CAR FRIDGE, WHICH IS BEST

[eerfree Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close eerfree]

Picked up a Waeco catalogue from the Show yesterday, along with all the Waeco goodies they are advertising Dometic Finch absorption COOLERS and Dometic Chescold Absorption fridge/freezers as well as their own absorption coolers all 3 way powered.
Just makes it a little harder to decide!!!

Bob

[Chippy Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chippy]

Didn't you have to drive across Australia to get it? What don't they have em in WA?

Cheap as chips on the Gold Coast. Thanks Pedro. :wink:

Cheers
Chippy

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Antiquis temporibus, nati tibi similes in rupibus ventosissimis exponebantur ad necem

That's a bit nasty isn't it? Something about good old days and windswept crags

[Chippy Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chippy]

"In olden days children like you would be left on windswept crags to perish"

I use it to test my students on their latin :lol: :lol: :lol:

Cheers
Chippy

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

my stock digital readout tells me my beers are at 0.8 degrees.. just the way i like them 8)

my old man has a cb50 waeco.. and was suprised that i hadnt hooked up the car for 3 days and the aux battery still had over 12v in it. :wink:

i was " " that close to buying a waeco..


143 cans.. bloody hell.. then again you are carting around 4 or 5 passengers on your trips arnt u chippy?

[IRON-PAWW Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close IRON-PAWW]

Jeez this is looking dangerous for the plastic..

I've just picked up a BCF brochure with info on their current sale.

Engel MT455 40L (2.5 amp power draw)

Baked Enamel coating
3 yr Manufacturer warranty
Transit Bag (looks like one of those insulating covers)
1 x 8L Thermoelectric cooler/warmer
1 x Picnic Set.
1 x Lock and Lock Discovery Pack (no idea what this is???)
1 x Golf Umbrella
1 x Thermometer (Digital, on lead for reading fridge temps)
1 x Cap (Engel badged)
1 x Beanie
2 x Stubby Holders (now you're talking)
1 x Pen


All for $1199.00.


I've seen just the fridges sitting on this price for quite a while now from various places. Ranger Camping to name one.

Has anyone seen the 40L Engels cheaper than this??

I've come perilously close to getting a 40L Engel before but held off for a good deal to come around. Really all I'm after is the Fridge plus the cover. All the other stuff looks pretty damn cheap if you ask me and I'm not that worried by it.

Just wanted to know what you guys think of this deal before I kill the card......

EDIT: did a little research and found an interesting article comparing the 40L Engel, National Luna and Waeco.

http://www.4xforum.co.za/?showconten...l%5B_id%5D=338

[mersenne Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mersenne]

Always had Engels for work. 40s and 60s, though went Waeco cf60.
It is soooo a matter of your own needs. Influences on getting the Waeco were for us, standing room with bottles of drink and using the dividers horizontally to keep the separation of frozen and chilled foods in the fridge when it's set to -3 to -5 on LO consumption settings. It's a new generation Waeco with no Turbo option as it's all built in now. We use a Marine-Century aux batt and all is still frozen on the 3rd evening. I like both Engels and Waecos, just right now the Waeco suits us better.

Pete

[Yorkes Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Yorkes]

has any got or know how the chescold's go/operate.
from just doing a general search on the net, people are sitting on the fence with their response
:?:

I have the Chescold 50L 3 WAY, 'blue one', have used with and without the freezer divider, the only issue i've encountered so far setting the temperature. It got down to -9 C on mains power and that was not its coldest setting, on switching to gas at campsites i've had to turn the temp. up as it runs very efficiently and i unfortunately sacrificed a few beers to frozen heaven and had to thaw the bacon on its first outing. I have not run the fridge on only the 2nd battery for longer than a day. It maintained temperature with no issues, not sure how it would go over a longer period, but that's the beauty of gas haven't had to worry. Might have to experiment in the carport with a carton of beer drink one per day until too warm to drink. Mind you it wouldn't be subject to multiple open/close so it could skew the results.
Height is not an issue in the back off the Prado however i'm yet to find a satisfactory method of strapping it down, as it has no Bar handles and i'm concious of squashing the seal if strapped across the lid. Hopefully I can work this into a drawer design of some sort.

At the end of the day we choose the Chescold due to being away for 5-10 days at a time, and the ability to run off LPG 9kg bottle = 20 days approx. We have ben very happy with its performance to date.

Got Rays outdoors to quote on it with the 7% off they offer members then went to Annaconda ( thanks to a post by fellow PPer) and they beat competitors by 10%. I know the price has come down since we got it late last year but the same principle would apply. Paid $1100.

(also it does not come with the in car adapter only the plug which fits into the fridge, simply bought a lead and cut supplied plug off and changed it)

[IRON-PAWW Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close IRON-PAWW]

Just a question for Engel owners. I had my recently purchased Engel 40L in the lounge room running to see if it was going to blow up in the first week. It didn't, thankfully. Not that I really expected it to. Anyway I had it on 2_1/2 and it froze the container of water I had put in there as a test. Like, nowhere near the actual freeze setting on the dial. Does that sound right to you guys? Seems a little 'early' on the dial to be freezing things.

Two things though. It's was a cold winter week where the outside temps never really pushed past 18C anyhow. I had the insulating transit bag fitted. Do you think in the middle of summer in the back of the Prado the settings will be about right?

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

its relative paww..

car fridges need adjustments to maintain a nice temperature.

More power is needed when warmer to keep it cold. the dial isnt a temperature setting, its a power setting more or less.

when away i usually back mine off at night, and back up in the morning. Its vital when you have softdrink in there as you dont want it to freeze overnight.

you cant count on the setting on any given day.

as a general rule, in a 22-35 degree environment, if i left it alone (as i did for months, just plugging it in at night thru a window) i could leave it on about 2.8 and it maintained the cans at 0.5-3 degrees.(0.5 if left undercover, and 3 if left out in the north queensland sun)

[yetiboy01 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close yetiboy01]

3 degrees for beer :?: I hope you dont drink warm beer :?: My Waeco is set on 3 & chills the beer to -4 :P just perfect after a hard day playing in the fourby, I use a electronic fridge thermometer to check the temp
I have to make sure the kids dont put in their soft drinks as they freeze, ha ha

The kids were playing with the fridge & set it to 5, next day al the beer was frozen, checked the temp: -27 deg, at least I know it works well as a freezer.

One way to keep your fridge as a beer fridge, tell the missus that it freezes every thing, she wont want to put her veggies in when they come out frozen

its relative paww..

car fridges need adjustments to maintain a nice temperature.

More power is needed when warmer to keep it cold. the dial isnt a temperature setting, its a power setting more or less.

when away i usually back mine off at night, and back up in the morning. Its vital when you have softdrink in there as you dont want it to freeze overnight.

you cant count on the setting on any given day.

as a general rule, in a 22-35 degree environment, if i left it alone (as i did for months, just plugging it in at night thru a window) i could leave it on about 2.8 and it maintained the cans at 0.5-3 degrees.(0.5 if left undercover, and 3 if left out in the north queensland sun)

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

For what its worth I have head a sheet of ply in the bottom will stop the beer freezing.

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

For what its worth I have head a sheet of ply in the bottom will stop the beer freezing.

Whats with that Pedro?? What brand of fridge?

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

Just a question for Engel owners. I had my recently purchased Engel 40L in the lounge room running to see if it was going to blow up in the first week. It didn't, thankfully. Not that I really expected it to. Anyway I had it on 2_1/2 and it froze the container of water I had put in there as a test. Like, nowhere near the actual freeze setting on the dial. Does that sound right to you guys? Seems a little 'early' on the dial to be freezing things.

That sounds about right. I can't run mine any higher than about 1.5 or it starts freezing. Summer or winter doesn't seem to make much difference, only obviously it runs a bit more to keep the temp down on the hotter days.

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

For what its worth I have head

Lucky :lol: :lol:

a sheet of ply in the bottom will stop the beer freezing.

Does this really work.