Have known the owner since I was kneehigh to a duck, done some training work for him myself in the past.  They know their shit.

will read this one with interest, im looking at a fridge/freezer myself

Engels are great fridges but are hefty on the wallet. I have a waeco, and it has been great...for the price you pay for them...and the amount you use them!

thats the way i see it wade, im assuming with engel, for part of the cost all your getting is the name?

are better imo they have a swing compressor that can handle the off road better and operate at more of an angle plus the plastic case is beeter than the steel cases

i ruined a brand new engle in one trip even with the canvas cover all the paint came off where i tyed it down  my farther in law has had 4 engles not to happy with any off them has 2 wacos and has no complaints

Intresting and then there is the savings to be had on teh wacos ;) mind u need that thumper to run them ... ;)

funny eurekas webpake is hte one that got me intrested and I like the idea of goin on a weekender might cost $495 for two days but at least u cant get bokked or well somone is there to help u out.

Always had Engels, had one in the back of my ute for about 5 years when I was chasing drill rigs around the bush never had a problem. Had a new 60l for around 2 years now never missed a beat.Buy a Transit Bag and tie it down.The slides are good but a extra cost

I reckon you're pretty right with either.  I have a waeco but only because I could get a bit more volume (60L) with the same footprint size as the 40.  The fact that they were a bit cheaper (although I could get an engel pretty cheap at the time) didnt hurt either I s'pose.  After a year and a half of use the only critisism I have is that it draws more power than I thought and that is only a problem when we go away for more than a few days in one spot.  There are some who say that engels are a bit more efficient but I'm yet to see the proof from mates that have 'em.  Shoulda just got a bigger battery!

If you're willing to shell out big bucks on a National Luna or something you can get something significantly better (my brother's one kicks a..) but for most people I reckon engel or waeco are both pretty good.

wal

ps - if it was going to get bashed around in the back of a ute or something I'd still go the engel just cos I like the steel case even though sale-dudes will try and tell you that the plastic is even stronger.

go the engel we bought one and never looked back

i bought an abr sidewinder 55L from over east a while back now.

brilliant sturdy fridge/freezer cant fault it if your looking for a slightly cheaper option.

i run it on a 120ah deep cycle battery and it will last 4-5 days on the beach with ease. 

bought it thru ebay to save me shipping costs ... $850-$900 all up from memory :)

We have had our Chescold for 13yrs.  It is the plastic green model.  They are a bit larger than the Engel for capacity however the Engel and Chescold work better different ways. 

We bought the Chescold because it was very efficient running on gas.  It does draw a fair bit of power on 12 volt (although our Lancruiser is wired to run the Chescold in the back).  So if you are driving everyday and have a good duel battery set up the Engel is good.  However if like to set up camp for a few days like we do then the Chescold can run for 3 weeks on a 9kg gas bottle.  Our Chescold has been all over WA and has worked well in all conditions.  The outer shell is really tough and the whole unit is easy to keep clean. 

We initially bought the Chescold when we camped in our tent.  Now that we have the camper we still use the Chescold as the second fridge/freezer.  When we have stayed at Cape Range near Exmouth we filled the Chescold with our frozen food and kept the drinks in the camper fridge. 

We found that having the Chescold is very handy to have and we use it at home for parties etc.  Hope that helps.  I don't know much about Wacos so can't comment about them.

But I wish I hade the money to go a National Luna. They absolutely kill everything in capacity, freeze time etc.

but at about double the price, Engel. Forget the Waeco. Sounds like a Farm burnt down by a cult in America, and I have tested a Engel and Waeco together and the Engel kicks butt.

Neels

My family has 3 of the cream colored old steel engels, dunno capacity but it perfectly holds a 30 block.  They are absolutley bulletproof with all three still working. 

 My Parents recently upgraded vehicles and fitted out the trademate thing on the back with awesome shelving and a Bushman 60lt methinks on slides and a lever mechanism that lowers the whole unit out the side and down to a reasonable height for loading/unloading.

Couldnt fault it in the 8 days down in walpole.  Kept frozen goods well and froze caught fish and bait.

 I hear the engels are known for drawing more current and the bushmans supposedly arent as good in the insulation stakes so things can defrost if not running all the time.

Dunno anything about waecos.

are the Trailblaza's from Queensland , I've had an 80ltr for years and it hasnt been turned off for about 4 years,run it as my beerfridge when were not camping ,quite expensive though but bulletproof

I was at the 4WD show with a mate set on buying a Weaco, till we came up to an Engel that was run over. No lid, twisted and I mean #$%^@I up, 32 degree day in the sun and still frozen inside. I work on the mines on remote jobs and we dont even tie them down. Buy an Engel set and forget.

buy once , buy right , choose engel

my mate has the massive waeco  (80 litre ish)

it won't go below about 3 or 4 degrees in full summer sun

my engel 60 litre is sitting on 0 degrees in full sun when turned to 2.

(dial goes down to 5) 

currently using it as a meat freezer in the house

turned down to 3 and its sitting at -8

Have used both and now only have the engel 40lt and looking to get 1 more. One as a fridge and one as a freezer. The waeco used more power and replaced the plastic clips twice. Kids only need to slam them shut with the clips down and their gone.

unless you intend using it a real lot just hire one, we pay (I think)
about $160 for 10 days (I think they charge for 2 weeks) for a 80litre engel freezer from engelland and you always have one in good working order as they are checked out after every hire.

Ran mine up at the Montes as a drinks fridge out in the open, had a rough tarp thrown over it but still got caught out one day when a rain storm hit camp. Came back to a fried powerboard but the engel was A ok once the power board was replaced. At the time we had three engels and a 150L upright freezer running off a honda 2kva gennie. Everything was fine.

Same rain storm destroyed another guys 80L waeco set up when the transformer built into the powerlead got wet and fried itself. Not good when your in a remote place. Had also happened the year before to him and were not talking about a lot of moisture either as the waeco was under a gazebo and it was just some incidental rain that blew in.

Engel = bulletproof in my experience.

engle for sure
if your concerned about the metal body get the eclipse wich is plastic
you are not paying for the name but 40+years of reliability at the end of the day it comes down to persnal preference
i have sold both at ranger and by far the engles outsold the waeco
brenz

used them out bush and seen them after a troopie has rolled several times and the beer and fridge was still cold while awaiting help.

waeco plastic doesn't seem to hold the strenght IMO. sure they are cheaper but like anything buy it for your personal need(s). if you dont or dont intent too go hard remote bush then fine stick with the waeco, but in extreme environments the engel will stand the test of time.

using gas fridge/freezers has its cons obviuosly.

Stoinka has an engel for sale and thinks its a 60l. good price.

when not in the back of the hilux its serving ice cold beer in the family room. run them continueoulsy and not stop-start. the lid seals will need replacing over the years but thats life.  

get a cover and strap

Ran a 40lt Engel for 6 months touring Kimberlys to Cape York in a 4WD- the only problem we had was a few screws come loose due to severe vibration from corrugated tracks - other than that it was/still is faultless.

I run a 40LT Engel in the Leisurecat for drinks and food off the 60amp hr thumper battery and when I get home I put it on mains power so it runs all the time. Its awesome. I also currently have my dads 60Lt engel that I use as my drinks fridge in the house, that one has been up and down to Karatha a few times and in the ruff.

curious to know if anyone has used one of those evakool type, the ones that are like a esky but with the motor attached to the outside etc

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/60L-EVAKOOL-Fibreglass-Fridge-RFE60-FF-car-portable-12v_W0QQitemZ250465049095QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_Sport_Camping_Hiking_Food_Storage?hash=item3a50e15a07

yeah go engel ive got 40lt waco had nothing but dramas theve got low voltage cut out that always cuts out at 11.5 volts have asked to get it taken out but they wont & have been told theres nothing wrong with it but there is the only way i can keep it running is use a cat battery n200 im useing while camping to get a couple of days out of it saving up for an engle now DONT TOUCH a waco i wish i didnt cheap crap

Engel for sure, i run my 40ltr mainly for drinks. I run it flat out on freeze during the day and turn back to fridge at night, it constantly keeps below 2 degrees. After doing 10+ trips to Steep Point with it, i can not fault it. I've been up there with guys that have the waeco's and they just have to settle with warm beer.

It seems we need them if just for the beer ;) everyone seems to have one fomr or other and engles keep scoring in reliability. Thanks !

Just checked out stoinkas spewing he has the then i bough for 1200 for 800 :( an 80ltr freezer thats massive be awsum but take up all the darn space ? everyone happy with the 40ltr one or they coming in to small ?

Edit crap just looked at the deimensions the 80ltr is bloody tall i think I got max 45cm under the ute tray :(

Aint seen u at Work lately still there? and when u puttign up pics of the new rigg? :)

In my opinion its all in the insulating properties and for that reason I'd go with the Eva Cool .... The others are basically fridges where as the EC's are ice chests with compressors hanging of the side ... More insulation = less motor cut in = less power consumption...We've all seen or have got those big tropical boxes and how well they keep ice....

Although they are a bit more than the competition I think its worth it.

If it comes down to the Engel/Waeco price range I'd go Engel anyday...

Cheers fishfish..

i have seen ARB released a fridge freezer range also, interested to know what they are like considering most ARB stuff is fantastic quality.

i thought the arb one is a rebadged engel

i have 2 40l waeco's and think they are awesome the 2 40l's are better on power then the 1 80l i run 1 as a fridge and one as a freezer, the benefit of an engel is you can set the fridge and the freezer at diff temps where the waeco only has the one setting.

its 50 50 mate you will get 100ppl say waeco and 100ppl say engel then 100ppl say something completly different

i went waeco as they ment i had change in my budget for other things.

cheers

Roddo

Just dont buy one from a dodgy bearded bastard or the coppers will come and take it back from you

to have sitting at home... renting for most of us is the way to go. The crew at engeland in Balcatta are very helpful but book ahead especially at peak holiday times.

engel does have the swing motor (sawafuji swing)

I was wonering if these are better then the ice boxes for the use in the boat although I am looking for one for camping but then again couple of ice packs and the ice boxes keep everythign frozen for the day but the beers would be soo cool ;)