FWIW Andy I ditched the 240 volt gear in my Waeco when upgrading the thermostat - so now only 12 volt.Originally Posted by TheRealAndy
FWIW Andy I ditched the 240 volt gear in my Waeco when upgrading the thermostat - so now only 12 volt.
I repaired the 240v power supply twice. Last time I pulled it apart I just never go around to fixing it. Still got it, still in bits, cant bring myself to throw it away though!
Mines the opposite. The 12 volt died so took it in to get repaired and it is a $450 exercise. Stuff that. The fridge is 15 years old. I ended up trying it on a 500 watt inverter last weekend and it worked a treat. The 500watt is permanently fixed in the camper so no good if we take the fridge in the boat. The label on the side states it only draws 45 watts so I am guessing it will run of one of those can type inverters being 150 watts should be the goods.
Might be worth getting it to someone who does electronic repair for a second opinion. A lot of the joints that do "repairs" to electronic items simply quote on board replacement when the actual fault could be as little as a dry solder joint. I repaired a welder that was "written off" due to a $700 repair quote a while back due to exactly this. The repair facility simply quoted to replace all the boards when all that was really required was a few hours with a soldering iron. This may or may not be the case with your fridge but worth a shot. Just watch the little can inverters - they get stinking hot even when running below the rating. Using 3.5 amps at 12 volts the one running the PC in the boat got uncomfortable to touch. I ended up fitting a fan which fixed the problem but is annoying to listen to.
Interesting, lots of comments from people who have had fridges for a lot of years saying how good they are, how well they have lasted etc etc.
Wonder what the current models / product quality is compared to what those were all those years ago, probably nothing like it!
interesting comment.
here is something else to ponder.
I purchased a 29 litre Engle some 27 odd years ago....cost was around the 1200 buck mark ( wish I went. 39 now )
fridge spent end most of its life in the back of a ute. Needed a regas about 10 years ago. Was semi retired about 7 years ago but still pours along nicely. Used as a freezer on big trips these days.
cost of that same fridge today is less than what I paid back then. So has the quality diminished or things just got cheaper?
FYI the engle was replaced by. 50ltr National Luna. Truck loads more money than any other 50 at the time but build quality and insulation thickness was the reason I purchased. If I had to replace would go same or go mad and get a super thick job from up at Redcliffe.
Cheers
Steven
Looked at a lot of them, ended up with a 60L ARB. More +'ves than -'ves for our needs, and the boss liked the internal layout best - although I would have preferred the deeper 47 or 78L versions.
Now all I have to do is use it [emoji1].
Cheers
Brendon
Hi Scottar, Bit the bullet yesterday and got 1 of those little can inverters. It is one of the Waeco ones from BCF for $60. It has a little fan in it and a USB charger. Its rated to 250w peak and 150w norm. I put it on the fridge yesterday and ran it all night checking for heat on the can itself and the wiring etc. There is no heat at all and actually cool to touch. The fan does make a little noise but is less than the fridge when the compressor is running. I am stoked as I don't have to buy a new fridge now. Goona
All good. The one I bought (Jaycar) didn't have a fan as standard. With the fan there shouldn't be a hassle.
I have a 25 yr old Trailblazer and always worked well but heavy as hell, finally the compressor died, cost of repair by Trailblazer at Caloundra $740, ouch.
I was in urgent need of one while waiting repair and picked up a cheap 60 litre Eva Kool also from Caloundra for around $450. Name ain't names, Eva Kool import most these days, the one I got was from Indonesia I think and it has an external plug in transformer for the 240vokt side which makes the total unit a little lighter. On a recent trip to Frazer it kept the bait frozen for a week with no issues, a 125 amp deep cycle battery hardly knew it was on.
Of the two the Trailblazer certainly runs less but is heavy and doesn't get down as low in temp as the cheapy Eva Kool but then again it is 25 yr old. The cheapy is lighter, smaller and easier to handle but if in the sun certainly ran more often but still low consumption of power. I have had used the Trailblazer in situations where power was only available for 8 to 10 hrs a day and it stayed bloody cold throughout, the Eva Kool with much thinner walls did warm up much quicker so if availability of power supply is going to be anissue then the Trailblazer is worth the extra weight and size.
Probably not a good comparison given the age difference between the units but it's all I've had and experience with.
I had a waco and the lid warped it pissed me off that the rep charged me $30 to deliver it to a camping store in caloundra and i think it was $150 for the new lid. It shouldn't have warped in the first place. I got so sick of waco because then the fridge stopped working two months later. I now have the best - a Trailblazer made in Caloundra very happy with it but they are not cheap. After sales service is fantastic. The fan stopped after 2 years and they put a new one in for free and didn't charge me
Is the Engel repairable?
Trailblazer, and that type of fridge is definitely the most robust and efficient imo. If you still have you're Evakool then I'd be interested in buying it. I certainly wouldn't offer much for it as I may not get it going again, but depending on size and physical appearance I could be interested. Send me a pm if interested.
thanks,
Dave.
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