Saturday, Apr 14, 2012 at 21:34
Steafandsal -
Well, speaking from an Engel owners point of view - basically, it comes back to the fact that my 1977 Engel still performs beautifully - and nothing has ever broken on it, and it has never failed to perform!
Meantimes, someone using a standard bar fridge would have gone through about 4 of them, in the same time as my Engel has served me faithfully!
There's also the additional factor, that the Engel uses the Sawafuji "swing motor" which can be operated on a 30% slope. Not so the standard compressor fridges, they need to be fairly level to perform satisfactorily.
The Sawafuji "swing motor" contains less moving parts, doesn't rotate, and draws less current (particularly on startup) than a standard fridge reciprocating compressor unit.
The KISS principle in design and action.
I guess you can argue that a standard bar fridge is much cheaper than an Engel, so you can afford to buy 2½ of them, before you've spent the same $$ as you'd spend buying an Engel.
However, the Engel offers 12V and 240V functionality, more storage capacity in relation to outside dimensions than a regular bar fridge - and it's lighter.
For most people travelling, the fridge capacity in relation to outside dimensions is a big selling point.
Finally - the Engel possesses a robust steel case all-round, that is pretty resistant to rough handling. In addition, the Engel will cope with bouncing around in a vehicle to a certain degree, that a standard bar fridge would never be able to handle.
Cheers - Ron.
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