Anker’s 58-liter solar fridge is a noisy power-monster

Anker is pushing portability limits pinch the motorboat of its elephantine 58-liter Solix EverFrost 2 dual-zone refrigerator / freezer. It’s portable because it has wheels, a handle, and slots for 2 batteries. But this point weighs 64 pounds (29kg) quiet and quickly reached 120 pounds erstwhile I filled my reappraisal portion pinch drinks and food. It tin beryllium recharged from a modular wall socket, 12V car socket, USB-C charger, and from up to 100W of star from a accepted sheet aliases Anker’s new formation umbrella.

The 58L (about 61 quarts) exemplary I’ve been testing has acold greater capacity than the largest star fridges I’ve reviewed from EcoFlow (38L) and Bluetti (40L) — some of which allocate precious abstraction to integrated crystal makers. As an avid vanlifer and cocktail enthusiast, I’m decidedly tempted by the idea of making crystal connected the road. I ne'er do it, though, because h2o and energy are conscionable excessively valuable erstwhile venturing distant from civilization. I’d alternatively bring a fridge that stuffs arsenic overmuch usable capacity into the smallest footprint possible.

Unfortunately, that’s not what Anker has done.

Instead, Anker allocated that abstraction to 2 ample instrumentality housings successful each lid. It’s each portion of the air-cooling tech recovered successful the EverFrost 2 lineup, which includes 40L and 23L models. Surprisingly, the 40L Solix EverFrost 2 exemplary is really somewhat larger successful length, width, and tallness than the 40L Bluetti model, contempt lacking an crystal shaper and utilizing a overmuch smaller battery.

In my testing, the 58L Solix EverFrost 2 surely does what it’s expected to. The 2 zones power temperatures independently from -20 to 20 degrees Celsius / -4 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing it to run arsenic a ample portable refrigerator, freezer, aliases a fridge and freezer moving simultaneously. You tin moreover move disconnected 1 of the 2 compartments completely.

At $799.99 for the cooler and 1 artillery during the preorder sale, the 58L exemplary is overmuch cheaper than the EcoFlow Glacier pinch its comparably-sized artillery and costs a fewer 100 little than the Bluetti Multicooler, which ships pinch a overmuch larger battery. It’s little compelling erstwhile the $1,099.99 database value kicks in.

I didn’t trial the shrunk-down 40L EverFrost 2 which seems for illustration an moreover amended woody astatine its $599.99 preorder value ($899.99 MSRP) — but it, for illustration the Bluetti, has conscionable a azygous compartment. Both Anker models statesman shipping connected March 7th.

However, you should debar these if noise, abstraction optimization, and powerfulness ratio are precocious connected your database of concerns, arsenic they are connected mine. My 58L reappraisal portion besides beeps a batch owed to an rumor pinch a sensor successful 1 of the lids — oops.

My biggest gripe pinch the 58L Solix EverFrost 2 fridge applies to each bench-style coolers: locating items tin beryllium problematic arsenic things heap up inside. The 2 compartments connected Anker’s largest exemplary are particularly deep, which makes uncovering things a symptom successful the ass erstwhile full. The inclusion of baskets usually addresses this problem truthful you tin assistance everything retired to spot what’s underneath. After sharing my interest pinch Anker, institution spokesperson Emeline Bonnefoy said that individual baskets will beryllium disposable for $19.99 starting successful May, aliases 2 for $24.99.

The EverFrost 2 is air-cooled, which Anker claims is simply a first successful this people of portable coolers. Air-cooled refrigerators usage fans to evenly administer temperatures and accelerate cooldown by arsenic overmuch arsenic 30 percent, according to Anker, erstwhile compared to direct-cooled fridges that trust upon a compressor alone. While somesthesia uniformity tin beryllium a problem successful large-volume room fridges, it’s ne'er created a noticeable problem successful the mini direct-cooled portable fridges I’ve tested wrong vans and RVs. In general, aerial cooling is besides expected to destruct immoderate request for manual defrosting, but I’m already seeing rather a spot of frost create aft conscionable 5 days of operation.

In my testing, Anker’s EverFrost 2 tin get alternatively large compared to different portable fridges, and it’s not peculiarly fast. It reaches a maximum of 41 decibels (from 1 metre away) erstwhile initially cooling down which is beautiful modular for this people of coolers, and balanced to opinionated adjacent a abstraction heater. That tin beryllium exhausting to the ears complete time: it took 56 minutes for the 58L Anker to driblet from room somesthesia to -11C — much than doubly arsenic agelong arsenic the smaller 38L EcoFlow erstwhile I performed the aforesaid test.

The EverFrost 2 past cycles betwixt 38dB for astir 10 minutes and soundlessness for 10 minutes successful bid to support the group temperatures — that’s overmuch louder (remember, the decibel standard isn’t linear) than the 33dB emitted from Bluetti’s and EcoFlow’s coolers. On the agleam side, Anker’s cooler doesn’t nutrient immoderate of the gurgling aliases scratching sounds heard from its competitors, but I still wouldn’t take the EverFrost 2 if I spent a batch of hours sleeping aliases moving adjacent to it successful an RV, cabin, aliases boat.

Power tie is different awesome information erstwhile buying a portable fridge if you scheme to return it disconnected the grid for much than a fewer days. The 58L EverFrost 2 has slots for 2 288Wh LFP batteries. Anker claims up to 104 hours of cooling from a brace aliases 52 hours from the azygous artillery Anker provided me. In my artillery rundown test, I group the portion to FDA-recommended temperatures of -18C (-0.4F) for the freezer and 4C (39.2F) for the fridge. Even successful the astir frugal powerfulness mode of “eco,” I ran the artillery barren successful conscionable 27 hours.

When plugged into a modular AC wall jack successful the default “smart” powerfulness mode, the EverFrost 2 consumed 452Wh complete a 24-hour play wherever its only task was to clasp temperatures dependable — I ne'er moreover opened the lids. That’s beautiful thirsty. The smaller Bluetti consumed conscionable 308Wh erstwhile I ran the aforesaid trial and the EcoFlow cooler consumed 394Wh, moreover though it was doing power-intensive things for illustration making respective batches of ice. Anker’s larger capacity impacts the powerfulness draw, but I fishy the institution besides skimped connected insulation. When I unopen the powerfulness off, the Anker’s somesthesia accrued from -10C to 1C successful 3 hours, whereas the Bluetti cooler roseate from -10C to -5C successful that aforesaid magnitude of time.

Lastly, my reappraisal portion suffers from an rumor that requires other attraction erstwhile closing the right-side lid. Anker puts sensors successful the lids that origin the cooler to beep (and nonstop a notification from the app) if either lid is unfastened for much than 90 seconds. In my case, closing the problematic lid hard, moreover slamming it isn’t enough; I person to push down firmly on the correct broadside adjacent the rear hinge aliases it’ll beep continuously for up to 5 minutes. I recovered frost processing successful this area, suggesting an rumor pinch the fit. Anker says different reviewers person not reported akin issues and will analyse the origin erstwhile they person my returned reappraisal unit.

Other observations:

For its discounted preorder value of $799.99, the 58L EverFrost 2 is awesome if you really request 58 liters of portable dual-zone cooling capacity, person easy entree to powerfulness truthful you’re not stressing complete each Wh consumed, and won’t beryllium spending tons of clip correct adjacent to it successful mini spaces wherever the drone from those cooling fans mightiness go an issue.

Photography by Thomas Ricker / The Verge