engel fridge

well its a 40 ltr fridge, "they say it should cycle at about 2.5 amps" my aux battery is a ACDelco,
CCA = 730
amp hrs = 90
RC = 160 (mins)

all i wanted to know is ruff guide to how long it will take to charge ...
thanks
p.s with a name like that, you sound like Russell Koyte.....hope your advice is a little more reliable.......

Inferring I am a "Russell Koyte" type is a bad insult. Yes, my advice is always reliable and trust worthy. As a matter of interest, did you actually watch that garbage "Russell Koyte" *.* for more than five minutes? (don't tell me if you did)

Here is a good URL to calculate your power requirements:
http://www.cyb.com.au/automotive/prod_info/deepcycle_calc.htm

Personally, I did not think you could buy a ACDelco battery in Australia that was a *proper* deep cycle battery. If you take a normal cranking battery and deep cycle it, you can expect very poor life out of it, as they are not designed for that application. You will be lucky if it lasts longer than 25 to 50 deep cycles, and will be very lucky to get towards the 50 mark.

You do not say what method/brand/type of equipment you have fitted to your vehicle to charge the second battery.

To date the best reasonably priced deep cycle battery we have found are the:
www.apollobatteries.com.au/spec.htm
are the 862 and 882 at the bottom of the page. These batteries are made by Global Yuasa in Korea.

"Pity you acquired such a power hungry poor quality fridge."
I am very interested in what fridge you use after this coment OziExplorer.

You won't actually find out much about what he has! That would be a positive comment! His are usually negative!

You won't actually find out much about what he has! That would be a positive comment! His are usually negative!

Personally, I have found all "reasonably priced" batteries to be of inferior quality. I always go by the motto - "You get what you pay for" ie reasonable price equates to reasonable performance and that's not good enough for me!

Godsy I use a Danfoss powered fridge now, as I am sick and tired of Engel failures and the massive cost they want to repair them.

I think with Danfoss representing 70% of the 12vDC to 24vDC market in Australia speaks volumes for their reliability.

To bad OziExplorer has his head in the sand when it comes to fridges. I have two Engel's, one is 20 years old and has never missed a beat, in fact when I'm dreching cattle it rides in a trailer behind a 4 wheel bike and runs off the bike battery, ok for the couple of hours it takes to do a mob of cows and calves.

Tony I most certainly do not have my head in the sand. The compressor failure rate on Engel fridges is high. Just go round to a repair agent for Engel fridges. Nothing is every their problem, it is always your problem, and trying to get a warranty on Engel is very difficult.
Engel are also poor value for money compared to other brands of fridges when you compare apples with apples and size for size. Why do you think Engel is suffering such a flogging now and so many stores have dropped Engel and now selling other better quality better value fridges. Simple - Engel are not a good value buy. Because yours has kept running without a problem, is inevtitable there are a few good ones that keep going.

Oziexplorer,
I can only tell you from experience, in the club I belong to I have seen many danfoss failures and only one Engel failure... The engel was twenty years old.... the Danfoss ones new or almost new..
Will

Using the 4WD monthly fridge test as a guide- the evakool average amps drawing is rated at 1.9 and the engel at 1.6. The engel in fact rated the lowest drain of all those tested. (along with the bushman and the ARB-which is in fact engel)
How can oziexplorer rate the engel as "a power hungry poor quality fridge"????
Just sit at well 46 on the Canning, or at Purnie Bore on the Simpson and just see what fridges are being used in the real world.

Rockhopping the Engel is 40l and the evaKool is 50 litre, you are not comparing two identical product sizes. Inevitable a larger fridge uses a little more power. 25% difference is size is significant.
Go and see what the professionals are using in the way of fridges that use them every day like the earthmoving contractors, geologists, surveyors etc. You will find the large majority are using Danfoss powered compressors. Why do you think that Engel sales have plumeted so badly lately and fewer stores are carrying Engel - overpriced and to many warranty claims and complaints.

Mick, unfortunatly for you, sometimes the truth and facts are not what you want to hear. However, the Garmin 12 and XL12 are a dinosaur compared to the current units available.

Truth and facts I'm interested in. You give neither. You give your OPINIONS only. Unfortunately you often use the chance of airing your opinions to put others down. It's sad if that's how you get your pleasure.

Mick about time you went and sought therapy for your displayed issue.

If you buy a quality brand of fridge, you do not need any extra bags or devices to assist to keep the fridge cool. If Engel put some quality insulation into their fridges like other manufacturers do, you would not require anything else.
Everytime you want to go into the fridge, off comes the cover, open fridge, on goes the cover.

Even if you take away the high failure rate of Engel compressors, the Engel fridges are poor value for money compared to other brands for the equivelent size.

Markus it depends on what type of system you have fitted to your vehicle how long the battery will take to re-charge. Also what size is your alternator? If you give me the numbers off the alternator I will tell you the details of it.

What about a solar panel - they are magic and is what I use.

Gas refrigeraion if you are travelling and setting up camp at one place for a week or so at a time is probably still the best and overall cheapest solution.

Markus, We have an Engel 40L and have run it overnight no problems. Only set it on "1", in the temps you mentioned. Yes we have a cover for ours, and its no drama to lift the lid to access, or repack it. Can't tell you how long it would take to recharge, as it depends on too many variables.
The use of solar panel as suggested is a good move, though they don't help much at night!! Saw a bloke a while back that had 2 large panels set up on roof bars, he had enough power there to light up a small van park! Regards...

Well said Mal, fact is better than own's opinions of the products.

Markus,
I also have an Engel 39L and one 85ah Deep cycle aux battery, my figures are similar to Mal's.
You will find that as soon as the voltage starts to drop, so does fridge performance and from there on it is a chain reaction, you have to recharge from that point.
If you have a deep cycle battery, then it doesnt matter one bit what kind of charging system you have, because the battery will only take as much charge as its own resistance will allow, a deep cycle will take longer than a normal cranking battery but a gel battery will be quicker than both and a dry cell will take as much as the alternator will give.

If you have been discharging the battery slowly on and off (exactly what the fridge does) then it will take a long time to recharge, tests done by battery manufacturers show that it may take a good five to ten hours to fully recharge, but you can pump "some" life back in it in an hour...
but, dont expect to get another two days after an hour's recharge.

Mal, just remember that Ozi is THE EXPERT on all things camping,4x4,fuel, environment,politics, electrics,ect,ect,,just ask him,he has a Phd afterall,,Oziexplorer--FIGJAM.

Will about time you went and did some quality research on batteries and battery types and their characteristics.

Axel + Karen must be a real bummer jealousy is your number one trait.
Of course, there is nothing stopping you becomming educated.

Mal, charging a battery with a Honda motor and alternator is dumb and stupid. You should be using a generator and three barrel regulator.
Obviously you have no idea about how an alternator or generator charges. A Lucas 22 amp generator would be substantially more efficient than your 55 amp alternator and be substantantially better for the longevity of your batteries. Amazing how easily you are sucked in by advertising and hearsay. You must be a butterfly collector!!!

Marcus - have a look back through this thread and also other threads and see if you can find ANY where Axel and Karen have responded with a sensible reply. I think that you will have trouble! It seems that they get more satisfaction by picking at others who have tried to help.

Without knowing your battery size it is impossible to know your runtime or recharge time.

Don't dismiss OziExplorer as an uninformed quack - he is spot on when he says that a generator will charge the battery quicker than an alternator. Alternators are voltage regulated while generators are current regulated.

The battery will only charge as fast as its own internal resistance will allow, and as Ozi has explained - different types have differing internal resistance.

The expensive Optima range have a very low internal resistance and are widely used in ambulance vehicles for that reason. Because of the large amount of electrical equipment in those vehicles it is necessary for the alternator to be able to replace the used energy fast. These type of battery will usually fully recharge in an hour, where a depleted starting or deep cycle may take 4 to 5 hours driving to FULLY recover.

http://www.optimabatteries.com/

As you already seem to have an Engel, there is no point in trying to steer you to something else. However because the Engel insulation is a bit on the thin side, then you may help it and reduce your runtime by adding one of their insulated bags and try to keep it in a ventilated, shaded place.

I have owned Finch and Chescold 3 ways, 15 and 39 litre Engels and now have a 70 litre Evakool - and having had experience with all, can say that as far as 12v/240v fridges go, that the Evakool has a much longer runtime on the batteries than the Engel does. Probably at least 50% more. This equates to 3 days instead of 2 days. I put this down mainly to the better insulation.

have you got a url for this stuff as i have just bought a eu10 and allready have a 40lt engel

Blackie, I suggest that you install an array of dynamos powering several Danfoss compressors installed in your underwear. This will keep you cool and allow you to pedal faster, hence increasing the efficiency of the Coolgardie safe.

Stephen.