The perennial "which fridge is best" question...
Submitted: Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 13:27
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Grunter65
Hi Folks
Yes, I'm one of the nomads going from
shop to
shop trying to make sense of every 12/240V fridge option out there. Companion have a fridge at BCF for $699.00, but what am I getting? High amp draw? Little insulation? Or a real good fridge? From where I sit, Engel's are too dear (though have runs on the board and a very loyal band of followers) and Waeco's, while comparably cheaper, tend to play up, or so I hear. This may be due to Waeco's being more prevalent in the market too of course. All I'd like to know is, bang for buck, what's a decent, low amp draw 12/240 volt 50-60L fridge that won't be on a bench getting fixed more than it's on the road?
Your thoughts and experience will be appreciated.
Reply By: Member - Footloose - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 13:33
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 13:33
Most reliable ? Engel
Bang for buck? Waeco
Just my experience.
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Follow Up By: Grunter65 - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 13:46
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 13:46
Thanks for your kind advice Footy. I guess I'm also looking at options away from the big 2 that still offer a reasonable level of performance (amp draw, longevity etc) while not taking me into a spend over $1000.00. Any thoughts in that market?
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Follow Up By: Member - Footloose - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 15:39
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 15:39
A few thousan K's of corregations soon sorts them out :)
If you want your puchase to keep on cooling/freezing at 12v then there isn't a lot to choose from in the sub 1000 market unfortunately.
My advice would be to do your homework, go take a look at them, decide what you want and if need be save some exta dough.
That way you'll get what you want, and won't be able to say "wish I hadn't listened to others" if it all goes pear shaped. :))
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Follow Up By: Grunter65 - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 15:46
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 15:46
Thanks Footy, I guess when it all comes down to it, I have to be happy with the decision. I'll have to put my best poker face on and do the haggle with Mr Waeco I think!
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Reply By: pepper2 - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 13:55
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 13:55
When i have had my fridge repaired,in alice,qld ,and
sydney each repair
shop was innundated with failed fridges of various makes seems like a lottery to me,especially when you look at what they cost...Ask a repair
shop what the recommend...
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Follow Up By: Grunter65 - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 13:58
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 13:58
Fair cop Pepper2, that's what I mean, it's a lottery in many respects! Trying to identify options away from the >$1000.00 options is something of a minefield it seems! Surely others away from Engel and Waeco can make a cost effective, reasonably performing fridge for a decent dollar value?
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Reply By: wazzaaaa - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 13:59
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 13:59
Hi Grunter65,
I have three waeco's, one in the van and two CF50's all trouble free apart from the fan in the 8year old one. I like the look of Dereks fridge he sells he has all the info on what it's power consumption is on his website.
Wazzaaaa
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Follow Up By: Grunter65 - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:05
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:05
Hi Wazzaaaa
You really are a fan aren't you! 3 fridges, you must have a good power supply! Yes, I'm seriously considering Derek's option. Reason for looking away from Waeco currently is my own experience. We went to Fraser in September armed with a mate's CF60, performed great. However, on a track to one of the inland lakes, lumpy and bumpy as it was, the lid come out of the hinge. As it's one moulded section, the (what I consider to be) flimsy little lug on the side of the lid that is the hinge snapped, leaving me to wrap an occy-strap around the lid for the duration of trip. When you're spending >$1000 on a fridge I would expect it to be more robust, especially when they are specifically marketed to the
camping / off road market. Again, fridge was great, just a doubt on its robustness from my limited experience. BTW, the lid to replace was $103 , not happy Jan
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Follow Up By: wazzaaaa - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:21
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:21
Yes I forgot about the lid on my 8 year old CF50 when I first got it it had a plastic lid and when a mate sat on it it bowed and did not seal( this is when it was 3 years old), waeco replaced it no charge. As I go up
the beach a lot the salt air affected the performance of the internal fan so I replaced it for $30. On talking to the fridge repair guy he did not say any fridge was better than the others as he repairs them all no matter what brand. One thing he did say was to spray the cooling fins with lanolin to prevent them rusting as I
camp on
the beach.
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Follow Up By: Grunter65 - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:24
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:24
I'm with you, we pretty much exclusively
camp on
the beach so I'll keep that tip in mind for when I eventually get my own fridge. I'm just so confused, maybe I get photos of them all on a wall and put a pin in one and be done with it!
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Follow Up By: wazzaaaa - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:24
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:24
Power suply 3 x 100AH agm batterys and 6 x 65w solar panels and for back up honda 2kva and two 25amp chargers
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Follow Up By: Grunter65 - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:54
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:54
OMG wazzaaaa, I hope you're making a buck or two from putting the leftovers back into the
grid! That's a large investment, I'm jealous!
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Follow Up By: wazzaaaa - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 15:08
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 15:08
I did read about this guys research into fridges before he bought, may be of interest.
rays webpage
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Follow Up By: Grunter65 - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 15:09
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 15:09
Thanks very much wazzaaaa, I'll read up
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Follow Up By: Member - Boo Boo (NSW) - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 17:13
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 17:13
wazzaaaaa
Quite a good article.
I have a three year old bushman.
I bagged it recently on this site. However, although the fridge had a problem, and my wiring was undersized (now fixed) it was basically the poor service received from the supplier. The supplier actually worked on my wiring and made no comment. It was with the help of this site that my problem was solved.
Now that everything is fixed I would have to say it performs extremely
well and has a permenent home in the back of the troopy.
Regards Bob
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Reply By: Best Off Road - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:22
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:22
G,
I've owned an Engel and a Waeco, both terrific.
In my business I get to see a lot of customer's fridges and the one that has really impressed me is the Fridgemate. It's a big yellow thing in various sizes. Made in QLD and they advertise on this site.
Very robust, great insulation and the price is very good. They use a Danfoss Compressor.
My advice would be, whatever you decide on, get something with a Danfoss compressor. This way, if you have any problems with it you will be able to get it fixed just about anywhere.
Jim.
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Follow Up By: Grunter65 - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:26
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:26
Thanks Jim, sounds like good advice. I've got one of their eskies, works a treat and yes, the insulation must be good coming from an esky manufacturer. Their factory is 10 minutes from
my home, know them
well.
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Follow Up By: Shaker - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:28
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:28
Isn't Fridgemate just a rebadged, cheaper EvaKool in a plastic body instead of GRP?
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Follow Up By: Grunter65 - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:36
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:36
Same factory, cheaper version I understand. Though I'd offer that it's just the look that's cheaper, not performance. I think
boaties like the 2-pac look and finish and pay heaps more for the same thing, it's just canary yellow (or Australian gold!)
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Follow Up By: Best Off Road - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 15:05
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 15:05
You'd struggle to put an axe through that "cheap" looking case.
The whole thing is basically a bloody good esky with a compressor grafted onto the end of it. Simple but effective. No need to baffle such matters with science.
Jim.
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Follow Up By: Grunter65 - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 15:07
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 15:07
Can't fight logic like that Jim!
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Follow Up By: Grunter65 - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 15:59
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 15:59
Hey Jim, I went to your website, click on the "products" section, there's a typo. The word "avaiable" needs the spell checker run over it.
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Follow Up By: MP - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 16:53
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 16:53
I've been lucky enough to be able to borrow the outlaws 55 litre Fridgemate. Great fridge, no performance issues. Running only from starting battery but whenever we go away we are always going somewhere each day. The only negative is external size, but I suppose that is the price you pay for good insulation. Also the casing is a tough as. I would love to see how some of the other sizes fit in the back of the ute.
Cheers
Mark
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Follow Up By: Grunter65 - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 17:18
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 17:18
Hi MP
That's a key consideration, the physical size of the fridge. I have NP Pajero (one before latest) and space isn't the same as a Cruiser in the back, functional no doubt, but not abundant. They're a big unit compared to others of same capacity aren't they. Good as I'm sure they are they do take up more space.
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Follow Up By: Best Off Road - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 17:41
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 17:41
Of course if you're lacking space what you need is a good value set of _Affordable_Storage_Drawers.aspx LOL
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Reply By: Member - Mick O (VIC) - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:51
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:51
I've got one of each. I purchased an Engel MT45 and 2-zone for it in early 2006 and a Waeco CF50 18 minths ago The Engel we had in the back of the Navara for 11 months on our lap round the block running as a freezer. It now does the same job in the back of the patrol on
the desert trips. I use the waeco as the fridge and drink cooler.
Both are great and a similar price. I find the Engel a superier unit for long term use as a freezer. The waeco is a much handier unit as a fridge. The weaco has issues with the temp guage and it's level of accuarcy and is sometimes harder to maintain a static temperature, but then the same can apply to the Engel. I haven't really answered you question have I? I use both, I like both. Robustness, the Engel. Ease of use, the Waeco (reversable lid, a light, seperate compartment areas in the fridge, not as deep as the engel).
You can get bloody good deals on both if you look around.
Cheers. Mick
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Follow Up By: Grunter65 - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:59
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:59
Thanks Mick, great feedback, thanks very much. I'm just being a tightarse aren't I, I just didn't want to be one of the sheep and buy what everyone else buys! But, if most people buy them, there's something in that too isn't there! I guess I'll have to save some more pennies and follow the sheep! Almost every road is taking me to the big 2 it seems.
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Reply By: Member - Scrubcat (VIC) - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:57
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 14:57
Biased answer maybe ?
"Trailblaza" ==== No doubt the most rugged, trouble free, efficient and NOT the most expensive 12/240 v fridge available today.
Just MHO,
Scrubby
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Follow Up By: Grunter65 - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 15:01
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 15:01
Thanks Scrubcat I'll add it to the mix. What are those fish in your photo?
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Follow Up By: Nickywoop - Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 at 05:42
Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 at 05:42
Scrubbie,
Now someone is talking about a decent fridge. Built out of marine grade aluminium, 75mm thick insulation and very power efficient.
Mines been in the back of utes for over 10 years, with dogs sitting on it looking over the rack, been hit with posts and whatever and has never missed a beat, and is made here in Aussie.
Try doing that with one constructed out of plastic, that has such poor insulation you have to buy a bag to wrap it in to get it to save power.
Grunter, if I was you, make sure you put the Trailblaza in the mix.
Let us know your final decsion and why, but be careful you don't buy something that is just pretty!
Regards Nick
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Follow Up By: Grunter65 - Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 at 21:26
Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 at 21:26
Thanks Nick, I'll certainly be throwing the Trailblaza into the mix. I'm not familiar with them to be honest so I'll have to do some research. Appreciate your thoughts.
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Reply By: balko - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 16:46
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 16:46
I have a three and a half year old 80 ltr Waeco that blew the compresor at
roper bar Nt lost all my meat and fish its now sitting in a waeco workshop in
Katherine waiting for a new one that the part is under warrenty but not the labour. But i had to cut my time there short so now i saw nearly every one has a trailblaza up north due to the heat and they are very robust. Cheers Tony
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Reply By: Member - GREENDOG - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 16:55
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 16:55
G'day Grunter,mate i can't go pass ENGEL fridges i have a 60 and 40 ltr, i had the my last 60 ltr pinched not long ago i had it for 6yrs and never let me down if you want a reliable fridge,low currant draw pay the extra money and go Engel.cheer's GREENDOG
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Reply By: Newbiesb - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 17:40
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 17:40
EVAKOOL - rugged fibreglass construction, insulated better than Engel or Waeco with external compressor (so won't heat fridge) - Australian made for Australian conditions. Adjustable interior to change fridge/freezer space. Same price as the others but better construction for our climate.
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Follow Up By: Holden4th - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 23:13
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 23:13
I have an Evakool esky (60L) and with 10L of solid ice it keeps my food very cold for over 5 days before I need to refreeze the 10L bottle of ice (which has only melted by 20%).
Based on this it's the best esky on the market. If you add a fridge/freezer compressor unit to that you have an ideal unit which shouldn't need a dual battery system unless you are seriously into freezing food. The insulation properties when compared to either Waeco or Engel makes it a no brainer. The price backs up this fact.
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Follow Up By: Newbiesb - Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 at 07:26
Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 at 07:26
By the way - Evakool has a danfoss compressor (mentioned above) and due to supreme insulation qualities, _Affordable_Storage_Drawers.aspx low on power.
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Reply By: Member - Roachie (SA) - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 19:03
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 19:03
Engel now make a cheaper version of their fridge....in a plastic case. I'd assume they use the same reliable compressor etc and the prices are less than $1000-....
Anybody got one of these?
Roachie
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Follow Up By: Crackles - Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 at 19:36
Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 at 19:36
Other than the flimsy latch arrangement, the Engel Eclipse 38L looks a good unit & Rays had them recently on special for only $800 making them possibly the best bang for your buck with a low power draw. Like all the other Engels it compromises a little on insulation in order to be a compact size. I'm still tempted to get one for the wifes car though.
Cheers Craig......
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Reply By: Member - Josh (VIC) - Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 23:04
Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 at 23:04
Not sure if I'm a bit late, been out of range (
Dalhousie springs Ect) We have an Eva Cool in our trailer. Brilliant, 50,000 km's around oz so far, not a problem. Excellent service from company as
well.
Kidsandall
Josh
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Reply By: bradnshaz - Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 at 20:49
Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 at 20:49
gday grunter
after having various problems with engels in the past ,
i bought a sidewinder earlier this year to take on our trip north . worked perfectly on that trip.
have been using it as a beer fridge since .
great value compared to the others & the low amp draw was the clincher for me .
the only negative would be that the fan can take a little getting used to if your sleepin near it .
cheers brad .
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Reply By: Grunter65 - Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 at 21:29
Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 at 21:29
Thanks to all for your thoughts on the dreaded fridge purchase. It's down to Evakool, Sidewinder and Trailblaza for me, I'll let you know how I go.
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