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Thread: 12 volt fridges

  1. #16

    Re: 12 volt fridges

    Quote Originally Posted by TheRealAndy View Post
    Agree with Alchemy about the digital thermostats. I had issues with my old Waeco due to condensation. I repaired mine several times. Didn't matter in the end because I drowned it in salt water and killed most of the electronics! Still works though, I pulled it apart to repair the 240v power supply several times, last time I gave up and its still in bits (could be a project for someone who is only interested in a 12v version.

    The new CFX version is different, time will tell if it holds up. Apparently it does not use the secop (danfoss) compressor but rather waeco's own. I am not going to pull it down to have a look just yet. I have not owned mine long enough to comment if my initial observations of power consumption are accurate, but its looking pretty good so far. Something has changed though.
    FWIW Andy I ditched the 240 volt gear in my Waeco when upgrading the thermostat - so now only 12 volt.

  2. #17

    Re: 12 volt fridges

    Quote Originally Posted by Alchemy View Post
    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!


  3. #18

    Re: 12 volt fridges

    Quote Originally Posted by Alchemy View Post
    FWIW Andy I ditched the 240 volt gear in my Waeco when upgrading the thermostat - so now only 12 volt.
    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.

  4. #19

    Re: 12 volt fridges

    Quote Originally Posted by goona View Post
    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.

  5. #20

    Re: 12 volt fridges

    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!

  6. #21

    Re: 12 volt fridges

    Quote Originally Posted by Feral View Post
    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

  7. #22

    12 volt fridges

    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 .
    Cheers
    Brendon

  8. #23

    Re: 12 volt fridges

    Quote Originally Posted by scottar View Post
    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.
    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

  9. #24

    Re: 12 volt fridges

    Quote Originally Posted by goona View Post
    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.

  10. #25

    Re: 12 volt fridges

    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.

  11. #26

    Re: 12 volt fridges

    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

  12. #27

    Re: 12 volt fridges

    Is the Engel repairable?

  13. #28

    Re: 12 volt fridges

    Quote Originally Posted by seashawgal View Post
    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
    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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