December 2005
I thought I would share with
you my research into choosing a mid size portable fridge/freezer.
(This is a 2 page subject, click on the link at the bottom of this page to go to the second page.)
Let me say from the start, I have absolutely no connection or interest in
any way whatsoever with any fridge manufacturer, importer or retailer.
All my comments and conclusions, correct or otherwise, have absolutely no
commercial bias.
I am not physically testing any fridges, I am simply gathering information
from a range of sources in order to make an accurate comparison which will
enable me to make an informed decision. It is my summary of the information from the technical people who
design, build or repair them and the components that go into them, from component
manufacturers technical articles and from patent documents.
|
Feb 06 - All information on this page is accurate to the best of my
knowledge to this date but due to constant changes in the market place, you
will need to check with the supplier. I will update this web
page as new info is presented to me.
I have been asked to expand the range of models reviewed and I may do so in
the near future but considerable time is needed to do justice to the
project, time that I do not have at the moment, so for the moment only
corrections and changes to the present subject matter will be undertaken.
If you are doing your own research and/or you are ready to purchase, go to a company that actually does the repairs too.
It is well worth a look through the Yellow Pages to track down such a
business.
If you live in the Brisbane/Gold Coast area I highly recommend Gas &
Portable Refrigeration and speak with Doug on 07 5593 4066.
It stands to reason that you will get much better advice than from a store that
sells car parts, tents or fishing rods.
Be wary of information from sales staff in such places, it can be very unreliable
and be equally wary of magazine articles.
(
I very rarely buy magazines because of
the amount of inaccuracy written by "journalists" often with nary
a clue about their subject.
I did however just purchase a four wheel drive magazine (Feb 06) because it
had a listing of some products I was interested in looking into. In
this magazine is a review of some portable fridges.
In there is an interesting description of how the eutectic system works,
"Instead of having metallic heat exchange plates, its walls are filled
with a fluid that freezes when an electric current is passed through
it." Wow, I hope they have patented that one, all
the eutectic systems I know have refrigerant lines passing through the
fluid, looks like this new system has done away with the compressor.
In this same article we are told of the Waeco, "They are all
constructed with steel chassis and roto-moulded plastic exteriors."
Well actually the 80 & 110 litre models have a steel body, but up to 60
lit, "The fridge body is polypropylene ... The compressor is mounted on to a rigid injection moulded polycarbonate base plate.",
Waeco's national technical manager told me when I was researching info for this web site.
Also in the same article, the description of the Explorer is, strictly
speaking, not accurate, you cannot "...turn either off...".
Unfortunately, this type of misleading information is not uncommon.)
(Feb 06 Judging by the number of emails I have received in
the short time this has been on-line, this is a very popular subject and the
info presented here has been well received. Thank you for all
the emails and yes a conclusion will be published soon.)
We decided it was about time we invested into a medium size portable fridge/freezer
to carry around in the back of the Jackaroo to supplement the 90 litre
3-way fridge in the caravan.
Before I started this project I was certain that I would be purchasing an Engel fridge and that this
investigation was just a formality but now I am not so certain.
Our requirements are . . .
Size constraints of L=765mm x W=500mm x H=535mm dictated a fridge capacity
of 40 - 50 litres.
It must be a compressor type, not an absorption type gas/electric nor peltier thermo-electric.
If you are after a fridge/freezer or a fridge with a low average power
consumption, you must be looking at a compressor type unit.
You could consider a 3-way absorption type 12VDC/240VAC/gas fridge but the modern
Danfoss compressor powered fridge and Engel are much better performers, draw so
little power and are so much safer and convenient to use.
The thermo-electric types do not perform as well as either of the
others. Power consumption is high, particularly for what they
achieve, they can not freeze and can only cool to 20ºC (to a maximum of 30ºC on better quality brands)
below ambient temperature.
They can heat to maximum of around 60ºC.
Unfortunately generally speaking, they neither get cold enough or hot
enough the safely store food. (Safe food storage temperature is
below 4ºC and above 65ºC)
However, a better brands like the Waeco could be useful in an air conditioned
vehicle to keep drinks cool while driving (but make sure it wired through
the accessory position on the ignition switch unless you have a dual
battery set-up).
Only a compressor type can pull the temperature down quickly and to better
than 50 ºC below
ambient, also average DC power consumption is considerably lower.
It is difficult
to quantify since the cooling capabilities are vastly different but to say
they would consume only 20% over a 24 hour period would be realistic.
In absolute terms, the
absorption type's heater draws around
12A and thermo-electric types around 5-7A compared to a compressor type around
3-5A.
The big difference as far as power consumption is
concerned is the absorption and most thermo-electric types will be running
the whole 24 hours regardless of ambient temperature whereas the compressor
type will be cycling on and off.
Except for the evaporative fridge, the table below is what I consider to be a fair average
comparison of units I have been involved with.
| |
Compressor |
Absorption |
Thermo-electric
*** |
Evaporative |
| Minimum
Temp |
-20ºC
and lower |
Can
Freeze |
+1
to +5º C |
|
| Below
Ambient |
>50ºC |
<40ºC
some <25ºC |
15ºC
to claimed 30ºC |
Up
to 12ºC
See note |
| Power
Consumption
|
3
- 7A
for 12V operation |
12A+
for 12V operation |
5A+
(tiny drink coolers less) |
Nil
Works by total loss
evaporation of water. |
| Cycling |
Yes
Up to 50ºC ambient. |
Not
on 12 V |
In
theory, yes
Often thermostat is for decoration only.
May cycle in Polar regions. |
NA |
Comparative
DC power consumption over a
24 hr period |
15-20% |
100% |
60%
A deceptive figure because it isn't achieving much. |
NA |
| Time
to lower temp |
Fast |
Slow |
Very slow |
See
note |
| Cost |
Dearest |
Mid
price to dear |
Cheapest |
Cheapish |
| Operating
angle |
+/-
30º |
Must
be level |
No
operational limit. |
Vertical |
| Best
feature |
Performance |
Versatile
with limitations. |
Cheap |
No
power needed. |
| Uses |
A
real fridge / freezer |
Can
run on gas |
When
you don't really need a fridge.
Can also heat. |
Probably
no longer available
See photo below. |
| Notes |
Best
performance by a mile. |
Best
suited to gas and 240VAC |
Put
the money toward a compressor type. |
Effectiveness
depends on ambient temp and humidity. |
*** Better
quality, more expensive thermo-electric units like the Waeco should be a
little better than I have indicated here.
Have a look at this Choice
comparison from 2003, their figures are broadly comparable to my table
above.
(If this link is no longer valid, do a Google search and select cached page)
The adjacent photo
is of an Easicool evaporative fridge fitted to some campervans and small
caravans back in the 60's. If anyone reading this has any
personal knowledge of these fridges, I would be pleased to hear from you.
Since there are only two compressor types commonly available, the Engel's
Sawafuji swing compressor and the German Danfoss 12/24V BD35F/BD50F compressors,
this makes the choice somewhat easier.
Update,
May 06
There is another compressor on the market now fitted to the latest Bushman
fridge. I have included some info on that in page two of
this article. See
Bushman update.
Only Engel uses the Sawafuji swing compressor, every one else uses the
Danfoss compressor.
The only exception to this that I am aware of is the Reefer PR series which use a 240VAC Mitsubishi compressor driven from a DC>AC
inverter. (Their DR and RT series are Danfoss powered.) Good performance but power hungry compared to Engel's
Sawafuji swing compressor and the German Danfoss 12/24VDC BD35F/BD50F
compressors.
| See the warnings at the bottom of
page 2.
|
| Danfoss Compressors & Controllers |
The Danfoss BD F series compressors uses an electronically commutated permanent magnet
variable speed brushless DC motor and must
be used in conjunction with a Danfoss
controller as shown in the photo.
These are purpose built compressors designed specifically to be operated
from 12/24VDC for mobile refrigeration.
There are two types of controllers to choose from, the standard power
module (101N0210) or the Adaptive Energy Optimizing module (101N0300).
The AEO module is more energy efficient as the compressor will always adapt
its speed to the actual cooling demand.
The same controller is used for the BD35F and the BD50F.
I wonder how many manufacturers use the more efficient AEO controller -
it's about $US38 more expensive than the standard unit.
Jan 06 - Thanks to Steve and Helen
of Explorer Fridge/Freezer, who informed me that the AEO module (101N0300) is not available in Aust
.
These compressors are capable of operating over the range of 2,000 rpm to
3,500 rpm and will operate from 12VDC or 24VDC.
(The new BD80F compressor uses a different controller and operates in the
range of 2,500 to 4,400 rpm. Interestingly, all three are the same
size and weight.)
A low voltage cut-out is incorporated into the controller. It is
factory set to cut out at 10.4V (22.8V) and cut back in at 11.7V (24.2V)
By a simple external resistor change this can be altered to a cut-out of
9.6V to 11.3V and cut-in of 10.9 to 12.5V.
Similarly, it is a simple matter to
vary compressor speed to enhance cooling performance in the case where the
fridge manufacturer has limited speed to 2,000 rpm in the interests of reducing
instantaneous power consumption at the expense of rapid cooling.
Depending on head pressure, the BD35F at 12VDC can consume a minimum of 1.5A @ 2000 rpm to a maximum of 6.5A @
3500 rpm.
The controllers also feature built in diagnostics by way of a flashing LED.
There five fault conditions which can be read by counting the number of consecutive
flashes.
| Number
of flashes |
Error |
| 1 |
Low battery protection cut-out
activated.
(Factory default 10.4V but can be changed) |
| 2 |
Fan current overload.
(Has exceeded 1A) |
| 3 |
Motor start failure.
(Rotor blocked or refrigerant differential pressure >5 bar) |
| 4 |
Minimum motor speed of 1850 rpm not
achieved.
(The refrigeration system is too heavily loaded) |
| 5 |
Thermal cut-out of electronic
controller.
(Ambient temperature is too high or refrigeration system is too heavily loaded) |
|
The
picture on the left shows the inside of a Danfoss compressor.
Photo "borrowed" from Bushman Fridge
/ Freezers.
Probably the most informative of all the fridge web
sites giving good detail without just meaningless sales hype .
http://www.bushman.com.au/bushman_features.html
|
|
Engel
Sawafuji Swing Compressor
|
Unfortunately I haven't been able to come up with any real technical
specifications.
The following is lifted from Engel's sales brochure.
"The Sawafuji Swing Motor is a true reciprocating compressor; it
has only one moving part. It doesn't get any simpler. The piston is
connected to an electro dynamic device which is powered by the use of
magnetic fields. With this technology there is no need for bearings, cranks
or con-rods, so less moving parts means less chance of failure. With only
one moving part there is a very low friction loss which means this is a
highly efficient compressor.
It has no high start up current draw because
when it starts up it can simply move down just a fraction then return. Then
it slowly increases the distance the piston travels each stroke until it
reaches a full stroke. The Sawafuji Swing Motor does not need to perform a
full stroke on start up unlike many rotary type compressors that must
perform a complete cycle and need much more current to start.
Because this is purpose built and designed to
be a portable refrigerator compressor it has to be engineered to take the
harshest of Australian conditions.
The Sawafuji Swing Motor is located inside
the compressor casing with pins locating in rubber bushes then suspended in
between shock absorbent springs. It operates at 30 degrees angles and on
rough corrugated tracks without losing efficiency"
|  |
There is no doubt that this is a tried and proven design, I first used one
of these in the early 70's and remember them fondly.
Engels operate from 12/24VDC and 240VAC and claimed current drain (for the
40 lit) is 0.5 - 2.5A
The real secret of how they work lies with the electronics.
The compressor is driven by an AC voltage.
The compressor power supply's waveform, frequency and timing is critical
for the correct operation of the compressor in order to achieve the efficiency
needed.
The power supply for the vibrating compressor has an inverter for converting
the DC into AC.
The power supply includes a DC power source section for applying DC voltage to
an inverter, it incorporates a current detecting circuit for detecting a current flowing in the vibrating compressor, a control section having a frequency
sensing circuit for generating a frequency following the resonance frequency of the vibrating compressor on the basis of a current detected by the current detecting
circuit and an inverter control circuit for controlling the inverter with the frequency generated by the frequency
sensing circuit.
This all ensures that the frequency of the AC waveform driving the
compressor agrees with the natural resonance of the compressor under varying
load conditions.
This is an entirely different approach to the more conventional Danfoss.
Which is better . . .
| Power |
The
Danfoss is a little more powerful, most put the figure at 20%.
|
| Efficiency
|
Pretty
much the same.
|
| Durability
|
The Engel, mechanically, has been giving good service since the mid '60, many
are still working today (I hope the electronics in the newer ones are as
reliable as in the oldies).
You can say what you like but you can't beat runs on the board.
Thirty years from now, maybe we can look back and say the same for a 2005 Danfoss powered
fridge.
|
| Noise
& Vibration
|
No contest here, in my experience
the Danfoss is quieter and almost free of vibration in marked contrast to
the Engel, a significant factor if you are trying to sleep
nearby.
( I have felt significant vibrations throughout
campervans and smaller motorhomes fitted with built in Engel fridges.
I was able to clearly hear and feel when the Engel was running.)
|
| Warranty
|
Danfoss
- 1 to 5 years depending on fridge manufacturer.
Engel - 3 years.
|
After considerable research, my short list ended up with.......
* Waeco CF50AC $999
German parent company, Danfoss compressor, injection moulded polyethylene & polypropylene construction, manufactured in
China.
* Engel MT45F $1199 / Engel
MT60F Combi $1699
Japanese
company, mild steel construction, manufactured in Thailand, some larger ones in
Japan .
* Explorer DC56 $1895
Aust,
Danfoss compressor, aluminium case and fibreglass interior.
* Evakool RF47 / Evakool ED50 $1199
Aust, Danfoss
compressor, fibreglass construction.
Feb 06 I have just spotted an RF47 type in moulded plastic
selling for about $100 less than the fibreglass model.
* Indel B TB50 $ ???
Italy,
Danfoss compressor, injection moulded construction .
* Bushman SC42 /
SC35 $946
China/Aust, Danfoss compressor, mild steel case with polycarbonate lid &
liner .
(See updated info on page
two.)
There are other well made Australian fridges from Autofridge, Explorer and
Trailblaza with well insulated boxes of aluminium or fibreglass using the
Danfoss compressor, but for one reason or another didn't fit in to our criteria.
I wanted to include Reefer's Danfoss models but due to a complete lack of any useful
information on their web site and their failure to reply to my emails, I
have not been able to do so.
The Explorer would be an excellent choice being the only fridge I
know of with dual thermostats, one for fridge and the other for the
freezer.
Others with pseudo separate fridge and freezer compartments have an
evaporator in the freezer only and require you to
juggle the single thermostat to maintain adequate freezer temperature
without freezing in the fridge section and some by also juggling an insulated
compartment separator when ambient temperatures are low.
Also, ability to maintain adequate fridge temperature once the ambient temperature
starts heading north of 40ºC
is a problem with this arrangement as is the time taken to reach this
temperature.
The Engel MT60F and MT80F Combi are an exception, they use a
thermostatically controlled fan to circulate air from the freezer to the
fridge section. This sounds like a particularly good idea provided
there is sufficient cooling capacity in the small freezer to keep the
fridge section at +5ºC or lower in 45ºC ambient.
The above prices as advertised Dec
05.
I think by now I have read every comparative "test" published
recently in Aust and some overseas and quite frankly I have reservations about some of
the testing methods and results.
Some of the tests were reasonably well done and some were very ordinary.
As mentioned above, have a look
at the Choice
test from 2003, not particularly comprehensive but at least they are independent and are not beholden to
advertisers or sponsors.
I would like to see tests carried out in a heated
environment with all the fridges equally loaded to
around 50% of their volume with water bottles.
Time vs temperature vs current should be charted for at least 24 hours.
This
will give a good indication of compressor and thermostat performance,
peak and average current drain.
After 24 hours, the fridges should be switched off and time vs temperature
charted again until the internal temperature reached ambient.
This
will give a good indication of the quality of insulation of the various fridges
(the only significant variable since most will be Danfoss powered).
The same test needs to be conducted at several ambient temperatures, I
would like to see this done at 32, 43 & 50 ºC
( Testing up to 43 ºC
may be OK in Europe but in summer in the back of my 4x4 five minutes after
I switch the engine off, it's over 50ºC and I would like to think that the
fridge is still doing it's job. Danfoss put a 55ºC maximum on the compressor compartment temperature so testing
to 50ºC should not pose any problems providing the compartment is
correctly vented.)
Tests would also need to be done in a varying ambient temperature,
something in the order of 20 - 50 ºC
to test the ability of the thermostat to maintain a desired temperature.
All the tests I saw always use a regulated power supply (12.5V, 13.6V
whatever).
In practice your battery will likely be 13V to start with but will
gradually drop to 10.5V before it switches off.
It would be much more realistic to know how well the compressor and fridge
as a whole is coping as the voltage drops, what the internal temperature is
and what the current consumption is at this decreasing voltage and the rate
of cycling.
If you have a constant regulated supply as used in the other tests, you wouldn't
need to be concerned with power efficiency but of course you haven't and
power usage (and
the internal temperature) is the important thing.
It would be interesting to know well they perform at, say, 10.8V.
From my research the Waeco and Engel and would be the most popular units by
a significant margin, followed by Evakool.
The following is a summary of my short list, it is only my opinion based
on my needs, preferences and prejudices.
I must preface this by saying that I have no objection to injection moulded
polyethylene / polypropylene plastic, it
is very durable, hard to damage and won't damage the
interior of your vehicle and if looked after, should challenge the steel and
aluminium fridges for longevity.
(I have several Coleman
"eskies" nearly 30 years old and they still look like new,
companies who hire out canoes etc choose rotary and injected moulded
plastic for its durability over fibreglass.
Also, chances are if your car is less than 10 years old, your front and
rear bumpers are made of a polypropylene plastic.)
The mild steel of the Engel and Bushman with their rounded edges should
also be kind to the interior of your vehicle and are certainly durable.
My preference for the fridge outer shell because I want to carry it inside
the vehicle is injection moulded plastic or mild steel followed by marine grade
aluminium, stainless steel, and a distant
last, fibreglass.
(I put fibreglass last because it is not as rugged or impact
resistant as steel, aluminium or injection moulded plastic when talking about very lightweight
fridges/iceboxes.
To claim that it "has been proven by the long-term popularity of fiberglass for boat
manufacture" is a bit misleading in my view, there is a big difference
in the impact resistance of the 2mm outer wall thickness of your average
fridge/ice box and that of a 12-50mm boat hull which is usually reinforced
with frames, stringers and bulkheads. Don't fall for the side show trick where they have a sample piece of the
fibreglass/foam and hold it in their hand and hit it with a large face ball
pein hammer, that only generates noise, it's about as
useful a "test" as the old vacuum cleaner and bowling ball
farce. I once asked the demonstrator at a camping show to put
the sample piece the ground and hit it with the ball end of the hammer - he
declined.)
If I wanted to carry a fridge in the back of a ute or on the drawbar of a
camper trailer, aluminium would be at the top of my list, something like
the Explorer would be ideal.
For the interior, aluminium or stainless steel, then plastic or fibreglass.
My opinion................
Because when built to be light enough to match or better the other materials
weight wise, it lacks their resilience and impact resistance. It
is stiff as a GRP/foam sandwich panel and feels sturdy but lacks the impact
resistance of the other materials. Also, being hand made, quality
can vary and if laid up with a "chopper gun" it can vary even
more. Fortunately, it is the easiest to
repair. The strength to weight ratio of a
polyester or vinylester resin/CSM or woven glass fibre lay-up in not as good as the steel or aluminium
nor as resilient as the plastics, you would need prohibitively expensive
epoxy/kevlar/carbon fibre composites to achieve that.
It does have a major advantage for the manufacturer in that setting up costs
are very modest compared with tooling up to produce injection moulded polyethylene /
polypropylene / polycarbonate parts.
This is the reason why locally made limited production runs use highly labour
intensive fibreglass as the only practical material whereas high volume
overseas manufacturers can churn out high quality injection moulded parts which in most
instances are better suited to the task for a small fraction of the cost.
Unfortunately, I can not think of any advantage to the consumer for a GRP
outer shell construction when competing weight wise with aluminium,
thermoplastics or even steel. Yes, the GRP fridge can be built lighter
than a steel one by around 20% or so but at that weight I don't believe they are anywhere
near as robust.
The only exception that comes to mind, GRP is less likely to be damaged by
many solvents including fuel than some thermoplastics.
One on-line maker of ice boxes makes a point of saying that they use a
"Marine Grade Fibreglass", wow, I wondered exactly that was, so I
emailed them but no reply, I wasn't surprised. (Not one featured on
this web site)
|
Pros
* Good control panel with over-ride in case of control panel failure.
It is the most sophisticated of this group.
* Three position low voltage battery cut-out.
* Danfoss error codes displayed.
* Light weight.
* DC & inbuilt AC operation. (From 2006)
* Good slide available, not cheap but well made.
* Good warranty (5 years on compressor & 3 years on the rest)
* Cheaper than their opposition but with more features.
Waeco CF50AC
pictured
Cons
*Like the Engel, may be light on in the insulation department compared to Aussie made
units and the Bushman.
This may be a
myth, info just received from Waeco technical department. Insulation is
"Cyclopentane blown Polyurethane (PU). Thickness varies between 35 and 50mm depending on model and location
measured".
*A minor point maybe but, it has a very flimsily cord and plastic fitting to prevent
the lid from opening too far, all the display fridges I have
seen had failed in this department. (A point not lost on those pushing for an Engel sale.)
*Doesn't look any where near as rugged as its
main opposition the Engel or Bushman but I think that in practice there is probably little difference.
|
| |
|
|
Pros
*Very well put
together.
*Quality materials.
*Excellent reputation.
*Unbeatable resale value.
*DC & AC operation.
*Excellent slide available.
*Sperate fridge and freezer with a thermostatically controlled fan (MT60F
Combi).
Cons
*More expensive than their main opposition the Waeco for which they
are often criticised but in a side-by-side comparison you can easily see
why they are dearer.
*No low battery cut-out, surprising for such a well designed fridge.
*3 year warranty compared to 5 year for some others.
*Very noticeable vibration and to a lesser extent noise - important
if used near sleeping areas.
*Information gathered from a variety of sources indicate that very hot weather performance is
not quite as good as the Danfoss equipped fridges.
This view would seem to be supported by the Choice test.
The Choice test shows the Engel is much slower to lower the temperature
than the Danfoss powered fridges (131 min vs 60min) and average current was
marginally higher (1.1A vs 1.0A) but max current was lower (4A Vs 7A)
compared to the Danfoss powered unit. ( With the Danfoss you do have the option to lower
the max current to match the Engel at the expense of rapid cooling, but why
would you want to ? It is the daily average
power usage that matters.)
This clearly indicates the Danfoss BD35F is a more powerful compressor and
yet marginally more economical on power needs on a daily average assuming
the insulation value of the Engel and Danfoss powered fridge is similar.
But to be fair, the Engel does have the greatest volume contained within the evaporator
(cold plate) which is good for you but does place the Engel at an unfair
disadvantage when comparing the test figures.
In other words if you were comparing fridges with the same freezer capacity, the Engel would look
a little better than this test would suggest.
My interpretation of a test done in South Africa indicate that at 43ºC
ambient temperature a 39 lit Engel unit ran continuously and minimum
temperature achieved was only +3ºC whereas the Danfoss units were still
cycling on and off and achieved -12ºC and lower. If
this is true, that is a huge difference in ability.
This may not be too accurate, it does seem worse than other similar tests.
In the Choice test the 40 lit Engel MT45F did achieve -6ºC @ 43ºC, but still not
quite as good as the Danfoss powered fridge at -10ºC @ 43ºC.
But once again, if you were comparing fridges with the same freezer capacity, the Engel would look
better than this test would suggest.
I did come across an article from N C Srivastava "Solar Powered
Refrigeration in the Developing Countries" where this comment was made
. . .
"the 12 V swing motor compressor manufactured by Sawafuji (Japan) and Wemo-Gerate (Switzerland) having
refrigerating capacity (typically 46 W at -15ºC evaporating/+45ºC condensing) lower than that of Danfoss
DC compressor (typically 67 W at -15ºC evaporating/+45ºC condensing)"
Also, the table below which are actual factory figures from Engel's own test data, show the MT45F just
manages to reach 0ºC when ambient temperature reaches 45ºC. (The MT35F is a little better at -2ºC
& 2.5A/Hr and the MT60F better still at -5ºC @ 3.6A/Hr.)
Danfoss powered fridges can better this figure reaching -10ºC (and sometimes better) at the same 45ºC ambient temperature.
| |
Sawafuji
factory figures for MT45F @ 12.8VDC |
| |
Ambient
Temp |
| 25ºC
|
35ºC |
45ºC
|
| Thermostat
setting to give
|
Actual
temp
|
%
Time
running
|
A/Hr
|
Actual
temp
|
%
Time
running
|
A/Hr
|
Actual
temp
|
%
Time
running
|
A/Hr
|
| +5ºC |
+5ºC
|
24%
|
.54
|
+5ºC |
47%
|
1.14
|
+5ºC
|
78%
|
1.92
|
| -5ºC |
-5ºC
|
52%
|
1.18
|
-5ºC |
76%
|
1.75
|
0ºC
|
100%
|
2.32
|
| Minimum |
-20ºC
|
87%
|
1.98
|
-12ºC
|
100%
|
2.25
|
0ºC
|
100%
|
2.36
|
The Engel is however, an excellent proven product with a very large and
loyal following. Very few owners I have come across have anything but praise for them.
I rarely read chat forums and even more rarely place any weight on the
comments, but I read through a few to see what people liked and disliked.
Opinions were as equally split between Engel and others as
you would find reading a Holden/Falcon or Landcruiser/Patrol debate.
One posting I found interesting was the following . . .
http://www.4wdmonthly.com.au/forum/Printpage.php?board=5;threadid=887
Title: Re:12v fridges
Post by: BigMav on November 06, 2003, 02:04:52 PM
"I'm a fridge mechanic/electrician in the army and we have a lot of Engel fridges come in for repair.
The ones that are always stuffed are the later model ones with the circuit boards to drop the power usage and it is nearly
always this circuit card which is broken, keep in mind that replacing these cards is almost as much as buying a whole new unit.
The older models which draw more current are more reliable and take a real beating, we hardly ever repair those type......"
There does seem to be a common thread in the comments to the effect
that they are reliable but very expensive to repair if the need does arise.
I plan to contact an Engel repairer to determine the cost of a replacement compressor
and also of the controller circuit board to see if the criticism is
justified.
Feb 06
After talking at length to the people who service and repair both Engels and Danfoss
powered fridges, I am now convinced that there is very little difference in the cost to repair either of them.
They are both bloody expensive, repairs to either of them can easily cost 50% (and more) of the cost of a new fridge.
Fortunately both are inherently reliable and there is little to choose between them in this department.
(It says something about the cost of replacement parts when it is cheaper to buy a Danfoss BD35F powered
Waeco CF-18 for $549 and remove the compressor and controller than it is to buy a replacement compressor and
controller - the BD35F is universally used in fridges up to 60 lit or so.)
Therefore, I don't believe it is valid the choose between the Engel and a Danfoss powered fridge on the basis
of reliability or repair costs.
While there is little to separate
an Engel from a Danfoss powered fridge in the compressor/controller
reliability and repair cost departments, there is a big difference in the quality and features of the
boxes in which they are fitted.
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Pros
*Genuine fridge
& freezer with separate mechanical thermostats.
*75mm of insulation.
*Power/economy switch.
*Rugged aluminium construction.
Cons
*Only a 1 year warranty on the compressor and 3 years on the rest compared to 5 year for some others.
*Most expensive in this group but performance wise it would easily be the best.
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Pros
*The RF47 has a separate fridge and freezer section (pity the better
looking ED50 didn't have this option).
*May be better in the insulation department than the smaller Waecos and the Engel.
(An ED50 I looked at, I measured a wall thickness of 37mm and allowing for 2.0 & 2.5mm
fibreglass wall thickness, the foam insulation would have been around 32mm).
*Seem to enjoy a good following of satisfied owners.
*Light weight.
*Excellent 5 year warranty.
Cons
*Fibreglass box (in my opinion, not as rugged or impact resistant as steel, aluminium
or injection moulded plastic although they do sell a padded protective cover).
*A personal view only, not as professionally finished as the Engel,
Bushman or Waeco, basically an ice box with the compressor fitted to the side of (RF47) or
into (ED50) but this doesn't detract from their performance.
This criticism could be leveled at all
of the fibreglass fridges I have seen due to the fact that they are all
hand made small production runs.
Note
Feb 06 - This model is now available in yellow :-( moulded plastic.
If it were white moulded plastic and the compressor
was fitted internally, then I believe they would have a world class product
- it must not only perform well, it must look the part.
I also believe the partitioned idea trying to create a simultaneous fridge
and freezer is too much of a compromise.
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Pros
*Injection moulded case.
*Similar to the Waeco but with more insulation.
Cons
*Not sure where to go to have a look at one.
Jan 06.....Seems they may no longer be available here any more.
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Pros
*Good control panel with digital display and
thermostat also with
over-ride in case of control panel failure.
(Professional looking and doesn't look like it's built from Dick Smith parts.)
*Protected evaporator lines.
*Good insulation.
*3 year warranty.
*A solid durable looking fridge in the same vein as the Engel.
*A fridge designed for performance and durability with a lot of local
design input by people that know the practical requirements.
It's a fridge for people who have done their homework but don't want the
baulk and expense or need the performance of something like an Explorer.
Cons
*Non reversible lid.
*Doesn't utilise full potential of the compressor,
runs at 2,000 rpm only, but very easy to alter.
*Bit of lost space where control panel is compared to other Danfoss
fridges mainly due to the condenser design which is more like your domestic
fridge.
*Doesn't display the Danfoss error codes but that is easily fixed.
*12/24VDC operation only, needs optional power supply for AC operation.
*Uses Danfoss default low battery cut-out setting of 10.4V which is OK for
a dual battery set-up but would be nice if it was switchable to 11V for use
in a single (starting) battery set-up also easily fixed.
*An observation from my wife "What were they thinking, creamy yellowish interior and beige exterior,
pity they didn't go with the neutral greys and white of the Waeco and Engel". She
reckons even if they had stuck with the beige interior as in the photo it
wouldn't have been so bad. Pity about that, she has a 50% voting power.
This is a very good fridge but I would like to see the three changes/additions mentioned above...
1...A boost or "turbo" switch to permit faster cool down by running the
compressor at 3500 rpm when needed.
2...An LED to indicate the Danfoss error codes.
3...A switch to enable a selectable low battery cut-out voltage.
Fortunately, all these features are provided by the Danfoss
controller. The construction of the Bushman is such that the owner would be able to
implement these features quite cheaply and easily.
This is a two part topic, click this link to continue . . . .
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Also see Battery, Solar,
Batteries
& 3-Way Fridge Problems
and Generator pages.
Portable Fridges Pt 2
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