WAECO OR ENGEL which is better

Luggy you are about to open a huge can of worms. Suspect that you are new to this forum otherwise you wouldn't of dared ask the question.

Me I have a Waeco cos I couldn't afford the Engel. Waeco cheaper, lighter, and _Affordable_Storage_Drawers.aspx less power and comes in slightly larger capacities. They have a number of detractors due to the lids on some warping and they tend to suffer in really hot weather.

Do a search using the search function offered (top right hand side on the function tab line), you will find hundreds of replies to this topic. Weed through all the bagging and ragging and you will find some good advice.

Now duck for cover. LOL

Engel.
You get what you pay for.

They all keep stuff cold.

Don't buy on brand, buy because the design/floorplan suits you.

Also consider value for money.

Of all the fridges I have seen (and I see plenty), I would recommend the Evakool Fridgemate as the best value for money, also has excellent insulation. But only as long as the size, design etc suits your needs.

I have owned both a Waeco and an Engel, they both work very well, but both have poor insulation and a bag is a must. Frankly wouldn't buy either again.

Jim.

Engel !!!!.

But if had more room and money would go for a trailblaza.

www.norcoast.com.au/

This is an interesting read on this subject

link

Have a look here
you will find a fairly comprehensive comparison and hints.

Ian

I would say that no one can say what is best without more info.

I have had an Engle 39l , Waeco 50l and National Luna. The National Luna is way out there as the best but it is expensive.

There is no real difference between the Engle and Waeco, both are built to a price and have insufficent insulation for hot climates. But they are ok for say weekend trips.

The Waeco is certainly better value and occupies less floor space but is higher. One thing is for sure, avoid the 80l Waeco it uses tons of power.

We have an ABR Sidewinder. Great value for money compared with both a Waeco and Engel.

Well I actually learned a little from this perennial thread, thanx for asking it luggy, I hope you got a good steer

I've also read (and contributed to) just about every fridge thread there has ever been...:-) and I reckon anyone looking into buying a fridge should think about it in this way: It's a bit like buying a car. Ask yourself whether you want the absolute BEST quality fridge available or one that will just do the job and be cost effective. Bit like the Nissan v Toyota debate. They will both do the job, both have their own foibles, one purportedly better 'quality' than the other, both have different attitudes to customer service, one markedly more expensive than the other. Is the extra price justified? Some will agree, others wont...... ultimately it's what you want out of the product that will determine whether you can justify the extra price of an item or not.

FWIW, this is my take on fridges. But, like any opinion it's only mine.........

Figure out how you will use the thing, how much stuff you want to store in it, how long you camp in one place, generally and what power replacement options you have for charging batteries.

If you are on the move most days, you won't have many problems in the power department as the alternator will charge the battery during the day and the fridge will run it down over night, to some extent. Just about any fridge will do the job, so I would look for value for money, warranty and reputation in regards to after sales service and parts availability.

If you often camp for weeks on end in one place, you should either look at a gas fridge or THE most efficient fridge you can find and some portable power supply options, such as solar or generator.

In my case, I do a bit of both and wanted THE most power efficient fridge I could find that was (preferably) Australian made and had a reputation for reliability. I was (at the time) prepared to pay a premium for that. I did my research in places OTHER than 4WD forums, though did check out what others use. I also checked out the places that hire out fridges and, at the time, the most common fridge available for hire was the Autofridge. This fridge was also the one I found available by most of the places that sell soar panels etc... Collyn Rivers, the author of the wonderful books on motorhome electrics, campertailer electrics and solar power for camping, uses an Autofridge.

I'm not saying that it's the best fridge for everyone, but for me it allows the option of eutectic operation if I want to minimize my power use for a longer camping stay.... I run it for a couple of hours in the morning and a couple in the evening and then leave it off for the rest of the time and the 'cool bank' keeps the fridge contents cold. It will not work as a freezer in this mode.

I cannot compare it to anything else as it's the only one I've ever owned and it has been run almost constantly for about 12 years now without problem. Would I buy another? Unsure....I would do what you're doing now and do my research and think about my needs and the $$$ I had available. That being said, I would love the 73l version of this fridge.......

Cheers,

Mark

Engel has been around longer and is better.... If you can't afford one of the tradtional styled Engels then get their latest Engel Eclipse 39L - they are around $800 new

Engel Eclipse

Repco have a great fridge well built decent insulation and includes cover for $649 We have these fitted to our new work trucks and none have given problems. The compressor Danfoss the same as Waeco and nearly all fridge manufacturers use.

Luggy,
Recently did some research myself and and if you can or want to spend the extra $ I would buy the National Luna. Since it wont fit in my new camper trailer, I am going with an Engel. I currently have a 40 litre Engel and have not had any problems. (apart from freezing Coke cans when the kids play with the temp control) It has done a great job for us in all weather conditions.
A mate bought a larger Waeco (3 yrs ago) and after trialing for a weekend went back and got an Engel. Also the manufacturer of our camper trailer said he has heard alot more complaints about Waeco than Engel.

Many fridge makers miss out on the insulation side of things. In other words, how long will your fridge keep things cold after it is turned off?

Based on this I don't see how you can go past an Evakool (or is there another fridge out there with comparable insulation?). As an esky it's almost 'non pareil' and if you add a compressor then surely you've got an extremely efficient fridge.

Do you actually need to keep things frozen apart from ice cream or the ice cubes for your gin and tonic? I don't think so.

Personally, I'd use an Evakool Fridge this way:

Freeze down a block of ice in a container that would take up at least half the space of the freezer compartment.

Put frozen vac packed products underneath.

Put the rest of my refrigerated goods (vac packed where necessary) in the fridge compartment.

Run the Evakool off the alternator while driving and thus refreezing that block of ice constantly while keeping my food cold in the fridge section.

Turn the whole thing off at night, after getting out what I needed to use, and just close it until I stop the next day. The block of ice will maintain the cold.

Use the freezer section while driving to make sure that I've got little ice containers for a small esky for day use.

So what does this do?

It eliminates the need for a second battery system under the bonnet (though a small AGM like a Waeco RAPS could be used overnight and recharged next day if you really think you need it).

The secret to this is vac packed food. A vacuum packer costs less than $100 nowadays and will keep meat for 15 days in cool conditions (read esky). If it's frozen to start with then you are even further ahead of the play.

I'm off around Tassie soon and to test the theory all I'm taking is my Evakool 65L esky, 15L of frozen water and vac packed food. I''ll refreeze my water every 5 days wherever I'm staying.

I'm leaving my 40L Waeco at home because I'll struggle to keep it charged while in Tassie. An Evakool fridge might be a different proposition - wish I had one!

I have both Engel and Waeco fridges, both good, but Engel DEFINETLY uses less power. Not up for argument, just my experience

Ron