When I first noticed the Ecoflow Glacier, introduced at last year’s CES, I instantly thought, No one wants this. Well, not nobody. I would like it. But 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 after I noticed two college-aged males struggling over the sand dunes with a large 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 seemingly 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-compulsory battery, the Ecoflow Glacier is the whole lot you should hold your meals and drinks cool on a sizzling day on the seaside, or a weekend within the woods. It most likely gained’t roll over dunes all that nicely, however it’s not too exhausting to hold.

Ice Chest

EcoFlow targets the Glacier at full-time RVers, van lifers, and boat house owners, however for those who’ve acquired the house and cash, it’s an ideal alternative for an ice chest irrespective of the place you reside. It’s an ideal choice for weekend journeys for those who choose up the battery (offered individually), which is able to can help you be off the grid for as much as 40 hours (much less when ambient temps are increased). 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 fantastic 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.

Everything concerning the Glacier is extremely nicely 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 tougher, however two folks can handle it.

The management panel is easy 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 folks going off-grid. You can obtain the handbook from Ecoflow, however I’d have most popular paper.

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 wherever 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 aspect as a freezer. The Glacier detects when the divider is in place, and mechanically provides two temp settings on the display screen, which is fairly slick.

There is one catch to the divider. The left aspect may be as a lot as 77 levels Fahrenheit increased than the fitting, however the fitting aspect can solely be 59 levels Fahrenheit increased than the left. This barely unusual limitation most likely gained’t come up for most individuals because it’s exhausting to provide you with a state of affairs the place you’d need that large of a temperature distinction.

Temperature, together with the whole lot else concerning the Glacier, may be managed both by way of the app by way of Bluetooth or you may add the unit to your Wi-Fi community. If you don’t wish to use the app, you may all the time use the settings panel on the Glacier. There are good large plus and minus buttons that make it straightforward to regulate the whole lot 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 limitations are that the Glacier can’t run straight 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 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 moveable fridge I’ve ever tried, shockingly nicely, and it held its inside temperature after the whole lot 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 refrigerator (which I don’t advocate) and an Engle freezer (which I really like, though it could possibly 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 best 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.