As a teen Spencer Trotter sold product out of a cooler. He noticed that after opening and closing the cooler's lid that the internal temperature of the cooler became unpredictable. Often it would compromise his merchandise as the temperature inside the cooler drifted toward the equilibrium of the outside air. This stuck with him and his solution is the Anywhere Fridge, a collapsible refrigerator that uses solar power to maintain consistent temperature.
Two sizes are available, a large eighty quart model and the smaller thirty quart model. Both collapse to a five inch thickness when being transported and weight twenty or forty pounds. When assembled the large model is ten by nineteen by twenty five inches. The small model is nine by fourteen by eighteen inches.
Anywhere Fridge operates between -8 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. It uses 220V AC or 12/25 V DC voltage and 60 Watt / 1 Amp power. A lithium ion battery stores energy gathered by the solar panels during the day and keeps items cold overnight.
Externally the unit has two USB ports to charge small devices. No information about power or charging times was available. AC and DC charging ports are also available. A controller allows the user to set the internal temperature. The indiegogo page estimates that the battery is charged from the solar panel in less than an hour.
The body is built from airplane grade aluminum and comes in eight colors. The solar panel is removable for situations where the unit is being charged by DC or AC power instead of sunlight.
Over the years this unit could have saved a lot of angst, transport time and cost for me and my family while camping. The campaign video has a few sections of technical specifications, but I still want to know more about internal sealing, the compressor and where the energy goes when it is taken from the internal chamber.
Anywhere Fridge is running an interesting indiegogo campaign. The funding goal was set at $1000 over a two month period, so the two month funding period is raising capital instead of heading toward one specific purpose. Units are expected to ship in October 2014 - hopefully we'll see them at campgrounds and tailgate parties soon.