Waeco v Engel

Hi Waz,

I have had a Waeco for about 5 years now and have had neiter of the issues you state...As to the low voltage it may be that the person you spoke to was running from an auxilary power outlet in there car which are fairly light weight and suffer greatly from voltage drop ( esprcially if useing one in the rear) the only way to go is to run a separate heavy wire t the back of the car, this should give you know problems.

Phil

Hi Warren,
Lots of varying opinions on this. Its like which tyres are the best...
Anyway, I have a Waeco CF50 and a CF25. The difference between the two fridges is not really much. As far as I have researched, the Waeco, will use more power when running than the Engel, but run less as it cools down faster. Therefore at the end of the day they two fridges will use similair power.
The Waeco theoretically should perform better than the Engel in hotter weather because of this, but I believe the insulation on the Waeco may not be as good as the engel so this may negate this.
I have not had any problems running the Waeco off a generator, but as for the comment that the low volt light comes on soon after the engine is stopped, the problem is in the wiring.
The waeco will draw around 6 amps when running so the wiring MUST be spot on. I had 6mm2 wire in my Courier to run the fridge, this was adequate, but if the terminals are in any way dirty you will have problems.
In My landcruiser I have cut the useless cigarette lighter type plugs off the fridges, run 10mm2 cable from the dual battery to the back and used Anderson Powerpole connectors to connect the fridge.
Since doing this, I have had NIL problems.
BTW, the CF25 fridge runs 24X7, when i had the courier, I didnt have dual batteries and never had a flat battery from the Waeco, the vehicle was driven daily except Sundays.
Hope this helps

Here we go... just wait for the plethora of responses.. landcruiser/nissan, weaco/engel blah blah... why dont you try checking the squillion or so previous posts??????

I have had my waeco for about 6 months and have ne problems at all. I agree wit the voltage drop, I did run mine originally from the stock ciggie lighter and the voltage warning came on quite regularly when the car was sitting idle. Since wiring in a dedicated plug and using a heavier gauge wire, it doesnt do this as often, only when the battery really is low.

I cant comment on the generator, hopefully someone else can shed some light. however I would think that the type/quality/output of the generator would vary the resulst. e.g. a fridge running off a $86 GMC would have more problems compared to one running off a honda inverter or the such.

Both are good fridges, albeit engel has been around along time and do produce a good product, I have yet to have any dramas with the waeco. I would consider it a good product, that meets my needs and expectations and does the job that I ask of it. At the end of the day, as long as they keep everything cold, they are doing their job.

I think you should... do a forum search and spend 3 or 4 days reading the responses rather than we all mess around typing out the same stuff again and again and again....

Mike Harding

PS. Buy a Land Cruiser.

Both good products, I have a Waeco but would have bought the Engel if the price had of been right at the time. I think there are some fair deals to be had buying Waeco, specially now in Winter.

Now while I'm here Toyotas are better than Nissans..! LOL

Waz,

Don't know about running the Waeco off a generator, but can i recommend you talk to the people who repair both of these brands of fridges.... Not the guys who sell them.

Cheers.

The main failing of an Engel is the plug can open circuit when something is packed up against it.
The main problems of a Waeco are the lids warp, the latch springs open & the electronic control unit fails.
Both have good warrenty but one is required more........alot more but thats why they are far cheaper.
The low volt warning light coming on is normally a wiring problem in the car & many people successfully use their fridges on a generator so again it's more likely a problem in the genny.]
Cheers Craig.................

Not sure how running a waeco off a genny can cause an error light???? I mean the fridge runs off the 240 pack which in my case converts it to 24 volts, but on the smaller units its 12 volts. Can someone elighten me???

I've had an Engel 29 ltr about 20 yrs now. Used it continually as my freezer for about 2 yrs when I didn't have one in my fridge recently. When driving on Frazer Island Hilux left the ground over a low sand rise on hard beach. Engel not strapped down, bounced, dinged up one foot, kept going. Met a bloke on Zeka track once with a bshed about Engel in the back of his bashed about Land Rover. He said he was going up a steep climb when his back door popped open and the Engel rolled out, down the slope. He recovered it and it never missed a beat.
Sometimes use it as e freezer and make ice for esky.
Don't know anything about Waecos.

Got both an engel and a waeco,
engel is 12 - 15 yrs old and still runs OK, all be it a bit noisy.
Waeco is two yrs old and runs right beside me in the back of my truck where I sleep and I can't hear it, so it is quiet. Both do the job but time will tell if the waeco is still running in another 12 or 13 yrs.
If it's not right beside you in your sleep and you want it for a long time I would probably spend the initial extra and buy the proven product here in Australia (I know waeco are supposed to be proven in Europe but not so much here) This is of course the Engel.

Here's to cold beer in the bush.
Trevor.

Thanks for the advice everyone . I'm new to the game and wasn't aware I could look at previous forums. You sound like a P76 driver Mike!!
Cheers

Waz