diamond (bendigo) replied:

gday howard.
i remember reading somewhere on one of the threads that weaco have solved there lock problem also if you did have trouble thats why they give you waranty .
but the waeco and with the money you save you can stock it up several times.
cheers—~‘¬‘¥•s’B

simon replied:

i thought the new model waco's were now 50l rather then 40 then the next size was 32l mind u i feel they are a bit liberal in there measurements

Phil P replied:

Hi Howard,

I owned a Waeco CF50 for 6 months and used it for various offroad trips. The fridge performed perfectly. I used setting number 3 for temperature (this seemed to be the right temperature). The Lid caused no problems. The reason I sold the fridge and replaced it with an Engel was that the Waeco CF50 has a "Rattling" Compressor. Every time I went over a very slight bump in the road the fridge would "clunk". This is not a problem when the car is fully loaded because everything else packed in the car would hide the "clunk".

The "clunk" drove me up the wall. If you go into a store that sell's Waeco CF50's and gently lift one side of the fridge up & down 10 centimetre's in a brisk movement you will hear the "Clunk".

They Engel has no clunking sounds & so far is working as well as the Waeco.
The downside to the Engle is;
No internal light
The door only opens one way (I had to move my fridge slide close to the centre of the car)
Smaller Capacity
$150-$200 more expensive
Less Warranty

Phil P

TonyT replied:

I'm also looking for a fridge- Freedom Camping Melb. are flogging Waeco 50L plus a 6 can 12V fridge as a package for $999. $WD Accessories Guide (Pub. by 4WD Monthly) Vol.1 No.4 (I bought it August) tests all the fridges- there look to be better fridges than Waeco but maybe not at the price- several made in Australia- I reckon I'll pay more and buy local- just another opinion- cheers TonyT

STAN replied:

HI Howard, I once owned a 40 litre Engel.Had trouble with a high power consumption and a lid that could not seal through a design fault. Ants would pour into the fridge past the seal and die because of the intense cold. A dayly routine was to empty the fridge of all contents , flush out the dead ants with water and start all over again. As the fridge was under warantee I took it back to the Vic. agent to be fixed They refused to remedy the problem and told me to fix it myself with silicone...... Such is service from Engel..... I promptly sold the fridge and bought a waeco 40 litre . It uses less power and is more efficeint. I could not be happier Cheers Stan

roo replied:

Hi Howard,
i have just purchased aWaco 50l fridge, and could not be happier.
I have used an Engel 38L previously and found it to draw more power, and alot noisier. The Waco has a power cut out so it will not drain the battery so you can still start your car. I also rolled my Jackaroo with the Waco in the back, and the fridge still works fine after being flung around it the back as it was not tied down.
A cargo barrier is a must. The external dimensions of both fridges are almost the same.
Happy and safe driving.
Roo.

Jimbo replied:

Howard,

I've had a 39L Engel for about five years. During that time it has spent 18 months continuously running on a boat and used as spare freezer at home for a few extended peiods. Overall it would have been turned on for 50% of the time actually running, as opposed to most that would be lucky to run two or three weeks per year. It has never missed a beat. As for power consumption it draws 3.7 amps when RUNNING, which is not all that often if you are smart. I ran it continously for three days running off a normal (not deep cycle) battery in a Falcon. As we didn't drive the car anywhere I just started the car three or four times a day and ran it for about 15 min. Battery never looked like getting flat. Also whilst I had the engine running I would turn the thermostat up for extra cooling whilst there was extra power and then ease it off. Yes they are a bit noisy. If you sleep in the same room as one, the noise as it starts up can be annoying if you are a light sleeper.

I know a bloke who has a Waeco and he swears by it. My only query as listed previously is their somewhat generous quotation of space. To check this get a tape measure and calculate the actual space. You MAY find the Waeco 50 is no bigger than the Engel 40 as I think Waeco include that space above the compressor which is not a true part of the fridge. You also need to add the cost of a 240-12volt power supply for the Waeco if you want to run it on 240 (the Engel runs on either and comes with specific power leads for each).

I have also been told that after sales service by Waeco is excellent and Engel don't want to know you. Can't comment as mine has never needed work.

If I was in the market again I would certainly consider the Waeco. I like their plastic cabinet becaust it wont scratch, rust or dent. They are apparently lighter as well. They certainly have a price advantage but I would check the measurements first.

regards,

Jim.

Macco replied:

Howard,
I have brought a Waeco 50lt about 9 months ago. I have done a few heavy offroad trips and I must say I dont treat it too kindly but the unit has performed faultlessly. I do not have the noise that everyone seems to complain about but it may be an issue that comes with age? I find running the unit on 2 or 3 is more than ample for keeping the beers etc cold. If using the max setting you can freeze things in 1 hr- As i found out after forgetting to turn it down. The 'turbo' function is very handy as is the console cooler I got in a deal. $999 for both with 12v convertor. I would have no problems in purchasing one of these again.