Engel fridge comparison - New gas vs old gas

Hello Young Codger,
Can't comment on whether the old fridge is still on the old gas but I have both a new and and old Engel and the new one works fine. I use the old one as a freezer and the new one as a fridge and they are both 40 litre models. The new one (2007) has a light inside which is really handy and on average I can get two days out of my 96AH cranking battery on fridge mode without a recharge.
Cheers

I also have two 40 Ltr Engel's, bought the first one back around 1984 and sold it a few years back to upgrade to the late model. Only reason for the upgrade was because the later models draw less power. I realy did not notice a difference in the operation of the old to the new as far as cooling/ freezing goes but certainly easier on the batteries. Love those Engel's, the only way to go as far as I am concerned....Regards ,,Foxhound (WA)

Hi young codger,
The earlier 39L Engel's chiller plate didn't go all the way to the bottom of the cabinet, which was a reason for my not buying one at the time (meat stored in the bottom was warmer than the stuff above). I think the current ones have a chiller plate which goes right to the bottom, which is therefore a plus.
Re the gas, I'm not a refrig techie, but when recently speaking to one, he reckoned that the old R12 gas is (was) a better refrigerant than the current R134. Having said that, I note that the current popular family of 12v fridges, both Engel and Danfoss-types, claim lower current consumption. This could be that the motor draws less, but runs longer. I did note while camping a couple of years back that my old R12 Autofridge, while drawing more current than a mate's current Engel, was running for a much shorter time cycle, with a total current consumption (amp-hours) being less than the Engel under the same ambient conditions.
Not sure if all that helps, but that's my two bob's worth.
cheers,
Gerry