Author Topic: Engel or Waeco  (Read 18977 times)

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Offline Top.ender

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Engel or Waeco
« on: September 27, 2011, 02:46:53 PM »
Hi all I,m sure this question has been asked before but I need some advice on the quality of Waeco,s.I,ve owned a 40l Engel for 10 years with no problems but need to purchase a larger fridge for the C/T.Due to size restritions the largest Engel I can fit in is a 60l,or I can a Waeco 80l that has a fridge ,freezer and dairy compartment.Any feedback on the Waeco or any other type of fridge would be appreciated.They cant be any bigger than 520mm high ,550mm wide. :cheers:   

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Offline yogi

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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #1 on: September 27, 2011, 02:53:34 PM »
ENGEL .......... just cause the box tells you it's 80L don't believe them. Measure it up your self and make your own calculations. Also the dairy compartment is useless :D

yogi

PS(do a search there are heaps of topics on this around the place)

Offline WilSurf

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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #2 on: September 27, 2011, 02:56:16 PM »
Have you considered the ARB one?
They have a drain which the others don't have.
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Offline earle

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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #3 on: September 27, 2011, 02:59:17 PM »
We just went down this which fridge road and ended up with a Waeco. Suits our budget and there are a lot of people on this forum who are happy with them and have even bought a second one. Remember that some of the people who will tell you that waeco are poor quality are still talking about the ones from 10 or so years ago.

Now I'd better go start a dc-dc vs alternator or 6B&S thread.  >:D

Offline 4runnernomore

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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #4 on: September 27, 2011, 03:07:55 PM »
I have had my 50 LT Waeco for 10 + years  :angel:

Still going strong. Purchased originally as it was the biggest fridge that could fit into my 4runner on the draw system and could still access inside. the removable and reversable lid was the selling point in my particular case as I would need to remove the fridge otherwise to access inside which would have been a pain in the #%$^.

Only real negatives or issues was the requirement to run a transformer for 240 volt (now built in) as the cigarette adapter could be easily knocked and stop the fridge from working. Wouldn't be an issue now.

The other is the clips on the fridge lid to hold the lid open have sort of broken but does not affect sealing etc.

question is would I buy again.  YES in my experience.  

FYI i also have 60 l Engel.  I find this too big and cumbersome and bloody heavy before food or BEV :cheers: even goes in it so is rarely used.

Good luck with the decision.  ;D

Cheers, Chris  :cheers:  

« Last Edit: September 27, 2011, 03:09:51 PM by 4runnernomore »

Offline bimborocks

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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #5 on: September 27, 2011, 03:11:50 PM »
Much of a muchness, just go and see who will give you the best deal - BTW ask youself if you actually really need the junk merchandise that they usually throw in to sweeten the deal.  I bought a waeco CF50 for a few reasaons but the main one was they had a deal going at the time of cheaper price than RRP and had the cover thrown in.  I have been more than happy with its performance - I also think the dairy comparment is great (I like to be able to spread my butter on fresh bread without tearing it to shreads ;D)

Cheers
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Offline staghornflat

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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #6 on: September 27, 2011, 03:14:11 PM »
We have 3 Waecos, 25,40 and 50 lt. the 25 has lived in the back of ute 8 months of the year fpr 6 years and siil going strong.
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Offline gadgetman

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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #7 on: September 27, 2011, 03:17:15 PM »
G'day Top.ender
We owned an 80L Waeco and whilst I can't recall the exact size, it worked a treat but it was bloody heavy (even when empty) and was thirsty on power.  So if you are mounting this close to or on the A Frame, you need to consider tow ball weight. Power draw on the 80L was noticeably higher than on our 50L because of the different compressor - still a Danfoss but larger spec. If i had my time again i would have got another 50 or 60L.  
Cheers, Rob  
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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #8 on: September 27, 2011, 03:23:15 PM »
Quote from: bimborocks
Much of a muchness, just go and see who will give you the best deal
agree. or which comes with the longest warranty
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Offline 4runnernomore

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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #9 on: September 27, 2011, 03:32:31 PM »
Don't forget service agents around the country.

Offline WilSurf

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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #10 on: September 27, 2011, 03:35:36 PM »
Damage after 5 years of using the Waeco CF50: new power cord, string which holds the lid open broken, light switch pin broken.
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Offline Barry G

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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #11 on: September 27, 2011, 04:44:37 PM »
I ended up getting a second hand Autofridge, but prior to that my investigations identified the Bushman fridge as a damn good option.  Worth checking them out IMO.
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Offline HEM19X

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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #12 on: September 27, 2011, 05:53:57 PM »
Oooohhh the pain, another Engel vs Waeco thread.

ps we have 2 Engels.

Hem
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Offline peanut2

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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #13 on: September 27, 2011, 08:01:30 PM »
We have two Waecos.  The 80 we have had for about 7 yrs and the 50 for about 3 yrs.  No problems with either of them.  We camp alot, so both have had a lot of use.  Might also mention that we bought both from Waeco Factory Seconds.


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Offline Fivid

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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #14 on: September 27, 2011, 08:18:08 PM »
We have two Engels, a 40 (nearly 10 yo) and an 80 (about 4yo), no probs with either.  About the time we bought our 80 nearly everyone I knew with a Waeco had tested out the warranty.  From all reports the warranty was good and lately I have not heard of anyone with any problems so I guess they are all good now.

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Offline Stormchaser

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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #15 on: September 27, 2011, 08:18:42 PM »
Hi all I,m sure this question has been asked before but I need some advice on the quality of Waeco,s.I,ve owned a 40l Engel for 10 years with no problems but need to purchase a larger fridge for the C/T.Due to size restritions the largest Engel I can fit in is a 60l,or I can a Waeco 80l that has a fridge ,freezer and dairy compartment.Any feedback on the Waeco or any other type of fridge would be appreciated.They cant be any bigger than 520mm high ,550mm wide. :cheers:   

Hey Topender, we also have a similiar scenario at the moment i have 50 litre Waeco that is 10 or 12 years old and hasnt missed a beat except for it some how got the emergency switch turned on and it run flat out freezing everything couldn't work what the hell was going on until I spoke to somone else that had the same problem. :-[
I have researched both Engel 60 litre and Waeco 80 litre units then add in the ARB fridges who seem to be producing a good product as well it may well come down to the best deal on the day!
There are also the dual compartment fridge/freezers which is what we think is a good idea for the camper (50 litre will be in the car) but then i also hear people say they are no good so i havent got anywhere fast....... ???

I'm leaning towards the Engel 60 litre Combo but then the dollars come into play as they are the most expensive, then there is the power supply as we only have 1 x 105ah battery in the camper but whilst we travel it will charge from the car so that should be ok I hope bit of trial and error here.
Then we were just about to buy an 80W solar panel off flea bay but got told it wont provide enough charge to the battery to sustain the bigger fridge overnight so were more than confused now!!

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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #16 on: September 27, 2011, 08:21:47 PM »


We also had the dreaded dimensions to work around which can limit your choices.  60L Engel, 80L Waeco or (to throw some sand in the butter) a 60L Evakool ... we went with the Evakool.  Working a treat!

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Offline JethroT

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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #17 on: January 10, 2012, 09:56:10 AM »
The Waeco warranty is excellent, we've had ours fixed two times and now it's stopped again, We're so lucky it's within the warranty time.

I think I'll pay extra for the Tailblazer next time. The reliability is apparently very good and can be ordered with either 3 Inch or 5 Inch insulation.

Regards
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Offline areyonga

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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #18 on: January 10, 2012, 10:14:05 AM »
We just went down this which fridge road and ended up with a Waeco. Suits our budget and there are a lot of people on this forum who are happy with them and have even bought a second one. Remember that some of the people who will tell you that waeco are poor quality are still talking about the ones from 10 or so years ago.

Now I'd better go start a dc-dc vs alternator or 6B&S thread.  >:D

I did the same, bought a Waeco 50l and then bought a 30L for a freezer. I used to have an Engel but was hard to clean with the open cooler tube on the inside, the Waeco is much smoother to mop out.
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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #19 on: January 10, 2012, 10:18:25 AM »
http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=16824.msg259559

fridge spreadsheet



few measurements etc to give you some more options
« Last Edit: May 05, 2017, 02:13:57 PM by Bird »
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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #20 on: January 10, 2012, 10:47:00 AM »
We have a 40l Waeco, nearly 10 years old and a 2 yo 80l Engel.  Waeco was purchased based on price, Engel was purchased based on the true 2 zone between freezer and fridge.

Cannot fault either of them, after 10 years only issue with the Waeco has been the light has blown.

Depending what you are actually looking for let price/deal be the decider, other than that there isn't that much between them.

 :cheers: Cracka

Offline jeeps

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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #21 on: January 10, 2012, 11:23:20 AM »
I've had a 40L Engel and Waeco but neither caught my fancy. Next time i'll get an Evakool or Trailblazer.

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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #22 on: January 10, 2012, 01:13:06 PM »
No its not we use the dairy all the time

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Offline RebsWA

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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #23 on: January 10, 2012, 01:27:16 PM »
I have 2 Waecos. Do they work as intended and up to my expectation, and would I buy Waecos again, yes on both counts
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Offline ddr

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Re: Engel or Waeco
« Reply #24 on: January 10, 2012, 02:02:08 PM »
We have one of each, Id only buy another Engel.

My reason is that the Engel does not interfere with the HF radio where as anything with a Danfoss compressor does. 
Due to my forgetfulness we end up with warm/off food after using the HF with the Wacko turned off. :angel: