Review: Brass Monkey 15L portable fridge

We review the 15L Brass Monkey fridge after four months of hard yakka in the back of the ute. Is it the best budget option for keeping your drinks cold, or just a cheap toy?

We’re all for giving the cheaper option a crack to see if they’re just cheap and nasty or actually a solid budget option. So, with this in mind, I went and grabbed a little 15L Brass Monkey fridge from Road Tech Marine (you can get them at Jaycar too). The plan? Just to sit on the backseat of Dusty the HiLux and serve as the easy-access drinks fridge.

As always, I’m going to be honest with you: I didn’t hold out much hope. Especially for a 12-volt fridge that was as cheap as the Brass Monkey. I mean, sub-$300 for a compressor fridge? But enough about how cheap it is—how does it stand up to life on the road?

Testing the gear (by abusing it)

When it comes to my gear, I’m always careful and respectful. I look after my kit, and it looks after me. Except, of course, when it’s a piece of gear to be tested. Then it gets flogged from pillar to post and put through about as rough a time as it’ll get.

The big black dog you’ve probably seen in our videos decided his 45kg of “I’ll sit where I want” belonged perched on top of the fridge while it was on the back seat. That said, I went and bought this little jigger with my own beer tickets because I wanted a drinks fridge. Also, I figured it’d be a good bit of kit to put through the wringer.

So, believe me when I tell you that this Brass Monkey fridge has had a proper review. I’ve put that little fridge through about 12 months’ worth of standard use in the four months since I got it. It has sat in Dusty on the back seat (and in the canopy from time to time), had the big black German Shepherd drool, kick, and walk all over it, and it’s run the whole time whether full of cans or empty. Even now, it hasn’t missed a beat.

Brass Monkey fridge design and features

The fridge itself is a rather quality bit of kit, made from decent mouldings and parts, including an LG-branded compressor. It’s got a three-stage voltage cutout system, so it won’t trash your batteries due to over-discharging. It has the standard digital temp gauge and controls, high-density foam insulation, and it will run down to a solid -20°C. You can actually use it as a meat freezer in a pinch for a bit of extra storage.

As you’ll notice from the name, it’s got a 15-litre capacity. However, the last time I was at Road Tech Marine, I noticed they have a few little accessories for the fridge. Namely, an insulated cover to keep the heat out and cold in, and an extension ‘bubble’ lid that increases its capacity an extra 5 litres. This lets you expand it up to 20 litres of storage if you need to. These accessories are great, though we haven’t had a chance to review them yet.

Something that really intrigued me is the temperature accuracy. With most big fridges I’ve used, you need to set them to around -2°C to get the soft drinks at the bottom properly cold. With this one, I set it to -2°C and exploded a few cans; it actually froze them solid. So, if you are going to get one of these, bear in mind that the temperature gauge is properly accurate—likely due to its small size and the minimal amount of air inside.

On the inside

Speaking of soft drink cans, it’ll hold 16-17 cans in the standard format, with an extra bunch once you’ve attached the extra 5-litre lid on top. There’s a pair of semi-recessed grab handles on the ends, a foam/rubber style seal around the lid, and it comes with the standard 12-volt ciggy socket plug. Oh, and it’s got a full 36-month warranty, too!

Without cutting it open to have a look at the guts, it appears that the cooling plates go the whole way around the fridge, too, instead of just being close to the compressor like some other cheaper small fridges. This means you get pretty uniform cooling across the whole bin.

Will this specific fridge replace your full-size camping fridge? No, of course not, unless you’re on the world’s angriest diet. Will it knock a lot of the smaller ‘console’ type fridges out of the water? You bet your backside it will. Especially seeing as you’re getting a proper compressor-driven fridge for the money, whereas you’d normally get a ‘thermo-cooler’ for nearly as much.

Plus, the compressor style is much more efficient in power usage and cooling ability. It’s also worth mentioning that if it’s just you and the other half away for a night or two, it’s plenty big enough for a bit of meat for dinner, some milk, and your salad stuff. It works in a pinch if travelling light is a requirement, or if you just want to lob it in the grocery getter for when you’re not camping.

Brass Monkey fridge pros and cons

The only real downfall of the 15L Brass Monkey portable fridge is that you lose a bit of technology compared to the premium units.

• Pros: Genuine compressor fridge for thermo-cooler money; tough enough to handle a 45kg dog standing on it; accurate temperature control.
• Cons: No Bluetooth connectivity on this basic model; no internal light; rudimentary friction-lock lid latch.

That said, as it’s being used on Dusty’s backseat, I don’t need any of those fancy features. I’m more than happy to save on the price for a little drinks fridge that’s easy to get to and takes up bugger all space.

The verdict

All in all, I absolutely rate the fridge. It has earned a spot on the backseat of the HiLux, to be beaten from pillar to puppy dog, keeping the drinks and snacks cold while we’re out on the road. If you need more space, the Brass Monkey range has expanded massively since I bought this one, with larger sizes and even models with battery compartments available now.

Brass Monkey 15L specs

For more information, check them out on Jaycar’s website here.

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