Engel 40LT Fridge/Freezer buy one or not?

Not very big for a family, but you can't do better than Engel. Is it a dual zone fridge? I have two older Engels, 30 litre and 40 litre. They can be used as either fridge, or turned up full as a freezer. With two, the smaller one can be used a freezer. We have one in the tow vehicle for lunches and drinks and one fits under the bed in the caravan.

Motherhen

What a great choice of fridge :)

I am in the middle of changing over from a 60l Engel and I am going to get 2 x 40l ones as the 60 is to heavy to lift by myself. One will be run purely as a freezer and the other as a fridge.

My family is the same size and kids close to the same age (3 & 5).
If you find the 40l to be to small you can buy a Two Zone to increase capacity with minimal additional draw on the battery.

Cheers Kev

In years gone by we had 4 kids and managed well with a single 39litre Engel. Only really used it for meat/milk/margarine etc.

These days there is just the two of us (kids have grown up) but for some stange reason, we now have 2 engels and fill them up with everything from bottles of wine to meat, eggs, fruit/veg/chocolate..........you name it!
Engels are good fridges. Our older one is 17 years old - still goes like new.

The 40 litre Engel is a good choice.

Draws a maximum of 2.4 amps (depending on temperature setting requirements) so is reasonably economical to run.

For a family of four, you may find the capacity a little "cramped" at times, but one of the advantages of the fridge you have chosen is that there is a range of accessories available to enhance your investment.

For instance, an after market accessory manufactured by Two-Zone will turn your 40 litre fridge into an eighty litre fridge/freezer if you need the extra capacity at times.

You remove your original lid, which slides off and install the Two Zone in its place, completing the fitout with the origional lid on top.
run on a higher thermostat setting the bottom of the fridge is for very cold, or frozen products while the top half is a normal fridge.

Whilst not exactly cheap, this accessory is an enhancement for many people.

Bad comments???
There isn't any.

Bill

Just Goin
Like all of the above. They are a great fridge. Regardless of how many people you are catering for, the biggest factor will be how long you intend to go before restocking the fridge. Our record for our 40 Litre Engel is 3 weeks. It was use only for meat and milk. I run our fridge just over 1, with an inside fridge temperature just above 1 and even though the milk was out of date by 8 days, the very cold temperatures kept the milk in a fresh state. The meat was vacuum packed and was as fresh as the day that it went in.

Cheers and all the best with what ever you buy

Stephen

You can get a Waeco CF50 at the moment for $999,not sure of the cover is included.
I have a 50 and its been a great fridge

Hope you have a better run than me , my 39 litre Engel had to be repaired twice in 5 years ... 1st time $599 , 2nd time $487 ...gave it to my son ... got a 110 litre Waeco instead .

We started with one 40l, now have 2 Waeco fridges. You pay a price for comfort and convenience. There are a few good brands.
Engel and Waeco are 2 of them.
Ian

Mate,

I have both - 39lt Engel which is about 25-30 years old (handed down by my wifes grandfather) and a 60lt Waeco.

We leave the Waeco in the back of the Patrol and the Engel under the awning.

About 2 years ago at Exmouth the car was parked with an inside temp of over 60C and the Waeco was ticking over nicely at minus 3 in the fridge mode as if it was 10C in the car.

The Engel was in the annex where the ambient temp was nearly 50C and it was still humming away at minus 20.

Amazing that both fridges were working at well over 60 below ambient.

People bag either brands but we have both and love both. The Waeco is cheaper though and the 60lt has the same footprint as the 40lt which is great in the back of the car.

So dont be loyal to a brand just for the sake of being loyal.......But not only do we switch brands on fridges we also commited a cardinal sin and sold our Land Cruiser 80 and bought a Patrol.

Also look at Auto fridge, a bit more expensive but very efficient.

Seeya and good luck.

Thanks to everyone for their valuable advice and comments,

Its obvious that the Engel Fridges are well regarded by all. We have considered the Waeco's but thought that the plastic look of them makes them appear a little less robust than the tougher looking Engels....however it seems that you cant judge a book by its cover so to speak!!!

The Waeco's are a bit better priced and we could prob do a bit more research on that brand as well. Either way we are obviously on the right track.

As we will be towing a camper trailer with a Rodeo Dual Cab, the plan is to have the fridge mounting on a fridge slide in the back of the Rodeo on the LHS. Main reasons are ease of access in terms of safety and if you are stopped on the side of the road you can get into the fridge easily from the passenger side without the camper trailer on the towbar or passing traffic worrying you. I like the fridges that open from the back straight up rather than the side opening option as this would prove to be very awkward for access etc etc if we still placed the fridge in this position....

Well thats the plan anyway....

Thanks again for all the advice

Just Goin

Leaving Newcastle NSW (hopefully and fingers crossed) early to mid July 2009 and heading north - and JUST GOIN!!! Minimum 3 months to a maximum 6 months - unless of course something catches up and keeps us longer than we planned. Hubbie a Boilermaker, so who knows maybe good coin out there for us travelling family of four......................

Hi Just Goin,

Don't dismiss the Waeco - we have a 60L one that works really well.
We chose the Waeco because we were told (hopefully it's true) that they are cheaper and easier to repair than other brands, because they have a compressor motor like household fridges. Having said that, we have never had a problem with ours, so have had no need to validate this.
I agree that they do look a bit 'plasticy' and not as nice as the Engels. The plastic is very tough though.
I am sure you will be very happy with whatever fridge you get.
Cheers
Leanne

It looks as though you've made your mind up but I agree with the other posts re the Engels 40lt. We have one and had no problems with it at all. We're a family of 4, and we have a C/T, so the Engels sits near the Drifta kitchen under the annexe. Our idea is to keep the frozen stuff and things we don't need often in it and the drinks, butter, lettuce/tomatoes, etc. in the esky to prevent freezer burn. I suppose I could buy the two zone and forget the esky, but I don't know how it'd go, given you'd be opening the fridge all the time for stuff. Anyway, the Engels/Esky combo works for us. A great fridge, worth the money!

Get in touch with the engel service agent in sydney ,they were in arundell park ,and deal direct, saves money and get the best advice . Another tip buy the proper engel power outlet as the cigerette plug tends to vibate lose on rough roads.We have 3kids and a 40l a bit of planning and monitering and youll love it.

Many brands of fridges on the market, they all keep stuff cold.

Engel, expensive and have poor insulation.

Waeco, better value, but still poorly insulated.

Check out Evakool. Value, robust, great insulation and Aussie made.

I've owned an Engel, still own a Waeco and wouldn't buy either again.

Cheers,

Jim.