Engel refrigerator

DW and I have an alternative to running the TM refrigerator enroute or the type of cooler bought at big box stores that plug into the TV's 12 volt outlet. Google "Engel" and you'll find a company that makes 12 volt refrigerator/freezers for RV, marine or medical usage. These are true compressor units which will keep things completely frozen (if that is your wish) in an enclosed parked car in August. They draw very little juice and we can actually leave it in the TV running overnight and still are able to start the truck in the morning. We bought it to carry frozen food up to Canada for canoe trips but find it useful with our TM - we can shop before leaving home and pull frozen steaks out for a cookout days later. On the rare occasion that my angling efforts meet with success, we can wrap the fish and then freeze them as we are driving home. They are more expensive but ours, now 4 years old, has been trouble free. - Camp2Canoe

They certainly are more expensive, 659 instead of 99.

It says that the unit will draw up to about 5 amps. What it does not say is what is the current draw when the unit is in the shade and the temperature is 100 degrees F.

I could not find any real world experience. On a single group 24 battery, how long will it keep cold food cold when the temperature is 90+ during the day and only drops to 75 overnight? I find it hard to believe that I could still start my truck 24 hours later.

Are there retailers in the US? I would like to see one.

[Bill]

Wayne -

I have the 43-quart Engel unit. I bought it from Cabela's (definitely a US retailer) about 6 months ago. It was first mentioned on this board by Factor in 2005. I bought it on the recommendation of RockyMtnRay, who was the first on this group, I think, to buy and use one.

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=2872

Yes, it is expensive - very expensive. You really have to want/need something like this to justify its cost.

You asked about the current drain. When the compressor is running, I think it draws a something less than 5 amps. I'm thinking 3.5 amps, but at the moment, I have no way to confirm that. The compressor runs when cooling is needed, and when no cooling is needed, the compressor turns off and it draws NO current. This is just like your home refrigerator. As a result, if you set the control lower, or the outside temperature is higher, it draws 3.5 amps for a higher proportion of the time - but it never draws any more than 3.5 amps. If I recall correctly, this is about half of the TE cooler's current drain.

So, if the outside temp is 100 degrees and you set the thermostat to "Freeze", the compressor may run nearly all the time, drawing 3.5 amps nearly continuously. But if the outside temp is 70 degrees and you set the thermostat for "Chill", the compressor may run only 10% of the time. Less run time means less power drawn from the battery, of course.

Under the conditions you describe, I would not expect a battery to run ANY refrigerator for 24 hours, and still start the truck. That is just not realistic. Camp2Canoe described different results, but under better conditions (overnight, not 24 hours, and in chilly Canada, not desert Arizona or steamy Florida). And of course, that is the reason to unplug your TM from your truck when you stop (assuming you don't have an isolator).

So why did I decide to take the plunge? There are several reasons. For years, I had been using a 40-quart Coleman thermoelectric (TE) cooler that I bought at WalMart (for well under $99, by the way). For the money, it did what it did quite well. But it had several shortcomings that I was eventually unable to deal with.

First, the purpose of any cooler or refrigerator is to convert electricity into cold. A TE cooler does this, but not very well. It uses a LOT of electricity to create each bit of cold. A compressor-based refrigerator (the refrig in your home, for example, or the Engel) does it much better - it is much more efficient, using much less electric power to produce each bit of cold.

Second, the TE cooler does not cycle on and off. It runs 100% of the time. This ensures that it draws maximum energy out of your battery - something that is not desired, of course.

Third, the TE cooler does not have a thermostat. If the outside temperature drops, the temperature inside the cooler drops, and can easily drop below freezing. Not good if you are cooling lettuce, for example. And then, if the outside temperature rises, the temperature inside the cooler rises, and any frozen stuff thaws. Not good if you are carrying some steaks on a week-long campout, for example.

I finally reached the breaking point last April. As you may know, my wife and I journey from Maine to Arizona every spring. In Maine, there is great seafood to be had. In Arizona, you can't get good seafood. So we put $250 worth of frozen seafood in our TE cooler and set out for Arizona, knowing that in April the outdoor temperatures would remain moderate over the entire trip and if we were careful, we would arrive with a bunch of yummy still-frozen seafood. But we didn't count on our son-in-law, who took the cooler out of the car at one point, and set it in the sun. Even though it was still plugged in, everything thawed and rotted. Ouch! With an Engle refrig-freezer, that would not have happened, and since we plan to do this every year, it was worth it to us to invest in the Engel.

Make no mistake, our TE cooler is a great thing as long as we recognize its limitations. It is wonderful for keeping drinks cold, for instance, since sodas and beer are quite tolerant of temperature extremes. Steak and chicken that we are going to eat in the next couple days carry quite well. It is a lot better than an ice chest, because there is never a need to buy ice, or to deal with the mess created by the melted ice. And it is MUCH lighter - the Engel is a MOOSE!

But for a situation where you really need a dependable temperature-controlled refrigerator or freezer, the Engel is a much better solution.

Hope that helped answer your questions.

Bill

Bill,

Thanks for the more complete story, I really appreciate it. I'm almost sold on it, but I have a few more toys to buy first.

I have the Coleman TE unit and like you said, it is good for what it does. It does well for lettuce and condiments, but for the cold beverages of my choice it isn't near cold enough. I end up using ice.

There is enough room in the TM fridge for the food. It is the cold drinks that I need extra room for and I like my beverages so cold that it would freeze the lettuce.

Thanks again.

BTW, just got back from AZ. Went to visit my nephew in Gold Canyon (free place to stay) while we took in a little spring training. Myself, DW, DD and DS.

Yard House had my favorite cold beverage, Moose Drool on tap.

[grill-n-go]

WAECO is another brand that makes a "refrigertor" like the Engle. WAECO has a plastic enclosure, the Engle may have a steel enclosure. I've noticed the WAECO's are lighter in weight when comparing units of equal capacity.
Last year I bought a refurbished one from the factory for about $100 less that the Engle. Both these units use a Danfoss compressor and they are in fact a true refrigerator freezer, you pick the temperature setting. I hooked up a watts meter (the blue gadget from CW) to mine, it reads 65 watts (5.4 amps) when the compressor is running. These units have a switch which enables different levels of battery protection so that when it detects that battery voltage has dropped below a certain level it will automatically shut off. This way you know you will always have enough juice to start your TV in the morning.

If you are interested in a real refrigerator instead of a battery powered cooler, and don't want a freezer, we have a Dometic 3-Way Fridge it not only works on ac\dc but will run off propane. Ours is older than the model they have now, and doesn't have wheels and handle, it is a REALLY tough plastic, and after having been drug around for 9 years it is still working and looking great. They're even about $100.00 less than they used to be.. I think we paid 500.00 for ours.


http://www.campingworld.com/browse/s...17919&src=SRQB

When we bought our Engel unit, which I believe may be the one just smaller than Bill's, I shopped rather aggressively and found the best deal at compactappliance.com.

On the first night of our trip we took it into a motel room and it was so noisy that it woke us up and kept us awake every time the compressor kicked on. Thereafter we left it running in the truck. (In Wisconsin, Minnesota and Ontario almost all motels have outside receptacles that you can plug your tank heater into during the winter and most nights we'd just leave a window cracked to accomodate an extention cord.) On our return I contacted compactappliance.com and they walked me through a diagnosis and repair - a bubble apparently formed in the coolant during shipping and it was repaired by simply rotating the unit 360 degrees. Thereafter it produced a barely audible hum and has worked perfectly.

Our unit does have a heavy duty steel case but I believe several of the smaller units have a plastic case and are lighter. It has a large handle on either side allowing DW and I to carry it together when loaded. If I'm loading by myself I usually put it in the back seat of our truck and then load it. There are certainly lighter and cheaper alternatives but if you have the need it does provide true freezer (or refrigeration) capability. The manufacturer has sales brochures that give the specifics of power consumption. - Camp2Canoe

[Bill]

Just to close out one of the open ends in this thread -

I had a chance to measure the current that my 43 qt Engel draws from the 12-volt battery supply when the compressor is running. The Engel draws between 3 and 3.5 amps.

Bill