KICKASS OUTBACK 95 LITRE DUAL ZONE FRIDGE/FREEZER

Katrina.
Do you have your fridge heavily insulated or only the proprietary bag/overcoat? Also, if in hot vehicle do you supply a decent not recycling airflow so the condenser of fridge has a chance of actually working? Computer fans can provide a decent ducted change of air to aid any fridge. Stewing in it's own pool of expelled heat will tax any fridge.
Do you need a new fridge or just a situation change?

How does a dual zone fridge freezer work? I'm thinking that in order to be effective it would need separate thermistors/sensors , one for each zone, but can't quite work out how this might work with a single compressor. All 12v fridges will be colder at the bottom than at the top, but having fridge & freezer using the same sensor I decided was just too much of a compromise. When we made our last fridge freezer purchase I decided that a separate fridge & freezer would be a better way to go. We bought a 60 litre fridge & 35 litre freezer & have never regretted doing so.

Kickass fridges, as far as I know, are rebranded Evakools. Yes, there are two thermistors, one under each bin. Not sure what black arts are involved in cooling two bins with one compressor, but they do. The sides are independent of each other, in that either or both sides can be cooling at once.
I would suggest buying a couple of spare 10K thermistors (I got 10 for less than $15 on Ebay), you will probably need them sometime in three or four years, and it is a pretty easy repair (at least on my Evakool it was).

There is a fellow on youtube that after testing his Engel with and without an insulating cover found the gauze mesh near the motor to slightly reduce air flow so it used just a little bit more power. So I would expect that would get worse the hotter the weather is. I think he said removing the gauze mesh would help. Also as RMD said good air flow helps I put a better quality high efficient silent running fan on my 18yr old Evakool a couple of yrs ago which lives in an alloy canopy. I also have a solar exhaust fan in the roof and an intake vent to help circulate the air a bit. The quality of the materials the fridge is made from and the electronics make a difference the cheaper fridges usually seem to consume more power. My nearly 5 month old cheap 15ltr Kings fridge running at 2deg draws around 3.25 amps my 18yr old 47ltr Evakool fibreglass model single zone running the freezer around - 18 and fridge around 2 deg draws approx 2.3 amps no extra cost for an insulation cover either because it doesn't need one.

Don't know about the Kickass brand, but if can find a Trailblaza fridge they fits it will perform well in the heat.
Cheers

Not really about the fridge, I have been to the Kickass store on the Sunshine Coast. Staff seem friendly, helpful and knowledgable. Their products look the goods. My son bought a solar panel and controller there and has no complaints.

Trailblaza will make any fridge to suit your size and needs. Their fridges are large though due to the insulation used. They will even make you one that has 2 compressors for the one unit, so it is true duel zone. You may wince at the price though. Weight may also be an issue if you have a set up where you need to remove the fridge from time to time.
Good Aussie company from all the reports I've heard.

Cheers
Lyndon

I had a Kings fridge (a rebranded Waeco) which failed after about thee years. I faced a similar constraint to yourself in terms of size, in particular the available width of the fridge slide I have installed. The newer Waeco units were all too wide, and I wasn't keen to go down the cheap Kings route again.

I ended up replacing the Kings fridge with a National Luna 60L dual zone unit. That fit width wise, and I extended the length of my slide by cutting and using some flat bar to add the required size.

Looking at the dimensions of your Waeco (based on a 95L model), the National Luna 90L would likely fit. Note they are higher than a Waeco, so vertical clearance may be a concern.

I've run mine on a 42 degree day inside the canopy on my dual cab and it held three degrees in the fridge and -18 in the freezer, although it did consume quite a bit of power doing so.

With it set to 3 deg C in the fridge and -10 deg C in the freezer, the power consumption should be in the vicinity of 34AH over a 24 hour period.

Power consumption data for all the models is here: https://coolfactor.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/National-Luna-brochure.pdf

They aren't a cheap unit, but they are robustly constructed, and seem to hold temperature very well in quite demanding conditions. Anaconda among others stock them.