Waeco versus Engel

[04OFF]

Without going into brands, id like to bring up a few things I found important when looking at fridges......


Make sure you look at your potential fridge choices in the flesh, imagine getting things in and out of it, working/opening the catch (and bag if you want one), is it a pain to open and close with one hand ?


I suggest looking at where you intend to mount the fridge in your vehicle, then consider what other gear you need to fit in the same area, take note of where the fridge vents will be, because you cant just stack your other gear over the vents as they need ventilation to work effectively, also, can you get to the fridge controls easy from the intended position in the vehicle ?


Compare the dry weight of the fridges, think if you will ever need to lift your fridge into/out of the back of the car, how much weight can you lift, extend and twist with ?, if you are not built like Arnie (or have suspension lift), this may be quite important, especially if you add the weight of a carton of beer inside the fridge ,starting your trip with a injured back is not preferable.




Personally id never buy a car fridge that does not have a drain plug, believe it or not, some do not have one, in this case the weight of the fridge is even more important as you may have to remove the whole fridge from the car and turn it over to rinse, this can also mean leaving the fridge off for a period before turning back on, meanwhile your stuff is getting warm.

[lhurley]

I think at the end of the day, it comes down to buy what suits you best and is the best value for money. As 04off said, look at how you will use it.

I have a cfx40 and it's awesome. I've used it a bunch on 12v and 240 and its great. Uses very little power. My old man has used it a couple times and he has a sedan, fits well in there too.

[megatexture]

Engel branded fridges use a Sawafuji Compressor and are the only fridge to do so.

The reason is simple, Sawafuji own Engel lock stock and barrel and have done for many, many years and won't sell or licence their compressor technology to anyone else.

The Sawafuji compressor technology they bought off a German Inventor in the 50's is simple, robust and efficient,
They chew about 25% to 33% less power consumption and work on lower voltages so you don't get those annoying voltage drop issues that plague Waeco's etc.
It is a tad noisier than the danfoss style tho.

The only Engel I have seen fail was a work one that is over 20 years old.
I also haven't had a Waeco fail as such but the low voltage cut outs on them can be a right PIA at times.

Waeco prefer to use an external 240 power supply and Engel prefer an onboard 240V solution so Engels tend to be a tad heavier and a tad less capacity for a given external size but no real biggee.

We would have about 10 Engel "plastics' at work and I have one of my own. They work fine.
I also have a couple of Evacools and they work fine as did the Waeco I had previously, low voltage issues aside

The waeco have had onboard 240 for a while now maybe 2-3 yrs but I'm not sure the 80 & 110 ltr are yet as there design hasn't changed

[HuskyInAuz]

I bought our 80L Waeco dual zone in 2011 and it had 240vac/12vdc within the unit.

[Patrol'n]

Well I've taken the plunge now and have gone with an engel 40 lt steel body model. Got a decent price at BCF, I spent ages comparing with the waeco models. I did find that there were some features about the waeco that I liked more than the engel, but with things like plastic catches on the waeco, vs steel catches on the engel, integrated temp display, steel body vs plastic and the things I've been told about engel reliability, I had to go with the engel. Interestingly, the quoted power consumption on the waeco was lower than the engel.

If I had the budget I'd get a cfx50 as well and compare them side by side, but can't do it, I need the coin for a suspension lift...

[macca]

Well I've taken the plunge now and have gone with an engel 40..

You have made the best right decision. But I am an Engel owner of 33 years now LOL

[threedogs]

I have a '92 model 39lt Engel I think It has rarely been turned off its on all the time and still going strong.
Best mod recently was fitting the digital temp controller and fitting an extra computer fan inside the cabinet to cool thing down a bit.
I was going to fit a "Two-Zone" to it but never did but the guys from Two-Zone gave me a set of hinges so I could hinge the lid
the other way to STD, only downside is I needed to cut the travel bag lid, no big deal.
Mine is situated behind the driver on a wooden platform [seat removed] with a transit base screwed to that,
no need for tie downs and only one hand needed to remove it, power is from 50 amp anderson connectons

[Clunk]

You have made the best right decision. But I am an Engel owner of 33 years now LOL

no....... he's made a choice and he chose Engel