Engel vs Waco

[Nightjar]

Have bought two Engels, a 39 litre back in 1983 and a 80 litre combo in 2008, BOTH still going strong. Old yellow had a capacitor replaced in 2012 because I was silly enough to run it on 240V generator and it ran out of fuel.
In the same period of time two of my mates have spent money on 6 other makes including Waeco and still say they wouldn't buy an Engel because they are too expensive.
6 x other makes x approx $800.00 = $4800.00 + cost of replacement inverters on all models. (Price unknown)
2 x Engel = $2500.00 + $100.00 for capacitors.

Sure know what my advice is. ENGEL without any doubt what so ever.

 

[rc62burke]

Hi All
I have been a chescold 3 way man for 15 years, I bought an Engel 40l in 2012 & I am so impressed with it I am looking at replacing the 2 x 60l chescolds with engels in the camper trailer they really are that good they can pull down to freezing from 40 deg in 15 mins, bloody brilliant bit of gear IMHO
cheers
Lee

 

[Guest]

Been watching to many 4x4 action videos where Shawno keeps telling us how good the waeco's are. Reading some of the comments in this thread has me leaning towards a steel Ingal over the Waeco now

A lot of stuff was built well years ago so not sure how good the newer Ingals will turn out to be. (Are they still built tough like the old ones?)

Any recommendations about the best size to get? Going to fit in the back of a Prado and used for camping for 2-3 days every second month. Thinking 50-60 ltr.

 

[condor22]

I agree Jin, No offence to Pat Callinan, Jason and Simon or Penny Wells, I enjoy their shows, but a large part of their production costs are met by sponsors. They get gear to test out there, some at cost a lot for free. It's advertised extensively during the shows and in the credits, and the first 2 shows are on Network TV. Of course they hammer them in the bush, but you'll rarely hear about breakdowns or replacements, that's not "good advertising".

Perhaps Engel not being used in most if not all of these shows is because their reputation doesn't need it.......

Professional advertising tells us what's out there, for me the decision I make is listening or reading comments from the average user, like me, who has to pay for what we buy with hard earned cash. Along with assessing specs and $ value.

The thing I find most interesting in my situation is that I've had 3 household fridges bugger up within 10 or so years, one of them less than a year after the warranty ran out and all good brands. They sit in a relatively good climate control in the kitchen, never move and hopefully behave themselves. Yet my 23 year old Engel has sat in the vehicle in 50+ C, bounced through the Flinders, ferried to Tassie, frozen bulk soup in winter and always kept the beer cold. Perhaps I should take the home fridge out more often

 

[condor22]

Re $ value, I paid $990 for mine in 1992 so at the moment its cost me $43 a year or less than a $1 a week. That's value....

 

[slowflow]

See if you can find power consumption figures, it becomes important if you run off battery for a couple of days or use solar support.
Engel uses way less than my chinese clone, especially as a freezer. Run times seem about the same but current draw for the clone is about 70% more. The clone uses Danfoss compressor and the Engel a swing type. My clone is only 5 & Engel 7 y.o.

 

[condor22]

My power figures are on another thread, but for the sake of ease; 30lt Engel -

Ambient 25C = 25AH over 1 day, so a fraction over an average of 1AH

Ambient 40C - 25AH from 8am to 4pm (it was nearer 50C in the car) The consumption overnight will reduce so I estimate between 50 and 65 AH on such a day. I wasn't prepared to hammer my battery with such a load at least without solar assist. But in doing that I defeat the test.

So when very hot they work a lot harder, but so will every other fridge in the country lol. It also shows that when very hot you need to charge when driving and if you are camped up, you need solar connected or at least genny to charge 2-3 times a day.

Edit :- Almost forgot, I checked an overnight use when about 1-2 deg ambient. 3AH from 6pm to 6am. So when nearer zero outside, the Engel uses bugger all.

 

[Neo__04]

Recently went through the decision making process of buying a fridge myself.

Engel vs Waeco will be a holden vs ford thing forever and a day.

My dad has a 50L waeco and a 120L waeco. Both 10 years old and have performed flawlessly.

I have never had an engel so cant say anything about them.

I ended up buying a 65L Waeco and I absolutely love it.

30 Degrees over the weekend detecting and the fridge was quite happing keeping the beers plus all the food down to 1 degree.

Very happy with my purchase.

65L waeco & bag, $1100

 

[goldtruck59]

Been watching to many 4x4 action videos where Shawno keeps telling us how good the waeco's are. Reading some of the comments in this thread has me leaning towards a steel Ingal over the Waeco now

A lot of stuff was built well years ago so not sure how good the newer Ingals will turn out to be. (Are they still built tough like the old ones?)

Any recommendations about the best size to get? Going to fit in the back of a Prado and used for camping for 2-3 days every second month. Thinking 50-60 ltr.

Hey jin

Mate I think your gut instinct will hold you in good stead.
I have had a bit to do with these 4wd shows and I can tell you it is suss. Mate they push what they are paid to push.
Ron and Viv Moon are very credible . They uses Engel for good reasons. As did the late Malcolm Douglas whom I also knew.
With your Prado, the 60 is too big unless you are going to put it on the floor. The 40 would suit you well and give you room for your other gear..
Go with Condor22's comments, he is on the money in his views. IMHO
GT

 

[Nightjar]

30 Degrees over the weekend detecting and the fridge was quite happing keeping the beers plus all the food down to 1 degree.

That is a heap of wasted power, maintain 3 (which is the norm for your home fridge) and you'll save a lot of AH's.

Engel advice - Do not wind up the control to "flat out" if using as a freezer, it will not cycle, even through the night.
Back it off a touch and then it will cycle and still maintain a frozen state and your battery will breath a sigh of relief.

 

[thedigger]

Hi Peter
I do not know whether I am do it right,but during the day with plenty of power from the panels I set very low,and turn it off for the night,in the morning it is in the range of -4 degrees.
Regards Frank

 

[davent]

I cool my primus before I go on house power, then set at 3 deg C.
According to the book, it will draw .76 amph at this setting, less if its not being opened and shut all the time.
I have done a 5 day trip in my old boat, had a 60hp honda, duel battery set up with 110amph hybrid battery, was still going strong back at my house on the trailer at 10pm day 6. Great fridge, not sure what the new ones are like, they have gone plastic box too now.

 

[davent]

Recently went through the decision making process of buying a fridge myself.

Engel vs Waeco will be a holden vs ford thing forever and a day.

My dad has a 50L waeco and a 120L waeco. Both 10 years old and have performed flawlessly.

I have never had an engel so cant say anything about them.

I ended up buying a 65L Waeco and I absolutely love it.

30 Degrees over the weekend detecting and the fridge was quite happing keeping the beers plus all the food down to 1 degree.

Very happy with my purchase.

65L waeco & bag, $1100

See how good the Waeco goes in a hot climate all the time, there are plenty of sponser shows up here in Darwin, and I know heaps of ex waeco owners who now are Engal owners, they really are worth the extra few dollars.
Other factors besides compressors are that the better fridges have element s on more than one surface, all sides or, 2 sides , cheaper fridges only cool on one side. Thickness of the lid and quality of the seals. Primus has the best lid of them all, its thick, and segmented, also has quality seals.

Having said all that, there does seem to be plenty of happy waeco owners around as well so if it does what you need it to do, and the price is right, then go for it.

Now open a waeco and look at the lid, frdges lose a lot of efficiancy through the lid.

cheers, dave.

 

[davent]

.

ok, so shes not pretty, and shes not an engal, but its always cold, good fridge imo, and now 4 years old and going great.
Note the honey comb , thick lid, and thickness of the walls, very well insulated, stainless steel box, so its tuff, also check out the seal, only problem with the seal, is after you open it, you need to wait about 5min before you CAN open it again, the suction is sooo great!

 

[condor22]

Here's the thing with temperature;

All fridge temperatures will vary depending on ambient temp, amount of food and drink in them and how often they are opened. Fortunately unlike household fridges with vertical doors, most mobiles have a lid on top, so don't lose too much cooling if the lid is briefly opened. (Not too often)

Re how full they are; Once what is in the fridge is at the temperature the fridge is set to, it acts like a "heat bank" in as much the food helps maintain the temperature longer when the fridge cycles off. However it does require some circulation of cold air, so "chock a block" is not the most efficient. I find that full with odd shaped packaging leaves enough % space for that. But avoid repackaging with containers to use every last cc of space.

The last item is ambient temp; The hotter it is, the more the compressor will work, the colder it is the less it will work. If I set my Engel to run at as near to 2 C as I can during a hot day, overnight it will freeze. So I adjust it before going to bed. Equally it will need to be re adjusted in the morning.

As I said, my Engel is 23 yrs old, it doesn't have a digital display. I have tried wireless temp gauges, they chew AAA batteries 5 at a time. So I now use a wired Digital gauge, the probe is in the Engel with 1 battery, the display in my centre console. I get about 12mths out of the battery. After years of experience, I've noticed how the temperature can vary at times.

The cover on the fridge is insulated and does help maintain temp as well as protect the casing, as I said it still looks new.

Food safety for refrigerated food (not frozen) is between 0 and 4 deg C. I've found my Engel can vary a couple of degrees above or below where I generally set it. So if I set it at 4 it could go up to 6 before I notice. This is why I choose to set as near as 2 as I can because it's in the centre of the range.

Even so, I check the temp of the fridge at least a half a dozen times a day. When I was in SE Asia in the forces, I got a dose of Salmonella, I've no wish to repeat the experience.

 

[davent]

I set mine at 3 deg, and the display usually varies from 2 to 4 during the day, and 1st thing in the morning its dead on 3. Mine has been running out side under shade, in Darwin 24/7 a few days before x mas till now. Temp has been pretty constant of 35 highs, down to about 27 lows.
Never had salmonella, and never want it either, also ex army, spent loads of time in SE asia with and after army, have had several bouts of Bali belly, Bundung Belli, Jakarta Jogs, Hatyal Hurdles, Songkhla sliders....

 

[condor22]

You missed the Penang Puke and the Butterworth Barf

I guess it depends where you are Davent, look at your ambient range of 27 to 35, it's only 8 deg differential. I've been where it's 32 to 35 daytime, but sub zero at night.

The ambient differential can be 30 to almost 40 deg. Even in the GT in Oct/Nov it can be 25 daytime and 2 deg at night again a substantial difference.

 

[davent]

i dream of cool nights now.....

 

[condor22]

i dream of cool nights now.....

After the last month here in Adelaide, hell yeh....

 

[davent]

did notice it was warm down that way.
one of my work mates was down there for x mas, said he was glad to be back in Darwin, but it was raining when he said it!

Limpalot, have you made a call on your fridge, 2 horse race, even between the Engal and waeco it seems. Was in BCF yesterday, both brands well represented there and good specials on both.