National Luna & Snomaster fridge discussion

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In the past NL was about low power consumption, sadly it seems a growing consensus with NL owners is they are not what they use to be, too many quality control issues and fridges failing well within 10years. Then SM decided there is more to life than power consumption and moved twords power, some like me don't care about power consumption, we want better cooling performance. The newer SM fridges were said to be in a class of their own vs. NL. Well now....NL have gone the same way and caught up...they have now a strong emphasis on cooling power. Both are regarded as the two top brands, NL are superior with regards to baskets, while SM are superior with value for money being made in china. SM are no longer available in aus. As mentioned NL have issues, SM however you never seem to read about them.
It's tempting to test a Trailblazer given their massive insulation and dual compressors.

So the two main things in these fridges that are very good are the insulation and the cooling, the cooling is just a reflection of the fact that in thermodynamics surface area is a major factor, the so called " 12 meters of copper pipes" I guess. However as great as these fridges are sadly they are exaggerated and misunderstood.

The job of insulation is to slow the heat ingress to such a point the compressor cylces on low duty cycle. However at 35-40 degrees C I can safely say my NL and SM fridges could clearly do with more, at a measly 15C they literally never cycle on, yet at 37C the NL was on 65 to 75% of the time.
There are some who like to tell you how quickly these fridges pull down the temps, usually with fridge empty, but sadly this is meaningless in the real world. You see air along with much of the material parts of the fridge can't hold much heat and so add in the superior cooling it's not hard to see why the temps get down soon quickly. But if your like me and want to cool drinks, it takes hours and hours in summer, due to water and many beverages high heat capacity. It takes a huge amount of energy to loosen the hydrogen bonds. So for me these cool down tests mean absolutely nothing.

The power consumption of the SM was on average 5 amps at 13.1v on low speed in 40degree heat. In high mode, over weeks of testing in spare time she showed she couldn't run reliable without overheating. Both the NL and SM run Soo hot on their high modes in summer the front control panels are almost too hot to keep my back of hand on. What about the little Engel???? Barely a few degrees above ambient...

The stainless SM was used as a food fridge full of fruit, veg, milk, orange juice, 2 liters of water, 6 cans, basically a well set up 2 person minimalist fridge. In a hot summer setting when the mercury hit 39 degrees by 10am and held that to 4pm, and didn't drop down to 26 until 3am, she drew 35ah over 24hours off my portable lithium system. Considering how many times it was opened and drinks were exchanged that is amazing low consumption. And if you take into account the sheer consistency of cooling, no warm food on top like an Engel would do, pretty amazing fridge.

The moral is these fridges are good, but over hyped, alot of claims about them like very low power consumption are unsound without context, at times they are guzzlers. My Engel has never given me a warm drink as long as the planning is done right.
 
Had 2 snomasters near a year now,both are good,the big one is a stand out actually,it's brilliant,you can barely hear them runningBC3E2926-BE70-4C0F-A262-D86C345067C4.jpeg630C849D-5C9F-4165-B8A8-23B75A4C6BFA.jpeg
 
Thanks, choosing and buying a fridge is next year’s decision. Absolutely no idea…
Don't bother with comparos, just buy an Engel - you'll thank me in a couple of decades!

Pro tip: buy a used one from about 15 years ago, with regular/constant usage since new. The 'only used at Xmas' machines tend to die young.

Look for one from before the red LED temperature displays arrived to complicate matters, 10 years ago. And don't be tempted by the very latest LCD touchscreen display with wi-fi, at present only available on the white 2022 60th Anniversary models - those won't last for the long run.
 
Don't bother with comparos, just buy an Engel - you'll thank me in a couple of decades!

Pro tip: buy a used one from about 15 years ago, with regular/constant usage since new. The 'only used at Xmas' machines tend to die young.

Look for one from before the red LED temperature displays arrived to complicate matters, 10 years ago. And don't be tempted by the very latest LCD touchscreen display with wi-fi, at present only available on the white 2022 60th Anniversary models - those won't last for the long run.
It depends on ya needs grubstake,id love an engel about 80-90 dual zone for our camper but there 80 combo is not a proper dual zone,compared to some there behind the times a bit with there larger fridge,if ya heading out for a while having a proper dual zone is awsome,frozen meat all one side,ya open that lid once a day usually,there smaller fridges yeah there the industry standard.
In our camper we've had a waco 2 door,had probs with it,then we bought a big dual zone evercool,it struggled packed full for extended trips,got a old plastic evercool 20yrs old that's still goin strong but found out later there 90 dual zone it's just a generic chinese fridge,was still goin but sold it.
Looked at the national lunas,even the trailblazer,there a nice bit of custom made gear as the fella above mentioned.
Would love a bigger engel as i said but there 80 is lacking compared to others,i'll duck and weave here for a few days from the the engel crowd,bloody fridges 😁
 
You could get 2 engals
1 as a freezer and 1 as a fridge, I have one of the plastic engals as well, so if I go on long trips that's how I do it. Only problem is battery outlets.
I have that covered though, my quad trailer has a 160 w solar and 120 amp deep cycle set up, and I also have an arc pack with a 105 arm and 160w solar.
I could pack my kings generator as back up....reminds me , I better start it up, been sitting for a year!
 
The old evercool fibreglass or yellow plastic fridges are awesome. I gave my fibreglass one to my son which would be 20+ years old and still going strong and bought a new evercool duel zone which was a big mistake. Rebranded Chinese crap that struggled and died within a year. I now have an Engel I bought second hand which works well though needs a travel bag and I still think is not as good as my old evercool.
 
You could get 2 engals
1 as a freezer and 1 as a fridge, I have one of the plastic engals as well, so if I go on long trips that's how I do it. Only problem is battery outlets.
I have that covered though, my quad trailer has a 160 w solar and 120 amp deep cycle set up, and I also have an arc pack with a 105 arm and 160w solar.
I could pack my kings generator as back up....reminds me , I better start it up, been sitting for a year!
Yeah running 2 for big trips,a cuppla months usually,car is 42 i think,so we can pack meat etc for 2 months nearly,half the big camper one is freezer and the car one as well,i like my meat 😂
It was engel or snomaster for the ute,only went SM cause i was buying one allready,my old yella evercool doesn't fit behind the spacecab seat really,needed something skinny 😩
Greg wilson,yep the old yella evercool is basic and awsome hey,the dual zone i got off them was 90 i think,lotsa capacity but up north a cuppla yrs ago pack to the brim it was near running 24/7,sounds like you had the same one?
 
Interesting info. I’m a little limited as I’m looking for something that‘ll fit in the tray of my Hilux, under the solid load-lid I have fitted. This very much limits the height of my choices - which thus far have been restricted to what I’ve seen in all the usual camping & 4wd outlets.

Anyone know if you can still get dry ice from BOC (or elsewhere)? For short hops, I’m still not averse to using one of my eskies with some dry ice under some newspaper (or is that something only those of a certain generation remember)?
 
Not trying to hijack this thread…
A couple of years ago when my 1975 model Engel ( the old yellow 39litre version ) went to fridge heaven we’ll the bin…
I bought a 75 litre dual zone Brass Monkey for $699 on special it worked great for the first 15 months then it had a shit fit I took it back to Jaycar they replaced it no probs as the model I bought was no longer made/stocked
The one I have has been running 24/7 as my beer fridge the only time it is turned off is (well it doesn’t turn off unless I take the backup battery out) when I take it from the house and put it in the truck and back again seems a good unit supposed to Aussie designed who really cares $699 on special and a 3 year replacement warranty
Just my 2 bobs worths
Cheers Nanjim
JimP
 
I've owned SnoMasters for about 4 years now and although they pull down fast On the Hi setting or running on AC they will chew more power than a full sized Domestic Fridge Freezer, On a cool down test using a 115Ah Deep Cycle battery I had to hook up the big wheeled Charger to keep up with the thing, It was pulling 109 to around 120w when running plus it turned up damaged so I sent that one back and then I bought a smaller 35L models and it can still give the House fridge freezer a run for the Money when it comes to eating power,

On it's low setting it is like the ARB 47L on a Bad Day and can rival the ARB 78L easily when set to -12*c, I still have it here but I am only going to use it when I go food shopping otherwise I will keep the little Dometic in the Van 24/7,

Another thing I hate about the SnoMasters is the Compressor Clunks with every tiny Pot hole in the road, and it's loud, That don't happen with either of the ARB's or the Little Dometic,

National Luna are good but over priced but you can't set the power level like you can on the SnoMasters,, Where as the Little Dometic it's power level adjusts to suit how cold you want it to be, which is clever because as you lower the temp you can here it speed up,

SnoMaster has not been available in the UK for the past 18 months 2 years because company who use to export them to the UK tried to dictate to the retailers what brands they were allowed to sell meaning they could only sell SnoMasters and when the 4x Shops said no the company that was sending them here would not supply the UK with them, Now the Main Dealer is looking to sell National Luna and a couple of other brands,


SnoMaster are powerful but the Compressor is too big when you only have limited sunshine with Solar and with the other faults they are just not worth it. I have seen the Little SnoMaster 35L pulling 113W when cooling down when it was 15/16*c In the Van which is Double what the ARB 78L uses and 3X what the Little Dometic uses.
 
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