Travel fridges: Engel vs. Waeco?
 

I am considering buying either an Engel 40 or a Waeco CCF-40. Is the quality of the Engel sufficient to justify the extra expense and 33% incremental weight?

I've been told both the Engel and Waeco fridges share the same compressor: Danfoss BD35F The outside of the Engel is supposed to be a little more resistant to wear (stainless steel outside), but if you make some sort of (wooden) box around the Waeco, it should be just as good (take care not to block the airvents). Waeco also reaches -22 C inside under Southern Africa conditions.
In Holland there's a price difference between the two (40l versions) of €225.
I think the weigth is of less importance when travelling with an exp.vehicle (never overload of course!), but an extra 10 kg won't do any harm.
So, I would go for the Waeco Coolmatic!

hi Dan

don't know much about the Waeco brand but let me asure you that my engel performed perfectly last year in Namibia where we were traveling in 40 degree c temps. the build quality and reknowned longevity make it a favourite.
The other make I would consider are National Luna all the benefits of the Engel but use much less power.

cheers

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ChrisC

I would have to check for the exact model but believe we do have the 40 liter Weaco as well.

It runs on 24V/230V (TLC HJ61). We also bought one of these insulation sheets but that was quit expensive (believe some eur 60). We have tried it now for 6 months, the battery protection system is at least very, very good. No fear of draining our auxiliary batteries.

Do not put the temperature too low, everything will come out frozen.

The initial investment was EUR 750 and sofar it has proven to be very well invested!

Good luck, Jan Nouwens.

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Engel does not use the Danfoss compressor. They have their own "swing moter" compressor with only one moving part. You can read about it here:
http://www.i-m-d.com/engel/index.html
Their new (2002?) models use less amps than before.

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/smile.gif

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I'm on an email list thats based in South Africa. see overland.co.za. They take having a cold beer very seriously :-)

National Luna is a brand down there that is well liked and trusted, and they have been leading the way in the development somewhat from what I can gather, and now the likes of Engel and that have copied or used similiar technologies.

I would imagine it would be cheaper to buy directly from nationalluna.com (phone, don't bother with email) if you were interested. They also do a very snazzy battery magament system. loads of bells and bits for £90.

Hope that helps?