Gday mate,

This question has been asked a few times in the past with alot of feed back from people, some like waeco, but most like engle aswell as a few other brand names mentioned, have a search on the site and you will come up with heaps of advice and opinions. But me personaly i like waeco ;)

Heres a couple mate

http://fishwrecked.com/forum/waeco-or-engel

http://fishwrecked.com/forum/here-we-go-again

As Paul said covered heaps of times and everyone has their own opinion
Engel for me I have seen too many waeco's fail and I don't like the bulky transformers they come with.

I've had a 40L engel for ten years and it's been on for most of that time and never had a drama. Father in law just bought a 40L waeco for about $450 less though. Depends if you're happy forking out $1100-$1200 for an engel or more happier snapping up a waeco when they're on special for about $650. Bit like Nissan and Toyota, you'll always pay more for a Toyota

 Had a Waeco.....sold it and now im a happy 2 Engel camper!

Spend the extra cash on an Engel and you won't be disappointed.

Engel for me just can't fault it

what about these?

anyone had one?

if its like the gennys, i have had a import 2 stroke genny for years now and it just wont die, waiting for it to die so i can buy a 4 stroke.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-80L-PORTABLE-FRIDGE-FREEZER-w-TWIN-CONTROL-caravan-camping-fishing-/280789796301?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item41606045cd

yer i know you get what you pay for but how bad can they be???

i could buy 4 of these compaired to 1 engel!!!

 That is all.

engels are really good quality , i have a 40L one, my dad has one thats old as the hills and still works great. just remember the bigger you go the more power they chew and the less room you'll have for gear. i reckon dont get a massive one unless you need it.

and will always have an engel. Thats my preference and it is fantastic the way it works (you can crank it right down temp wise even in heatwave).  Havent had any experience with Waecos but they have been around a long time and people swear by them.

You might be able to get 4 of the imports for the same price, but you be buying 10 of them over the life of a single engel/waeco. Make sure you look at how much juice the imports chew up etc from your battery.  

I've had a 50L Waeco for 5 years, been put through moderate use and hasn't skipped a beat! I'd heard bad things bout the older model Waeco's but havent had any drama'swith mine.

Great value for money not sure anymore but they used to do a great package on the 50L. Also don't have any drama's with current drops or any of that when running off the duels in my Tojo.

But hey, if I had the $$ at the time I'd of probably of gone the Engel.. They have reliability written all over them

 Engel are alot better than plastic I will never buy a waeco again...... If u got the coin look into EVAKOOL fiberglass or poly best fridge I ever brought had mine for 3 years now never had a problem with it money well spent oh and they can take a beating

Cheers

- putting the cat among the pidgeons ! :)

Have had a 80lt Waeco for over ten years now. Have used it on camping and fishing trips and it gets used as a beer fridge in between. Very happy with it. Great value for money.

60ltr waeco has a lot smaller footprint than the 80 and has a lot less amp draw. Waeco also has the battery saver option.

One more vote for the ARB 

Thanks for all the feedback guys. Much appreciated.

Engel all the way.

The old man's is over 28 years old and still going strong, even after multiple epic rough trips in old FJ40 & 45 Land Cruisers, including Canning Stock route and Gunbarrel Hwy.

I got the Waeco 20L, it fits between the seats of a Patrol if you get rid of the centre console.  Perfect for long drives, gives you somehting at the right height to put your arm on.  Plus its full of beer :D

I got a old Engel but that lives in the tray only, cos its rattly and the compressor sounds like a 2 stroke at full throttle, still works a treet. 

I used to work in exploration, camping out for extended periods.  We had one of these http://www.norcoast.com.au/ on the the back of the ute.  One of the 125mm insulation, dual zone fridge freezer ones.  Was F***ing huge, but it worked better than anything else.  Seperate compressor for each zone, remarkable power consumption, everything was really well protected, never once skipped a beat.  did over 150000 km in the back of a ute through the Pilbara and Kimberly, about 20% of that on sealed roads!!!  Expensive, about $4200 from memory, but kicked the shit outta everything else I have ever seen.

I owned a 50l Waeco for about 4 years. Sent it in for repairs about 3 times and even then it never really worked properly for me. The battery cut off function never ever worked properly with it cutting off at around 12.5v on full mode and around 12.1v on economy. If you read the forums this is a very common problem with them. Best thing I can say about it is that it held its resale value as I sold it for not much less then I paid for it.

Own a 70l Evakool. Great fridge however a little underpowered I think. The freezer element is only around one section of the fridge so that area freezes and gets cold whilst the other end of the fridge is still quite warm (in excess of 8c). They hold their cold really well but on a hot 35c day the 70l is just a little too underpowered I think. A mate has the 47l fibreglass one and it seems to work an absolute treat.

After selling the Waeco I brought one of the plastic engels. Love it to death!! has nice even temperatures throughout and is quite tough. I use it for most of my camping and on day trips with the boat. Takes a bit longer to get cool then the Waeco did but it holds its own in the power usage. Has alot more grunt then the evakool in that no matter what the outside temperature it will freeze anything. 

If I was to do it all again I would not bother looking at the Waeco, I would go for a smaller evakool or I would go for the engel.

I've got the 40 and 80 litre Engels, 40 has had a ruff life in the Boat and 4wd and never missed a beat, well worth the extra dollars. I use the 80 for an annual Ningaloo Station trip and as a beer fridge for parties etc and it two has never missed a beat. When I take both on long camping trips I use the 40l as a freezer which it does with ease, Generator gets turned off before we go to sleep and everything is still frozen in the morning.