Engel or Evakool

[JASE Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close JASE]

Whats your thoughts looking at a 60lt as we are a family of 4 and although i like the size as in bulk of a 45lt not sure it would be big enough,so who has the 60lt in either brand and whats your thoughts on performance and amount of room they take up in the back of the prado just having a bit of trouble deciding on one or the other cheers guys....Jase

[Matty R Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matty R]

I've been running a 70L evakool for a few years now and I can't fault it.

Their customer service is second to none! I rang them once with a few questions about the fridge and they were only to happy to take the time to talk to me.

My 70l doesn't fit that well in the back of my 150. It fits across the back of the seats, but not long ways. I'll be moving this fridge into my camper trailer and getting a smaller evakool for the car

[VXWesty Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close VXWesty]

I've got an Engel 60ltr which I find is the perfect size for my family of four. It basically takes up half of the rear cargo area but that still leaves enough room for plenty of other gear. I'm very happy with it, although I would like to see Engel come out with a digital thermostat.

VXWesty

[BigDog816 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BigDog816]

JASE,

I've been looking at fridges and as a part of it I've gathered a fair bit of info and looked at a number of things.

It started out looking at Fridge Slides, trying to pick one that currently suits my esky, but will be suitable for a the potential purchase of a fridge, also helpful for planning my drawer set. To do that I needed a fair idea of which fridge I wanted.

Anyway it started with a small spreadsheet which has evolved a bit, basically I though the engel's looked massive compared to the waeco's so I decided to check how much of the space the fridge takes up is useable to keep the beers cold.



I was looking at the 50-60L size from Ironman, Waeco, ARB, Engel, Primus, Trailblazer, The top few (of the brands and sizes I compared) just using the information provided on their websites and the advertised capacity.

Ironman 50L (46.08%)
Waeco CF50AC VERB (45.01%)
Waeco CF50ACDZ VERB (divider out) (45.01%)
Waeco CF-60AC VERB (44.85%)
Waeco CF50ACDZ VERB (divider in) (43.17%)
ARB 78L (41.41%)
Ironman 30L (38.56%)
ARB 60L (36.87%)
Engel MT80FP (36.84%)
Engel MT60FP (35.15%)

I didn't look at the evacools as the only one's I had seen were the esky with the compressor bolted on, I've now noticed they have a couple of units that look similar to the other brands so I might add them later.

Originally I was keen on the Primus Series III 60L Duo - has a fridge and freezer compartment, however when I did the numbers it came up at 30.35%, now the possible reason for that is that it has thicker insulation than the rest of them, but that's something I need to look at next (probably at the 4x4show this weekend). Right now I'm leaning towards the Waeco 50L Dual Zone as it is pretty space efficient and the divider is removable if I find out that we never use the separate fridge freezer, if they did a 60L Dual Zone my decision would pretty much be made.

Anyway hope that wasn't too much waffle, but if you want to see the spreadsheet PM me and I'll email it to you, it has info that I've found on Footprint, Volume, Capacity, Weight, Power Consumption, Price and Warranty There is also another tab where you can put in the base dimensions of the fridge and check the fridge slides it will fit.

[Rusty62 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rusty62]

Have 2 fridges. A 60lt Trailblazer that is now 12 years old and recently bought a second hand 39lt Autofridge. Both fridges serve their purpose very well. The Trailblazer has been all over Australia in several cars and is as tough as ever. The Autofridge is a utectic (not spelt right) and is better for lower power use, but great for the day trip. You are correct in looking for a 60lt for a family of 4.
Mounted the Trailblazer on a custom slide / storeage system and use the small Autofridge when needed, or in the Rav4 for day trips.
The best fridge is the one that suits you budget. Wacoe work well but build quality is budget. Engel are a proven product, have seen some that are 20+ years old and still running. Our Trailblazer is proving to be a great investment and Marg at Trailblazer backs her product with great service.
It always depends on your intended use (or abuse). Happy hunting.