Second Fridge as a Freezer only

Hello
I bought a 21l engel for the same reason & it useless as a freezer in the warmer weather. runs non stop & still won't keep frozen..don't think there is enough cooling plate on the 21l..
very little sympathy from engel..
cheers Danny

Have a look at these . . .
http://www.techniice.com/car-fridges-1.html
They have 30lt, 45lt and 60lt.

Found very good feedback on a number of other 4x4 forums.

I have had the 45lt for a few weeks now, very pleased with it as a fridge, goes down to -25 at the plate.
Great insulation and reasonable amp draw.

I bought an ebay cheapy for $420, 6 years ago. it is a Freezer with a bit for the butter and cheese on the side which is controlled by a manual vent. Have used it twice a year, each year travelling many klm's each trip on many bush tracks. It is great and has never given me trouble. Unlike the "brand " names that are big and bulky this unit has room on the inside and keeps our meat frozen at the bottom and the beers cold at the top. If it was to $hi! itself tommorrow I would buy another one before the name brands.

Is the slide on aerated wile travelling and or parked?
If the insides are hot ie hot weather heat soak into camper, the fridge CANNOT get any cool air to it's condenser to allow cabinet heat to be dissipated.
So the unit will just sit there chewing battery while it stews in it's own pool of hot air.

There will be little refridgeration happening and almost certainly no freezing.
Any fridge is subject to the same unless you also add extra insulation to assist it's operation..

If going bush with 3, 12v fridges, how big is the trailer and the area of solar panels you have on it?

Cheers

Hi Mazdave,

I purchased a Waeco CDF35 from Marlow's (WA store) about three years ago.

I use it as a freezer and it has performed flawlessly (touch wood)

We also have a Waeco 50 ltr which we use as a fridge only. best of both worlds.


Regards

Barry H

Have just bought an Ironman 30L fridge, to use as a freezer, on a trip in June/July.

Was going to buy an Engel 21L unit, but decided on this one as I'd read a couple of favourable reports, and they were on special!!! Runs a Danfoss D35 compressor, and is very quiet......much quieter than the 40L Engel we have had for years.

Ran it for 5 days, on 240, both as fridge and freezer, and it kept the beers at a cool 2 deg, and froze some water containers down to -15 .........eventually.

Will be interesting to see how it goes away from 240 power, and the comfort of our living room, @ 25 degrees.

Bob.

I run a Waeco 40 as a dedicated freezer and a Bushman as our fridge. I have no issues in keeping food frozen running on 12 volts supply and have been in condition of over 50 deg in central Aust
Brands aside I did speak with a technical rep at Waeco who advised me that their cheaper Chinese compressors will perform as well as the Danfoss ones but are not as efficient on power consumption, so the cheapies may well do the job for you if you can keep the power up to them

We run two fridges and have for a few years. One as a normal fridge (40L Engel) and a smaller one (21L Engel) as a freezer. Got the 21Lt through ebay and Paypal for around $250. No hassles.

We also put a third battery and a redarc solenoid, under the bonnet giving us two for accessories, 4WD stuff only, and a single for the car. The car (100 series) came with two standard. We split them. All are the same make and model giving us the ability to move them around if one breaks. The fridges will run on the two 4WD pair for two days and three nights without a recharge.

I think the sons are looking at getting rid of their 60L combos and doing the same.

Great stuff being able to pull an ice block or choc coated ice cream out in the middle of the desert on a hot day and watch people lick their chops. Ha!!!!

So easy to leave one fridge home for short trips.

Phil

Interesting topic.

We have recently obtained a caravan, and the fridge in it works fine on 240. Will see how it goes on gas this weekend. On 12v it is hopeless, so thinking about a smaller fridge for use in the Prado to keep frozen stuff in while on the road.

I have a 40l Waeco in the tub of the Dmax which we use as a freezer and it performs quite well. We also have an 65l Engel in the CT that is housed in it's own box, the box has a small fan fitted and is run via a small solar panel to exhaust hot air from the box.

Remember, if you are to run a freezer, have you asked yourself how much extra battery capacity and charging capacity you will need to support it.

Remember run as a frezzer, a given unit may draw 4, 6 or more times as much as it would run as a fridge.....in a hot climate it will run nearly contunuoulsy.

As for the cheaper fridges.....many of the second or third string brands run the very same compressor as wacko....the better units run a danfos refrigeration system and the cheaper ones run a similar chinesse system like the cheap wackos.

Like so many other things in this country, I believe the Wackos to be over priced.....particularly for a company that buys in its refrigeration system and sticks it in a box.....juts like everybody else but Engel....and only a fair box at that.....

Have a real good look at some of the second string competitors.....there is better value for money to be had.

cheers

I bought a 38 litre plastic engel at bcf at christmas, i leave it on about 2-3 degrees and it sits in the back seat of my colly, and its generally pretty cool in there.

I have to say the engel seems to run a bit too much, every time I'm near it i can hear it going, I'm taking it out and throwing my bushman in there for a couple of weeks to see how it performs, I must say i don't think the engels are as good as they used to be.