which fridge to buy--

First topic message reminder :

well after looking around at all sorts of car fridges I decided to go with another 40L Engle to
supplement the existing one I have already got mainly due to the fact that the inside is a fully moulded piece of plastic and if something went wrong with the freezer side then with a lot of the others the blood or water would get between the seams in the bottom of the inside compartment and I didn't like the idea of trying to clean  in between the seams.

House hold fridges have fully moulded plastic inners so I don't know the idea of reinventing the wheel especially when
one has to give the unit a clean.

Has anyone else had a problem or could see a potential drama occurring..

Now all I have to do is get a couple of drop down slides for the fridges.

regards
oneday

if u want to swap a 80 for one of my 40's let me know..
its the latest model and has only been used twice.

regards
oneday

Good one Nuggie!
Explanation was spot on :-)

hi Goldstrijke, do you know if Engel have locked Sawafuji into only supplying them, i just read up on the swing motor, i'm surprised more manufacturers are'nt using them, from my limited knowledge most use the Danfoss unit ?

cheers
Darren

Gday Darren
I don't know if they are locked in, maybe they own them
Engel are the only ones that use them, as far as I'm aware and that's what makes them a cut above the rest
The Danfoss compressor is also good, but not really designed for mobile application, as they are internally sprung
Someone had given me a car fridge as a present years ago, when this particular brand started using Danfoss and the compressor sh---t itself
It's just that over the years in my business you see and hear a lot about the different brands and Engel win hands down

Cheers Pete

hey Pete, thanks for all the info, i thought i had done my research but it's always good to hear from knowledgeable people on the topic at hand.

cheers
Darren

Hi All,

We are out there doin it right now and this hot weather(34 is too hot for caravans and fridges)makes things difficult

The 60L evercool has 2x 90w solar panels which are rotated 3 times a day to follow the suns path, it is connected to a 120a/h Fullriver battery which at midday is clicking as being full but come evening just over 12v is left in the battery which is just enough to get thru the night ready for the next days onslaught

The evercool is run as a freezer at -18 deg. but at midday would be around -15 and running full time , no switch off period , it will run like this for aboutfour hours

The other one is a 110L waeco fr/fr runs off 2x 120a/h batts but only a 200w solar panel mounted flat on the roof of the van.
This setup runs flat out(no break) for a bit longer at 5hrs at -9 deg, it is set to -11deg, I am having to run the genny for an hr(40amp battery charger) to top up the battery so I can watch a movie or two at night

My question is this, with the 3 settings that the fridges have which supply different voltages ...which is best to run at when the heat of the day makes them run continuously, is there a way to help these fridges out

2 wks for 10gr!!!!!, too bloody hot!!!!!

Ron

Why -18 deg??...here is where your power is going...no need. Food is considered frozen correctly at -11.

I run my 40L Engel at about -3-7... ambient temp pending as the fridge self adjusts.
Sometimes if the door on the trucks canopy is left open, direct sunlight is on the fridge....this is when the fridge gets angry and the temp moves about. Cycles more often to compensate.
All my meat is frozen solid and can be used as a hammer. I also dont plan on keeping it forever....so no real need to freeze it any lower.

Use an external fridge temp gauge with remote sender to test the fridges real temp at the bottom.....you'll probably find its much lower than you think. Once you know the real temp, you'll be able to work it out from the built in temp gauge.
Example...the bottom may read -11 while the inbuilt temp gauge reads -2. All depends on where the inbuilt sensor is mounted.?? 

stick at it Ron

The temperature is starting to cool down real fast in the goldfields and then u will start to abuse the rain..

at least u have something.

a lot of people go to the old workings and well known patches in hope--they wonder why its hard to find gold..mmm

all the best

regards
oneday

Hi All,

Thanks Narrawa, will try that tomorrow and I have a temp gauge off a barometer set which will go to -15 so will try that as well

Oneday, mate the missus is killing me with her 5000 and the sadie, she reckons it's her!!!!, I've tried 4 different coils walked around in the moonlight and only come up with 5 nugg's to her 23, but in her defence she has a small run she's working

So thanks guys, tomorrow will bring another day!!

Ron, Sherri and yoda (who's struggling in the heat a bit)

late engels , the greys , give trouble made in japan , the old yella 39litre german made ones have become sought after , never a problem . qld bob had 2 greys in 4 years , both lemons , so did Quigs ,then he went to a 90 litre waeko , 10 months later , out of gas , had a regass , 6 months later , hot stubbies ... lemon .
been down this road many times ,are your ears painted on or what .  
just buy a trailblaza oz made quality product with warranty that goes beyond if needed .

Got to agree with you Albo. I have a 60L Trailblazer. It's now over 20 years old and going strong. I use it as a freezer. I also have a 29L(?) Waeco used as a beer fridge. Not enough insulation on Waeco fridges IMO.

But all good. Roger   

good solid fridge roger the trailblaza , no flimsy plastic catches that bust , when a danfos compressor change over is necessary
& that's an if , just a simple silver solder of 2 pipes , copper , not aluminium ,very simple & a regass , try that one with any others , you have to buy the condenser ,almost the whole unit , cost wise you may as well chuck it to the tip .

Yep, right with albo on this one.
Our Trailblaza bought new in '94 has been used only as a freezer and never missed a beat except when the thermostat contacts got dust on them. They dont have current going through, more like an electronic switch. Dustproofed the thermostat, that was years ago.

Also as Narrawa suggests, never try to achieve less than -10/11, the saving in a/hrs./day is considerable.
As from next week mine will be 2/3 full of frozen meat heading West. As fresh is added the whole lot is moved around to maintain an even freezing.
They look non too flash as they age, but bloody bulletproof where ya need it.

Cant really agree about the 3way fridge in 'vans, the 90l. one in ours would never keep a stable cabinet temperature in ambients of 30+ (even with 2 fans cooling the condenser) and used a 9kg. gas bottle in around 18-20 days.

It came out to be replaced with an 80l. Engel which went straight into the cavity without trimming.
Consistant 4* in the cabinet with no condensation and -11* in the freezer regardless of the ambients we have experienced.
Mike

Hi All,

What a difference, the Evercool working as a freezer only has settled right down, now running at -10deg.

At the end of the day there is nearly 13v in the battery instead of 12.25v, so that solved that one, but the other set up that's in the caravan is still unable to keep up

I checked the voltage going into the regulator and it is very low compared to the car setup,it is delivering only 13.5v to the reg. whereas the car setup is getting from 13.5 to 14.5v and it clicks on trickle charge but the caravan setup is no where near being full

I noticed the solar panel is covered with red dust so I will clean before I use it at our next stop tomorrow, I think this one will be changed when I get home so that I can pivot it up to catch more sun +/or add a 60w to help it along

The Waeco is now set to -8 deg. and works as a fr/fr, both setups aren't struggling like they were before, so we are heading in the right direction

The Evercool and the Waeco have never been a problem it's just the solar setups, so once I get it all worked out we should be fine

We have 13.7gr now but it seems to be running out and it's time to do the washing and pick up the new drive belt for the Quad bike

Ron, Sherri and Yoda

had the 3 way early days also , carrying gas , refills , a real pain , when you pull up the fridge has to be dead level to work right , backwards , forwards , more rocks under the back wheels , spirit level .. too hard .
The early days were ok , falcon ute , no fridge , hang the stubbies in a wet sock from a tree to coolem , happy days & I reckon I found more gold then .

i guess they all have their pro's and con's. the gas can be an issue setting up, leaving for an hr after travelling and with the refills and the flame blowing out ETC. I have only used it twice now and had issues both times.
good subject and timely, I think i will be leaving it in the caravan and get a 12v unit for the car.
now how much more power will the larger ones draw ie a 105 lt compared to a 60 lt trailblazer?
is it worth buying the largest one you can get, I have never used a wacco or engel or any type so I have no knowledge on their storage capacity.
cheers

Hey Martin,

Power usage wouldn't be one of my concerns, get the biggest one you can afford or need instead.

All fridges are designed for their size and usually with the smallest compressor they can effectively get away with.
Fridges will use different amounts of power for a number of different reasons;
basic things like;
Where the setting of the thermostat is.
How many fans or compressors the fridge has
How much heat load the the compressor/s have to cope with inside / How often you open it how good the door seal is.
How many compartments the Fridge/Freezer has or if it is a combo unit.
How efficiently the condenser can lose heat.  
How much insulation the fridge has from gaining ambient (outside) heat.
What type of refrigerant the fridge uses. (new greenhouse friendly blended refrigerants now run at higher pressure, compressor loads than older fridges and their wear and tear is higher).

Mine, is an 80L Engel, I can't fill it! Put it this way, you can load up the fridge side easily with 45 x 375ml cans (3 x 5 cans, 3 layers standing upright) easily in Fan-forced Fridge side and there is still almost as much room in the Freezer compartment... Usually enough room for a small bag of ice and enough room for 4-5 trays of frozen meat for me for a few days .

My power set up is basic.
I just run my boats marine 2x12V marine batteries in parallel in the ute, charge from car when driving via Anderson plugs or 120W portable solar panel and 240Vac inverter during day when camped and give a 1/2hr idle charge from car alternator for a top-up before I crash out for the night. For a weekend social prospector like me, that fits the budget and does the job nicely.

Goldstrijk is the guy to PM about the technical side of things, he designs Cool Rooms and Freezers for a living...

NuggieDreamer wrote:Hey Martin,


My power set up is basic.
I just run my boats marine 2x12V marine batteries in parallel in the ute, charge from car when driving via Anderson plugs or 120W portable solar panel and 240Vac inverter during day when camped and give a 1/2hr idle charge from car alternator for a top-up before I crash out for the night. For a weekend social prospector like me, that fits the budget and does the job nicely.
.

Why is the 240Vac inverter in the day equation?

if you are lucky enough to be on a patch for a week I found you do need a small geny or 2 - 64 watt panels minimum .i used to fast idle the ute to charge , but panels are great .

"Why is the 240Vac inverter in the day equation?"

Probably didnt say it right, sorry.
Inverter and aux batts never unplugged from each other, always have AC on tap for charging multiple device chargers on the power board instead of a managery hanging out the ciggie lighter with the keys in the ignition while I'm away from the car detecting, mainly rechargable AA & AAA batts on trickle .
The aux batts, inverter and chargers are in a locked Alum toolbox. So I just recharge the whole setup during the day while driving around or solar panel when camped. Don't charge 3 batts with the car charging cct at night with the High Beam/Driving lights on, don't want to wreck car Alternator.

If u run a L/C u can replace the standard 80amp alternator with a 130amp alternator to give u a boost of power with not too much load when u are travelling along at night with a couple of 100w spotties and a light bar of about 80w blarring away plus charging the load drain on batteries..

regards
oneday

The Old engel (about 28yrs old) fits perfectly in the new camper van.
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Stole it off the old girl. Still going strong and the old girl
Mark 409

mark409 wrote:The Old engel (about 28yrs old) fits perfectly in the new camper van.
Mark 409

G'Day Mark, your unit appears to be the same as a unit I used to have many years ago..  like this unit pictured...

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I loaned my unit to a mate who who had a Landcruiser ute with a canopy and who was doing a few months of travel. The bottom  3 or 4 inches of this Engel was fibreglass/plastic, and this fibreglass supposedly failed while travelling on very rough road. I do not know how much weight was in the unit, and expect there may have been more weight stacked on top of the unit. The cost to repair made a repair uneconomical. I was reimbursed for most of the cost to replace the unit, but steered clear of buying that model Engel again.