ARB fridge - should I buy?

Hi Peter, thanks for the reply. Great to hear the fridge has performed well for you.

I currently have a old waeco FF90 fridge which has done a few big trips and it very disappointing as it has never ran off a battery if it is less that 13v (so works when the alternator is working but thats it). I have been in contact with waeco many times and a couple of waeco repairers have tried to fix it without success. This is why I am staying away from waeco. If anyone has any suggestions on how I can solve my waeco issue I would be very keen to hear them!
Cheers

jd 2010,

Where are you measuring your 13v from? Right at the fridge itself or the battery terminals?

Most fridge problems can be put down to inadequate wiring and voltage drop.

As an example, I wired my fridge with 8 B&S wiring, but fitted a relay and switch setup so that I could control the fridge from the drivers seat. Thought it would be OK, but there was voltage drop across the relay that was just enough to upset things. I have since re-wired it directly to the aux battery, with a simple circuit breaker, checked all the connections and upgraded where needed and there is 0.1v drop from the battery to the fridge and it now works MUCH better.

It is worth having a good second look through all your wiring, plugs and connections first.

Cheers,

Mark

Hi Mark,
I have eliminated the possibility of it being the wiring as I have connected it direct to batteries (i.e. alligator clips direct onto battery) in many different configurations and with different batteries and always the same issue.
Cheers
Justin

JD what model compressor is in it ?? If its a BDF 35 the cutout voltage can be changed. Daryl

Hi Daryl, from the specs on the web it is:

fully hermetic Danfoss BD50F compressor with integrated control electronics, low-voltage protection adjustable for consumer or starter battery by means of slide switch, electronic fuse/automatic reverse pole protection, dynamically ventilated lamellar condenser, aluminum rollbond evaporator, continuously variable thermostat.

Slight missunderstanding JD, was refering to the Old Waeco FF90 that you was having trouble with. Daryl

yea they are the details off the web for the FF90 (appears that they have not updated their site for quite a few years....) FF90 specs

JD, Cant quite understand why the Waeco service cant fix your fridge to work on less than 13v. The BD50 compressor has a module on the side of it with 2 terminals that controll the cut out voltage. The point (C) & (P) should have a resistor across to set the cutout voltage, different value resistors for different cutout voltage. Eg 3.6K ohm resistor for 10V cut off. Daryl

That is one application for a dc-dc converter.

If your are kit happy, Oatley Electronics (Sydney) have a 12-24V or 24-12V 100W converter (ie, ~8A) for ~$22.50 (see oatleyelectronics product_id=250.
I'm certain it can be re-jigged for (say) 11V to 14V etc. (I have the kit - just never used or investigated it in detail.)


But surely something can be done to reduce the Waeco's cut-out voltage?

(Not that I'd use one - I too would get an Engel instead for various reasons...)

Having that mag infront of me, the ARB scored 7/10 for power consumption, the Engel 6/10, Waeco 8/10, but the best was Evakool.
however ARB and Engel both scored 10/10 for thermal effeciency, with Evakool the lowest getting a 8/10!
Overall, the ARB came first overall, Waeco second.
But I guess it all depends what features are important to you.

I'm trying to decide wether to go for the Engel or Waeco, hence the reason for the mag out. Not an easy decision, Engel seems to be the strongest, but not the most efficient (more pricey too) Waeco is cheaper, seems to be more efficient, but doesn't seem as robust.

Really? That alone will probably make me go for an engel. Has anyone had experience with the Twozone for the engel? If so do they work well? Any issues?

I love ARB gear - but it made my decision for me... No exp with Twozone as I got the 57L Combi Box

Really ? I would have thought there are more ARB outlets than Engel service centres.

I have also had an ARB fridge running constanatly for about 6 months and have had no issues. And yes you can have both plugs in and it will automatically switch to 12v if the 240 is disconnected.

Had some issues with the stick on velcro tape on the insulation bag, but other than that perfect.

Had a look on engels and ARB websites and ARB are really only on the coast and the odd large inland town. Engel have so many more service centres in rural towns (I only looked at QLD).

service centres are not an issue with ARB. Any fridge repair place could fix.

Twozone make the Engel compressor run full time. chew power.

Stick to 40L max if you want reasonable power usage.

I bought a TwoZone yesterday and did a bit of research before taking the plunge. I am using it with a 40litre Engel which is a couple of years old.

The general opinion on the internet seems to be that they are very good. As is often the case with anything, those that have one love it while those who do not have one claim there are problems. I was advised by the dealer that , as with any fridge or freezermobile or at home, they work better when full and he suggested using plastic water bottles as a filler when the level of food drops.

Owners report an increase in power usage but not anything substantial and no more than running an equivalent size fridge (EG my 40l will probably use the same power, roughly, as a 60 litre - fair enough.) Power usage is not a big issue as I have dual batteries in the car and a bettery in my camper van, and solar panels, and run very little else that uses power except a few small LCD lights (lighting and cooking mainly petrol)

Yes,

Engel will swap automatically between 240vac and 12vdc.

I do not have a Twozone but once investigated the device.
You simply remove the Engel lid which has sliding hinges and place the Twozone on top, then replace the engel lid on top of the twozone box.

The Twozone has its own basket and you can access the Engel by lifting up the Twozone on the hinges.

The idea is to crank up the Engel and use the bottom part as a freezer and the Twozone section as a fridge.

We decided against one as with just the two of us, we didn't need the extra capacity, or a freezer section anyway.

Our Engel only ever runs on setting one which is perfect for our needs and is kinder to the battery supply when running on 12 volts. This is 99% of the time as we prefer to bush camp away from the "holiday hoards".


Bill.

I have a 40l engel, I decided to go this way because we have been using these on the local fire trucks for the last 10+ years, the only problem we had was the thermostat failed and the drinks froze, spoke to a engel rep and told him what I thought was the issue (being a sparky) and he talked me through the fix and sent the parts in the mail. Really great service... By the way one of the local trucks bounced a engel out of the truck going over a train line and it still works, with a bit of character now...