Engel, ARB, EvaKool....what to buy?

[Ridgie]

IMO, 40 litre plastic engel would be perfect for you, a mates got one and never said anything bad about it.
Think they're $899. cant go wrong.

Yep saw that one......now we are on track.

Hey tagMan - good tip - and I'm an Anaconda member also.

BUT it appears to open sideways - not length ways like the steel 40ltr or the ARB models.


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[Old.Tony]

I've got a problem with the Bushman, looks like it can't auto-switch from 12V to 240V and back again.

For me, that means while I'm driving along, my aux battery is being charged at the same time as the fridge is drawing power, messing up the charge rate of the battery. I like how the Engel sees 240V and disconnects itself from the 12V supply, unloading the battery and letting the charger do its thing properly.

That said, the Bushman draw 16A all day - that's 2A less than my Engel (1.5A for 12hours out of 24 = 18Ah per day). It's not a big saving and I prefer the convenience of the Engel.

There is a problem with the Engel though. Unlike the Bushman's "set the exact temp you want" (which would be bloody nice on the Engel) the Engel uses a very rough setting and you need a thermometer inside to keep track of where it is. Worse, if you are in the outback and have a warm day, you have to remember to dial the fridge back so it doesn't freeze everything during the night.

Another thing about my Engel - having a metal case, the radio signal from the wireless temperature sender doesn't travel very far, which is a pain in the ass. If I could get a fridge that had the reliability of the Engel, the insulative properties of the Evakool and the temperature control of the Bushman with the power options of the Engel and Waeco I'd have the perfect fridge.

 

[Ridgie]

Thanks Tony - appreciate the input and thinking.

What are the thoughts on the ARB range? The 35 or 47ltr probably suits my needs.

ARB Fridge Freezers | Products | ARB 4x4 Accessories

http://www.arbusa.com/uploads/PDF/newProductAdvice/FridgeFreezerSalesGuide.pdf


Joshman -sorry to hi-jack your thread mate!


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[Old.Tony]

Having checked the specs ... it's going to be my next fridge.

Mains power used when available, automatically? YES.

Danfoss compressor (equals low power consumption)? YES

Digitally choose the desired temperature? YES

Good thermal protection? YES

Strong sturdy construction? YES

Under voltage battery protection? YES

It doesn't really need the light telling you the compressor's running, but the warning light about undervoltage is nice.

That will be my next fridge, without a doubt. It has all the features I need for a reliable, low-power cooling unit that I can depend on in the outback.

 

[will]

the problem for me with ARB fridge is also a major sales point for them, and that is that the condenser unit is mounted within the inner wall of the fridge so half of the cooling is directed into the casing. the same way as Waeco has theirs. If you look at the condenser of an engel you can see daylight around the condenser and see that 100% of the cooling ability is within the fridge compartment.

Thoughts? anyone think that'd make any difference or am i on my own with that one?

 

[nathan96]

condenser unit is mounted within the inner wall of the fridge ...

Evakool wins here too. The compressor is mounted out side the fridge.

I always pondered why you'd put a hot compressor under something your trying to cool. There way around it is to call it a "Dairy compartment"

 

[Old.Tony]

I see your point on that one. The Engel's condenser is wholly within the inner chamber thus allowing both sides of the condenser to exchange heat energy with the interior of the fridge.

Would it really make a difference? This is the big question, but there's a bigger one (below).

I'd have to say yes (based on knowing a little about thermodynamics and how heat energy is transferred. Fridges work by pumping a very cool liquid into the inner space, allowing it to warm up (absorbing heat from that inner area) and then mechanically manipulate the liquid into dissipating that heat into the surrounding air.

The bigger question is this: does it make enough difference to matter?

I would suggest not. The condenser is made of metal (painted) and metal is a good conductor of heat. This metal will become cool (thus absorbing heat energy) and will transfer that to the liquid anyway. Exposing both sides of the metal to the inner chamber will improve the thermal conductance but I'd suggest that from a practical sense the improvement is only marginal.

The insulation around this would only amplify the effect. Once the temperature of the insulation near the condenser dropped to near or the same as the temperature of the condenser, it wouldn't transfer thermal energy in that direction at all, and the condenser would only transfer it from the inside. There will be some losses experienced by external heat making its way in through the insulation but that's going to be very, very small.

Having the condenser as part of the wall just protects it and the contents, to be honest. I worry that some muck is going to get in behind the condenser in my Engel and start the evolutionary process before I can remove it. It might even develop language skills, and I'd have to teach the fungus how to speak and write on forums like this.

So, you're not entirely alone, but I do think that there's little to be concerned about. Just my 2c!

 

[will]

As usual Tony you've explained yourself very well, and based on such a good explanation I want to agree. But I'm just not sure, I wonder if the flush mounting causes it to cycle on more due to the casing absorbing the cold (or heat) form the condenser(???). The current draw from them is almost the same in real world tests from what I've seen, I just wonder if they cyclic durations / frequency makes any difference - I have no experience with any other than my engel so I'm really just thinking out loud here. Makes you wonder though..... I guess there's no one size fits all.

 

[Old.Tony]

I can't draw on our Waeco upright in the caravan as a comparison. It's larger - 140L compared to the 60L capacity of the Engel - but more importantly it's an upright. This has other connotations that make the Engel superior but not for the reason you'd expect.

Being a chest fridge, the Engel (just like the ARB) is basically a box that the "cold" sits in. Cooler air is denser and happily falls. Open the lid of your chest fridge and you don't create too many problems.

Our Waeco, being an upright, opens from the side of the 'box', so when we open the door to get something out, there's an immediate rush of cool air that falls out of the fridge. We have a thermometer inside and you can tell when someone's opened the door - the temp rises by a couple of degrees!

That means our Waeco has to cycle longer and harder to bring the temperature back down. The fact that its condenser is hidden away inside the unit to make the surface smooth is not so much the problem, so I can't compare the two here.

I stand by my previous statement about the ARB chest fridge, though. My Engel is well and truly out of warranty, and if it claps out on me, I'm heading to ARB for its replacement, because that fridge ticks many more boxes for me than any other on the market.

I'll happily wear a small hit on condenser's heat exchange rate for the other benefits. Judging by the average power consumption of the ARB unit, it uses less power than the Sawafuji-driven Engel anyway - so it's going to be a real winner. Take a look at page 10 of that brochure. Over 24 hours that's a 7Ah difference, and for me - using a 50Ah deep cycle to drive it - that's a definite plus on the ARB fridge side.

 

[Ridgie]

Thanks Tony. Love your work.

ARB is winning the race for me.

Would anyone consider this?

Technical Parameter

Main Voltage (AC) V DC12V/24V, AC110-230V(by AC/DC adaptor)
capacity 50 Litre
compartments dual
temperature range Cooling to -18ºC @ 32ºC Ambient
power consumption 60W, 5amps on 12v DC
cooling unit DC12/24V compressor
insulation 50mm Polyurethane Foaming

 

[Old.Tony]

I know that's a Danfoss compressor unit, but they're not selling it well by claiming 60W (5A) draw when a chest fridge (like my Engel, at 1.5A or the ARB's claimed 1.4A) should draw a lot less on average. I'd bet that this one doesn't draw the 60W at all, that's just its maximum rating - they aren't doing it any favours selling it like that.

The lid looks a little thin to be good at insulation and it doesn't look like the lid is clasped firmly. On rough roads that could bounce open and cause problems, although being a chest fridge it won't be too bad. The handles on both ends make it easy to carry and to tie down, so that's a plus. They don't indicate that it auto-switches to 240V when that's available - this is a feature that Engel have had for years, and Waeco have only very recently woken up to and implemented in their fridges.

The unit is (at the moment) fairly cheap. If it doesn't closely approach the $1K mark it might be worth having.

 

[Leprechaun]

That Chinese Waeco copy has stated 60W 5Amps which is correct if measured with a meter while running.

Danfoss compressors can draw up to 5Amps under full load, ie when first turned on, as the fridge temp comes down the current draw reduces to around 4Amps. If it Cycles 50% that's the 2.5 Amps or better that most brands claim. As Old Tony said not doing them selves any favours there.

http://rc.danfoss.com/TechnicalInfo/literature/manuals/06/bd35f_r134a_12-24vdc_01-2008_ed100d402.pdf

 

[Ridgie]

The unit is (at the moment) fairly cheap. If it doesn't closely approach the $1K mark it might be worth having.

If it could be grabbed for a cheap price it would be okay for those weekenders, and a second/backup for the longer trips. If it got over $500 -$600 I would just go for an ARB.

Thanks Tony and Jase for you great information, knowledge and guidance.

 

[Nevyn]

Looks like one of the new Evacool fridges Ridgie, from memory they have a side opening lid but as for looking like the Weaco I reckon they're a little more solidly built.

Cheers Brad

 

[nathan96]

I'd say the condenser position argument is more a one about practicality then heat exchange which is probably negligible like tony concludes

Condenser part of wall = easy to clean, but hard/costly to replace if damaged?

Separate from wall = can get bits down there so harder to clean but will be easy to replace if damaged.

ARB have cleaning down pat - cant get bits down the side of condenser AND they have a bung hole

Evakool is next = does have a gap but has a bung hole so can easily be hosed out

Waeco = no gap (good) but no also bung hole (bad)

Engel = worst? has a gap + no bung hole

 

[Biscuits]

I'm looking at getting an Evakool 70l from Australian Direct, under $1000. Comes with free wireless digital thermostat and AC power apdapter.

Aussie made. 5 year warranty. Danfoss compressor.

Evakool 70L

 

[terryc]

The price seems good.
We paid about $1300 for ours from BCF. They were the only local outlet.
I'm not impressed with that power supply. A 240V to 24V one came with ours and it screwed drectly into the fridge/freezer. BCF sell the exact same PS. Personally I would not trust a fridge power supply that relied on a cigarette lighter sock at the plug will wiggle out and start sparking/get warm over time.

I puchsed two spare 12v power cords, cig plug to the screw part and replaced the cigarette plug on one with an 50amp Anderson plug so t connects straight into the CT batteries. This one was fine for carriage of the fridge/freezer in the walkway.

The other 12V will be treated similarly, but I will add 3-5metres of 2.5mmsquared cable from AndersonPower.com.au. that means it will be all copper and not partplastic as in "automotive" cable. The third will be kept for emergencies when I jst have to use the battery terminal clamps system.

Oh, we are happy with the Evakool 70l. Ran it rather solidly for nearly three weeks with water being frozen at one end (to go in icebox for veges and the other end was full of frozen meat.

Hint prefreeze in 1/2lite trays with double layer of plastic between each meal. Each of those 500ml containers held about three meals worth of meat for us.

The only thing I might have done, if the price was better was to consider tha ABR-sidewinder modded one where it runs off a thermometer rsther than 1 of 9 settings.(1-3 = fridge, 4-6 fridge/freezer and 7-0 = full freezer.

 

[Biscuits]

Yeah, i'm an electronics nerd by trade, so i will be removing all cigarette style plugs for something more capable.

As long as the Evakool itself is good at what it does i'm happy.

 

[Floydo]

Another good thing about the Engel

You can unscrew the cig plug and remove, and get an antivibration screw plug, great for those outback corrugated tracks. Had the Engel for 3 years, running well, dragged it all over the outback, only prob with the 40lt on a long outback trip is you can't get enough beer into it.

 

[Quityabitchn]

I have an Eva kool 60 ltr, have had it for about 10 years now. i can not fault it. It really depends on what room you have.