Is the ICECO JP40 the Best Portable Fridge for the Price?
If you are an avid camper, overlander, prepper, or someone who takes road trips, trying to keep your food cold or frozen can be quite challenging. I looked at many brands on the market to try to find a portable fridge to suit my needs, and it seems like the ICECO JP40 is the perfect solution.
I like to be prepared for anything. From portable solar generators to water purification and everything in-between, I like to have a solution to anything that comes up. That said, I don’t want to spend an arm and a leg on something like a portable fridge that I’m not going to be using on a daily basis. After comparing brands, models, and prices, the ICECO JP40 seemed to check all the boxes I was looking for.
In this article, I’m going to take a deep dive into why the ICECO JP40 may be the best portable fridge to suit your needs — regardless of what they may be. I used the ICECO JP40 with my Jackery 1000 to run it flawlessly off-grid.
Disclaimer: ICECO was nice enough to send me out the ICECO JP40. While I did not have to pay for the portable fridge, the good, bad, and ugly noted in this article are entirely unbiased, and I was not paid for my views on the portable fridge — they simply wanted my feedback.
Table of contents
The ICECO JP40 is the Perfect Middle of the Road Portable Fridge
Whether you like a day in the woods, a campsite, or entertaining at your home with friends and family, a portable fridge is the perfect companion. What I found ideal with the ICECO JP40 is that it’s not only a portable fridge but also a portable freezer, depending on what you’re putting inside.
For the sake of this article, I’m going to look at the ICECO JP40 strictly as a portable fridge for the uses I’m really interested in, but I will also give my opinion on uses for the freezer.
Searching online, I found everything from super inexpensive models to super expensive models that had all the bells and whistles anyone could ever ask for. Being that I wouldn’t want to blow over a grand on a unit for my needs, the ICECO JP40 fit the bill nicely.
When looking at the size, it’s not overly large, but definitely a decent size. It weighs just under 40 pounds, so if your strength is fairly weak, it may be a little too heavy for some people to carry around. You then have to factor in moving it with things inside (may be a two-person job in that instance).
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The cooling range of the ICECO JP40 is from 0°F to 50°F. You have two modes on the unit itself — Max and Eco. The Max, as you would expect, would pull a lot of energy to help cool the unit faster, while the Eco is more energy efficient and doesn’t pull as many watts.
A warranty is always a good thing to have, and I was surprised to find that the ICECO JP40 portable fridge came with a 5-year warranty on the compressor and a 1-year warranty for all the other parts. A 5-year compressor warranty is exceptional in the space, as many don’t even provide you with a full year. The compressor is a Secop (Danfoss) compressor and is considered to be a quality compressor. Additionally, it’s super quiet and can barely be heard while running (43 dB).
The ICECO JP40 is a 40L (42.3L to be exact) 12V portable fridge (and portable freezer) that comes with both AC and DC power sources. The power source is 12/24V DC and 110~240V AC. You also get an extension cord with the unit, which makes plugging it into your car while the unit is in the trunk, backseat, or truck bed an option.
In the box, you also get a wired basket with a removable divider that fits inside the until (more on this later), as well as an insulated bag that you can put the ICECO JP40 in to help keep the contents cooler, keep the unit exterior cooler, and protected it from the elements if outdoors (no, you should not keep this out in the rain or snow).
The dimensions of the ICECO JP40 portable fridge are 26”x13.8”x17.5” (these measurements are with the handles attached). The unit is shipped with the handles off, and all you need to do is assemble them and screw them into both sides of the portable fridge with the supplied tools and hardware, which is easy enough to do.
How Do You Control and Use the ICECO JP40?
The ICECO JP40 portable fridge is easy to use with the control panel on top of the unit. The screen shows you the temperature it’s currently at, and the up and down arrows allow you to change the temperature to whatever you’d like it set at (fridge temperatures and freezer temperatures).
You also have a button that allows you to manually choose between Max and Eco modes. There is also a power button to turn the unit on and off.
After attaching the handles to the side, you have low-profile handles that are spring-loaded and sit against the unit when you’re not carrying or holding it. The lid on the ICECO JP40 is secure and locks into place to avoid accidental opening. There is a blue light that shines on the inside when the portable fridge is opened to help you see the contents inside (this is especially useful in low light or at night).
A wired basket comes with the ICECO JP40 and not only allows you to pull the entire thing out if needed but it also keeps the contents from sitting against the walls and preventing proper circulation. Keeping an area around all the food helps keep it cool and allows the food you put in it to get and stay at the ideal temp faster.
Where Do I Find the ICECO JP40 Truly Shines?
Let’s get into the meat and potatoes of the article (a little food humor to go along with this article talking about a portable fridge). Something many people asked when I told them I wanted a portable fridge was, “When and why would you need a portable fridge or portable freezer?” That’s actually a great question, so let’s dive into why I wanted this ICECO JP40 and how it may come in handy for you as well.
1. Power Outages
You may be questioned how in the world you could use a portable fridge when the power is out if you need power to run the actual ICECO JP40. Ah, young grasshopper, you improvise and adjust. That’s where a portable power station comes into play — think along the lines of a Goal Zero or Jackery unit. It should be noted that you’d not only need a portable power station (something that recharges off solar panels) but also something that can actually power what you’re plugging in and keep it running for a reasonable amount of time.
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When the power goes out, and there is word that it won’t be coming back on for several hours, days, or longer, you can bust out your portable power station and plug the ICECO JP40 into it to save some of the food from your fridge or freezer. Sure, the ICECO JP40 won’t fit everything, but at least you won’t have ALL your food spoil or go bad. This may be extremely beneficial for those who need to keep their medications cold.
The ICECO JP40 portable fridge is perfect for those storms that roll through and take down powerlines or heavy winter storms that dump feet of snow in a matter of days that could turn off the lights.
2. Grid-Down Scenario
Before everyone thinks I walk around with a tinfoil hat on (sometimes I do it for fun), when you look at the likelihood of events that can take place and be a threat given the current global issues, our grid isn’t as protected as many may assume. You may wish you had a portable fridge like the ICECO JP40.
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Not only will the ICECO JP40 help keep some of the food that was in your fridge and freezer from going bad, but you can also make food and store any leftovers in the unit for later (a great thing to help food last longer — especially in a grid-down scenario).
3. Camping
When camping, many people take an Igloo cooler or a Styrofoam cooler that is packed with ice. What you’re left with is soggy food that is sopping wet when you pull it out of the cooler. The ICECO JP40 is the perfect solution to not only prevent your food from getting all soggy and nasty, but it can keep things cool indefinitely, assuming you have power where you are camping or take your portable power station with solar panels.
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Enjoy a nice cold refreshment around a campfire, or pack some steak or other goodies you can cook over your fire. The ICECO JP40 truly is the perfect camping companion for food and beverages. Best of all, it’s super quiet, so it won’t keep you up at night or draw the attention of other campers around you.
This would also be great in a bug-out scenario.
4. Parties or Gatherings
Do you enjoy entertaining? If so, you’ll quickly find the ICECO JP40 comes in handy. In fact, I had a birthday party for my twins, and we loaded the unit up with drinks and kept it outside so that people could grab drinks as they needed them instead of having to continually go in the house and take up room in our fridge.
You can plug it into an outlet inside or outside and toss in whatever you need to keep cold. Everyone at the party loved the unit, and now they’re considering picking one up for themselves due to the convenience factor.
5. Road Trips or Vacations
How many times have you gone on road trips and wished you had a way to take food and beverages with you? I know my hand is raised. Now that I have the ICECO JP40 portable fridge, I can take whatever I want with me on road trips or vacations.
Sure, I may need to restock some items depending on how long my vacation is, but for a road trip, there’s no reason I can’t take anything and everything I want for the day in the ICECO JP40.
What, If Anything, Would I Change with the ICECO JP40?
To start, I made the mistake of loading the ICECO JP40 portable fridge with beverages that weren’t already cool, and I didn’t use the basket so that I could fit more in. This was my first run with the portable fridge. I also didn’t plug the unit in early enough to cool everything down. Therefore, after loading about two cases of beverages into the unit along with juice boxes for the kids, it took around four hours to get down to 37°F. Again, this was my fault.
The company claims that in 27 minutes, the unit can go from 77°F to -2.7°F with nothing inside. Clearly, I messed up putting in warm beverages, but I wanted to be transparent on how NOT to use the unit if you need things to get cold quickly — learn from my mistake.
In terms of using the portable fridge plugged into a wall outlet or my portable power station, both worked just fine, and I had no issues at all. The ICECO JP40 uses minimal energy, so using it with my Jackery 1000 was no problem at all. The solar panels kept the unit charging while in use, and the draw from the ICECO JP40 was low (especially when it hit the set temperature).
One thing I would change, however, is the cord that attaches the lid to the wall of the unit could be a little longer. I had some issues with people going into the portable fridge, and the breeze would close the lid on them. I think adding a few more inches of length to the cord will do the trick.
Would I Recommend This Portable Fridge?
Without hesitation, I would recommend this portable fridge. The ICECO JP40 has come in handy several times since I’ve had it, and it’s easy to set up and use. I can toss it in my vehicle and head out for the day, load it up for a vacation with the family, or fill it to the brim with contents for a party outside.
I also love the peace of mind that I get knowing I have a portable fridge (or portable freezer) if the power were to ever go out.
Overall, it’s hard to pass up the value of the ICECO JP40 with everything you get for the price. You can do your own comparison based on your needs and how much you’re willing to spend, but overall, I love this portable fridge.
If you want to take a look at all the different models ICECO has to offer, such as the ICECO JP40 portable fridge, head over to www.icecofreezer.com.
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