Thread: 12v fridges, You get what you pay for.

Originally Posted by DiscoClax

....

So... you get what you pay for? I think so, yes.

My opinion of this theory is less sure than that.

About 12 years ago I bought a cheapie seconds(damaged) clothes dryer. $50 had a bit of panel damage due to whatever incident befell it.
Got home, plugged in, and ZAP! sparked something within and never worked.
But being the curious tinkerer/tweaker type I am, I had to open it up.
Turned out that it was a single wire that had totally fallen loose, arced, tripped some internal resetting type fuse.
I plugged it in(back of dryer still open) plugged in again, turned on and WHIRRRRR! Nice. dried clothes perfectly for 12+ years.
It only just committed suicide last week, due to totally different fault. (the sleeve bearing that the basket rolls around on at the front door had collapsed, so the basket now doesn't move)

For $50, 12+ years of not really a lot of use other than during winter and emergency drying kids clothes for school 20 mins before they're due .. I think I got more than what I paid for(in a manner of speaking).

Sis built a new house, and with that the inevitable all new contents that many people go for. One item she got was a U-bute Bosch front loader washer. Nothing but trouble from the get go. Lost count on the number of service calls she's had on it.
Cost over 2K(as I remember) for a 'quality' item from a well respected brand!
Did she get what she paid for? I'm thinking probably not.

Brother paid $400 for his no name brand 80Lt fridge freezer 2 years ago. It's not used all the time(as some folks do) but it gets regular(say every 2-3months) usage .. more so in nicer weather months than (eg) winter.
Not a problem, works flawlessly, the bluetooth system it has(via an app) works perfectly .. etc.

Sometimes I think there's a bit of 'luck of the draw' involved.

If I were in Trout's situation with the unit, I'd be unable to resist the temptation to open it up and see if something simple and obvious has happened.

I don't know what the new Engels are like but the old ones like mine don't have enough wall insulation, otherwise they are dead reliable.
Mine was my step dad's, its done a lot of outback work in a Troopy and a succession of Land Rover's before I scored it as they bought a new one. I'll have to ask again, it could be 25 years old?

That's the one thing I really like about EvaKool's, the insulation is just right.
Had one of their esky's for years and it's bloody fantastic.

My Waeco used to sit on a truck cab floor which at times was too hot to stand bare-footed upon, and kept working magnificently, so that is a big tick for me.

Originally Posted by AK83

My opinion of this theory is less sure than that.

About 12 years ago I bought a cheapie seconds(damaged) clothes dryer. $50 had a bit of panel damage due to whatever incident befell it.
Got home, plugged in, and ZAP! sparked something within and never worked.
But being the curious tinkerer/tweaker type I am, I had to open it up.
Turned out that it was a single wire that had totally fallen loose, arced, tripped some internal resetting type fuse.
I plugged it in(back of dryer still open) plugged in again, turned on and WHIRRRRR! Nice. dried clothes perfectly for 12+ years.
It only just committed suicide last week, due to totally different fault. (the sleeve bearing that the basket rolls around on at the front door had collapsed, so the basket now doesn't move)

For $50, 12+ years of not really a lot of use other than during winter and emergency drying kids clothes for school 20 mins before they're due .. I think I got more than what I paid for(in a manner of speaking).

Sis built a new house, and with that the inevitable all new contents that many people go for. One item she got was a U-bute Bosch front loader washer. Nothing but trouble from the get go. Lost count on the number of service calls she's had on it.
Cost over 2K(as I remember) for a 'quality' item from a well respected brand!
Did she get what she paid for? I'm thinking probably not.

Brother paid $400 for his no name brand 80Lt fridge freezer 2 years ago. It's not used all the time(as some folks do) but it gets regular(say every 2-3months) usage .. more so in nicer weather months than (eg) winter.
Not a problem, works flawlessly, the bluetooth system it has(via an app) works perfectly .. etc.

Sometimes I think there's a bit of 'luck of the draw' involved.

If I were in Trout's situation with the unit, I'd be unable to resist the temptation to open it up and see if something simple and obvious has happened.

I did just that a few moments ago, I took the controll panel off and it is a printed circuit with a bunch of wires hanging out of it so i gave them all a bit of a wriggle and now I am waiting to see if this made any differance.
There is also another box with some wiring but it is a sealed unit so there is nothing I can do with that and all the piping looks to be OK.
I can still use the 80l side as a freezer But the 40l side refuses to work and if I set the controlls to work it the other side just keeps freezing down to -20 and the compressor runs continuously.

I have a techni- ice 45 ltre , when not in the vehicle, doubles as my beer fridge. Danfoss compressor, best insulation in the class, no complaints. Another to consider is the KickAss range. Basically an Evercool product, but tricked up by KickAss to include Anderson plugs, and outlets to charge your devices from the fridge. Never had one, but they have a 61 litre single zone fridge/ freezer which has been reduced in height , and will fit perfectly into the fridge compartment of my newly ordered Ezytrail camper. Also the fridge compartment has two baskets, one atop the other. About the only other to fit is the 57 ltre Engel fridge freezer. At the moment the plan is to use the Techni-ice one as a freezer in the car, KickAss as a fridge in the trailer.

That could change.

Originally Posted by DAMINK

Thankyou for this post. I am literally in the market for one now and was tossing up Engel or a cheaper alternative.
I want 4 years min out of mine so i will be paying the extra.

Four years wow you dont expect much value for your money

I have 3 fridges the first i brought is a 39 ltr Engel and that is about 30 years old and has been around oz twice been in my old defender when i rolled it , Has done thousands of trips in the VHC all unsecured in the vehicle

The next is a 65 ltr dual zone Waeco 7 years old it has worked but done nothing like the Engel so the jury is out on that one

And last but not least Swmbo got me a Ebay 30 ltr cheapie no brand thing that worked flawlessly in my truck 24/7 for 5 years and now lives in the car for occasionally use .

Im still sold on the old steel Engel it is the Defender of fridges but does not leak nor brake down .

It is strong (Steel)reliable and always willing for the next adventure

Originally Posted by AK83

My opinion of this theory is less sure than that.

Sometimes I think there's a bit of 'luck of the draw' involved.

If I were in Trout's situation with the unit, I'd be unable to resist the temptation to open it up and see if something simple and obvious has happened.

LOL, there isn't an appliance in my home that isn't at least fifteen years old and every one of them has had DIY repairs done by me. Sticking micro-switches, element replacement, thermostats, grilles, latches, etc, etc. All are hand-me-downs or second-hand, some off the side of the road. The one thing they have in common is they are from an era where you could have a go at repairing them.... usually cheaply and successfully. So.. have a crack at it What's the worst thing that could happen?

I have a 45l engel that is prolly 15 yrs old. been everywhere the cars have been , CSR , GRR several times , Gunbarrel Hwy , and various other trips that have been all highway. It sits in the shed most of its life , and sometimes may go 6months without even moving, but , plug it in and it starts up straight away , has the old dial setting that starts at fridge and goes round to freezer so never sure of the actual temp but after 12 hours you can usually tell if its correct or not.

I know our refrigeration systems on the trawlers hate being shut down for long periods , this is usually where seals, gaskets etc shrink and leak or go hard , and when you restart them they usually leak like a bucket with a few small holes in it. So I can only assume that if you can do as I do and start the fridge up whenever you need it then put it on the shelf for months at a time , the makers have done something correct in the building of it.

We also have a 95ltr dual zone Waeco and only used it about 4 times in the 2 odd yrs we have had it , jury is out on its power consumption but so far no complaints. settings work from either the panel on the fridge or the app on the phone, but wonder how practical that is when out bush.

Just my 2c

Cheers Ean