12v fridges

[benno]

Hey fellas
We're looking at buying a 12/240v fridge and was just wondering what sort you guys use
A lot of our camping is over the weekend so looking for something that wont suck the guts out of the battery
probably about the 60lt mark would be nice
cheers all
Benno

[Teabag]

Engel, tried, tested and proven, I have 2 currently and never missed a beat. Previously had one that was 30 years old that also never missed a beat and is still running today.........I'm a big fan also of Trailblazer but if you need to move it regularly it can be a pain as they are quite cumbersome wrt weight. Another that I rate are Autofridge though come at a cost...........:)

[geoffjy]

I am running a 95lt Evakool and havnt had a problem yet. This is the first time i have used a 12v fridge for a few years, prior to this it was gas. I have had this one for about 10 months or so now and it hasnt skipped a beat. Even used it today out on the boat.

[yetti]

gday benno,

would have to agree with teabag, engel are the go in my opinion, on all counts.

the trailblazer, like teabag said are also excellent, but heavy. that said, i was drinking the perfectly chilled beer out of a trailblazer for a week recently, even restocking in the middle of the day, and within a couple of hours beer was icey cold. was well impressed.

an engel..... just turned on and adjusted to freezer, add a sixpack of stubbies (room temp) wrapped in their plastic packaging will take 1.5hrs to get to proper good drinking temp.

don't know how either of 'em go with food in them but!!??
cheers

[Nedly]

Hi benno,

I've got a 110 ltr Waeco, had it for a couple of years now and am very happy with it.
I know, 110 is bigger than you're looking at but I like to make sure I have enough cold beer :)
A mate has the 80 ltr Waeco and he's also very happy with it.

I don't like the lid on the smaller Waeco's, and personally wouldn't buy one.

I bought a Waeco over an Engel for a couple of reasons, one being cost, the other being I consider the plastic body of the Waeco to be a bit more forgiving than a steel body.

[campdog]

Dou yourself a favor and check out queensland made Trailblazer fridges.Tough as guts and money worth spent.
http://www.norcoast.com.au/
John

[Wayne]

Benno,

I have a 70 litre Explorer. http://www.explorerfridgefreezer.com/index.html
Very similar to the Trailblazer and have had no problems with it. Great fridge that has a proper freezer. More expensive than some other fridges but worth every cent!

I looked at many fridges but what pushed me towards the Explorer was it is built strong. All alluminium outside and fibreglass inside. And made right here in Brisbane.

[benno]

[QUOTE=yetti;7998]gday benno,


don't know how either of 'em go with food in them but!!??

Can you put food in them?
SSHH dont let my better half hear that
Thanks for the feedback fellas, have sent an email to explorer.
Have had an engel before and was happy with it, am curious to see how they have com along since then.
Thanks for the feedback fellas, will let you know which way we go
Cheers Ben

[highlift80]

Ive got a couple of waecos 50 ltr and 80 ltr I agree with Nedly they are an excellent fridge but I am not a big fan of the locking latch on the plastic lid on the 50/60 ltr with fairly constant use and kids or if you apply too much pressure when opening specially after a few too many cold ones as I once did it is easy to rip the latch off the steel rod it's pressed onto and once those little plastic tabs are stretched they are a throw job I am on the 3rd one in 5 years so I have a coupla spares just incase.

[Handy]

same as nedly i have the 110 waeco and has been running and kept in the back of my leaf sprung GQ for over 4 yrs now, only complaint is the cover has shrunk that much i have to sow velcro on it to get to cover properly. cheers

[Luke001]

I've got an 80l waeco. I've rolled the car at highway speed, stuffed the car and eveything in it, dented the cans and broke the beer in the fridge, broke the rope holding the fridge down, busted the latches holding the lid closed but she still goes as good as the day I brought it. Just had to replace the latch. It's an extream test for a fridge, wouldn't recomend it really.

[loxsmith]

I have a couple of heavy duty 100litre 12/240 volt Trailblaza aluminium fridges for sale. They are ideally suited to a tray back ute due to their physical size.
I think they are around the $2000 mark new, these are not pristine but are in excellent working order. One is currently keeping my beer cold on the deck.

Make me a sensible offer !!!!!!!

Glen

[benno]

Hey Glen would you have some pics, have heard they are a great fridge.
Cheers Ben

[campdog]

Hey Glen would you have some pics, have heard they are a great fridge.
Cheers Ben

The best you can get,work under water,mine did anyway.

[geoffjy]

The best you can get,work under water,mine did anyway.

Do they have a sealed motor do they campdog?

[campdog]

Do they have a sealed motor do they campdog?

I dont know about that.They run the danfross motor.Mine wouldnt run for a little while after Nolans Brook but a can of inox and a mouthful of abuse she fired up.Still fine now and running in the shed.That sinkng was July 06.
Tough as nails and keeps the beer cold.They can be serviced by any refrigeration mechanic.
Yhey must be sealed as it was well and truly waterlogged.
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k259/campdog_photos/100_0948.jpg

[bingham]

i have the evakool 47 fridge freezer, run almost every day for 5 yrs... runs great and day it ever packs up i have a 47 l ice box!

evakool or engal, waecos no thanks, feel and look so cheap!

[ant]

Got a call from my brother a few nights ago. He has an Engel 45lt and recently saw a Waeco 80lt on sale at Anaconda. After running the Waeco for a few days, it couldn't compete with the Engel. He is taking it back and trying to get his money back so he can buy an Engel instead.

I cannot comment on the two as I have not run them side by side. That might be something that I can organise for a trip to Cape York this year.........

[geoffjy]

A recent fishing trip i went on, a guy had a Waeco and swore by it that its the best you could get. Even after a a handle snapped, and on the freezer setting it was only getting down to about 6 degrees and at night too.

Also at point it stopped working altogether and he had to press a little button to bypass the computer part of the system.

I am definitely not going near them after that.

[Nedly]

A recent fishing trip i went on, a guy had a Waeco and swore by it that its the best you could get. Even after a a handle snapped, and on the freezer setting it was only getting down to about 6 degrees and at night too.

Also at point it stopped working altogether and he had to press a little button to bypass the computer part of the system.

I am definitely not going near them after that.

I'm surprised at that, as I've said earlier, we have the Waeco 110 and have had no problems.
When in use we run it at 2°, great.
The fridge must be full though, otherwise performance does drop off.
I carry some wine bladders (empty) and, if needed, I inflate and put in fridge, problem solved.

[geoffjy]

I'm surprised at that, as I've said earlier, we have the Waeco 110 and have had no problems.
When in use we run it at 2°, great.
The fridge must be full though, otherwise performance does drop off.
I carry some wine bladders (empty) and, if needed, I inflate and put in fridge, problem solved.

I was surprised as well. I thought they were better unless it was just a once of sort of thing. It was a 110 litre as well and we filled it up with ice cold premix cans and i thought it would hold that temp but it didnt. Even when half full it still didnt get any colder.

[loxsmith]

Hey Glen would you have some pics, have heard they are a great fridge.
Cheers Ben

Sorry Ben, things are just outa control here at the moment, will get you a pic when I get back from this little drive!

Glen

[Handy]

something not right there geoffjy.
as i said earlier my 110 waeco runs like a dream full or empty.
i have heard they are a bit touchy if the wire is to thin. cheers

[ant]

You are dead right Handy,
We tested a new model fridge/freezer up in the Cape last year and if the distance between the battery and the fridge was too large and the wires were too thin then there was a voltage drop and a problem running the fridge.

[geoffjy]

something not right there geoffjy.
as i said earlier my 110 waeco runs like a dream full or empty.
i have heard they are a bit touchy if the wire is to thin. cheers

Thats what i thought except we had it plugged into 240 power as well as 12v and it didnt make any difference to the running of the Waeco.

[barney]

We love our Waeco - runs 24/7 from 240v as a second freezer, then runs no worries off the battery set up when we go camping - keeps everything frozen - perfect. Bought ours direct from Waeco over the internet, great service, great price, got a fridge cover thrown into the deal, delivered by courier all the way from Gold Coast to Weipa for very reasonable cost. Very happy.

[campdog]

You are dead right Handy,
We tested a new model fridge/freezer up in the Cape last year and if the distance between the battery and the fridge was too large and the wires were too thin then there was a voltage drop and a problem running the fridge.Thats easily fixed. I ran one 180amp welding lead from my positive side of the battery to the rear of the patrol and used anderson plugs.I just ran a stort one for the earth to the chasis. Been there since 2002 and definetly no voltage drop.
John

[benno]

180A lead should deliver enough, how many fridges are you running lol.
How are you going with the flooding. Best of luck just in case.

[bushpig59]

My 5 cents worth (only coz you cant get 2 cents anymore)

I have 3 Waeco Fridges the 50litre which has been in the back of the 80 series in 70degree C Heat + and still was no problems (typical Victorians always bragging and Bulldusting)
A 40 litre my lovely Missus won it through 4WD Action MAg and the central console 15 litre was a freebie.... They all work.......fine

However (always an escape clause with Vics:rolleyes: ) my mate Ron has the same 50 Litre Waeco and its not working properly on 12volts:confused: We bought it at the 4x4 Show Melbourne same time.....

My Sister and Bro in Law had a 3 way fridge from Engel had it for 5000 years been to Brissy MElb Geelong Karratha Broome fine bit the dust I even borrowed it one Easter....bloody brillant They Bought another Engel...

Me I cant afford the Engel took a chance on the Waeco ;)

[outbackjack]

I have just brought a Waeco and cant say I am impressed. It is the 40l model.

It took forever to freeze and even then it was uneven. Ie some things frooze others didnt.

It has its own dedicated power supply etc.

I will be buying a engel when i can afford it. Waeco are not even in the same league IMHO.

Oh 4yo found out how to break crappy plastic catch.

[Teabag]

I have just sold one of my 40ltr Engels which I'm about to replace with a 75ltr Autofridge. After much research, consultaion and measuring the space for the fridge this one came out infront by a fair margin. It is by far the most economical fridge for it's size on the market........Only problem, it's not cheap.......:rolleyes:

[loxsmith]

I have just brought a Waeco and cant say I am impressed. It is the 40l model.

It took forever to freeze and even then it was uneven. Ie some things frooze others didnt.

It has its own dedicated power supply etc.

I will be buying a engel when i can afford it. Waeco are not even in the same league IMHO.

Oh 4yo found out how to break crappy plastic catch.

Take it back while you've still got the chance.

[loxsmith]

I have just sold one of my 40ltr Engels which I'm about to replace with a 75ltr Autofridge. After much research, consultaion and measuring the space for the fridge this one came out infront by a fair margin. It is by far the most economical fridge for it's size on the market........Only problem, it's not cheap.......:rolleyes:

I looked at Autofridge when I went fridge shopping years ago, couldn't afford it at the time. They seem to have the best system/power consumption avail.

Usual story, you get what you pay for.

Glen