Waeco failures Vs EvaKool failures

Good Stuff OS.

I've owned a Volvo.

The only problem I have encountered with an Evacool (my parents) was the power supply had a noisy fan. Apparently they have changed the design slightly and the new ones don't have the same prob.

Hi OS. Thanks for the quick reply. I agree with you comments re: Urban Myth and backyard experts that's why I worded the question the way I did (and it worked except for 1 posting.....ah well). I've become very wary of some of the informatio given on this forum. Were you accessing this forum at the beginning of the year when the debate raged over mineral engine oil Vs synthetic oil? Suddenly everyone was a chemical engineer offering all sorts of advice and the postings became quite personal. I save the forum now for non-technical opinions (and for that it's great) and visit the experts for technical advice. I'll get off my soap box now before I'm knocked off. Thanks again.

Dennis,
It wouldn't have happened in the Officers' Mess. I've owned two Volvos and one Engel. All three werw great. Don't know about the other 'fridges!

Mal T.

G'day Mal,

Well, you know what a "punchy" lot those Senior N.C.O.s are

:):):):)

Probably be politically incorrect in today's messes

enjoy the bush

DennisN

Its not the volvo that''s the problem.its the nut behing the whee.
thyfollowing one
john

Brian, What makes you say that..... We have autofridges and trailblaza's and I am just wondering what you like about the trailblaza. Don't get me wrong I reckon that they are great... Mark

Mark,
I see you are in the refrigeration business as well.. :-) Where are you based?
To answer your question I looked at the common fridges from a refrigeration technicians perspective.. without knocking the others I prefer the trailblaza. Main points are the insulation, its almost indestructible construction, the lack of fan motor ( so less current draw).... the efficiency of the compressor etc... I don't like the idea of having to put a "blanket" around a fridge... how does the heat dissipate?
Also the lack of plastic plays a large role in my opinion. Would be very interested in your opinion as you obviously see more brands on a day to day basis
Cheers
Brian

Brian, we are in Perth and have the business as a part time concern. Apart from the trailblaza's we do the 39 and 73 litre Autofridges plus engels. The Autofridges are very good and touch wood, we have not had any problem with them apart from themostat adjustment. Not that convinced on the engels as they are noisey and side by side don't stack up against the others. The Evakool looks like it would be good and in theory it should be. Margaret from trailblaza is very helpful and you must admire their ability to export their product (we need more of that)
I did hear that Margaret lost her husband last year.
For something that is virtually unbreakable, ease of access to components -Trailblaza (If they last in the back of a Army APC they must be good)
Power saving consumption- Autofridge (bit pricey)

I would buy a quality Aussie built fridge anyday rather than a imported engel.

Regards

Mark

Mark
I am over here on the Gold Coast, only a couple hours to the Trailblaza factory!
I haven't been up there yet to see the place, but it's on my "to-do" list! I spoke with a couple of the guys at the recent Gold Coast camping show and they were very helpful... there were three other manufacturers there but Trailblaza still has my vote. You are right about the quality.. unfortunately in refrigeration and air conditioning there are numerous Australian products but few are really worth the money... labour rates being what they are! Trailblaza is a very good quality product and y'know how the saying goes... "pay-peanuts-ya-get-monkeys"!!!!

Cheers Mark

Regards
Brian

Joe

Being a skipper doesen't make you a refrigeration engineer, I wouldn't have thought you would use either Waeco or Evakool in a commercial stiuation on your boat.

Same compressor??? give Danfoss a call and tell them your Waeco has broken down and you were after a replacement compressor, You may be surprised at the response and the word China is sure to crop up.

The material used in the outer construction has similar thermal properties, As for insulation Evakool have far better insulation properties than Waeco.

Evacool compressors cycle harder??? give me a break, didn't you state Waeco and Evakool have the same compressor.

I'd be very surprised if you tested Evakool warranty more than Waeco, Waeco's failure rated based on the construction of the two units would have to be higher.

I don't own either units, however if I had to crawl across broken glass it wouldn't be for a Waeco, get my drift.

Joe, I have just read through your responses above and must buy into the argument you put forward.

1. All Danfoss Compressors come from the factory with the motor set to run at 3500 rpm.

2. Evakool re-adjust the speed of the motors to run both the Boost and Economy mode to suit Australian conditions. Bearing in mind that in this case the Danfoss is fitted to the best insulated cabinet on the market.

Boost: 3000 rpm
Economy: 2000 rpm

So your comment regarding Evakool running the compressor faster is, in fact, incorrect.

Could you also supply more details as to who you are because I am trying to ascertain which of our retailers you are and where you operate from. I need to know this so I can direct our local representative in to you for some further product knowledge assistance and training.

Incidentally you made comment regarding 'damaging' an Evakool cabinet versus the Waeco unit. My understanding is that you can buy a simple fibreglass repair kit from Bunnings that will do the job nicely. Priced around $15.00. I don't know how you would go about reparing the Waeco cabinet if it got damaged. A point to remember is that we also offer a 5 year warranty on the cabinet against manufacturing faults but are always able to help those that seek our assistance. As a final resort the owner of a 'damaged' Evakool could always visit the local fibreglass boat repairer can always be relied on to do a first class job.

I trust that this will assist you in further comments and responses in relation to the Evakool product range.

My only other comment would be that whilst I won't be drawn into the argument of which is best (my comments would be biased and would have to start at the effectiveness of the cabinet to reflect heat) I will state that if a locally made product (in this instance Evakool), made in Australia for Australian conditions is available and is price competitive against an import, then I will always buy Australian. In this instance it keeps me (and 62 other people like me) employed in this country.

I look forward to hearing from you Joe.

Regards,

Rod Miles.
National Manager
Evakool Iceboxes