waeco fridges

Submitted: Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 20:00

ThreadID: 26535 Views:2684 Replies:4 FollowUps:16

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Rono

Hello all,
Has anyone had any probs with waeco cf80 lids? The book says to store the fridge with the lid propped open on the latches. This I did and the thing warped to such an extent that I could no longer close it .In fact when I did finnaly get it to close one of the catches broke.When I took it back the dealler told me they had lots of them come back with this fault . He told me to look after it better and keep it cool and not to leave it in a hot car! When Iasked if it was in fact a CAR fridge he seemed to get a little agitated and seeing he was going to prosess my warranty claim I backed off .Needless to say I will be looking for a new fridge.So if anyone is thinking of buying one of these fridges I would recomend they reconsider thier choice of brand .can anyone recomend a suitable replacement?? any advice would be appriciated
Cheers Rono

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Reply By: Utemad - Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 20:11

Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 20:11

Well I store my fridge the same as you. Lid open on the hinges. Never had any probs doing this in Qld heat but will keep an eye on it.

As for a replacement I noticed that Engel finally ditched its crappy 80L combo stainless steel model and have replaced it with a design based on the usual array of Engels. It also has a more useable allocation of space. As in a bigger fridge and smaller freezer. However it still seems that the divider is not removable. Still bloody expensive though.

AnswerID: 130589

Follow Up By: ACDC - Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 20:16

Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 20:16

I have heard of this problem, but mainly on the 50-60 litre models.
They should replace it under warranty.jump up and down.

FollowupID: 385042

Follow Up By: Utemad - Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 20:22

Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 20:22

Yes there was a lot of the 50L that had warping lids. Apparently they changed the design on them or the material used or something like that.

A friend of mine got a couple of new lids under warranty on his 50L but since getting the 'new' lid he has had no probs.

FollowupID: 385045

Follow Up By: ACDC - Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 20:28

Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 20:28

I believe there is a steel frame in the lid now to stop the warping.

FollowupID: 385047

Follow Up By: Rono - Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 20:30

Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 20:30

No problem with replacement on warranty.Asked him how to stop it from happening again thats when he told me not to leave it in a hot car or store it with the lid sitting on the latches .The only saving grace with waeco is their warranty. Why is the engle combo crappy ? Ithought it may be a replacement contender.Thougt the removable divider was a great idea but in 5 months of living out of it didn`t remove it once. do the engle fridges use less power?

FollowupID: 385048

Follow Up By: ACDC - Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 20:34

Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 20:34

Engels use more power than a Waeco but which is more reliable?

FollowupID: 385049

Follow Up By: Utemad - Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 20:56

Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 20:56

The reason I don't like the discontinued S/S Engel 80L combo is because it had a tall skinny fridge of about 33L and a big freezer of about 44L and you couldn't change the sizes. The fridge was terrible. You had to put your bottles in then stack other stuff on top. So every time you wanted a bottle you had to unstack the fridge. I usually used it on a low setting and used the freezer section as a fridge and wasted the 'fridge' space. However they seem to have changed that with its replacement. However you still cannot remove the divider but that doesn't sound like an issue for you.
When I am on a big trip I always leave the dividers in but on short trips I use it as a big fridge.
Plus the Engel weighed in at about 50kg and the Waeco about 25kg.

FollowupID: 385050

Follow Up By: Leroy - Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 21:14

Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 21:14

/Engels use more power than a Waeco /

you keep sprouting this but I think you will find that you are wrong. Been many reviews in mags over the years to confirm this.

Leory

FollowupID: 385053

Follow Up By: ACDC - Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 21:26

Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 21:26

I'm only going of the test's i have conducted myself with a data logger connected to lap top.
I bought a brand new 40 litre waeco and a 40 litre engel, stuck them both in a room heated to 32c put 4 litres of water in each ran then to stabilize and set both run at 5c ,then logged them for 24 hours unopened. The waeco used 18.4 AH and the Engel 26.2 AH.
I was just as surprised as anyone!
May be if you put a danfoss compressor in a engel you would be laughing.
After all the most efficient fridges like trailblaza/ autofridge etc all use the danfoss compressors.

FollowupID: 385060

Follow Up By: Shaker - Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 23:26

Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 23:26

Autofridge aside, which is about $1800.00 for a 40 litre, I think you will find according to most tests, that the 2 most efficient fridges are Engel & EvaKool.

FollowupID: 385103

Follow Up By: ACDC - Sunday, Sep 18, 2005 at 11:23

Sunday, Sep 18, 2005 at 11:23

Yes Evakool is another efficient fridge with a danfoss compressor.
Unfortunately the Engel compressor is not as efficient but is still a great reliable fridge no doubts!

FollowupID: 385132

Follow Up By: Shaker - Sunday, Sep 18, 2005 at 11:57

Sunday, Sep 18, 2005 at 11:57

Quote: Unfortunately the Engel compressor is not as efficient .........

How do you substantiate this statement?

FollowupID: 385138

Reply By: Member - Blue (VIC) - Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 21:27

Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 21:27

Never had a prob with the lid on my 110L, same lid as the 80L... Did discover today that you can fit 150 hamburgers and 20kg of sausages in it with a little room to spare...

AnswerID: 130601

Follow Up By: ACDC - Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 21:36

Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 21:36

What about the beer!

FollowupID: 385066

Follow Up By: Member - Blue (VIC) - Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 22:01

Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 22:01

Sausage sizzle tomorrow morning for a not for profit club... No beer allowed.

FollowupID: 385081

Reply By: G-wizz - Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 22:09

Saturday, Sep 17, 2005 at 22:09

I've got a CF80 which I store as recommended, on the latches, and it's still as good as new after 2 years. I've never left it that way in a vehicle though, always out of the sun when being stored.

AnswerID: 130610

Follow Up By: Rono - Sunday, Sep 18, 2005 at 17:21

Sunday, Sep 18, 2005 at 17:21

perhaps my problem .limeted storage in house left fridge in truck empty lid on latches.once again I maintain it is a CAR fridge and nothing in the manual says it must be stored like that out of the sun.

FollowupID: 385149

Follow Up By: BenSpoon - Sunday, Sep 18, 2005 at 19:14

Sunday, Sep 18, 2005 at 19:14

Had mine for over a year and I've also never had a problem. Apparently the really early ones had some lid probs, but are happily replaced under warranty by waeco.

FollowupID: 385159

Reply By: pauls - Sunday, Sep 18, 2005 at 11:42

Sunday, Sep 18, 2005 at 11:42

I had a problem with my lid, but I always suspected that it was because we were in the Northern Territory in some hot weather with the fridge in the back of the ute with the tonneau cover over it. It was therefore quite hot on the top of the lid and obviously cold underneath. When I replaced the lid I also got a fibreglass canopy over the tray at roughly the same time and had no problems since. May be a coincidence.

Paul

AnswerID: 130656