Fridge sizes/brands

[RustyNav09]

well i went for a trip to tjm another one of my i dont like stores cause of the sell this brand stuff you get from them. but funny enough i found a fridge i liked or may like. its the first evakool esky i have seen since christmas as everyone else is sold out of them. while i was there the dude showed me another one of evakool eskies and its like a cheaper series which honestly was identical to these cheap fridges you found Dan at techni ice. now im wondering if thats 3 companies who is selling the exact same fridge?

 

[sparra04]

my50 ltr evacool arrived in 3 days
$729 delivered.danfoss comp, 5yr wty
here is a datalogger printout showing amp draw,temp and cycle times (fridge empty and on power mode)

 

[RustyNav09]

Which model is this? Is it the white, yellow or grey fridge? The grey fridge house a Domus Compressor and I've heard they are cheap and draw heaps of power. The yellow and white house the danfross compressor and will last years with little power draw.

Rusty

 

[FatBoy89]

Some great reviews about the EvaKool Fridgemate going around. The Yellow 55 and 70 litre specifically. I Looking at picking one up by mid year

 

[RustyNav09]

Yeh fatboy thats the reason I'm searching them so much. I dont see the difference between the yellow and white as they are both made from the same stuff. guess only major difference bring one has a more rugged plastic on the outside. I'm now concerned about room inside the tub now. Having a whitr 60l esky aswell as a 50-60l white or yellow fridge will take a fair bit of room.

Rusty

 

[soppa]

Hey Rusty, i have recently purchase an ARB 60l fridge and am extremely happy with it, the 3 things that got it over the line ahead of the engel when i purchased were the front control pannel which makes it so much easier to operate when packed in the ute, the drain plug making it realy easy to clean and also the hinge system for the lid it is so easy to remove and replace in limited space, ive had it run at -1 for 5 days on my 3rd battery without having to start the ute, well worth considering this fridge.

 

[RustyNav09]

Hey Rusty, i have recently purchase an ARB 60l fridge and am extremely happy with it, the 3 things that got it over the line ahead of the engel when i purchased were the front control pannel which makes it so much easier to operate when packed in the ute, the drain plug making it realy easy to clean and also the hinge system for the lid it is so easy to remove and replace in limited space, ive had it run at -1 for 5 days on my 3rd battery without having to start the ute, well worth considering this fridge.

Yeh I had a look but I have never liked the service from arb. What compressor is in them. Is it the bd50 or the bd35?

 

[soppa]

it has the 35 in it

 

[Leprechaun]

The white Evakool is made from fibreglass(stronger/better insulator) It is more robust than the yellow plastic and is marketed as the premium version, so costs more.

I have a 60l whit one thats being used and abused, but will still go to -10 on a 40 degree day, uses lots of amps to do so though.

Mine would average closer to 4amps mounted in the back of the Pootrol Wagon. For the record it's being running pretty much none stop for the last 4 years I've had it and it was a demo so God knows how long it was running before. I paid $800 last day of the 4wd show.

 

[RustyNav09]

I enquired bout a brand new 60l evakool and got a price of $1250 brand new with all the bits. Was gonna buy a solar panel to keep the battery topped up while I sit at the campsite. You say it uses a lot of power, is it really that much power compared to other fridges?

 

[FatBoy89]

The white Evakool is made from fibreglass(stronger/better insulator) It is more robust than the yellow plastic and is marketed as the premium version, so costs more.

I have a 60l whit one thats being used and abused, but will still go to -10 on a 40 degree day, uses lots of amps to do so though.

Mine would average closer to 4amps mounted in the back of the Pootrol Wagon. For the record it's being running pretty much none stop for the last 4 years I've had it and it was a demo so God knows how long it was running before. I paid $800 last day of the 4wd show.

That's sold me. 4 years. I like those odds

 

[Leprechaun]

That's sold me. 4 years. I like those odds

The only thing I can fault is the little fan mounted on the condenser plate, it sucks in dust which makes the fan bearings get noisy, i occasionally have to blow mine out with compressed air then hit the fan with some silicon spray.


PS.Dont buy their fridge slide, it's rubbish.

 

[FatBoy89]

I'll probably won't have a slide anyways. Ive heard the fiberglass isn't as tough as the yellow type?

 

[Leprechaun]

I'll probably won't have a slide anyways. Ive heard the fiberglass isn't as tough as the yellow type?

Yep maybe, although it seems plenty strong enough, I can stand on it no worries, maybe a hard sharp impact can crack the fibreglass???. It does scratch up, every now and then i buff it up with some cutting compound.

 

[FatBoy89]

Nothing a fiberglass repair kit cant fix right?

 

[Leprechaun]

Nothing a fiberglass repair kit cant fix right?

I guess, Bit hard to do that with a placcy one.


With all this talk, I think I might go and sample some of my fridge contents.

 

[FatBoy89]

Hoo Roo!!!!

 

[RustyNav09]

thanks guys all this info really helps. guess im just gonn ahve to get used to it taking up a bit of room in the tray alongside the 60L evakool esky i have. another reason i like this fridge is the Danfross Compressor is able to be repaired by any refrigeration mechanic and that would make it easy if it was to loose its cool on a trip.

lep you mentioned dont buy there slide, any reason why?

i had a phonecall from Australian Market Direct or someone liek that that i asked about quotes with. so the white premium 60L RFE60 Fridge/Freezer came to the $1250 mark with free postage and the adapters etc. i asked about solar panels and got quoted on 2 100 panels, details below:

1. 2x50Watt panels hinged together with carry case and solar regulator +5year warranty came to $498(the lady was very honest with me and tol dme it was a direct import from china and they just brand it and use there warranty)

2. 2x50Watt panels again hinged like they are and in canvas carry bag+25year warranty on solar silicone panels and 10year warranty on everything else. had 2 solar regulators 1 for each panel and was able to still create good power at only 5% light. this came to $720 and would be my option if i went with one. also was told it would make 60amps a day on good light, so i could solidly run the fridge off it all day and the battery woud power it only over night.

any got any ideas on solar panels? i will have a 80-100amp deep cycle battery in the tray to run fridge aswell.

 

[Old.Tony]

60A per day is a stretch - it's a lot of power to expect from a 100W panel.

You can reliably count on 5 hours of light during winter. A 100W (8A) panel will get you 40A reliably. Not 60A. You might count on an extra 10A from the twilight times, but I strongly suggest that you angle the panels towards the sun to maximise input. You CAN get 60A - particularly in summer, where you can get 8+ hours of daylight. But generally we work things out on the worst case when we're setting up this sort of thing, so that you don't have to cater for it later.

The good news? Because it draws just 4A (peak) and does that maybe 50% of the time (it will probably be less) the total 24H budget for power is 48A. This means that with 50A (say) available from the panels, you're running the fridge and fully recharging the battery.

What you need to do next is account for lighting. If you count on several LED lights (enough to draw 1A, which is a LOT of camplight) and you run that for 5 hours, you're still going to come away from the event after a week with a fairly decent charge in your aux battery and no generator in sight.

 

[RustyNav09]

i see what your getting at old.tony and i was sorta waiting fro a reply from you as you seem to know alot about well really anything hehe. i read up a lil more on the solar panel and it states in it that even at 5% light it can still generate power so could it not still draw power from say on summmer the suns out at 5:00ish and doesnt go down till 7:30ish so it getting sunlight fro the decent 12hours+ a day would give it the 60amps it states? even in winter the suns out for longer then 5hours if it can pull power at only 5% light with dual regulators.

my guess is the frige wouldnt pull the 4amps even 50% of the time maybe less then that if its constantly in the shade etc. and how often does it get to 40deg and how often do you need it to be -10deg in the fridge?. if i went the 60L i would use it as a fridge freezer rather then just a fridge or freezer.

also the wife has given me the ok for a fridge yet she still wants to see one up close and personal. but i think i might wait it out till the Brisbane 4x4 Show on the weekend March 23,24,25 and see what deals will be going on in there. might be able to save myself some $$$
Rusty