Autofridge

HISTORY

Developed and manufactured in Sydney, Australia by Leon Dewberry, the Autofridge first launched in Australia in 1987, and quickly became popular as a premium portable 12V fridge for camping, 4WDs, fishing and mining. At the time, the Autofridge was the only eutectic camping fridge on the market.

MODELS

The original autofridge 12V fridge freezer was produced in two models:

AF42 – 42 litre eutectic portable fridge / freezer
Lighter and more compact than the AF75, the AF 42 is great as a car fridge or for smaller campers.

AF75 – 75 litre eutectic portable fridge / freezer
Suitable for large 4WDs, off road campers, and caravans, this big 75 litre fridge could easily keep a family of four in cold food and drink for a week!

Eutectic: superior cooling technology

The Autofridge employs eutectic technology. Eutectic refrigeration is simply the use of a compressor driven refrigeration system coupled with a cold storage device i.e. A eutectic tank, sometimes called an ‘ice wall’ or an ‘ice bank’. Put simply, it provides superior and extended cooling, with a more efficient use of power.

The eutectic operation of the refrigeration system allows the user the luxury of knowing that in ambient temperatures of up to 32 degrees Celsius, the maximum daily power consumption of your fridge is on average only 20AH/12Volt. This of course means that you can easily determine how long you can remain stationary without flattening your battery.

The eutectics act as a cold storage compound for the refrigeration contents. The eutectic fluid surrounds the outside of the four walls of the interior cabinet acting as an ‘ice bank’. In an ambient temperature of up to 32 degrees Celsius, having initially pre-chilled the Autofridge, it need only be run on its maximum setting for a total of 5-6 hours per day (preferably 2 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the afternoon), and during this run-time, the fluid is frozen and the cabinet contents are thoroughly chilled.

Why the Autofridge is better

If you spend any time away from caravan parks and go bush camping, or in fact of you spend any time in the tropics, than a portable fridge that keeps your food and drinks cold, is super-reliable, and doesn’t use much power, is an essential to make the trip enjoyable.

    The Autofridge is superior because it:

  • Is ideally suited to work with the solar power supplies.
  • Uses a superior Danfoss unit and controller compressor, highly efficient and supplied as a spring-housed unit, suitable for use in off road conditions.
  • Can be turned OFF in between the run-times, allowing you to not only save power, but also enclose the fridges within sealed containers such as storage boxes on the front of camper trailers etc., without the inconvenience of having to vent the box. In short, the Autofridge provides huge power savings as it can be turned off for up to 18 hours a day and still operate the same.
  • Uses an average of less than 1amp per hour to run the fridge. Compare that to any other fridge on the market and you will see why Autofridge is so popular with those that are power conscious.
  • Unlike competitors, it’s built to suit the harsh Australian outdoors!

The next generation Autofridge is coming

High manufacturing costs and cheap imported fridges flooding the market has rendered local production of the Autofridge unviable. However, wanting the Autofridge legacy to continue, Leon Dewberry passed on ownership of the Autofridge brand to intelliQuip, an Australian owned electrical and solar outdoor company. IntelliQuip’s owner, Alan Richards, has owned and used the Autofridge for over 15 years.

Passionate about the Autofridge and its benefits, intelliQuip is soon to commence work on a new Autofridge model with a release date to be announced.

Combining intelliQuip’s extensive electronics and refrigeration expertise with high quality international manufacturing, the new Autofridge will offer an even more efficient, high quality, and reliable eutectic portable refrigerator. The new model will include a freezer section and automatic electronic controller for optimum efficiency.

Don’t miss out!

Unfortunately, we're not currently in a position to provide Autofridge repairs, but if you're keen to follow the developments of the new Autofridge, please follow us on Facebook or drop us an email. We'd also love to hear your feedback, especially if you’ve previously owned, or still own, an Autofridge!