have been using the Engle (29 litre and 30 yrs old) as second fridge as the caravan fridge is small but now need to use it as a freezer as I'm catching fish. So would like to buy a new one with split compartments for freezing/fridge use simultaneously. Don't want to run two. Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated cheers Barry
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Jenny and Barry
2009 Roma Elegance / 2013 Colorado. Permanent travellers 2011-2015 now just travel for 4-6 mths
waeco have some specials on at the moment where you get a cover and a ice box for free. the fifty litre is ok, and they are set up to not drain your battery. also they have 3 compartments, freezer chiller and dairy all on the one setting, or you can take out the interior and use the lot as a freezer. about $1100.
none of the lower cost portable fridges are suitable for freezers. They work as freezers but use huge amounts of power. Waeco/Engel 40L will use minimum 40Ah and run continuously. Once you go over 40L power use rises dramatically. None of the combo fridge/freezer fridges function satisfactorily. To get sufficient cold in the fridge section will require you to setup a seperate thermostat and small fan. If you do not have sufficient solar system you will soon find it a chore to keep up the power needed.
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Please look after the environment when travelling. Please clean up after others that don't do as they should.
We brought a easy cool 80 ltr fridge/freezer from Dreamrider on Ebay and it can be all freezer or fridge/freezer draws 5amp and is working very well the best $600 we spent. Regards
Wow dukster, you must have a fantastic budget to have tested them all? Actually there are some Waeco knockoffs that don't look too bad. Not that I have tested them either, but it would be great to hear from anyone who has?????
Wow dukster, you must have a fantastic budget to have tested them all? Actually there are some Waeco knockoffs that don't look too bad. Not that I have tested them either, but it would be great to hear from anyone who has?????
I do actually millions so dont be a jealous pauper
-- Edited by Duckster on Thursday 1st of December 2011 06:41:29 AM
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Please look after the environment when travelling. Please clean up after others that don't do as they should.
Wow dukster, you must have a fantastic budget to have tested them all? Actually there are some Waeco knockoffs that don't look too bad. Not that I have tested them either, but it would be great to hear from anyone who has?????
I do actually millions so dont be a jealous pauper
-- Edited by Duckster on Thursday 1st of December 2011 06:41:29 AM
I've been running my Waeco 40 as a freezer/fridge for 7 years, chained to the van or in the car. I cook and freeze my meals and put other handy items like butter, eggs, fruit, milk etc in the frigde. It's been great for work. I can have a home-cooked meal on the road anytime. I don't need beer storage or fish freezing space. My use is more practical than that. I live 2 lives these days. The one in the van and the one on the road. The only thing the Waeco did was lose the 240V circuit card which is just about as expensive to replace as the fridge, so I'm running 240V on voltage regulator, and then on 12V through the car when I'm on the road.
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20ft Roma caravan - Mercedes Benz Sprinter - SA-based at the moment. Transport has no borders.
Management makes the decisions, but is not affected by the decisions it makes.
Might look at a primus (expensive) but first will give the two zone another run and experiment with it thanks everyone Barry
Nothing that tries to do two jobs will be a huge success as there will be compromises along the way. This is as true for a fridge that tries to provide both freezer and fridge capabilities.
This is something that we wanted as well, so I did some research on the subject and made a decision that we have remained happy with.
From my research there were three units that seemed to do a good job:
1) Liemack
2) Evakool
3) Some South African brand whose name I can't remember.
The Liemack was discounted as its power use was too great even though the rotary Mitsubishi compressor was extremely good - it all ran on 240v so the unit included a step up transformer.
The South African brand was excellent, but it was just too expensive being double the cost of the other units.
Yes, we chose the Evakool. The positives included the fact that it had the flexibility to run as fridge, as freezer or as a combination of both. It is Australian made and the insulation means that the compressor doesn't have to work as hard as it does with other units. It is also economical with power and easy to clean.
The downside is that the cooling plate is on three sides at one end of the cabinet so one end is always colder than the other. This is OK once you know about it and you can use it to advantage by keeping the dairy not quite as cold as the beer. It cools the "far" end through the circulation of cold air from the cold end.
However, when you divide it into fridge AND freezer then you get the worst part of the compromise in that the air circulation is affected so while the freezer end works brilliantly, things on the other side of the divider in the other end just take longer to chill down. Sometimes this can be just far too long if you fill it with goods.
There are ways of speeding it up (someone mentioned a fan to blow the air, we just lift the divider a few mil to let the cold air circulate), but this is the compromise we made.
Having said that, we have found the Evakool to be a reliable and effective unit once you understand how it works.
As for your twozone on the Engel, well I think you will probably be disappointed, but it is worth a try. You may find that the compromises it asks of you are acceptable.
Good luck with it!
Joe
-- Edited by Joe on Wednesday 7th of December 2011 03:05:08 PM
Joe is that Liemack a eutectic unit, if so I've been led to believe that these use quite a bit of current to cool down to operating temperature but once there are quite efficient and that they hold their cold for quite a while after being switched off.
In saying that I point out that I'm not familiar with these so I may be on "the wrong track" here.
Jim
PS: I seem to recall another brand being recommended on this forum but can't remember what it is (fat lot of use that is! ). I think they are made in Queensland and that they have contracts to supply the defence forces, not sure however.
-- Edited by jimricho on Thursday 8th of December 2011 06:57:03 AM
Hi All, There are always some that have the best fridge and it runs on a torch batt, for a week. Fact is they dont .Engels are the lowest on power useage 2.3 amps 40 lt,4.5amps 60lt. waecos with a BD3.5 ,3.5-4 amps BD50 5.5 amps. And the chiness ones are a little higher ,and If you use them as a frezzer they use a little more. The waeco that Hardly normal is pushing for 500? dosnt make a good frezzer ,as soon as it gets down to -? 5-8 it will sweat up on the out side. The wall is so thin.. There is a good fridge made by ARB. and they do it all very well. it runs a danfos BD3.5 and have good elect. Yes there are others and they all work fine, Look before you spend your money, Engel cost the most to fix, but are the easest to work on.. Waecos elect are its problem "when it happens" the low voltage cut out. and the boards die. Good luck with your hunt for the perfect fridge, it will be a long one.. said with a smile.. Bob n Bev
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Land Rover Discovery Chipped TD5 Manual ,Air Springs, Anti Sway. T.C. Auto level. Van, Roadstar 21.6 Voyager 4000 all sola powered.
). I think they are made in Queensland and that they have contracts to supply the defence forces, not sure however.
