you can't accept cosmetic damage from shipping definitely don't bother. I intend to run it on DC to store products at a farmers market, I'll update the review if it craps out on me.

Update 7/6/2011: It's starting to get rather warm here in southern Idaho and the fridge has a hard time keeping up with air temperatures at/over 80s. As expected you certainly have to be careful to keep it out of direct sunlight or it'll turn into an easy bake oven. Somewhat disappointing because I intended to use it outdoors but if you're using it somewhere that is shaded and climate controlled you'll be fine.

Buy Avanti AC/DC Superconductor Refrigerator, Model# SHP1712SDC Now

I have used this fridge once in my new custom goat trailer with living quarters. Worked very well on DC power in the trailer and AC in the house for a test run. My only complaint is that the product was dented when shipped. We determined the dents would not effect operation and therefore not worth sending back to manufacturer. The unit runs fine, just the housing was dinged.

Read Best Reviews of Avanti AC/DC Superconductor Refrigerator, Model# SHP1712SDC Here

I bought this refrigerator with the Idea I would use it in a grid collapse for my insulin. I have solar panels and big batteries. If you are looking for a refrigerator for your insulin, don't buy this one it will quit on you, then you can wait two days and it will start working again after you unplugged it. It is a good party refrigerator used intermittently but it is not reliable temperature control. Buy a small unit with a compressor instead of this for medication temperature control.

Want Avanti AC/DC Superconductor Refrigerator, Model# SHP1712SDC Discount?

Just received our Avanti fridge for one of our truck drivers. Like everyone said, it came with some dented corners and beat up box but it seems to work fine in the house on an A/C test run. For the price, seems like a great little fridge. We'll see how it holds up to the highway miles.

Save 36% Off

after reading the online info, I was excited to give this fridge a go in my small RV. It arrived with no dents or dings from shipping and looked great. Plugged it into the wall and worked great to cool off for a few days before moving it to the RV. When I tried to run it off DC, I got nothing. No power. I tried it with several different vehicles/batteries, but no power (despite reading power through the cord with a volt-meter). Called Avanti and they sent me a replacement fridge quickly--cool! Unfortunately the new one wouldn't run on DC either. I called Avanti again. They send out a new cord. Success! It worked for about a week before dying...no DC again. I'm in the middle of a refund request with amazon's seller.

I think that this is a great fridge for those who want to run it on AC power. Maybe I just had bad luck with DC, but it seems odd that 2 units and 3 cords have all failed now (under 4 months from my original purchase). Even during the week it worked on DC, it drew 7 amps regularly, and ran for most of the day, which is a lot for most RV batteries. I'm not impressed for RV use.

Stephen