Waeco Fridges

Hi Rosco,
CF80 - Haven't had it long and still getting used to it but so far excellent - highly recommended.

Hi Rosco,
My mate has Waeco, had trouble with lid hinges breaking originally. So I bought engil.
When out and about my mate props his Waeco on back seat and secures with the seat belt...easy
I decided to secure mine semi permanet in the back as being a heavy metal unit it's not user frindly to the seat. The engil takes up a lot of load space as you have to allow air pockets around sides and back, so from that point my mates lighter Waco on back seat is an advantage.
He has had no further ptoblem with Waeco lid.

As I'm out on fire trails and not just camping, bolting down the Engil has been a good move. My mate tends to be a camper more than a tourer on fire trails so he is fine with keeping it on back seat.
You can't go wrong which ever you chose.
Regards
Joe

Personally I've got a Evakool 68 litre - 3yr old and going well.

But my parents have a 2 year old Waeco 50 litre that is working well except that while we we away over easter the electronic controls on the Waeco went bezerk and the fridge kept running (no they hadn't accidentally turned on the emergency run switch). They had to manually switch it on and off all weekend. Luckily they have a digital thermometer with a remote sensor.

Some other people camped with us had two older waeco's with the slide control and they are still going well.

My folks are waiting for their fridge to return from the repair shop (covered by warranty).

Apart from that the only prob I can see with the waeco's is they use more power coz of the thinner insulation (compared to my EvaKool, but they seem to be on par with Engel).

Hi,

Had my CF-40 for about 9 months now and have done about 10,000km with it in the car, camping and general touring. Happy as can be.

Easy to clean out, no sharp edges, fuss free operation and icey cold beer. It just does the job well and that is all I ask! Runs with Outback power pack - no probs with that either.

Steven

Had the 50lt for 12mths now. Could not be happier.
Had a problem with the 240V power supply and they just gave me a new one. Had a problem with the lead and after there agent did a repair job they just sent me a new one.
On Sat night our home domestic fridge blew a fan and I had to fully load the 50lt with the freezer contnets - placed on setting 5 (I think there is 7) and the next morning the unit was at -18.5deg

I am pretty sure that is colder than the big fridge at home.

Can't complain with that.

Yeah......

CF 35 + Transit Bag.

I use this roughly every weekend out of 4

Keeps my stuff cold. which is what I wanted.

Little switch on iterior light used to get jammed in the lid & stay on, just ripped the whole lot out, simple.

Could have bought an Engel, but I liked the slightly smaller size of the Waeco & the Low Voltage cut out.

I am happy, and will be until it breaks down.

Ian BEE

Hi Rosco,
I have a CF50 fridge and have had it for 18 months, I leave it on even when not camping or travelling (bar fridge mate) and it has not missed a beat! It also is run on a Waeco outback powerpack when camping, this is used to run camping lights also.
Mate has an Engel and after seeing how my Waeco performs he went out and bought one and sent the Engel to the shed.

Regards,

Dave.

Rosco,
Got the CF50 and it is a sweet sweet fridge.
No dramas fingers crossed
Don

Bought an 80lt + cover +240v adaptor for $1000 from the fridge shop in feb,, have had running constantly since on a cycle of 1 week beach on 12v then 3weeks home on240v ,,,5th light car and home = -18 in freezer basket ,+ 3 in beer basket and +6 in dairy ,,no complaints ,,will run 6days on my 2 deep cycles in camper ,,only 2nd thought would be that maybe the 110 holds 12 more cans !!!!!!

Rosco : Please explain why you are asking this unusual question in the first place... is it not that you have a vested interest in promoting these 'units' ???

Ive had a CF50 for 18months. The lid buckled and didnt seal after about 6months they gave me a new lid and this ones buckled a bit. I noticed they now have a new redesigned lid its a bit heavier. The low voltage cut is good in theary but with a twin battery setup theres no need for it , I would rather the fridge kept keeping my beer cold until the battery went flat.

Hi Rosco,
My 2 Boys run the 50 ltre job and have been for a couple of years now. The eldest bloke had to have his lid changed over after about 2 months. The young bloke had to have his changed over last week due to the clip not sealing . They have accepted it as warranty but has about a 2months wait for replacement. Other than that they both reckon it does the job.

Macca

Bought one of the first cf45 to come out here.
Quite happy up to date but lid hinge lugs a bit ordinary but still work OK.
No warps.
Just bought a high density foam sleeping mat from Kmart with alfoil on one side.
This, together with some 2" foam will be the cover with the foil on the outside.
Should make it even better & protect it from knocks.
Just kame sure you have a good socket that fits the adaptor tightly & cabling that is a bit oversize so it doesnt get starved of watts.

Have both an engel 40l and a Waeco 30l. The Waeco was one of those returned / damaged / whatever units from the Fridgeshop. It packed it in after a couple of weeks, but after sales service was great. Had it repaired no questions asked, straight away.

Having both fridges, the Waeco doesn't seem as robust, but seems to get cold faster. It also seems to keep a more consistent temperature, but I think this is because it cycles on more often?.

The cigarette lighter plug on the Waeco is a real pain (On the list of those things that have to be repaired / changed - the list you never seem to get time to get to.)

I have one fridge or the other always in the car (a glorified and expensive lunch box).

Personally I think the Engel is a better unit, nut at the price Fridgeshop were given them away at, I can't complain.

I've had a CF110 for over a year now and love it. Run it from the standard Toyota LC100 outlet with no problems. Going on an extended trip so have now fitted a dedicated outlet to reduce voltage drop and allow me to run the fridge without the ignition on. Not sure what the votage drop was but now it is only 0.2 volts with the fridge running.

Topend.

I have an FF30. Apparently made in germany. Got in the waeco hit australia opening specials blitz. Was very cheap about three years ago and even to now has never skipped a beat. I use it on trips on shopping and in the last year or so as an in-house seafood fridge. Hate wrapping seafood in plastic to stop the blown air of my kelvinator drying it out. The waeco is a static cold fridge (as are all our 12v fridges) which chefs pay big money for to keep their seafood stocks in, crabs, prawns and fish just lay on plates in it, i monitor the temperature and is always around the 2 - 3C mark, they stay fresh for days, much longer than having their microbes germinating under sweating plastic.

So the point is the danfoss motor when properly installed and soldered up professionally is as reliable as a 12v fridge can get in my opinion. Problems of late i have noticed seem to come from electronics in the newer models not coping with some conditions. But hey mine has no led's or turbo boost functions etc, one dial. maybe that's its secret - its simpleness. I have an explorer too, would like to try an engel one day.

Hi Rosco,
I got the 80 as well. Gave it a first run just after i bought it, It ran in my GQ for 4 dyas and nights. The car was out in the sun all day every day ( January), the fridge performed great. Being the first time for me i was concerned the batteries would die, but after 4 days / nights all was great. Damn cold cans too let me tell u.

Have had it running in garage ever sinse i got back and it hasnt missed a beat.

Rosco happy with my ff90 .Only problem I had was a fuse went due to bad connection in the cigi lighter connection. Diamond mentioned his gave up on the way to Queensland , so still waiting to hear from him as to what went wrong .

Hi Rosco,
Had my 110 for 18mths and had no problems other than the voltage cutout is set to high but am trying to sort that out with them now. It runs 24/7 in the cruiser with 90ah optima gell deep cycle battery and always has stock in it, Drinks, Meat in freezer, and other assorted foods as we use it for tripping and work. I plug it into the 240 only when I havent done much running.
My only comment for living in a more tropical climate (if you do) is that the trailblazer has better insulation and would be more efficient.(Did a lot of homework before I handed over the redies)The 110 runs a lot in very hot weather, but it is a BIG car fridge. SWMBO has special diet requirments and is the reason we went so big as we need to cart more from home or major centre shopping facilities. I also like the emergency switch which can be activated if the electronics go bust. ( have no faith in electronics with good reason) The bdf50 danfoss compressor is a good unit. The other contributing factor was at the time of waeco introduction was the excellent prices. Happy shopping

Cheers Steve

Hi Rosco,
Have a CF50 since November last year. Bought for a trip to Tassie, never missed a beat. Only complaint is, when mounted on my fridge slider and leaning in to get a resupply (hic..), its very easy to lean on the controls and change the setting. Runs on setting 3 for fridge. I used a thermometer monted on my cargo barrier with a probe in the fridge to keep an eye on it. After a while it just became second nature to check the setting each time you access the fridge.
Great value for money and a very good performer.

G'Day Rosco
I've had a CCF45 since they hit the Australian market in big time back in 2000. It has been a magnificent piece of kit and I've an absolutely no problems with it. Been on numerous trips (Cape York, Vic High Country, Coastal Forests etc) and she just keep pumping along. If there is one area that could be improved (and it may well have been in later models) is the insulation - in the tropics mine suffered a bit from condensation on the outside but this was fixed when I put it in the Waeco insulation bag.
Cheers
Pete

Hi Roscoe , i have 2x cf40 weaco fridges,1 for freezer,1 for fridge ,keeps the brown bottles at 0.6 degrees average ,purchased these mainly for size ,fits on floor behind front seats ,access from back doors ,lids are removable. The only problem i see is the lid where it turns light on ,will have to modify before long, cheers jtb

We also have an cf-80, been to Darwin and back and many miles around Qld. the thing about the cf-80's and bigger is that they use the Danfoss BD50 compressor where most of the other makes of large frigerators use th BD35's. anyway we are very happy with it and it will be going into our yacht for awhile which will be a good test for it, but Iam sure it will handle it.
Cheers Bruce

Have a CF50 for two years, firstly the lid did not fit, replaced without question,just got back fron Tasmania were the light jammed and stayed on constantly and the temperature controls went haywire a couple of times which froze the food up once and drained my thumper battery the next time. I took the light bulb out of the fridge and that fixed heating the butter up, luckily the controls settled down and I got the fridge repaired when we got home (under warranty) and the agent did not seem surprised at the controls going haywire which seems to suggest that it may have been a problem.I fixed the light myself and just got the agent to check it out (hard to see inside the fridge if the light is on or not). On performance of fridge, for what's it's worth, we flew to King Island and I parked the truck at the airport for 53 hours set on 1 with a pillow on top in the shade and was surprised to have it still running, food cool and my thumper still charged. A few niggling problems however I have to be happy with it's performance.

gday rosco.
we bought a ff90 in jan
done a few trips without a problem untill last week.
done a 10 day trip to qld landcruiser park with out any trouble
but on the way home it packed it in in qld the day we left.
phoned weaco yesterday and they said just take it to your local repair guy and they will fix it.
phoned the local repair guy and he said bring it straight in.
cant complain about the service so far.
as for the fridge what a rippa keeps every thing cold and not to heavy on the battaries couldnt be happier

Hi Rosco have had my CF50 for neally 2 years its been everywhere including Rudall river NP with no problems at all , but should have got the 80 lt for extra cold ones in summer ,I have one of michellsacs covers and think its great , extra insulation and stronger plus easier to remove

Had the CFC 50 for 2 years with several problems. To Waeco's credit each problem was fixed without questions asked. Just dropped it in and it was done on the spot. Here are the probs:

Lid catch broken on delivery. New one couriered next day

New lid warped up at each end and not sealing. New lid sent again

Electronic controls constantly changing on their own. Repaired on the spot in a Melbourne fridge shop at cost to Waeco. Sticking button.

New Lid warped again. Waeco sent me a new (heavier) lid after it arrived from OS (took 3 months to arrive). Was pretty unhappy about the delay however Waeco did all that the could for me.

Cig lighter plug did not fit the car socket well (current model Hilux) which resulted in the fridge going off a lot while travelling. After a few bits of food went off I eventually just cut the cord and hard wired it in to the battery. Problem solved.

I am really happy with the performance of the fridge when it works and am really happy with Waeco's back up of their product. Also the price is a bit more realistic compared to the opposition. No need for extra battery. ($ Saved)

Lets face it the car fridges are all really overpriced compared to home fridges which are bigger, do more and have a heap of extra parts and insulation. Home fridges are also more costly to transport, store and display in shops.

I find it difficult to understand how we spend over a grand on a little plastic box that can hold little more than a couple of six packs and food for a couple of days when you can buy a huge fridge that makes ice, freezes, crisps, refridgerates and self defrosts for a family of 6 at the same price. Just gotta have em I guess.

What did they use in the old days??????

I got an FF70 which I'm just trying out in the car as I speak (erm...type). Waeco have an excellent FAQ website:http://www.waeco.com.au/includes/media/faq.pdf which indicates that is should be running no more than 30% of the time (@todays temps anyway). I've got it on the low setting @no.3 and every time (10 times) I stick my head in the car the bugger is humming away. Temperatures today have been between 16 and 22 deg. So, unless it's just the fan running, it sure seems to be running a sight more than 30% running-time. Just trying to establish how long I'm getting on a 80ah cranker. Anyone hazard a guess at how long I should get? According to the guidelines if it's drawing 3.5 amps on my battery @ 30% I should be getting up to 3 days, which I'd be surprised at.

I got an FF70 which I'm just trying out in the car as I speak (erm...type). Waeco have an excellent FAQ website:http://www.waeco.com.au/includes/media/faq.pdf which indicates that is should be running no more than 30% of the time (@todays temps anyway). I've got it on the low setting @no.3 and every time (10 times) I stick my head in the car the bugger is humming away. Temperatures today have been between 16 and 22 deg. So, unless it's just the fan running, it sure seems to be running a sight more than 30% running-time. Just trying to establish how long I'm getting on a 80ah cranker. Anyone hazard a guess at how long I should get? According to the guidelines if it's drawing 3.5 amps on my battery @ 30% I should be getting up to 3 days, which I'd be surprised at.

I got an FF70 which I'm just trying out in the car as I speak (erm...type). Waeco have an excellent FAQ website:http://www.waeco.com.au/includes/media/faq.pdf which indicates that is should be running no more than 30% of the time (@todays temps anyway). I've got it on the low setting @no.3 and every time (10 times) I stick my head in the car the bugger is humming away. Temperatures today have been between 16 and 22 deg. So, unless it's just the fan running, it sure seems to be running a sight more than 30% running-time. Just trying to establish how long I'm getting on a 80ah cranker. Anyone hazard a guess at how long I should get? According to the guidelines if it's drawing 3.5 amps on my battery @ 30% I should be getting up to 3 days, which I'd be surprised at.

I got an FF70 which I'm just trying out in the car as I speak (erm...type). Waeco have an excellent FAQ website:http://www.waeco.com.au/includes/media/faq.pdf which indicates that is should be running no more than 30% of the time (@todays temps anyway). I've got it on the low setting @no.3 and every time (10 times) I stick my head in the car the bugger is humming away. Temperatures today have been between 16 and 22 deg. So, unless it's just the fan running, it sure seems to be running a sight more than 30% running-time. Just trying to establish how long I'm getting on a 80ah cranker. Anyone hazard a guess at how long I should get? According to the guidelines if it's drawing 3.5 amps on my battery @ 30% I should be getting up to 3 days, which I'd be surprised at.

btw, I read on another forum that somebody recommended turning off the fridge overnight. I suppose this would depend on temperatures but is that necessary/good idea??

Hi Roscoe,

Chalk up another happy CF50 owner here - Ours is a couple of years old running on a dedicated outlet on dual batteries. The electronic temp control is prone to accidental changes as noted by someone else earlier, but I find it less problematic than the older style rotary temperature setting, as you can easily see if the setting has been changed.

I liked the CF50 so much that I've just bought a CF18 as well to use as a drinks fridge when camping and for day trips when the CF50 is a bit too big.

Cheers,
Pete