12V fridge do's and dont's

Hi Nootsa

I defrost, wipe out, and put a towel to hold the lid a bit open so it doesn't go musty. When in use, turning on and off is common - i usually turn the one in the car off overnight as it is mainly for our lunches and drinking water. Handy in the car for shopping too.

Motherhen

I keep mine going all the time - even after camping and back home. There is a consensus of opinion that they should not be turned off for long periods like 3 or 6 or more months. (a couple of weeks would be alright and I have done this) My camping friends would clean theirs out and leave the lid ajar in the shed waiting for the next camp. At one stage 6 months went by and the next time they went to use it the motor had siezed. And yet I have heard plenty of people do this all the time and never have a problem. Would you chance it?

I use mine as a beer fridge at home or just leave it on lowest with a water bottle inside and still in the camper.

I also leave my camper plugged into 240v mains all the time while at home. Keeps the batteries topped up as there is a 5 stage charger built in. The fridges are a 12v unit with a built in 240 to 12 transformer? - so it does not matter which you use. My camper has double wiring so out camping the fridges run on 12v but in a caravan park I can connect to 240v and the fridges will automatically switch over - both plugs are left plugged in.

Other than that they would be amongst the toughest fridges you can buy.

Should the motor ever pack it in - (unlikely) they replace the entire unit as it is a sealed unit and no repairs can be done.

First one I had was second hand and 30 years old. Next one I bought new and had for 15 years before passing on to my son. Have two more fridges now.

Cheers

Serendipity

I am of the opinion that it doesn't matter how long the fridge is left in storage between trips.

My 40 litre Engel is about 7 years old and I generally only use it for the occasional camping trip, otherwise it is stored in the shed, unpowered.
I do use it on the odd occasion in the house, eg for storing drinks over Christmas when the house fridge is full of food, but it sits for months between uses and I've never experienced a problem with it starting and cooling down when required.
I just power it up on 240v at home and stock it up the night before leaving, then it goes into the vehicle and runs on 12v while away.

Just consider the extra "wear & tear" if it sits in the back of a vehicle and used 24/7.
The Engel is designed to do this, but can also sit for long periods between uses without adverse effect. That is my experience anyway.

Hi

The most important thing when not in use is to clean the fridge out before storing it, dry the inside and then a wipe over the inside with vanilla, as this will keep the fridge smelling sweet and always leave the lid ajar. A good half inch gap is all you need and one of the easiest items to use is an old stubby holder. I also use an old towel to cover my fridge as well, keeps the dust off.

There is nothing worse when you close the lid completely and when you open the lid some time down to track, having the inside smell like something has died inside.

Treat your new fridge with respect and you will have many years of life from your new purchase.



Cheers


Stephen

This question is a bit like the one "Should I get a falcon or a holden".

We have two Engel fridges a 40L and a 21L. One as a fridge and the other as a freezer. Both are turned off when not in the car. No worries at all.

Now that you raise the issue I am starting to have second thoughts about having them turned on all the time when not in the car. That's for the same reason we run the air conditioners in both cars all the time. Never had to get the one in the falcon in 22 years before we sold it. But that means that I have to find somewhere convenient and not crowded to have them running 24/7.

I will revisit this thread after all has finished and read it again.

Phil

Switching OFF and cleaning/drying between use wont hurt , then again neither will running the fridge 24/7 ,,, the advise you want to ignor is switching the fridge OFF or turning the thermostat down overnight to "save" power ,
for one thing the fridge then has to cycle 'ON' longer in the morning to get back to your preffered temperature negating any percieved power saving ,, let the fridge thermostat do its job which is to regulate the temperature ,, after all you don't switch OFF or turn up/down your house fridge freezer every day do you ??

One thing I would make sure of is that you have a dual battery set up, as many have gone camping only to wake up next day and car battery is flat and therefore car won't start and fridge not cold.
also when I purchased my first Engel (27 years ago) It came with a leaflet that said to turn off or unplug the fridge when starting the vehicle as electrical spikes may damage the electronics. This is avoided with a dual battery system.
I know many people, (including myself), that didn’t have a dual system and didn’t turn off the fridge and have not had any troubles, but then again there are others that have (again including myself in a new car). Apparently what mainly happens is the fridge stops working on 12 volt but will still work on 240.

Cheers Tony.

Still running our Waeco FF70 after 12 years and we clean it and turn it off for a couple of months between trips.

Regarding turning off o/night: I think it's more to save the battery and if you are going to use the care the next day it might be a better option - depends on your battery's state of charge. If you have plenty of power left in the batt. and can easily keep it charging next day then run it o/night but if you are running the battery down without charge, it might be better to switch off overnight and switch on and recharge next day if driving and therefore recharging the battery. Of course you can always have it plugged into the car and just run the engine for 20 mins or so depending on requirements.

I switch ours off when not camping, but they get a workout at Christmas on 240V.

We have 3 - first Engel is 21 years old; second is 10 years old and now owned by my daughter and the third is 3 years old. Never had a problem with any of them.

As was said in one reply :
I just dry mine wiith a towel, turn mine upside down overnight, to ensure it is completly dry and put it away with the lid on. Never had a problem with smell on over a decade provided it is cleaned out well and dried.

Just make sure you let it sit up-right for some time, if you intend to switch it on in the morning. This enables the refrigerant to settle, otherwise you may kill the compressor.
Capt.

Hi Nootsa
I have had Engels for over 43years, the very first still works as good as new
I would never run them continuosly just for the sake of running them
There are some minor concerns with long term storage
[1]That some gunk may thicken & clog some of the very fine bore tubing
[2]that some of the capacitors may deform with long term lack of use
This would be very rare, can be miinimised by running for 30mins or so on 12v about every 6months
It could happen, but I am not aware of it happening
Peter

hi nootsa
after owning a 29ltr engel for 26yrs without it failing
i bought a 40ltr in 2005 for my camper trailer unit
the 29lt rwas run every now again and i do likewise with the 40ltr
because of the simple reason thats what the instructions tell you to do
if your get your instructions out and read it right through you will be armed with the correct precedure to use and care for your excellent fridge/freezer unit
and can expect based on my personell experience a trouble free run over many years
if you follow the sound advice in the engel instructions the do's and donts on all applications are included for all owners

12volt/240volt connections /charging/240volt generator use etc etc it's all clearly written

and it is clear to me that a lot of poeple dont bother to read that document and instead ask questions on a site like this that will give you so many variations of how to care for an angel it becomes confusing all due respects to the givers
but it's apparent some of them need to read their own instruction sheets
but several are spot- on with advice as well and have obviously read there's
theres only 1 fridge and thats engel it will be years before any other brand can honestly claim they are better engel has proven its self through out aus in the harshest outback conditions over a very long period of years thats my opinion for what it's worth cheers

Image Could Not Be FoundThis is on the inside of the 40lt door, follow these and you will be fine.

When using the fridge I have a homemade vest on it to keep the cold in and heat out but in hot areas.
I always have an old sleeping bag or blanket tossed over the fridge to keep it even more insulated from the ambient temp. Don't block up the airvents though. We use a 40lt Engel and after I put a fan in it Engel bought out theirs with fans too. Also have a 35 Waeco we use as a freezer and use extra insul on that too.
From a side window I rigged a vent with a computer fan which is powered from solar panel and it runs the fan in hot weather. It just supplies fresh cooler air to the vent area of both fridges so they run less often. I see some fridges in the hottest of places, in boxes and in the back of utes, they must work hard and use much more power than is necessary.

Ross M

Well what a great response from you all. Thank you so much, and I will take all the info received and use it from now on. This is such a great way for all of us to communicate, so helpful and I glad I'm involved.
Thanks Chris