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I dont know about the quality of the ebay brand, but you get what you pay for with fridges. I have had my engel for 12 years and have NEVER had a problem with it. It run too well in fact.
You might buy this fridge and find it is very good, there is a chance of that. But if you can get 15 years out of an engel...that is really good value. Waeco's are from what I hear less reliable, but my dad has run one for 6 years without a problem.
Angus
uuuhhhmmm
JLK Technology is a recycling company in Glen Waverley in Vic. :confused:
Go the evakool ours is over 10 years old never missed a beat. Our new one in the camper is an explorer fridge/freezer it never missed abeat for 6 weeks
Mrs ho har:D
ahh the old fridge debate - brings out as many passions as landy vs pootrol vs toymotor.
personally I'm saving my pennies for an aussie owned designed and built trailblazer from NORCOAST REFRIGERATION COMPANY PTY LTD - WWW.NORCOAST.COM.AU - yes I am a luddite and yes I am proud of it.
Engel is 100% non-australian - they work well, but I'd rather support an Aussie.
I have a Evacool 60 litre .Owned it now for 3 years and never had a problem.I have worked it as a full freezer and as a fridge/freezer.It has survived the cape trip ( old telegraph track ), remote parts of West Oz and the NT in temps up to 48c in WA earlier this year.My mate has an engel .In my opinion the only difference between the two are price .The Evacool is much cheaper.
I have one of the $550 ebay ones, jad it for about 12 months. Seems to be fairly well built. Maintains the preset temp ok, has fridge/freezer by opening a slide. Comes with an insulated cover. Dont know what type of compressor is in it though. I give it a run when I think about it when sitting in the shed. Been out a few times when camping and it has performed well. Maybe the down side is it maybe a little power hungry but I have not compared it agaisnt others, if it is this may well be to do with the insulation quallity or the amount of times its open and shut.
Would I buy another one.
The simple answer is yes going on what mine has been used for the the frequency of use I feel it is value for money.
Would I prefer a brand name one, yes, but at about 3 times the price for a simular size I would need to test my sanity I think.
I will also point out when this purchase was made it was never about the dollars being spent because when I need to buy high quality for over inflated prices I do. I think we need to think outside the square sometimes with purchases. I wont run chinese bearings in car/trailer because they are not value for money, but a chinese fridge ?
enough of my ramblings and we will see how we are going in another 12 months with our fridge
cheers
blaze
Quote:
Originally Posted by bblaze
Im with you on this one Blaze :D:D
I have the same fridge purchased from JLK have had it just on 12months and i cant fault it its spent most of that time in the back of the rangie and its gets used most weekends and shoping days and hasent missed a beat ..
As for the compressor its the same as the danfos in the waeco tho it has a different name which i cant remember at the moment as for the quality its fine i set it at -5 and it keeps stuff frozen i have a divider which i use and keep all the frozen stuff below it and the beer and other goodies on top and it works a treat keeps the kids happy as they get to eat ice creams while away camping ....
As for the get what ya pay for coments well i got what i payed for a good freezer/fridge thats easy to use and works great at a verry reasonable price :D:D:D
I think the key issue here is intended use. We tend to go on long trips in remote areas. At times we have been away from a shop for 10 days. The question is, if the fridge failed on day 4, what would you eat from day 5 on?
If the answer is at the very least it would spoil your holiday then I'd say a bit more for an engel would be money well spent.
If you just go camping at the local beach, and a fridge breakdown would be a minor inconvenience only then definitely take the chance on the cheap one if you like. :)
Yep well first trip away with the elcheapo we spent 9 days in the bush day 7 seven of 9 i pulled a frozen chook out of elcheapo and it still took nearly all day to thaw so i could cook it that night in tha camp oven ..Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain_Rightfoot
My elcheapo has seen a few long run trips and plenty of over nighters up tha beach and hasent missed a beat :D:D:D
Oh well..I'd rather you take that risk than me, but good luck with it ! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by lokka
Personally have heard a few horror stories with the Engels too (including on aulro)... all comes down to quantity i guess... more buy engels so more stories... doesn't necessarily make them better or worse than others, just need someone willing to take the chance on a new product. I assume there would have been similar discussions when the engels were first released ;)
Guess that's why i also am wrapped with Evakool fridges... they're a qld company, well tested and proven in the esky market; who then made them 12v :D And if it ever buggers up then it is a well insulated esky as well :D:D:D