For many years of truck camping we were limited on what frozen goods we could bring with us and replacing our existing refrigerator with it's very small freezer was simply out of the question. This led me to checking out chest style compressors refrigerator/ freezers to see if they would meet our need for more freezer space and my brother happen to have a Dometic CFX 335 chest refrigerator/ freezer. I checked his out and thought this one would do the job so I bought one.
I wanted to give the Dometic a good test run before our journey across the county in February- March to visit family. So there it sat on the coffee table with frozen tri tip for Christmas dinner at 10 degrees. After Christmas the Dometic went into the camper running on 12Vdc until we came back from our family trip.
The Dometic CFX 335 rode here for over 5300 miles that included some very rough interstate roads. (photo above)
Power usage was high during the cool down to 10 degree, pulling just over 6 amps DC for about four hours which is under the max draw of 7.5 DC amps per hour at 12Vdc. Once at set point the compressor would come on at 12 degrees cool down to 10 degrees in less than 5 minutes using very little DC power to maintain set point. Having extra freezer space has made it possible to bring a wider selection of frozen goods with us and being able to pick up along the way some unusual items like frog legs, bison steaks and making ice cubes!
The only down side during the whole trip with the Dometic CFX 3 35 is that the12V dc cord develop a short in it and we would have to check it when we made rest stops to make sure the unit still had power to it. If we found it with no power wigging the power cord got it going again, this problem is something I wouldn't expect to find on a new unit. Dometic is sending me a new 12Vdc extension cord under warranty.
Dometic has incorporate some features that allow you to monitor the unit remotely with bluetooth and wireless connections. I didn't use those features so I can't give any comments on how well those features worked.
Unit Specifications:
Model: CFX 335 Product Name: Compressor Cooler
Compressor: Waeco ACV20DC by Dometic
Note this is a variable speed compressor
Gross Volume: 35l (1.3 cu.ft.) Refrigerant: 134a (1.34 oz)
Input voltage: DC 12/24 or AC 120v (60hz)
Power Rating: 7.5amps at 12Vdc , 3.3 amps at 24Vdc, 0.78 amps at 120Vac
Size: 27.3" L x 16.0" H x 15.6"W
Dometic CFX 335 with a limited 5 year warranty, the first 3 years covers parts , labor and freight. The last 2 years is the compressor only excluding the electronic module
I would buy this unit again and can only give the Dometic 335 four out 5 stars rating due to the new 12Vdc cord going bad so soon. Below is a link to the manual for this unit.
Update: My replacement 12Vdc extension cord had come in, only 4 days after I had called them about the problem I was having with the cord that came with the unit.
https://www.dometic.com/assets/22/40/dometiccfx3_opm_4445103160_amer(en-fr-es)_2022-05_92240.pdf
