Baby Engel ?

Does anyone own one of these or has anyone seen one in action?

Do they actually keep cold stuff cold or warm stuff warm?

http://www.engelaustralia.com.au/cg...mo Cooler / Warmer&sub_category=&item_id=te08

In my opinion, they're mostly a waste of time.

Look at the specs: it keeps the inside up to 22C below ambient. On a typical day NOW, that means your milk is at 8C. On a 40C day, your beer is at 18C.

Not only that, it uses 4A for the privilege. My 60L Engel compressor fridge uses 1.5A and can freeze stuff on a 40C day.

The problem is in the cooling mechanism. Instead of pumping refrigerant, it uses a solid state device called a "peltier cooler". This uses a (relatively) large amount of power to transfer heat from one side to the other. Naturally it's more effective at creating heat, but they CAN cool things down - just not very well and certainly not very efficiently.

However, you can sometimes get a reasonable one. I have a Dick Smith 6-can cooler that actually works rather well, draws just 1A but its lid is so crappily designed that the hinge breaks if someone cracks a fart nearby. I've rebuilt my lid with carbon fibre and epoxy resin, but we shouldn't need to do that. I'm not sure what temp it will cool stuff to, one day I'll drop my fridge thermometer in it and find out.

I have a similar unit (think its a waeco, havn't used it for about 10 years) which I used to use to keep my drinks/sandwichs cool. I was doing 16+ hr days at the time, so stopping for food was a pain. I found for it to be any use, it had to be powered perminantly. When powered all the time, it was pretty good. If you get it cold, it will stay cool (maybe not cold) even in very hot conditions. If you let it heat up, it will struggle all day. I would never for instance carry milk in one.

These days I use a fridge, and would find it hard to go back to using it. Having said that, I did get my value for money out of it.

I only used it on heat a few times in winter. If I was travelling in a remote area I would put it on heat a couple of hours before hitting a town. Buy a pie or sausage roll. Throw it in, and eat it later in the day when I was in area where I wouldnt buy food (some towns you just dont buy food in) It was enough to keep it eatable, but you would never burn the roof of your mouth.

Was a long time ago, and I have a cwap memory.

i have a thermo electric cooler and it does quiet well, it can get ice build in summer

Jimmy, what brand is it? We bought one (TropiCool) that could do 32C below ambient, it drew 4A almost constantly and it sucked big-time. On cool day it was no problem. While you were driving it was no problem. If the day got warm or if you were stopped and camped somewhere, it was a disaster, because it drew that 4A for most of the time.

I think they draw way too much power for the insufficient cooling that they provide for this part of the world.

Don't get me wrong - I think they're a fantastic idea. The only moving part is a fan which can easily be replaced. It runs in both directions (cooling and warming). If they could reduce the power consumption - and provide higher differentials (eg 43C below ambient, like a tropical-rated 3-way fridge) it'd be a winner.

$99 how can you go wrong?

Obviously they are not intended to be a beer fridge. The power consumption isn't relevant as it's designed to keep a few drink cool and your sandwiches fresh for a days outing. Not to store a weeks worth of food @ 3degrees.

I got one for "free" when I bought my Engel fridge a year and a half ago.

I would like to say it works well but unforunately I can't. I have not taken it out of the box yet.

The fridge also came with 2 "free" extra wire baskets, an Engel 12v screw in socket, & 2 x Engel umbrella's & the thermal cover. I believe that the retailers are limited as to how much they can reduce the price of the Engel fridges but have a fair bit of leeway with the goodies that they can include in the deal.

I think the little cooler would come in handy for a few drinks or a bit of food in the car when you are travelling and have the main fridge in the back of the ute. It would save stopping to get to the main supplies in the back.

As I don't have constant power in the cabin, the cooler is going to turn off when I stop anyway. The little cooler should be o.k if the cabin temp is comfortable enough for me to travel.

I wish I had used it so my ramble could at least be of some assistance.

Tony, no idea on brand but its one of those novelty fridges its a Pump water one

no idea on the amp draw because i had it connected to 240 volts most of the time

I have a waeco one that I stick on the middle back seat for long drives, works well for sandwiches etc, beers stay cold if you put them in straight from the fridge, suppose thats all they are designed to do so can't complain

I just pulled mine from the box & if it is of any consequence, there is a warning in the instructions that it should not be run continuously for more than 10 hours.

The instructions also state that it will cool up to 20 degrees below ambient & the sticker on the bottom says power consumption of 48 watts & that is correct weight at 4 amps.

If anymore useless information is required, just ask