Anker’s 58-liter solar fridge is a noisy power-monster Canada reviews

Anker is pushing portability limits with the launch of its giant 58-liter Solix EverFrost 2 dual-zone refrigerator / freezer. It’s portable because it has wheels, a handle, and slots for two batteries. But this thing weighs 64 pounds (29kg) empty and quickly reached 120 pounds when I filled my review unit with drinks and food. It can be recharged from a standard wall socket, 12V car socket, USB-C charger, and from up to 100W of solar from a traditional panel or Anker’s new beach umbrella.

The 58L (about 61 quarts) model I’ve been testing has far greater capacity than the largest solar fridges I’ve reviewed from EcoFlow (38L) and Bluetti (40L) — both of which allocate precious space to integrated ice makers. As an avid vanlifer and cocktail enthusiast, I’m definitely tempted by the idea of making ice on the road. I never do it, though, because water and electricity are just too valuable when venturing away from civilization. I’d rather bring a fridge that stuffs as much usable capacity into the smallest footprint possible.

Unfortunately, that’s not what Anker has done.

Instead, Anker allocated that space to two large fan housings in each lid. It’s all part of the air-cooling tech found in the EverFrost 2 lineup, which includes 40L and 23L models. Surprisingly, the 40L Solix EverFrost 2 model is actually slightly larger in length, width, and height than the 40L Bluetti model, despite lacking an ice maker and using a much smaller battery.

In my testing, the 58L Solix EverFrost 2 certainly does what it’s supposed to. The two zones control temperatures independently from -20 to 20 degrees Celsius / -4 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing it to operate as a large portable refrigerator, freezer, or a fridge and freezer running simultaneously. You can even turn off one of the two compartments completely.

At $799.99 for the cooler and one battery during the preorder sale, the 58L model is much cheaper than the EcoFlow Glacier with its comparably-sized battery and costs a few hundred less than the Bluetti Multicooler, which ships with a much larger battery. It’s less compelling when the $1,099.99 list price kicks in.

I didn’t test the shrunk-down 40L EverFrost 2 which seems like an even better deal at its $599.99 preorder price ($899.99 MSRP) — but it, like the Bluetti, has just a single compartment. Both Anker models begin shipping on March 7th.

However, you should avoid these if noise, space optimization, and power efficiency are high on your list of concerns, as they are on mine. My 58L review unit also beeps a lot due to an issue with a sensor in one of the lids — oops.

My biggest gripe with the 58L Solix EverFrost 2 fridge applies to all bench-style coolers: locating items can be problematic as things pile up inside. The two compartments on Anker’s largest model are especially deep, which makes finding things a pain in the ass when full. The inclusion of baskets usually addresses this problem so you can lift everything out to see what’s underneath. After sharing my concern with Anker, company spokesperson Emeline Bonnefoy said that individual baskets will be available for $19.99 starting in May, or two for $24.99.

The EverFrost 2 is air-cooled, which Anker claims is a first in this class of portable coolers. Air-cooled refrigerators use fans to evenly distribute temperatures and accelerate cooldown by as much as 30 percent, according to Anker, when compared to direct-cooled fridges that rely upon a compressor alone. While temperature uniformity can be a problem in large-volume kitchen fridges, it’s never created a noticeable problem in the small direct-cooled portable fridges I’ve tested inside vans and RVs. In general, air cooling is also supposed to eliminate any need for manual defrosting, but I’m already seeing quite a bit of frost develop after just five days of operation.

In my testing, Anker’s EverFrost 2 can get rather loud compared to other portable fridges, and it’s not particularly fast. It reaches a maximum of 41 decibels (from one meter away) when initially cooling down which is pretty standard for this class of coolers, and equivalent to standing near a space heater. That can be exhausting to the ears over time: it took 56 minutes for the 58L Anker to drop from room temperature to -11C — more than twice as long as the smaller 38L EcoFlow when I performed the same test.

The EverFrost 2 then cycles between 38dB for about 10 minutes and silence for 10 minutes in order to maintain the set temperatures — that’s much louder (remember, the decibel scale isn’t linear) than the 33dB emitted from Bluetti’s and EcoFlow’s coolers. On the bright side, Anker’s cooler doesn’t produce any of the gurgling or scratching sounds heard from its competitors, but I still wouldn’t choose the EverFrost 2 if I spent a lot of hours sleeping or working close to it in an RV, cabin, or boat.

Power draw is another major consideration when buying a portable fridge if you plan to take it off the grid for more than a few days. The 58L EverFrost 2 has slots for two 288Wh LFP batteries. Anker claims up to 104 hours of cooling from a pair or 52 hours from the single battery Anker provided me. In my battery rundown test, I set the unit to FDA-recommended temperatures of -18C (-0.4F) for the freezer and 4C (39.2F) for the fridge. Even in the most frugal power mode of “eco,” I ran the battery dry in just 27 hours.

When plugged into a standard AC wall jack in the default “smart” power mode, the EverFrost 2 consumed 452Wh over a 24-hour period where its only task was to hold temperatures steady — I never even opened the lids. That’s pretty thirsty. The smaller Bluetti consumed just 308Wh when I ran the same test and the EcoFlow cooler consumed 394Wh, even though it was doing power-intensive things like making several batches of ice. Anker’s larger capacity impacts the power draw, but I suspect the company also skimped on insulation. When I shut the power off, the Anker’s temperature increased from -10C to 1C in three hours, whereas the Bluetti cooler rose from -10C to -5C in that same amount of time.

Lastly, my review unit suffers from an issue that requires extra care when closing the right-side lid. Anker puts sensors in the lids that cause the cooler to beep (and send a notification from the app) if either lid is open for more than 90 seconds. In my case, closing the problematic lid hard, even slamming it isn’t enough; I have to push down firmly along the right side near the rear hinge or it’ll beep continuously for up to five minutes. I found frost developing in this area, suggesting an issue with the fit. Anker says other reviewers have not reported similar issues and will investigate the cause once they receive my returned review unit.

For its discounted preorder price of $799.99, the 58L EverFrost 2 is great if you really need 58 liters of portable dual-zone cooling capacity, have easy access to power so you’re not stressing over every Wh consumed, and won’t be spending lots of time right next to it in small spaces where the drone from those cooling fans might become an issue.

Photography by Thomas Ricker / The Verge