Thread: engle question

Originally Posted by johncl

Will my fozen food going to keep as well at -5 as it will at -20? especially over a one or two week period?

I work out how many meals for the 2 of us and get all the meat vacuum sealed in individual packs, doesn't cost much more and a lot of butchers up here do it.
I can't say exactly how long meat last in this state but I keep it frozen anyway.
My last 10 day trip I was throwing hot beer in on top every afternoon and every meal was fine.

I have heard that vacuum sealed meat can last several weeks just refrigerated (around 4c) but I prefer to keep it frozen.

No, we don't carry Icecream.

Just

75 L Engel Combi, Efnn Great!

for the trip up the cape in july we vac packed the meat and kept it just frozen in one engle dedicated to meat. We were away 4 weeks..didnt buy meat once, perfect each time. My guess is we had it at about -2...saves on batteries and excellent result..the way to go IMO.

Here's a question that someone might be able to answer.

I will be taking my Discovery to India for a three week drive in March.
The Engal I have runs from a Yellow Top Optima battery which I'm sure won't be enough to keep the fridge on freeze for the entire crossing from Dubai to Mumbai.
Lets say the Fridge will be left un-attended for 4-5 days......if I vacum packed and then froze my foods before going... does the panel think they they'd still be ok after wards?

IE.... how much longer will vacum packed foods last than non-vac packed?

Thx M8's

I'd be checking whether customs would allow you to take food into India first.

when vacuum packing meat there are little sachets available that absorb any free oxygen (can't remember their name) which really help the shelf life of the food but it still needs to be kept below 4*C.

Hi weeds

You say the end of the 12 volt plug at the fridge was hot! Well heat is a sign of energy being lost due to resistance and that means voltage loss.

have a close look at the 12 volt cable plug for signs of discolouration or burning. The older engel plugs (grey) were famous for it. if you are away then just scratch it clean but buy a new one when you get the chance. I have had this happen to me twice and the new cables (black) are better quality.

Other things to check is the voltage under load at the fridge or as close to the fridge as possible. It must be when the fridge motor is running. it should be above 12v with the engine idling and never below about 11v. The lower the voltage the higher the current draw will be and the greater the strain on the fridge motor.

Also the ventilation around the fridge. And an insulated fridge cover helps heaps.

As to what you were told. Engels should cycle when run on 12v even when cranked all the way down past 5. Just try swapping the 40 and 32 around.

It is very important to have very heavy duty cable from the battery to the fridge and keep it as short as practicable as all cable will have a voltage drop and that should be kept to a minimum.

And I agree that Engel make the best portable fridge around. had mine for 15 years plus and it just keeps going and going. Only needed to replace the cable.

I have taken ice creams bush many times and the looks you get in 40deg heat licking an icecream while some poor sod hand winches/digs his 4WD out is worth every cent. Mine is usually half full of beer though. Priorities!
James

properly packaged then snap frozen meat would be the way Id go. Id also put a dedicated solar panel on the battery driving the fridge...

I have a large bp panel that with a 100ah deep cycle battery keeps my engle on easily for over a week... the battery alone holds it for about 3 days.