Engel fridges

**Tank** · 8th May 2014, 09:37 PM

Originally Posted by Kev the Fridgy

Durability.... in the 90's I worked for a company in Hervey Bay and at that time we were the only mob around that would take on service and repairs to camp fridges, the other brands were only just emerging onto the market at that point (remember "Fridgemate"), most repairs to Engels were replacing the voltage changeover relay, some of them had taken a beating that would put the great Caseus Clay to shame, the newer plastic case brands were suffering from a lot of fracturing of the casings and pipe fracturing.

Also note that I personally prefer Engel for no other reason that in my experience they have been more efficient, "my experience not any case studies"

Well Kev the plastic Engel wasn't released until 2008/9, the only reason I didn't buy a metal case Engel was I was waiting for them to release the plastic one and I bought the first one available in my area.
The plastic Engel has same motor/compressor (Fuji swing motor/comp.), my plastic Engel doesn't have the fancy digital LED readout and other goodies the metal case one has.
My plastic Engel has lived in the back of my Disco for 6 years now and hasn't missed a beat, it's been flogged over some rough ground and nothing has cracked or broken, it can run on 240v or 12 without having to buy an adaptor and it has maintained below zero Celsius temps. in Summer when the back of the Disco would have been in the 50 to 70 Celsius.
The plastic Engel when I bought it was $500 cheaper than equivalent size metal case Engel.
I have a mate that works for BFC and the only complaints they have had on the plastic Engel (and they sell thousands) was that it was noisy. I found this to be so when I would pre-cool mine in the house before a trip, I cured this by sitting it on the kitchen table and it was as quite as a mouse compared to the drumming it used to make on the wooden floor. Perfectly quiet in the back of the Disco, if this plastic fantastic had have been a metal case it would look very used by now, still looks good, except for the red dust all through it, Regards Frank.

**Vinnie** · 8th May 2014, 11:09 PM

I don't think it matters which one if you're choosing Engel v Engel. I have a metal body 40lt and have never had a problem. I was told they introduced the plastic body as a cheaper option to compete with the other plastic body fridges on the market that were cheaper than the Engel. They have the same motor as the other Engels, so really just comes down to price and preference. Either way I would get the fridge cover, helps it run more efficiently (my opinion only) and protects it to some degree while in the car.

Vinnie

**DeeJay** · 8th May 2014, 11:22 PM

I've just done my umpteenth 4wd trip using the 38 litre Engel I bought in 1974. Probably been in 8 different vehicles now, My mate is sick of me saying " I hope it makes it through this trip". That said, I doubt they make them as well now as then.
Oh, I did make one improvement, I got an aquarium temp meter & double side taped it on the side. Cost all of $4.00 on Ebay, Works a treat, Who would have thought goldfish needed a thermometer that goes to minus 4 Deg

DiscoMick · 9th May 2014, 10:38 AM

Yeah, I also had an aquarium thermo in our old steel Engel for ages until I accidentally broke it, so now I've got a $30 jobbie with a remote readout.

The plastic ones are obviously lighter and cheaper. Internals seem on par. I guess the question is, is the fridge likely to get battered hard enough to crack plastic?

**Reads90** · 9th May 2014, 04:49 PM

Originally Posted by Kev the Fridgy

Actually the sizes quoted are an interesting topic, would be interesting to know what models you have.... some time back I was in a discussion with my dad as he bought a Waeco, he was commenting on the fact the same size Waeco was cheaper than the equivalent Engel, so out comes the tape, the Engel model represented the internal volume to the litre, the Waeco Model represented the total volume the Fridge would occupy, they maybe different now but back then if you priced the same internal volume the Waeco was dearer, clever marketing I thought, could be why I prefer Engel.

What problems have you had with the Engel?

The compressor went bang twice. Which makes it a heavy and expensive esky :-)

**Outback 1** · 9th May 2014, 05:24 PM

Originally Posted by rangieman

I bought my steel 39 ltr engel in 90,s it has been around oz twice hundreds of weekenders with out ever being secured even been in a car that rolled = Never a glitch keeps on going .

There is only one fridge to buy in my opinion

many a horror story on the other brands

I agree look in most trucks and you will find engel

**Chops** · 9th May 2014, 05:34 PM

We've had our Engel for about 4/5 years now.
The only problem I've ever had with it was recently when I left it empty, but still turned on.
This caused the Aux battery to drain due to the fridge going on/off all the time. With nothing in it which would keep it cold, it just keeps turning on /off. Mind you, this took about 2.5 months to happen. So if your going to run your fridge "All the time", you might like to keep a few bottles of water in it at least to help it (your battery) along a bit. I would think this would be the same for any make of fridge.
We've got a cover on ours as its in the back of the ute, so although the covers looking a bit grubby, the fridge itself looks brand new still.

**discovery39** · 9th May 2014, 06:04 PM

Old skool Engel for me. Have had a Waeco, nuthin wrong with it, just didn't trust the plastic fantastic. Bit like modern cars really.......

**d2dave** · 10th May 2014, 09:07 AM

Originally Posted by Chops

We've had our Engel for about 4/5 years now.
The only problem I've ever had with it was recently when I left it empty, but still turned on.
This caused the Aux battery to drain due to the fridge going on/off all the time. With nothing in it which would keep it cold, it just keeps turning on /off. Mind you, this took about 2.5 months to happen. So if your going to run your fridge "All the time", you might like to keep a few bottles of water in it at least to help it (your battery) along a bit. I would think this would be the same for any make of fridge.
We've got a cover on ours as its in the back of the ute, so although the covers looking a bit grubby, the fridge itself looks brand new still.

I would have thought it would make no difference what was in it if it was not opened.

My understanding of why a fridge works better when it is full is due to having less air space and when opening it less hot air gets in.

**d2dave** · 10th May 2014, 09:17 AM

Originally Posted by DeeJay

I've just done my umpteenth 4wd trip using the 38 litre Engel I bought in 1974. Probably been in 8 different vehicles now, My mate is sick of me saying " I hope it makes it through this trip". That said, I doubt they make them as well now as then.
Oh, I did make one improvement, I got an aquarium temp meter & double side taped it on the side. Cost all of $4.00 on Ebay, Works a treat, Who would have thought goldfish needed a thermometer that goes to minus 4 Deg

I must be the unlucky one. Purchased my first in 1986 and it lost its gas in 2004. I still bought another Engle though.

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