The Portable Fridge Thread

vincentvega · Post by **vincentvega** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 1:40 pm

I am looking to buy a 50-60L fridge for my lib, hopefully before this years double island trip. So far I have looked at Engel, Waeco and Trailblazer fridges, but I would like to know what else is out there.

If you have had experience with portable fridges, please post your comments in this thread. Hopefully we can turn it into a bit of a "portable fridge FAQ" later down the track.

If you have had experience with a particular fridge, try and stick to something like:

Brand:

Model:

Web Link:

Price:

Specifications:

Personal Opinion:

vincentvega · Post by **vincentvega** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 1:50 pm

This is from my mate who does a lot of touring out west:

Brand: Trailblazer

Model: 60L Standard 75mm

Web Link: http://www.norcoast.com.au/

Price: RRP $1397

Specifications: Danfoss compressor as far as i can tell.

Personal Opinion: Excellent fridge, used by the australian army. Tough as nails. 60L size has been ample to feed 2 people for 2 weeks without buying food.They have 75mm insulation and 125mm insulation models, but they bulk the size up. The thing that swayed him to the trailblazer over the engel is that they are taller and not as wide as the Engel, so you can pack more stuff around the fridge.

There are a number of build options available for these fridges. He has the low voltage indicator light, and temperature guage. He wishes he had went with the 240V power supply option aswell.

Wilbur · Post by **Wilbur** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 2:06 pm

Fridges I would buy myself in no particular order - Engel, Waeco, Trailblazer, Explorer, Evakool, National Luna.

The fridge I use -

Brand: Waeco

Model: CF50

Web Link: www.waeco.com.au ?

Price: Can't remember

Specifications: 50ish L

Personal Opinion: Good but the temperature control panel is not water/dust sealed. Could be a problem later down the track.

To be honest, the things you should look for appart from power consumption is - If its metal make sure it has plastic or fibreglass inside it and most importantly the lid. Heat transfer is a killer. Plastic ones, make sure its a good UV stabilised plastic. Early waeco models suffered warped lids but this has been rectified. Icemate or whatever they are called (evakools cheap plastic brand) can also deteriate, but no where near as bad as early waecos.
Danfoss make good compressors, as do what ever is in an engel. Is there any other compressor on the market ?

stinky · Post by **stinky** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 2:31 pm

I've got the CF60 ... It's an awesome fridge. Kept it running for a week at fraser with a combo of my second-batt in-car, and a big fat one in a box that I had in the camper. I usually have it set to freezer, rarely just fridgerate it.

Only issue I have is that it's kind of too big for my car, takes up too much space.

Post by **Alex** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 2:51 pm

engel over waeco all the way. Better warranty(not that youll need it), better build quality, better compressor. Tough as nails. Uses less power, looks better. I may be abit bias, but i reckon engel makes waeco look stupid. Spesh with the 40th anniversary edtions, digital display etc.

Engel, a legend in reliabilty

alex

BrennyV · Post by **BrennyV** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 2:55 pm

mates running a engel (mid 90's model) is his patrol runs well on a dual bat setup. things stong as.

schultzie · Post by **schultzie** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 5:50 pm

go the engel, mum and dad have one of te 40th aniversery ones and it is great, hey have the travel bag for it as well and the slide out tray,

also have a waeco 70lt, good, was an early one that warped but got that rectifyied, and over all it is good but not as good as the engel

Post by **Captain Obvious** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 7:33 pm

dane i finaly got one its a 40 ltr engel !!!

Brand: Engel

Model: MT45F-G4-s

Web Link:http://www.engelaustralia.com.au/

Price: i think between the 1200 an 1300 mark with a bag is the going rate these days

Specifications: swing motor and draws bugga all amps

Personal Opinion: great fridge only used i twice and i reckon its paid its self off!!!

stamp_licker · Post by **stamp_licker** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 7:39 pm

Brand:Waeco

Model: latest 60L

Web Link:http://www.getawaeco.com.au/

Price: $890 delivered

Specifications: as above

Personal Opinion: awesome fridge ,just don't try to cool a carton of hot beer and expect eveerything to stay cold and the beer to be cold in a hour,lol

Phizinza · Post by **Phizinza** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 7:51 pm

My brother bought an ammonia type Primus 3-Way (12v, 240v, LPG) 38L(I think.)
It only cost $380! It keeps at around 2degrees on 12v in an ambient temp of 22degrees. It says it should last 30days on a 9kg bottle continues running, and he was told it's pretty close.
Cheap, works, useful, and cheap.

Suby Wan Kenobi · Post by **Suby Wan Kenobi** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 9:02 pm

Brand:Waeco

Model: 40l and 50L

Web Link:http: buggered if i know . com

Price: $400 for the 40 and $1000 with extras for the 50

Specifications: One is rated at 40l the other 50l with a butter tray area

Personal Opinion: friggin brilliant 40 gets a floggin and hasnt failed yet the 50 gets used as a freezer mainly and dont complain.With both in fridge mode the 40 l is easier on power than the 50 but i havent had an issue when camped thanks to solar panels and batteries

Post by **Captain Obvious** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 9:15 pm

oh yeah dane really recomend runng a second batt with any fridge, ive set my car up with it now and will be testing it this weekend

vincentvega · Post by **vincentvega** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 9:17 pm

i already have a devious plan for powering the thing, don't worry about that

vincentvega · Post by **vincentvega** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 8:25 am

hey posty did you get the 50L or the 60L as the 60L costs alot more than you paid?

Xtreme_RX · Post by **Xtreme_RX** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 1:11 pm

Dane,

If you are around the Woolloongabba area Saturday morning or net week drop in & see me at work. I sell all the leading brands & I have some good deals at the moment. 199 Logan Road is where you will find me....

I own a waeco 40L I can’t fault the thing. It goes every where I do. Just you REALY need a dual battery system.

My Next portable fridge will be a Engel - Purely because of it low power consumption. NO other reason.

vincentvega · Post by **vincentvega** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 2:03 pm

cool mate. will do

vincentvega · Post by **vincentvega** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 2:08 pm

also what do guys know about using sealed lead acid batteries for runing a fridge? I know AGM batteries are the go for fridges, but they are way expensive and I have 3 perfectly good 18AHr SLA's sitting under my desk.

The only problem i see with using them is that I will have to regulate the charge current, meaning they will take longer to charge. A small solar panel would probably solve that problem though

Wilbur · Post by **Wilbur** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 2:42 pm

18ah...not 180ah ? Won't last long if its 18

vincentvega · Post by **vincentvega** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 4:44 pm

3 18's in parallel is 54AH

thats over 2 days worth of waeco according to the specs

the battery pack waeco sell is only 36AH

stamp_licker · Post by **stamp_licker** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 5:29 pm

vincentvega wrote:hey posty did you get the 50L or the 60L as the 60L costs alot more than you paid?

I got the 60L ,it was cheap cause it was a factory second,just keep watching the site i posted they come and go from time to time.