Brass Monkey Fridge Freezer

Submitted: Saturday, Nov 28, 2020 at 18:31

ThreadID: 140811 Views:12686 Replies:3 FollowUps:2

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Kazza055

In another thread I mentioned my 60L Brass Monkey and member Bigfish suggested that I start a new thread to share my experience with it.

Previously I had a 40L Engel which was great till it died on me about 12 months ago. I did some testing and had a thread running on the Caravaners Forum trying to resolve why it didn't work. A fairly simple test suggested was to try running it directly from a 9V - 24V, 60VA, 5A Multi-Tapped Dual Output Type 2167 Transformer. I ran the pump for 30 minutes and the only change in temperature was that the pump got hot.

I have always been a fan of Jaycar, my wife loves Spotlight ;=))

Read up on the Brass Monkey and at $499 I could buy a 60L dual zone fridge freezer. Once it was loaded up as a freezer I found it was not cold enough to properly freeze so slipped in the dual zone divider and then set both temperatures to -20? and this worked. There is a Bluetooth app that I use that allows me to monitor the temperature etc.

For $499 with a three year warranty I figure I can buy 2 of these and still be in front on what the Engel cost me.

Also Jaycar are all over Australia and their warranty is generally a direct replacement. Beside Jaycar, they are also available through Road Tech Marines and a few more.

Hope this helps Bigfish.

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Reply By: The Explorer - Saturday, Nov 28, 2020 at 19:08

Saturday, Nov 28, 2020 at 19:08

Hi

Out of curiosity, why didn't you take your non- functioning Engel to a service center to establish why it didn't work? May have been simple/cheap fix, but maybe not.

I got lucky a while ago ... scored (for nothing) a "not working properly" 9 year old Engel..only thing I found not working was the cooling fan. Off to Jaycar and for a $30 computer fan, I now have a 40L Engel working a treat. ~1/16th the price of a new Brass Monkey :)

Cheers
Greg

I sent one final shout after him to stick to the track, to which he replied “All right,” That was the last ever seen of Gibson - E Giles 23 April 1874

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Follow Up By: Kazza055 - Sunday, Nov 29, 2020 at 11:26

Sunday, Nov 29, 2020 at 11:26

The Explorer, I did extensive testing to try and isolate what the problems was so I am not certain what else I could have done.

As I mentioned, I was in contact with a guy on another forum who fixes these. He was able to provide me circuit diagrams, wire connections etc and also suggested using the 24VAC 5A transformer from Jaycar.

I finally came to the conclusion that it was the cooling element itself as after running the pump for 30 minutes there was no sign of cooling.

Yes, I could have sent it away and paid $400 or $500 to have it fixed but I would still have a fridge that was only 40L with no warranty.

If it was only a computer fan that was faulty, I would have picked that up but it was something more serious and I was not prepared to through my money at it.

Brand new 60L fridge with three year warranty sounded good to me and I have no regrets.

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Reply By: Member - Bigfish - Sunday, Nov 29, 2020 at 08:13

Sunday, Nov 29, 2020 at 08:13

Thanks Kazza. I have an 80 litre dual zone in the camper and this works well. I also have a 40 litre engel in the rear of the vehicle. I am considering buying a dual zone for the rear of the car as I need 40 litres freezing capacity at least ( for bait and food) Would like to use the other side just for beers..There will be 4 on the trip and I know the others don't have the battery capacity set up of my rigs and will be limited to 1 60 litre fridge. hence a bigger fridge. Thats interesting about adding the divide to create a better freezer function. I,d like an 80 litre engel but the price is just ridiculous. I,ve always been an engel person but I,m afraid technology, mass production, consumer awareness and manufacturing costs means there are many viable alternatives.

Thanks for the info.

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Reply By: TrevorDavid - Sunday, Nov 29, 2020 at 11:57

Sunday, Nov 29, 2020 at 11:57

Kazza,

A couple of years ago, I had the same problem, all I did was to unplug it, tipped it upside down for a few hours, plugged it back in & its still works today. Just recently a mate had the same problem, he left his upside down for an hour (didn't work) so it did it again, but this time left it overnight, he now reckons it is good as new.

If you still have it, may be worth a try.

Regards

TrevorDavid