Phil Sampson has been out and about for Motor Boat & Yachting testing a range of boat coolers. Here he takes a close look at the Dometic CFF 18
The Dometic CFF 18 is a compressor cooler box which means it employs the same cycle of pressurising, condensing, expansion and evaporation as a domestic refrigerator. Incidentally, a key difference between compressors and thermo-electric coolers is that compressor units are capable of holding a steady temperature, whereas thermo-electric coolers cool relative to the ambient temperature.
With a capacity of 19-litres, the Dometic CFF 18 is the smallest of the units we trialled. But that doesn’t make it a tiddler in the grander scheme of things; Dometic’s smallest powered unit holds just 7-litres, enough for half a dozen bottles of water – remember, electric coolers don’t have to be packed with space-hogging ice.
I managed to cram four bottles of wine, six cans of beer, a bottle of water and couple of bars of chocolate into the Dometic CFF 18 – sounds like a party to me!
This cooler box, which comes in an attractive two-tone grey finish, is very quiet in operation and for maximum flexibility can operate on 12/24V DC or 110 – 240V AC.
I was impressed by the unit’s soft-touch carry handle – even when full this is a coolbox which can be managed single-handed. Whereas we found the handle on the Dometic TCX21 could get in the way, the CFF18’s swings out of the way when you let go of it.
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Watch the videoThe click-shut lid is a pleasing feature too, leaving you in no doubt that the cooler’s lid is firmly closed.
Using the cooler is a piece of cake – just plug it in and there’s then no more than an on/off switch and temperature setting “Set”, “+” and “-“ buttons to worry about. While using the setting buttons the unit’s display shows the target temperature. Let go of the Set button and the actual internal temperature is shown. That’s it – super simple.
And super simple probably sums up the Dometic CFF 18 – it’s a no fuss, no frills portable cooler; very handy to have on board a boat and compact enough to fit in the smallest dinghy whenever you venture ashore.
Read our full reviews of all the Best coolers for boaters.
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Pros
- fits into smaller boats and small spaces, proper compressor chiller gives really good cooling effect
Cons
- limited capacity suits short day trips and smaller storage needs
