Good Fridge

Looking to get a good fridge for the bush, any ideas as to reliability and best bang for the buck. :?:

Hi mate,
I use a can't reccomend highly enough the good old Aussie made 'Fridge Mate'

Made in QLD for Australian conditions. Basically a big icebox with a fridge motor on the side. Unlike an Engel there is no need to buy an outer bag. They use the tried and proven Danfoss motor, which is a tiny bit louder than the Engels, but they seem to be a bit less of a drain on the battery too.

Very tough! Mine is permanantly strapped on the tray off my ute in all kinds of weather and never skips a beat.
If in the event you do need service or advice, thier number is 24/7 and they are great to deal with.
A bit cheaper than the engel too.

Not the worlds prettiest fridge but if I want to pull chicks I walk around shopping centres holding my new grand daughter, not my fridge so pretty doesn't matter.

If you have oodles of money, take a look at the 'Car Fridge' brand.

Bang for buck

I have one, they use danfoss compressors, never had a problem with it!

I just got the price list for fridge off the group solar buy...

38 litre fridge/7 litre freezer with high temperture resistant design
45 watts
12/24/240v
100 watt solar panel with 15 amp controller
80ah deep cycle battery
$850

42 litre fridge/13 litre freezer
45 watts
12/24/240v
100 watt solar panel
80ah deep cycle battery
$950

it uses a domus compressor which is italian design based off danfoss, proven and reliable. The solar group is pretty awesome...

No wukkers, I m having a ball here...

Wow...they all sound great, I`ll have to buy one of each.
Thanks for all the info.

I just bought one of these to go in the cruiser, it has a danfos motor and at the price for 80l ya can't go wrong.
I haven't had it on a trip yet but fired it up in the shed and it cools down to temp very quickly.
Will find out how it goes soon I guess.

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Goldstalker, get yourself a backup 240v power supply for that fridge...a friend just had to get himself a new one after using it for a few days.....They get extremely hot and die!!...he bought the weaco converter for $99 to replace it. I believe the pump is the danfos copy.

I use the 40L engel....lives in the pan on the back of my deo...runs off a 100Ahr batt charged with a 60w panel....80W would be better. Its in freezer mode and has been on constantly now for the last 2 months as a freezer.
Its about 8 yrs old, never a problem. I think they are over priced to the shithouse....but they are tonka tough.

Just recently bought a waeco to use in the c/van...danfos pumps are by far nosier than the one used in the engel.....iv slept beside both now and its painfully obvious!!.
The small waeco (32L) uses 3.6A when it settles down after turn on.. much higher when it boots up...the engel uses 2.5A from start up to turn off....the bag you get with the engel is to protect it from scratches...it dont work as the bag rubs the sides of the fridge and the paint is dulled over time.....its not to insulate...if you want to insulate, use Styrofoam between the bag and fridge...works well.
The bag with the waeco is to protect the plastic.

Tips
Temp gauges should be placed in the middle of the fridge..not on the walls or floor to get a better idea of temps. Its amazing how the temps very from top to bottom..even in such small fridges like my 32L.
Styrofoam as above works well shuved between the bag and outer walls.
Aluminum stuck to the roof of those that are plastic or other....aluminum with a wall thickness of 3-5mil is better as it chills very quickly. Good for those with evaporators that only cover the bottom half of the fridge...no names mentioned.(w*e*c*)
Keep the back of fridge clean from dirt dust and other sh#t that fouls the cooling fins.
Shuv a 12v PC fan in the fridge to circulate the cold air....the smaller ones like a CPU fan or chip fan can be left on permanently as they draw stuff all grunt.
My 2cents worth.

Thort I'd stick my 2bobs worth in. Check out the ARB range. mate of mine bought one (takes almost 2blocks, cans that is) and runs absolutely brilliant on a stinkin hot day. There's been no trouble with it so far and it's better than an esky with ice that lasts 5 minutes in the heat.

OK I'll bite, what is 24v...not 12v?

Or are you writing about the latest "F" series Engel?

I've been reading this with interest. Now let me see if I got this correct, if ya fanny fan ain't working it's because it ain't working but it could be off coz it's done it's job until the compressor kicks in again but it all depends if ya gotta metal plate in ya head. That can't be right, I'll start again.
Now depending on the size of ya donga depends on whether the metal plate in ya nut bag cools down quick enough, nope thats not right either.
Now if the fans big, then get away from her quick or you will fall in, nope thats not it.

buggered if I know, it's just a fucking fridge

Neither of yer fridges could feed me for a day never mind mi beers.

40 litre fridge into a 110 gallon keg dont work sorry blokes

hooroo
FG

Keep ya eye on this guy, he'll eat ya fuckin house

Point his butt towards Canberra, he blow parliament house away with them useless bastards in it

Crazy pete wrote:
But for christs sake dont belch or fart ay

Bignuggs wrote:Point his butt towards Canberra, he blow parliament house away with them useless bastards in it

All that hot air heading that way, would make thier frudges work overtime then

The fans in the fridges better be workin properly and we don't need thermals to drift it over to WA. Imagine the stink from that ar*e

fatGUTS wrote:Neither of yer fridges could feed me for a day never mind mi beers.

40 litre fridge into a 110 gallon keg dont work sorry blokes

hooroo
FG

I that you Larry? You're the only bloke I know that signs off with "Hooroo"

Robert

To get back on the original post....it all comes down to how much you want to spend & the quality of the product.
This subject has been flogged to death on many forums with each product having different pros & cons over each
type of unit.
What you have to look at is:
(1) Reliability in Australian Outback conditions.
(2) How much you want to spend
(3) Energy consumption for the period you wish to use it taking into consideration the power resource you have
to run it...eg. battery capacity, 240v power supply, Solar Energy, generator etc, etc.

One of the best (& this is my opinion only) is the Trailblazer manufactured by Norcoast Refrigeration in Queensland.
They have superior insulation properties & are built for handling the rugged conditions of the Australian Outback.
The Royal Flying Doctor Service wouldn't be using these fridges for their medical supplies if they were not good.

Their website is found here: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I purchased one of the first models back in the early 90's (a 60ltr model) & it has traveled over some of the roughest
outback tracks in the hottest ambient temps imaginable & never missed a beat. Always kept my food & beer cold
& the frozen food stuff frozen.
Over the years they have improved with new technology & power consumption is competitive with other models.
Not cheap but you get a good quality unit & their back-up service is next to none!!!!!!!!

Hey Goldstalkergpx
I also bought one of those 80ltr chinese fridges 3 years ago,mounted in the back of my ute and it hasnt missed a beat,running a v80watt solar panel on the roof and 110amp exc battery,i use it on freezer all the time,nothing wrong with them for the price,and have given it a really hard time.
Cheers Jon.

Thats good hope then jon, I have used it since my first post and I've had nothing but trouble (but thats my luck)
I went away for a weekend awhile back to see some live bands and had to drink hot rum , it wouldn't cool below 24c, I went to a mates place in a town close by to the event and plugged it into the 240v (as I did at home) and it cooled no problem. I did some roadside re-wire and got it going again but nothing below 24c, after running it on the 240v I managed to keep it down to operating temp for about 16 hours and then back up again, once home did some voltage checks and all ok.
Maybe there are some hidden settings on the fridge or I just got a dud.

Try yelling at it in Manderin or Cantonese.

Isn't it amazing how good the Chinese are at stuffing up about 100% of what they make.

goldnomad wrote:Try yelling at it in Manderin or Cantonese.

I'll give that a go

It doesn't matter what I buy, I can buy the best of the best and it will still have a re-call or be a dud from the start.
Maybe just Karma from a previous life catching up

Buy the misses a new top of the range WOK

Cant hurt can it, and might break the bad WANG CHI thats goin on


Pete

I can buy the best of the best and it will still have a re-call or be a dud from the star

Im hearing ya!....try this...get someone else to buy it for ya!

When i buy something now days i walk away asking myself....i wonder if it will work when i get home.?