Anyone use an Engel fridge on their boat. I am looking at putting either (or maybe both one as a fridge and the other as a freezer) a 35L or 40L (Platinum Series) on the boat. I was wondering if anyone has any first hand experience with these models with regard to power consumption and sweating.
The locations I am looking at installing them are constrained by size and these 2 models will physically fit without the use of the chainsaw. So other brands are not an easy option. 
Hi Crusoe
If you are talking about the traditional chest type fridge/freezers i haven't had any experience with them on boats but i have had a couple of 40 litre ones over the years in 4wd's
They are generally reliable and seen to be well built but they don't have very thick walls or lid and this is a advantage in that they are compact for their capacity but in hot conditions they seem to cycle on and off fairly often to maintain temperature and might be a bit hard on your batteries
In Cairns this was more of a problem than in Tassie so it really depends on how warm it is where you are
Also they like a bit of airspace around the condenser end of the fridge so depending in where you are mounting them this might be a issue
Regarding sweating my first one that i had from 1982 to 2005 was out in the open and i never saw any moisture on the outside and my current one is in a transit bag so i would not see any but i don't think there would be any
ARB do a range of fridges www.arb.com.au/portable-fridge-freezers/ that seem to have a fairly good reputation in 4wd circles, i think they might be a bit better insulated and the other advantage they have over a Engel is that they have a drain plug in the bottom so you can wash them out and let the water drain out of the bottom although mounted on your boat this may not be of any use
Regards Don
Thanks for sharing your experience Don. Yeah, I had hoped to get something with a bit thicker insulation and the lid seems the thinest part. The lid it what starts to sweat first on my current fridge. I'll check out the ARB ones and see if they have a suitable size.
Cheers
Engels!
I have had a 40 litre for 12years and a 60 litre for 18 months and I can't recommend them highly enough!
I use them in a 4wd and a camper - not on a yacht.
I have not had an issue with either of them - one complaint would be that they can be a little noisy, but that is in the campertrailer on a quiet night. It's only a minor issue that could probably be sorted by fitting a piece of rubber where the compressor occasionally vibrates on the frame of the 60 litre.
Engels are the only ones who have the Sawafuji swing motor and they are constructed of metal.
Both of mine have an insulated bag that increases the insulation properties, no issues with sweating.
100% agree with NovZen, when cyclon Marcia hit Yeppoon, we lost electricity for 5 days,
took Engel 46 l out of the box connect to 40 w solar, removed one of the better bat. from the boat and fill up with prime meat from household freezer.
picture that, daytime fridge was inside the house outside was high 30, at night
fridge went outside because inside the house was stil 30+, outside a bit cooler.
5 days later all perfect went back to house freeze.
we cooked, baked cakes and grilled on backyard hooded BBQ.
we didn't wasted a gram, and overflow ...we supply volunteers in local zoo.
I Have smaller compressor Waico, would compare with Engel.
recoment 46 and larger, 40 l is too shallow, full size bottle wouldn't, and the same
compressor and parameters .
Thanks NowandZen for your feedback. I've got mates (truely :) who also use them in vehicles and swear by them. I was hoping to find someone who might be using an Engel on a boat and has a good idea of their power consumption over a 24hr period when being used as a fridge or maybe a freezer. It would be nice not to have to run the motor to charge the batteries so often.
I will admit that the CF50 Waco's I have on the boat have been reliable and do a good job of keeping cold and the one that is set to -15 deg works well. But they both sweat like pigs and have a thirst for DC amps.
www.norcoast.com.au/
For portables Cant beat them , especially the extra insulated ones.
Select to expand quote
I have to agree that Trailblaza's are a great product but the ones I have seen (a few years ago) were quite large externally for the interior size due to the thick insulation
Regards Don
We recently put in a plastic Engel MR40F on our boat. It currently resides in the quarter berth as we don't have much space in a 31 footer and apart from not being able to use the bunk (not an issue for us), it doesn't cause us any space problems.
It is very quiet, no problems with heat and operates as either a fridge or freezer. Our model has reversible hinges and seals very well. Battery drain has been minimal, the single house battery lasting 24 hours in conjunction with a radio and LED lights. We have left the handles on and use them as the tie down points. As we race every week, nothing has moved and the fridge operates at any angle (well so far). Highly recommended.
We got ours at BCF, not advertised, just on special in that store that week.
www.portablefridgesonline.com.au/blog/engel-mr40f-eclipse-review/
I have installer two of these engel 40 ltr drop ins http://www.engelaustralia.com.au/2products_details.asp?pid=22&productid=21565
happy with their performance . But I have not lived with them on board yet but seem ok so far
Any thing above 2 and it would freeze the dial goes to 5 I think
I still have not made the bench top for the top yet this winter
Sawafuji swing motor because of its design will work well on a yacht when thinking about heeling. Id like to fit extra insulation at some time to the outer skin
The Oz fridge 12 volt eutectic is worth looking at. A mate has one in his yacht and im getting one for Warana. If their standard sizes don't fit they will make one to suit.
www.ozefridge.com/
I just shopped around and bought a Waeco 40L for $650. It seemed the cheapest fridge/freezer I could find. Its very quiet. When its cute little digital display says 3Deg C the beer can come out 
Instead of a freezer, Im looking into getting a 12 volt cryovac machine so I can vacume pack meat etc when provisioning and fish I catch on the way.
I have a Italian model of the Engel.....basically the same unit.
Its set on freezer only and I find it drains my battery's over a few nights running with my main fridge ,
I have come to the conclusion I will only use it on shore power from now on and see how my battery drain goes just running the fridge when at sea. A
After spending $5k on wind/solar/batteries it's still amazes me how quick you can chew throgh power!
i read once you can leave cryovac meat in your bilge for up to 3 months! Not so sure how well that works!
Select to expand quoteGuitz said..
Instead of a freezer, Im looking into getting a 12 volt cryovac machine so I can vacume pack meat etc when provisioning and fish I catch on the way.
I had a small Vac packer (no not what your thinking) and it came with reusable bags. Never could clean the bags enough after having meat in them so I ended up chucking it out and brought a 240Vac one that used rolls. Cut a piece to size and seal one end to make a bag. When in port (no not drinking it) I vac pack all the meat in to meal size quantities and freeze it down. Excellent for when I was causing overseas. It can also easily run off the inverter.
Select to expand quotesouthace said..
I have a Italian model of the Engel.....basically the same unit.
Its set on freezer only and I find it drains my battery's over a few nights running with my main fridge ,
I have come to the conclusion I will only use it on shore power from now on and see how my battery drain goes just running the fridge when at sea. A
After spending $5k on wind/solar/batteries it's still amazes me how quick you can chew throgh power!
i read once you can leave cryovac meat in your bilge for up to 3 months! Not so sure how well that works!
Thanks for the feedback southace. That's also me with the wind generator and solar panels making plenty of power but finding it gets consumed by those fridge/freezer. I'm tending to think I should out lay the money for the Luna National with its 60mm insulation. The other option is to build a box and maybe fit an OZ unit in it. Sounds like more work and I just want to go sailing.
Select to expand quoteEC31 said..
We recently put in a plastic Engel MR40F on our boat. It currently resides in the quarter berth as we don't have much space in a 31 footer and apart from not being able to use the bunk (not an issue for us), it doesn't cause us any space problems.
It is very quiet, no problems with heat and operates as either a fridge or freezer. Our model has reversible hinges and seals very well. Battery drain has been minimal, the single house battery lasting 24 hours in conjunction with a radio and LED lights. We have left the handles on and use them as the tie down points. As we race every week, nothing has moved and the fridge operates at any angle (well so far). Highly recommended.
We got ours at BCF, not advertised, just on special in that store that week.
www.portablefridgesonline.com.au/blog/engel-mr40f-eclipse-review/
Thanks for the feedback on your fridge EC31. I was in BCF the other day running the tape measure over these guys as well. Glad to here they work well. Cheers
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Thanks for the suggestion DAMA. I actually sent these guys a drawing (sizes) of an area I would like to fit a unit into and asked if they could make me a box etc to fit but they never replied. It was an unusually shape I was asking about so maybe they filed it in the 2 hard basket. But I have heard they make good gear. Apparently they don't have fans for the condensers but run the pipes near the surface of the enclosure and rely on convection. (I could be wrong) Cheers
Select to expand quoteCharriot said..
100% agree with NovZen, when cyclon Marcia hit Yeppoon, we lost electricity for 5 days,
took Engel 46 l out of the box connect to 40 w solar, removed one of the better bat. from the boat and fill up with prime meat from household freezer.
picture that, daytime fridge was inside the house outside was high 30, at night
fridge went outside because inside the house was stil 30+, outside a bit cooler.
5 days later all perfect went back to house freeze.
we cooked, baked cakes and grilled on backyard hooded BBQ.
we didn't wasted a gram, and overflow ...we supply volunteers in local zoo.
I Have smaller compressor Waico, would compare with Engel.
recoment 46 and larger, 40 l is too shallow, full size bottle wouldn't, and the same
compressor and parameters .
Thanks for the feedback Charriot on your fridge while running on solar alone. Nearly everything I hear about them indicates they are good gear. Cheers
Weekenders don't experence battery drain as they tend to be back on shore power within the 2 to 3 day mark. If I had a fridge that only cycled a couple of times a day i would never need shore power again as a liveaboard.
My advise on wind-generators now is that they are only worth the bother if you fit X2 !
Solar is the only way to go at least 400watts worth!
Select to expand quotesouthace said..
Weekenders don't experence battery drain as they tend to be back on shore power within the 2 to 3 day mark. If I had a fridge that only cycled a couple of times a day i would never need shore power again as a liveaboard.
My advise on wind-generators now is that they are only worth the bother if you fit X2 !
Solar is the only way to go at least 400watts worth!
I don't think much on my wind generator and am up to about 560w in solar. 120w is permanent and the rest is added once anchored up. The frames I built have been up in 20knts and seem to handle the piss okay. Now if I could just get the clouds to keep away
Select to expand quoteGuitz said...
Instead of a freezer, Im looking into getting a 12 volt cryovac machine so I can vacume pack meat etc when provisioning and fish I catch on the way.
When I was away on a month trip my eutectic engine run would freeze on the bottom. We had 3 crates in the fridge would put meat in the bottom fresh meat would freeze within 24-36 hours . Not sure if they are all the same type mine is a large stainless steel block that freezes with the cooling compressor ran off the motor. Once it's cold you only need to run the motor 30 min morning and evening.
going of topic slightly but it is related!
Since Christmas after upgrading solar and the latest technology wind-generator I get 5 amps in 15 to 20knots from my silent wind and 10 amps from my 280watts of solar providing there is no overcast and jets leaving chem trails!
After day 5 sometimes Wind sometimes Sun the fridge /freezer/TV/....etc my 800amph battery's are getting low it's a uphill battle!
The Engel MR40F is the best for a boat.
1. Plastic casing will not rust.
2. Engel use a swing compressor which is far less prone to low voltage. This eliminate the need to use large cables from the battery. (Though large cables with no voltage drop is always better)
3. Waco fridges tend to cut out on thermals when the ambient temperature gets to hight. This is not a big problem in a boat, but is a problem if crossing the Simpson in 40deg heat.
I have 3 Engels, a 32lt that I use as a freezer, and a 40lt standard metal Engel that I use for camping and the MR40F that I carry as a spare fridge / freezer on the boat.
The Oz fridge my mate has his on 24/7 on the mooring running off his 40 watt solar panel and battery bank, so low concumption of power is a feature
of his set up. There is always a cold beer when we go fishing or sailing.
Select to expand quoteJode5 said..
The Engel MR40F is the best for a boat.
1. Plastic casing will not rust.
2. Engel use a swing compressor which is far less prone to low voltage. This eliminate the need to use large cables from the battery. (Though large cables with no voltage drop is always better)
3. Waco fridges tend to cut out on thermals when the ambient temperature gets to hight. This is not a big problem in a boat, but is a problem if crossing the Simpson in 40deg heat.
I have 3 Engels, a 32lt that I use as a freezer, and a 40lt standard metal Engel that I use for camping and the MR40F that I carry as a spare fridge / freezer on the boat.
Yep, one of this would drop straight into the compartment that holds the current CF50 Waco. I would love to try before I buy and just see what it really uses as a fridge set at say 3 deg and then a freezer at minus 15 maybe. They seem a lot cheaper than the 40L Engel Platinum Series.
Thanks for your input Jode5, Cheers
I ended up with a bushman, I run it off a bank of two 105 amp batteries with 200w of solar panels. It runs 24/7 never have low batteries even with cloudy weather. I use it as a fridge only so that helps. It also lives recessed into the quarter berth.
