Dometic Waeco CoolPro TC-35FL (33L)

AC not working with clicking problem solved – I have solved the problem of the ac not working and giving a clicking sound. The three electro caps in the power supply (2 x 1000Micro farads at 25v and 1 x 1000microfarads at 16v) need to be replaced. Clicking is from the relay trying to work but not enough voltage. These are located under the metal cover and this will need prizing back to get to them. Fridge is still difficult to get cold like many of the reviews

Fair Performer – Some facts: 1. Unit has 2 Fans, a centrifugal fan facing the chest and a vane-axial fan vented to ambient. Both fans start up together. The centrifugal fan circulates the air in the chest over the heat exchanger fins to which the Peltier Device is attached. There is a thermal cutout on the Peltier device side which breaks the current to the device… Read more

if there is an over temperature. A NTC thermistor is mounted between the heatsink and the vents of the frame to measure the chest air temperature. The vane-axial fan is mounted to removed heat from the heat exchanger on the other side of the Peltier device. So that is the air you feel coming from the vents at the front of the unit below the control panel. This fan basically stops once the set temperature is reached. You can hear it cycle during chest temperature maintenance. 2. AC/DC switching is done on a separately mounted power supply module and voltages are reworked to supply the integrated circuit card where 5V and 10V regulated supplies are maintained. 3. The internal electronics are of clean design with robust construction.

A. Minor Issues: 1. Physical pressure or leakage from chest contents could interfere with the chest temperature sensor as in is mounted on a plastic carrier which, with enough pressure can cause it to back out of the carrier and this could result in temperature control problems.

2. The lid of the unit needs to be firmly pressed down to click closed, otherwise the unit will not continue to heat or cool.

3. Switching between hot and cold modes with a low or high temperature already in the chest, may lead to a delayed operation.

4. The rate of temperature rise or fall is typically Peltier. So, the idea is to throw things that are already at the temperature you want and maintain that temperature rather than trying to heat things up or cool things down. If you are happy to wait a long time, the heating and cooling rate might be around 4 deg/hour.

5. Controls

The LED control has no units, but to give you an idea, 5 LED Dots on Cooling selector using the TEMP button gives about 6 degrees C on an empty chest on a 24 deg ambient day.

6. Heating

The chest can get quite hot on full heat and you have to watch your personal safety when you pick up containers of/or food. I think 65 degrees C is too hot, but if you want to keep it hot for a long trip or camp, be aware of the danger. Again, this unit will not heat up food quickly so hot food is maintained hot should be the trip philosophy.

7. Cooling

The chest can get quite cold but it is not a freezer. Put your cold things in to keep them cold. Frozen things will stay frozen longer but you cannot easily bring ambient temperature water to 2 or 3 degrees on high ambient temperatures quickly.

B. Overall

Well constructed and designed, requires a commonsense approach to expectations of performance.

Useful and durable car cooler/warmer – These units live up to their specifications: they cool down to 20C-25C below ambient and heat to about 65C. It is best to set the unit running on AC to precool or preheat and fill with cooled or heated food or drinks, however, this is not really necessary. Replacement of an AC socket was the only repair in over 10 years of regular use. The unit… Read more

can be used as a supplementary fridge but the fan is somewhat noisy in quiet situations such as a motel room.

its only a cooler! definitely not a fridge – I bought one of these hoping it would provide the functionality of a Waeco fridge. I WAS WRONG. the unit couldnt keep things cool enough - the unit was power hungry and the fan noisy - and it just didnt cool very well. these units use a device called a Peltier device - which is an amazing bit of technology, but it just doesnt… Read more

provide sufficienct cooling compared to a real fridge that uses a compressor. Take it from me - if you need a Waeco fridge - buy a proper Waeco fridge - this unit will not do the job of a fridge.

Chapter 4 – The 12 volt fault was traced to a poor fuse connection through the plug. A new 240 volt circuit board was supplied under warranty by Waeco. It is now working on both voltages like it should, running on 4 out of 7 lights with cabinet temperatures ranging from 1.8c to 4.0c in room temperatures in the range of 16c to 24c.  Show details

not a good camping fridge on 12Volt but makes a good house drink fridge – My TC35FL cooler runs very poorly on 12volt battery - not really cold enough to put perishable food in but it will keep water cool. I found it totally useless on hot days where temp gets up into 30's. I had it out of car and kept it in the shade with a heavy duty cardboard box draped over the top to help insulate it At home it ran pretty good… Read more

on mains power and did keep my drinks nice and cold. Pretty disappointed in its efficiency as its supposed to be a camping fridge which you run from cigarette lighter. One thought i had on this is perhaps you need keep a 2lt bottle of frozen water in it and to keep it in the car on a very short lead as i believe the longer the lead the more power is lost.???

power pig! – This is a cooler, not a fridge. I plug it into the 240 mains the night before to use it the next day, cause it takes forever to cool. Worst thing about this product though is, its power draw. Its horrendous. don't think u can use it on trips away for a few days to a week, it will drain your battery in double quick time. It has its place though, a… Read more

cooler for a day or two for trips to beach or overnight or something. But don't go remote, or for long trips, no battery could feed it for long.

So in summary; needs pre-cooling, massive power draw, will only cool but has its limits based on ambient temperature. May suit some people, but if u want a fridge, don't think this is a cheap alternative - its not. Its totally different to a waeco cfx fridge or similar.

Used for six years non stop – Despite what the stories say I have had it to minus one degree celsius. I regularly open the end cover to clean out fluff that accumulates on the cooling fins. It makes a big difference. Fan motors sometimes get noisy, then suddenly quiet again. 240 volt power board failed years ago, so I run it through a 12 volt power supply.  Show reply

Big Lemon – Bought 21/02/2015. Used once, fishing out of Port Lincoln for 4 days, temp 18 to 20 degrees. Result, a box of rotten fish. What attracted me to the "cooler" was the notes on the box, from "0" degrees. I doubt that this would get anywhere near zero. I sent it back in October to have it checked. I would have sent it back earlier except my friend,… Read more

who I left the fish with, did not inform me of the state of the fish until October. Result working ok. I explained that this would not suit the purpose I bought it for to no avail.

Told to use ice packs. It now turns out to be a very expensive esky, which I could have bought at Bunnings for less than $90.00.

NOT HAPPY.

Good performance and value for money – I have had the Waeco 35 litre model cooler for one year now and it has proven to be excellent. I purchased the fridge from Super Cheap Auto, Acacia Ridge, Brisbane. Summers in Queensland get very hot but the Waeco has not failed to keep drinks as cold as the household fridge. In fact, beer bottles stored closer to the inside fan unit get colder,… Read more

faster in the Waeco. The fridge runs off 12 volt, 24 volt, or 240 volt without the need of any external transformer, just plug in the cable, and turn it on.

The 35-litre space is adequate for storing drinks right up to the largest size bottle as well as food and fruit but it is not a freezer. A removable lattice-style plastic divider acts as a separator in the fridge. An external fan acts to draw away heat from the fridge while an internal fan blows the cold air around the contents inside. It is important NOT to block either of these fans. Allowing plenty of ventilation around the fridge is important and the internal fan needs space to spread the cold around evenly.

When the set temperature is reached, a thermostat turns the motor off to save electricity and prevent the contents from getting too cold. A fridge thermometer placed inside stayed at the lower end of the blue “safe” reading mark on the dial when the room temperature was 32 degrees centigrade in Brisbane. The fridge temperature was set to 5 lights out of the maximum of 7. I tried the 7 setting but it was too cold however, it is nice to have the extra available. I found butter, milk, cheese, meat, and drinks stored in the fridge have been the same as if stored in the household fridge as the fridge thermometer showed the temperature in the safe range. There are photographs of this but there does not seem to be any way to upload them into this review.

The TC-35L does not require being on a totally level surface, so as long as the fan vents are not blocked, they can be strapped onto the back seat of the car. An advantage of the thermo-electric fridges is weight. The TC-35L weighs in at 10 kg empty which is comparable to an icebox. The larger compressor fridges, or those with metal cabinets, are too heavy for me to lift, particularly when filled. I like the design and solid build of the Waeco. The lid and handles seem quite strong and the outside casing cleans with a damp cloth. The plastic construction has the advantage of preventing rust problems.

I bought a battery-powered, Coleman automatic fridge light attached to the inside of the cabinet below the door hinge. An infrared sensor turns five LED lights on automatically when opening the door. It is a great accessory for extra convenience and the light makes it look like house fridge lighting inside.

In the bottom of the fridge and around the door seal, a build-up of water occurs. This seems to be normal and requires wiping up with a paper towel to keep it dry, maintain peak efficiency, and prevent mould. Household fridges also have this problem but they have a method off drawing the water to a tray at the back near the motor where it evaporates.

When the fridge first arrived, it was stored on the floor. This resulted in excessive dust building up around the fan vent, but the vacuum cleaner and brush attachment removed it easily. When the fridge was stored on a folding fridge stand, this problem reduced greatly but a regular clean of the vents is recommended. The external fan blades can also build up dust, which needs cleaning by a qualified technician due to the electrical wiring inside. After disconnecting the power, access to the fan is by several screws to angle the cover back sufficiently to clean the fan blades. A qualified person would know this.

I have an older 7 litre Waeco purchased when Waeco first came to Australia. It is still working. A second non-Waeco I purchased 8 years ago. Both of these use a lot of power probably due to the lack of a thermostat so the motor stays running, as well as old technology. The new Waeco TC-35FL seems more economical using only 46 watts on 12 volt or 65 watts on 240 volt. Since my stereo uses 60 watts, laptop computer 65 watts, television 100 watts, vacuum cleaner 500 watts, and household fridge 1200 watts daily, I consider the TC-35L to be economical. Waeco have an optional accessory lead containing a safety circuit to shut off the power when a 12-volt battery reaches a standard that still allows the car to start. This is a worthwhile investment in my opinion.

I doubt whether any fridge would handle being in a closed car heated to nearly 40 degrees centigrade or higher, particularly when its power is shut off. If this is unavoidable, I place a large freezer pack on the top inside the fridge to act like an ice-box. The frozen pack keeps the contents cold and prevents the fridge from overworking when the power is back on. The freezer pack lasts for ages when the fridge is running.

When the fridge was first purchased, it took quite a long time to chill down properly, probably because the cabinet itself needs to chill. This might be one of the reasons for critical reviews. I would not take the fridge off the shelf, fill it with food, and then turn it on expecting everything to stay cold. It probably would not. Turning the fridge on and letting it chill overnight first would be a better course of action.

A justifiable criticism would be the noise. The external fan makes as much noise as any other fan. The plastic fan housing probably intensifies the noise. Fortunately, the fridge thermostat turns the motor on and off, just like household fridges, so it is not constantly noisy. Since the Waeco fridge is in another room of the house or tent, it is not a problem.

The Waeco TC-35L has been operating almost constantly for a year, only stopping for cleaning. It is my bar fridge and back up for when there is a power blackout from storms when a 12 volt x 100 amp caravan battery supplies plenty of power for at least 24 hours and when charged by a solar panel, can run the fridge indefinitely.

The fridge has worked perfectly from day one. Unless needing frozen items, the lower cost, economical power usage, and high quality of these Waeco fridges makes them good value for most users.

great little coolers – I own two waeco's a tc-35fl and a 12lt. all I can say are they are great and have never let me down. I bought them second hand on ebay. I do alot of camping mainly on moreton island. I use the 35 as a drinks fridge and the 12 as a day tripper when out and about. I also have a 90lt fridge/freezer in another brand to look after the food side of… Read more

things. for what they are and the price new, they do a great job and are well worth it. I have never noticed any great draw or load on my batteries from the waeco's

Very good – We borrowed my sisters waeco from Newcastle on a Xmas trip from Brisbane to Perth about four years ago and encountered temps in the 40's in SW NSW. Ran flawlessly, kept food and drinks cold, as cold as a shop fridge. Do not know if it ran continuously as it was in the back of a packed Territory and we could not hear it. Held temp with the car not… Read more

running for hours including milk although when staying somewhere overnight we ran it on 240v to keep things cool. I am now looking at purchasing a unit of our own to take on a trip to Darwin mid year. Kept drinks to nice cold drinking temp. None

Comments apply to all Thermoelectric models & brands basically – Thermoelectric coolers/warmers, of any brand, should be treated as the most...Hmmm, basic portable electric powered cooling devices that are readily available for purchase. Their benefits are that they are much lighter than compressor fridges, and Hmmm, "cheaper"...The models with the warming function, do work quite well in that mode, but apart… Read more

from that...I really can't get too excited talking about them. I own 4 different sized Waeco thermoelectrics. Two older models and two current "FL" series. None were purchased new. They do fill a role for the occasional day tripping outing, or for long car trips, but if you're thinking of getting one for camping holidays for more than a day or two, think again. This is not a fault with Waeco or Engel or whatever brand by the way...In general, their energy efficiency is very very very poor, they will suck your car's battery dry in less than a day, their fans can be noisy, but worst of all, on a warm day, their "cooling best" is barely good enough...On a hot day, or worse still inside a closed, parked car for a couple of hours or more, forget about your "cold drink" waiting for you on your return. Think very carefully about buying one new, especially the TC-35FL, only because its RRP is TOO much $$$ to spend. Put a some more bucks towards one of their MANY compressor fridges, available in 11/18/25/35/40/50/60/80 & 110 litre capacities. They are a far far better proposition. Cheaper than compressor fridges, & lighter. Hot box function works well. Very poor performance as a "fridge" in our climate. Massively power hungry on a hot day. (They'll run constantly)