waeco vs Engal - the decision

g,day davoe,
of course its been done to death but hopefully it will be back next year.

why would anyone buy a cheap and nasty product in the first place even though the missus wanted it.

cant wait to hear about the lack of waranty service.

hope you have a good new year
regards peter

I used to be a supporter of Waeco. However it has let me down on the last two trips. The first problem was the control board on the compressor. Replaced under warranty. However when I get it back it still had issues. Turns out the lead has turned faulty even though visually it is perfect.
The control board issue meant the compressor ran constantly without actually cooling so the 2nd battery went flat for no benefit. The second problem meant the compressor ran with minimal cooling as the fridge thought the battery was already flat when really it was just a voltage drop across the Waeco cord.

I borrow Dad's Engel when my Waeco isn't playing the game. It is much heavier, has an unpractical layout and cost twice as much but it runs and runs and runs.

Kelvinator for me every time.

pretty sure it was due to the notorious waeco sesativity to voltage - the problem occured when we plugged it into another vehicle so the Missus could drive to town (she had one look at the bush and promptly left me there and drove to the nearest town for the day)
the 10pluss yer old engal plugged into the same system purred away while the waeco spat the dummy. So it really was a head to head test. It is currently working fine plugged into the mains as a 2nd fridge which is where it will stay in future

I've always resisted these types of posts in the past, but now I'm ready to stick my 3 cents worth in.

In our 4x4 club there are all sorts of fridge set-ups. Many blokes have Waeco's of various capacities, whilst a few others have Liemacks and of course then there are the Engels.

Without a shadow of a doubt, the only ones who never seem to have any issues (they don't even seem to talk about fridges; just like nobody talks about how good their wheel-brace is, cos it just sits there and does it's job whenever it's needed), are the Engel owners. On any given trip, a Waeco owner will be asking for a loan of a multimeter or seeking some advice about what various flashing lights might mean etc. Even the Liemack owners have their issues from time to time........the fact that they HAVE TO have their dual battery systems permanently coupled in parrallel (as opposed to a switchable solenoid etc), is enough to turn me off. Having said that, the Liemacks do have less troubles than the Waeco owners seem to endure. I know there is one EO member who has a 110 litre Waeco who has had endless issues with it cutting out too early when voltage has dropped to a figure a fare bit higher than what Waeco publish as the cut-off voltage. He has now coupled his dual batteries permanently together and I think his fridge runs much better now. (g'day Pesty!!! hahaha)

Evakool.

As reliable as Engel without the massive battery drain and excessive weight.

No flashing lights or plasticky bits to go wrong like Waeco.

Aussie made.

End of story.

Hey mate. Looks like I missed you in perth again- I just got back to work this morning.

I picked up an ex exploration engel not too long ago. The one thing that bleep s me with the engel is how weak the handles are. Waecos can be tied down with the handles but the engel bends and buckles way too easily. Aside from that I reckon theres bugger all difference. To stop the low volts cutout, flick the emergency switch on the waeco.

IMHO, It all comes down to personel experience. If you need to replace a failed product, any product....JUST out or warranty, no matter how good people tell you it is, Who would buy the same again ??? My 60 ltr Engel failed JUST out of warranty, Unlucky ? maybe. But to repair was over $1000. I wasn't going to fork out another $1600 for a new one. I'll take the 80 ltr Waeco thanks. No issues after 2 years (Touch wood) AND I can still bend over and pick up my stubbie AFTER I have had to lift it into the back of my truck.

Cheers, Macca

Reefer Premier.....
and for ALL the same reasons mentioned above, however the Premier also has an "independent" Freezer, unlike ALL the before mentioned fridge's.

The old adage "if you can't afford to fill the tank, don't buy a v8" also could apply to the method used to power your fridge, if you want a L0W cost and L0W power drain AND therefore L0W performance also, you indeed can use a small battery, however for larger capacity and higher performance refrigeration systems, yes, you will NEED a much larger battery system, it's really only common sense.

Hi Guys,

Merry christmas to you all.

My 2 cents on the fridge debate. I have a waeco CF-50 and CF-18 for over 3 years now and the have been battered about in the back of my patrol for years and as yet not one issue, touch wood. They are perfect and i would recommend one all day long.

But then again i might carry some luck a 3.0 patrol and it get abused plenty and now over a year old and not a single problem.

Scott

An 80lt Waeco fom the fridge shop now 4yrs old ,never misses a beat ,never a flashing light , a 15lt Engle bought 2nd hand ,now probably 6yrs old ,has no lights to flash ,never misses a beat either ,trouble is the Engle is to small for a full days beer qty,LOL.

Proof will be in 20 years when we can still post and compare how many Engels and how many Waeco's are still running.

I reckon I know the winner.

Dave

Since when did you ever listen to your missus????

Yeh , I'll add my two cents worth two . After having a small eutectic Autofridge then upgrading to the 73 litre model , I am a real supporter of the brand . They have done heaps of rough miles .

I wanted a second fridge last winter , so I bought a Waeco . It worked OK , but the plasticy hatch got broken in the first week . That would never happen to an Engel , an Autofridge or any other well made fridge

I guess you get what you pay for , and Waecos are made for a price.

Willie.

but!!!! what about the scorpion fridge, we have one and it works great. i know it is a modern one but it works well and does not make a heap of noise when on.

I still marvel at the discussions about fridges.

People get their back up like you called their wife a tart, if you dared suggest their fridge isn't any good.

Get this, it's really simple: they keep stuff cold. They won't cure cancer or solve world hunger. Its a chilling device. It removes heat. Ipso facto, it keeps stuff cold.

If this is the CF-50, search the forum for post id 39735, it might be your problem. A few people on this forum have had the same issue and the repairers are beefing up the fuse during repair. You'd think that Waeco would recall the fridges rather than sully their name further, but as people have mentioned their niche in the market doesn't seem to be dependability.
If anyone is in the market for a fridge i would suggest they call or drop in to an engel and/or waeco repairer (if your choice is between those brands) and see what they have to say, no point listening to retail stores as they fob all warranty off to the repairer (when they say "nah, we don't get any fridges back mate" they're speaking in a literal sense).
We bought Waeco because the 40L engel was slightly too small, Engel would have gotten our business otherwise... mine is going in the back of the car for 12 months continuous use, so hopefully we won't be kicking ourselves for wanting a few extras ales ;).

Someone mentioned a Trailblazer ?? Sounds terrific, but can I get a 60ltr for less than $1400 ?? If so, I'll have one thanks !!

Same old story, if everybody could afford to drive around in $75,000 T/D Landcruisers, the cheaper model 4x4's would be obsolete ??

I'm looking at a 60ltr fridge, but don't want to pay 15 or 16 hundred bucks for one. Like the Engel, but geez its BIG. Like the Waeco, but not sure of the reliability.
Like a few of the others, but don't like the price ??

Its a fairly big investment for something thats gonna sit in the garage for a lot of its life ??

I don't really like the smaller Waeco's - mainly the lid ( I had a stronger one that worked better on my lunchbox at school!) but I like the 80 litre waeco I bought earlier this year. Time will tell, but so far It has worked faultlesley (unlike my spelling) and I have had very good performances out of it power wise. It had a crap instruction manual, which reinforces the age old adage that it is the first bit of packageing to be thrown away.

On the subject of transit bags...I agree to some extent that they are almost an admittance of lack of insulation. Has anyong out there got one for the 80 l waeco. I got one for xmas, and as we are having xmas in south west WA, ther was just some circuit boards and 4 fans in the stocking...sounds like a serious unit! Can't wait to get home and check it out!

Also - has anyone considered using fridge panel neatly fitted around their fridge on a slide in a wagon stroage system for increased insulation......just a thought

Cheers Andrew

Hi Davoe ,

Warming up nicely in Nullagine ?

I was just watching some American football my wife had taped for me and blow me down , on comes an ad for Waeco .

I had to laugh as the opening scene is these two tools driving along a dirt track in a spotlessly clean 4WD and they pass what looks to me like a dumped, rusty Engel by the side of the track .

Tossers .

Willie .

Buy a rc1180 chescold . Easy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!