Author Topic: Engel Fridge/Freezer Combi - Fridge Vs Freezer Temp  (Read 16306 times)

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Offline xr4hung

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Engel Fridge/Freezer Combi - Fridge Vs Freezer Temp
« on: January 08, 2012, 10:11:14 AM »
I have an Engel MT60F Combi., i.e 30 litre fridge + 27 litre freezer

Currently camping in Lake Macquarie area so temps mid 20s to low 30s for last week or so. Fridge in total shade.

I am finding that to keep the fridge at around 4 to 5 degrees celsius I am having to run the thing on about setting 4(which is chewing the juice). In current conditions this is keeping the freezer at around -12 to -14 degrees celsius.

I don't need this low a freezer temp as I am only using fridge at present and have freezer full with pre frozen ice bottles.

I am trying to save battery power, but it seems freezer must be very cold to keep fridge at required temp

With the fan between freezer and fridge advertised as being thermostically controlled, I would have thought that fridge should be at 4 or 5 degrees regardless of freezer temp.

I know fridge/freezer combo will use more power than fridge only, however I thought the thermostatic fan would allow reasonable fridge temp, with freezer at -4 or -5 for example.

I am interested to know if any other Swaggers with the same Engel model, find this to be typical of the how this model runs, as I am considering going back to a fridge only to save power and cryovacing meat



Offline BigJules

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Engel Fridge/Freezer Combi - Fridge Vs Freezer Temp
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2012, 10:39:49 AM »
I too await an answer with interest, have the combo running in the garage on same setting.
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Offline Captain

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Re: Engel Fridge/Freezer Combi - Fridge Vs Freezer Temp
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2012, 12:14:29 PM »
I had a similair problem with my Evakool 82L fridge. Basically there is not enough "spill" cold air from the freezer so I modified it to have a thermostaically controlled fan to circulate cold air around. It turned the Evakool from an expensive esky into a great fridge  8)



Here is a link to a post I did on ExplorOz that goes into detail on the fan install.

http://www.exploroz.com/Members/30360.750/4/2011/Improving_an_Evakool_fridge_.aspx

Cheers

Captain
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Offline jetcrew

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Re: Engel Fridge/Freezer Combi - Fridge Vs Freezer Temp
« Reply #3 on: January 08, 2012, 07:54:47 PM »
Not sure if it is the same on the combi unit but i find in my 60ltr the lcd readout is a few degrees to high. Ie fridge says 4 degrees but fridge is actually 1 degree. When using a thermometer.

As I said this may not be the same on yours but worth considering that maybe it is cold enough. I was chewing lots of power trying to get mine to zero then worked out why my beers were iceing at o degrees.

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Offline Garry H

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Re: Engel Fridge/Freezer Combi - Fridge Vs Freezer Temp
« Reply #4 on: January 08, 2012, 08:00:13 PM »

With the fan between freezer and fridge advertised as being thermostically controlled, I would have thought that fridge should be at 4 or 5 degrees regardless of freezer temp.


 also have the 57l combi (bought when first released) , the fan between the compartments only holds the "fridge" side X? deg warmer than the "freezer" side and not as you describe regardless of freezer temp.

you will learn how to pack your combi to your advantage with time, we found that if you stack the long life milk for next days use and not the lettuce next to the fan you will be ok,

if we had to start again with all our gear we would possibly buy 2 smaller fridges and run one as a fridge and the other as a freezer,

we now have another smaller Engel and start the trip with the small fridge as a freezer and as supplies deplete we return with one fridge turned of or just the small one running as a fridge, we transfer our frozen meat to bottom of the fridge and let it thaw slowly as we need it, helps keep the power consumption down,

have 180 amp/hours on board and tend to not sit in one place to long anyhow, so consumption is not a worry for us

possibly when the tribe don't holiday with us anymore (never they tell us!) we may sell the combi and buy a 40l fridge

hope this helps you
cheers
Garry

Offline ewoksta

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Re: Engel Fridge/Freezer Combi - Fridge Vs Freezer Temp
« Reply #5 on: January 06, 2013, 03:50:52 PM »
I know this thread is a little old but rather than starting a new one.

We are thinking of buying the Engel MT80 Combi. 2 growing boys sees us looking at the bigger version of the combi's.

I see they draw between .5 to 4.2 Amps for the power consumption which compared to the Waeco's sounds pretty good. My problem is I am a complete newby to powered camping and need to understand what this really means. Our camper has a dual battery system with numerous outlets to power the fridge etc.

What I would like to know in laymans terms is if the batteries are fully charged how long would I get out of them running the fridge. I know it also depends on how much we use the LED lights, water pump etc but a general idea would be great. Is it say 4.2 amps per hour when the fridge is running flat out.

Some help an guidance would be great. Also any feedback on the engel fridges would be helpful as well. Want to be 100% sure we are making the right choice before parting with $2,000-!!!

Cheers
Andrew
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Re: Engel Fridge/Freezer Combi - Fridge Vs Freezer Temp
« Reply #6 on: January 06, 2013, 04:01:27 PM »
We have the 80l combo aswell, running on the 2 camper batteries (100aH each) we were getting 5 days before needing to really recharge the batteries.  Admittedly we also have a small solar panel.  I have found that running on a 4 setting indicated 4 Degrees but was closer to Zero, best results were on a setting of 3.

 :cheers:

Cracka

Offline Mace

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Re: Engel Fridge/Freezer Combi - Fridge Vs Freezer Temp
« Reply #7 on: January 06, 2013, 04:55:55 PM »
Welcome to the complexities of electricery ewokstar!!

The first thing you need to do is check your battery capacities. Cracka has given the example that he has two X 100Amp Hour batteries, giving 200Ah total capacity.  He supplements this by solar charging, which mite put back in somewhere between 20 and 30 Ah per day, depending on panel capacity.  This system gives  him the 5 days use period you require.

You also need to consider how the fridge is going to be used.  If you sit it in the sun, keep opening and closing it, and keep putting extra  :cheers: into it to cool it down, it will have to work a lot of the time at the 4 amps per hour use rate quoted.  But, if you treat it nicely, keep it in the shade and talk to it often, It will use less!  At the 4Ah consumption rate, it would chew up a lot of a normal 100Ah battery capacity on a hot day (4 amps x 8 hours equals 32 amps used).

Yes, engels are pretty efficient.  The average consumption rate over a day/night may be something like an average of 1.5 Amps per hour (may be a bit more).  This means you will use approx 30 Amps per day.  Simplistically, If you have a 100 Ah battery, after 2 days use at this rate, you will only have 40Amps left (40% charged). If its a dry cell battery, it wont like going repeatedly below this level, it will shorten its life.  If its an expensive AGM battery, it will tolerate this better.

So, in the first instance, its a few basic sums on battery capacity in Ah, and then look at your potential current draws.  I would say however, that if you want to be sure you can run this fridge for 5 days whilst away, and if you only have one aux battery in the camper (of say 100 or 120Ah), you will need some form of auxillary charging. Remember, you are also going to be running lights, etc, all of which use a few amps per hour when in actual use when totalled up.

 :cheers:

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Offline chisel

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Re: Engel Fridge/Freezer Combi - Fridge Vs Freezer Temp
« Reply #8 on: January 06, 2013, 05:57:07 PM »
Waeco's new CFX range has a 65L fridge and a 65 dual-zone fridge+freezer.  The fridge draws 0.85A on avg when set at 5C.  The fridge+freezer combo draws more than twice that .... 1.9A on avg.  Check the waeco site for details.  I assume the engel is similar - about 2A on avg (or 48AH per day).

Offline ewoksta

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Re: Engel Fridge/Freezer Combi - Fridge Vs Freezer Temp
« Reply #9 on: January 07, 2013, 07:32:17 PM »
Thanks for your replies.

Mace, we have a dual battery system in the camper so would presume we have 200amp. Will ring the guy we brought it off and double check. What sort of volts can I let the battery get down to without killing it completely or causing it damage. Not sure what type of batteries they are, dry cell or AGM so that probably would be worth finding out hey!! ???

I charged them up to 14.4 volts the other day and the next day they had dropped to 13.1 volts with no usage, so not sure whats going on there. First time that they had been charged so maybe they just need to be charged again.

Again thanks for your help, so many questions running through my head!!

Cheers
Andrew
« Last Edit: January 08, 2013, 07:28:01 AM by ewoksta »
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Offline Mace

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Re: Engel Fridge/Freezer Combi - Fridge Vs Freezer Temp
« Reply #10 on: January 07, 2013, 08:30:25 PM »
Check out this table for state of charge info:

http://www.mmbalmainauto.com.au/PDF/State_of_charge_12_volt_batteries.pdf

There are variations of it, but most pretty similar.  Wet Cells dont like repeated discharging below say 12v (30%).  They take longer to recover, and their life expectancy shortens.  AGM batteries handle it much better.

There should be some sort or marking (Sticker) on the top or side of each battery with an Amp Hour and CCA (cranking capacity) rating.

Someone who's more knowledgeable than me should be able to explain simply why apparent voltage returns to normal (12.7 v) if the battery is charged to a higher voltage.

 :cheers:
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Re: Engel Fridge/Freezer Combi - Fridge Vs Freezer Temp
« Reply #11 on: February 01, 2017, 04:49:28 AM »
I had a similair problem with my Evakool 82L fridge. Basically there is not enough "spill" cold air from the freezer so I modified it to have a thermostaically controlled fan to circulate cold air around. It turned the Evakool from an expensive esky into a great fridge  8)



Here is a link to a post I did on ExplorOz that goes into detail on the fan install.

http://www.exploroz.com/Members/30360.750/4/2011/Improving_an_Evakool_fridge_.aspx

Cheers

Captain


Captain, the exploroz entry is dead.  I wonder whether you'd be willing to repost it somewhere.

Offline edz

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Re: Engel Fridge/Freezer Combi - Fridge Vs Freezer Temp
« Reply #12 on: February 01, 2017, 07:08:42 AM »
This may help you, Fan Mods to a 110 ltr Fridge / Freezer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX0mamhsBQ4     maybe a visit to Jaycar or a fridge tech mob ..
« Last Edit: February 01, 2017, 07:26:43 AM by edz »
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Re: Engel Fridge/Freezer Combi - Fridge Vs Freezer Temp
« Reply #13 on: February 01, 2017, 07:24:08 AM »
Quote from: rsser
Captain, the exploroz entry is dead.  I wonder whether you'd be willing to repost it somewhere.

He hasn't been around for a while
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