Yep,, Fridges Again ??

[Ridge Runner]

Bought my arb 60L in 2011 and its been running faultlessly every day since new, either in the back of the truck when camping or bouncing around hills and tracks 4wdriving, then brought into the house serving as my beer fridge.. the 60L design layout is low in height and longer in length holding 3 slabs of cans comfortably which is ideal for my needs. A mate bought himself a 50L engel which is taller in height, so the contents are stacked/piled in and finds he has to constantly move the top layer of food etc to access everything at the bottom..
At the end of the day i think buying a fridge comes down to personal prefence and what suits your needs, size and power cosumption being at the top of the list when making the decsion. No matter what brand fridge it is tho i highly recommend fitting a cover/insulating bag as it definitely helps them run more efficiently.
Congrats on your new fridge mate, thats a good price you paid and im sure it will serve you well

Husky

Thanks Husky, I am in 2 minds as to whether I should buy another 47 and use one as a freezer and one as a fridge, Because maybe the 78 might be a bit OTT, because 2 x 47 will give me 94 Litres all up which I think is more than enough for one bloke going away prospecting ?? I have done the esky thing and dry ice etc and I can't be bothered with soggy food etc,

60 Litre for a beer fridge I'm proud of ya, It's good to know a man who's got his priorities right, you little ripper

John

 

[Tathradj]

Now the pressure is on. LOL
I can obtain an ARB 47l with cover for $1200.00 locally.
Bushamn is coming in at around $1300.00 and that is not considering freight
if I have to pay it.
Freight is around $20.00
Now what to do.
Engle have that distinct advantage of reliability but internal capacity is a
consideration.
Summing up it is a toss up between a Bushmans and ARB for me.
Both fridges are on par for reliability and power consumption.
The Bushmans beet the ARB slightly for power usage but
require more bits and pieces ie; the lids to obtain capacity.
True, A very versatile fridge that you can adapt to your needs.
But not as common.
Don't get me wrong, These 3 fridges are very well built and top of the line
and there is not much in them for what I want.
.
I already have a Cenco 42 litre Chinese fridge and it performs very well in all aspects but,
It keeps blowing thermisistors. I have had it for around 18 months.
I am going to get another one, measure it at 21.5 c and replace it with a ceramic style and
that will cure that issue plus working out weather it is an NTC or PTC.
It will become the lolly water fridge here at home as I would now not trust it
miles from home on a hot week. LOL
It's power draw is around 2.0 ah when running at 1c ambient around 30c. 2 x 60ah batteries run it for nearly 2 days
before the low power cut off kicks in. Then out come the solar panels.
Not bad for a cheap fridge I must say and it does keep the food frozen in the bottom and beer icy cold.
The capacity is just that little to small for me on a 5 day bender fitting enough in plus emergency rations
in case some thing goes wrong. Hence the 47 litre capacity of the ARB.
And finally it was bought as a stand in until I could get around to obtaining a decent fridge.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Tath, I sound like you need the ARB, Not because I have one but because you need the size and the reliability and I think you have your heart set on it The current Draw on the ARB at running temp is about 0.87 amps up to 0.99 amps and when pushed it is 1.399 amps, and it goes from 22*c down to -5*c in 30 minutes or less that's a drop of 27 degrees not even domestic freezers can do that and they have a lot more powerful motors. Engel and ARB are both extremely reliable, Personally if I was in your shoes I would pick one of the big hitters and everything ARB make is the best it can be, just look at their Diff Locks. they have never been bettered.

Here mate read this its from people all over the world from here to OZ to South Africa, hope this helps, john.
http://forum.landrovernet.com/showthread.php/194836-fridges!

 

[Nightjar]

Where other fridge switch on and off during their cycle Engel fridges are running all the time because that is the Principal how the Sawafuji motor works because it does not have a Crank/piston, they have electro-magnets which is why the numbers are so high.

John

John,
Was it the same governing body who claimed Engel do notcycle. Well they are wrong.
Engels definitely cycle.
Regarding all the so called independent tests, show us any other fridge that has been running for 30+ years.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, my mate has had 4 failed fridges, that is now 5, his 80 litre Waeco died last week. What did he go out and buy? Another Waeco?????
Some people will never learn.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Where other fridge switch on and off during their cycle Engel fridges are running all the time because that is the Principal how the Sawafuji motor works because it does not have a Crank/piston, they have electro-magnets which is why the numbers are so high.

Yes it was them who claimed that.

John

John,
Was it the same governing body who claimed Engel do notcycle. Well they are wrong.
Engels definitely cycle.
Regarding all the so called independent tests, show us any other fridge that has been running for 30+ years.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, my mate has had 4 failed fridges, that is now 5, his 80 litre Waeco died last week. What did he go out and buy? Another Waeco?????
Some people will never learn.

Here ya go mate, I just copied this, It was 4WD Action that asked VIPAC to do the testing and apparently that have branches all of the place,

john.

CLIMATE CONTROLLED LAB TESTINGWe took the fridges down to VIPACs NATA-approved test lab and hooked them up to their data-logging equipment to see what made them tick. There were so many computers in that place it made the NASA space station look like Brennos old Casio watch. Down at the lab we were testing the running performance of each fridge. Each fridge was scrutinised in their accredited climate controlled test chamber over a two week period. Nothing was left to chance, with Vipacs data loggers tracking everything the fridges did around the clock.We placed a 5L bottle of water in the centre of each fridge to ensure the contents were consistent across the board then rigged it with a thermocouple to monitor its core temperature. We also ran a second thermocouple to the inside of the fridge to measure each fridges internal air temperatures. On the power consump-tion side of things we tapped in to the compressor circuit to moni-tor its run time and logged the power each fridge drew. Because each fridge takes its internal temperature readings from different locations, we performed a control run down to 5c to check the accuracy of each fridges display and compensated for variations. This was a vital step to ensure each fridge was cooling to the same temperature, allowing us to compare apples with apples.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Where other fridge switch on and off during their cycle Engel fridges are running all the time because that is the Principal how the Sawafuji motor works because it does not have a Crank/piston, they have electro-magnets which is why the numbers are so high.

John

John,
Was it the same governing body who claimed Engel do notcycle. Well they are wrong.
Engels definitely cycle.
Regarding all the so called independent tests, show us any other fridge that has been running for 30+ years.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, my mate has had 4 failed fridges, that is now 5, his 80 litre Waeco died last week. What did he go out and buy? Another Waeco?????
Some people will never learn.

This is VIPAC:- Vipac Engineers & Scientists is a leading multidisciplinary engineering consultancy with over 40 years experience servicing markets including building and construction, defence, mining and consumer appliances. Vipac employs over 100 staff in offices located throughout all Australian capital cities.

Vipac is a National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) accredited laboratory and ISO 9001 compliant company with state of the art facilities and instrumentation.

Vipac has enjoyed worldwide recognition for work on landmark projects such as the worlds tallest building, Dubais Burj Khalifa, and collaboration with NASA, and has been the proud recipient of many engineering awards.

Heres a Bit of what they said about the Engel motor,

john.

50LSAWAFUJI SWING MOTORThe Japanese made Sawafuji Swing motor is used by Engel in their range of fridge/freezers. The Sawafuji Swing motor doesnt use a traditional crankshaft or connecting rod to drive their piston. Instead it uses a combination of springs and electro-magnets that move the piston up and down when its needed. By utilising this technology, it eliminates the need for wearing parts like bearings, cranks or connecting rods. Effi ciency is also a key benefi t of Sawafuji Swing motor. Because it has only one moving part, less friction helps lower current draw. The Sawafuji Swing motor uses rubber mounting bushes that are then suspended between shock absorbent springs to ensure the motor is completely isolated from harsh knocks or vibra-tions great if youve ever hit a cattle grid at speed. Like the other compressors, itll also run at angles of up to 30. The difference is the Swing motor is designed to run almost constantly, so while it has less hour-for-hour power draw than the other compressors, it still draws more overall as its running for longer.

 

[condor22]

hmmmm opened up the can here, lol.

Have to agree with Nightjar though, Engels definitely cycle. On the near zero night, my Engel barely used any AH (or WH). if it were running all the time it would still be pulling about 3A all the time which is 72AH / 24hr. My figures above definitely discount this. The Sawafuji electro magnet motor has one moving part, I'm not sure how many the Danfoss has = more to go wrong.

Regardless of the amount of juice used, my deciding factor should I ever need a new fridge is reliability vs value for money and as said previously, Mine at about $900, 23 years ago, works out to $39/yr or $0.75/week and getting lower every year.

Show me another brand with those stats and I'll change "religion"

 

[Nightjar]

Heres a Bit of what they said about the Engel motor,

john.

50LSAWAFUJI SWING MOTORThe Japanese made Sawafuji Swing motor is used by Engel in their range of fridge/freezers. The Sawafuji Swing motor doesnt use a traditional crankshaft or connecting rod to drive their piston. Instead it uses a combination of springs and electro-magnets that move the piston up and down when its needed. By utilising this technology, it eliminates the need for wearing parts like bearings, cranks or connecting rods. Effi ciency is also a key benefi t of Sawafuji Swing motor. Because it has only one moving part, less friction helps lower current draw. The Sawafuji Swing motor uses rubber mounting bushes that are then suspended between shock absorbent springs to ensure the motor is completely isolated from harsh knocks or vibra-tions great if youve ever hit a cattle grid at speed. Like the other compressors, itll also run at angles of up to 30. The difference is the Swing motor is designed to run almost constantly, so while it has less hour-for-hour power draw than the other compressors, it still draws more overall as its running for longer.

John,
"Swing motor is designed to run almost constantly." Smoke & mirrors.

The lower the thermostat is set the longer any fridge runs between cycles. If they had the thermostat set to max on the Engel, yes it would run constantly, however back it off a fraction and the Engel will cycle. There is no mention how they set the manual control on any of the fridges, hence the remark "smoke & mirrors."

 

[Ridge Runner]

hmmmm opened up the can here, lol.

Have to agree with Nightjar though, Engels definitely cycle. On the near zero night, my Engel barely used any AH (or WH). if it were running all the time it would still be pulling about 3A all the time which is 72AH / 24hr. My figures above definitely discount this. The Sawafuji electro magnet motor has one moving part, I'm not sure how many the Danfoss has = more to go wrong.

Regardless of the amount of juice used, my deciding factor should I ever need a new fridge is reliability vs value for money and as said previously, Mine at about $900, 23 years ago, works out to $39/yr or $0.75/week and getting lower every year.

Show me another brand with those stats and I'll change "religion"

Don't take it as a personal thing, Like I said Engel are incredible fridges and I am sure the other top fridges will last just as long, A Diesel will do a million Ks but I have a mate who's petrol 6 cylinder ford van that did over 750,000 Miles that is over 1,206,750 Ks there is no reason that any of the Danfos fridges can't last 30 or 40 years being German engineering, Fridges like National Luna and ARB all use the same Danfos motors and there is no reason why they cant match the life span of an Engel,

If you read the text I posted from their test you will see why the Engel used more power and whether it uses more power or not is irrelevant It is still a fantastic fridge, The old Phase III were Beautiful cars but they still had a bit of a thirst, A bit like me when I worked out west, None of these tests takes away anything from the Engel fridges all that matters is does it work yes or no, And there is no doubt about it, They work extremely well.

In those test all the fridges were tested for 500 hours each all at the same time running side by side, and it says this about Vipac on googles index,

Vipac is a leading engineering consultancy with 40 years' experience. Wind, Acoustics, Vibrations, Pressure, Thermodynamics and NATA accredited laboratory ...

 

[Ridge Runner]

Heres a Bit of what they said about the Engel motor,

john.

50LSAWAFUJI SWING MOTORThe Japanese made Sawafuji Swing motor is used by Engel in their range of fridge/freezers. The Sawafuji Swing motor doesnt use a traditional crankshaft or connecting rod to drive their piston. Instead it uses a combination of springs and electro-magnets that move the piston up and down when its needed. By utilising this technology, it eliminates the need for wearing parts like bearings, cranks or connecting rods. Effi ciency is also a key benefi t of Sawafuji Swing motor. Because it has only one moving part, less friction helps lower current draw. The Sawafuji Swing motor uses rubber mounting bushes that are then suspended between shock absorbent springs to ensure the motor is completely isolated from harsh knocks or vibra-tions great if youve ever hit a cattle grid at speed. Like the other compressors, itll also run at angles of up to 30. The difference is the Swing motor is designed to run almost constantly, so while it has less hour-for-hour power draw than the other compressors, it still draws more overall as its running for longer.

John,
"Swing motor is designed to run almost constantly." Smoke & mirrors.

The lower the thermostat is set the longer any fridge runs between cycles. If they had the thermostat set to max on the Engel, yes it would run constantly, however back it off a fraction and the Engel will cycle. There is no mention how they set the manual control on any of the fridges, hence the remark "smoke & mirrors."

They set all the Fridges to 5*c because that is what most folks would set them to in fridge mode so it was set very low and it would not have to work as hard as it would have to if it was set to minus 10 or minus 15 so it could not be set up much more to give it and easier time unless it was set to 10*c,

The thing is Vipac is a world leader in their field so although I don't agree with some of the test the MAG did, and whether I agree with Vipac or not, it is a fact that they know what they are doing and No one would know better that them, I don't like what I read but I am not Qualified enough to call them a Liar, So I just have to except what the say, One thing I will say is that the writers of the Article award one fridge 10 out of 10 for one thing in one of the paragraphs yet on the score board they gave it less points than they had already said and printed.

John

 

[Tathradj]

Going the Bushman.
Mainly for it's power consumption and lid versatility. I did state above that I was concerned about this but when I took a practical approach,
All made sense for my situation.
As far as I am concerned the 3 fridges here are the elite of them all and bloody very well engineered making
it an extremely difficult decision.
It just depends on your current situation. I do not see myself doing any severe traveling for the next 5
or so years but knowing me, I would have 2 fridges any way.
If I am going on a small 2 or 3 day trip, I will not need the high dome lid hence saving power.
A full on 5 to 1 week trip away will see the fridge maybe used to it's full capacity and take that into consideration.
I have not been able to find many whinges about them on line apart from the power lead and I understand the reason why this is done.
Any problems or issues were sorted out expediently I find.
There also is an updated cover coming shortly.
I rang a fellow at Bushman and drilled him for 1/2 an hour and there was no sales pitch or any thing.
Very Honest down the line and took me right through what has been done since the fridge was first bought out.
.
I fully respect any ones opinion of what they have found with their fridge so I thought, I will step to the plate and give a Bushman a hammering over the next 12 months and if my beer gets hot, The whole world will know about it. LOL
Time will tell but I do not think I will be disappointed.
Finally like to point out that this is my personal opinion only.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Going the Bushmans.
Mainly for it's power consumption and lid versatility. I did state above that I was concerned about this but when I took a practical approach,
All made sense for my situation.
As far as I am concerned the 3 fridges here are the elite of them all and bloody very well engineered making
it an extremely difficult decision.
It just depends on your current situation. I do not see myself doing any severe traveling for the next 5
or so years but knowing me, I would have 2 fridges any way.
If I am going on a small 2 or 3 day trip, I will not need the high dome lid hence saving power.
A full on 5 to 1 week trip away will see the fridge maybe used to it's full capacity and take that into consideration.
I have not been able to find many whinges about them on line apart from the power lead and I understand the reason why this is done.
Any problems or issues were sorted out expediently I find.
There also is an updated cover coming shortly.
I rang a fellow at Bushmans and drilled him for 1/2 an hour and there was no sales pitch or any thing.
Very Honest down the line and took me right through what has been done since the fridge was first bought out.
.
I fully respect any ones opinion of what they have found with their fridge so I thought, I will step to the plate and give a Bushmans a
hammering over the next 12 months and if my beer gets hot, The whole world will know about it. LOL
Time will tell but I do not think I will be disappointed.
Finally like to point out that this is my personal opinion only.

As long as you are happy that's all that matters, I would have seriously considered one if I had been able to find one, I think fridges are one of the worst things to choose even more so when you like em all and the Quality levels are so equal,
I went to 4 different stores to buy a TV and in the end bought one bigger than what I wanted, I am useless when it comes to this sort of thing,

Good luck That and let us know what you think when you get it home,

john

 

[BigWave]

I'm set on the Engel MT45F-G4CP 40L combi Fridge/Freezer. Can anyone recommend a retailer with a good price/delivery/service?

 

[Ridge Runner]

I'm set on the Engel MT45F-G4CP 40L combi Fridge/Freezer. Can anyone recommend a retailer with a good price/delivery/service?

That's the model I tried to buy but over here they only had the older models other wise I would have bought The Engle.

john

 

[BigWave]

Why do you want a fridge for anyway? Don't you have to put your cans under your armpits for 30+ minutes just to thaw them?

 

[Ridge Runner]

Why do you want a fridge for anyway? Don't you have to put your cans under your armpits for 30+ minutes just to thaw them?

Simple we turn ours up to stop them from freezing, Its minus 2*c here at the moment can't wait for summer, lol

 

[condor22]

Why do you want a fridge for anyway? Don't you have to put your cans under your armpits for 30+ minutes just to thaw them?

No they drink their beer warm over there

 

[condor22]

Why do you want a fridge for anyway? Don't you have to put your cans under your armpits for 30+ minutes just to thaw them?

Simple we turn ours up to stop them from freezing, Its minus 2*c here at the moment can't wait for summer, lol

Adelaide's max for the next week, keep in mind it's now Autumn.

36, 32, 34, 33, 30, 29 then a cool change the next day at 28. Night time min hovering 20 or higher.

 

[condor22]

I'm set on the Engel MT45F-G4CP 40L combi Fridge/Freezer. Can anyone recommend a retailer with a good price/delivery/service?

Try,
http://www.portablefridgesonline.com.au/engel-mt45fp-bag.html $1,315 incl transit bag

or Google it

 

[Ridge Runner]

Why do you want a fridge for anyway? Don't you have to put your cans under your armpits for 30+ minutes just to thaw them?

No they drink their beer warm over there

Hey, I'm an Aussie I don't drink warm beer, If I want a warm drink I drink Coffee, and I got a dozen cans of fosters in the fridge as we speak, I might be away from home but I've not gone feral, lol

john