Engel vs Others

[a64pilot]

What is special with the Engel?
I always see them being referenced and I am considering one myself to increase freezer capacity. But that brand name is about twice as expensive as other, seemingly identical products.
Is there some kind of proprietary compressor or something, or is it like a Yeti cooler for example, good quality, but way overpriced?

[Panope]

64pilot, Engel uses a different style compressor than the other makes. They call it a "swing compressor" and they claim it is more efficient as it has fewer moving parts. It is sort of like a solenoid in that the piston moves back and forth via electromagnetic coils, thus eliminating the motor, crankshaft and connecting rod of a normal compressor.

I have not done back to back comparisons of other compressors to my Engel. I can say that the performance and electrical draw matches the excellent data posted on the Engel website.

Steve

[leftbrainstuff]

Have owned an Engel in Australia for nearly 20 years. Have lugged the thing around the country and never had a problem.

Recently bought a new Engel as our backup fridge / freezer for our Liberty 458 here in the US.

Low current draw, quiet and reliable. The swing compressor is a simple and reliable motor.

They're never going to win an Industrial design 'pretty' award. Simple and strong latches, metal case and no junky fragile, poorly engineered plastic crapware to break just as the warranty runs out.

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[zboss]

We choose an Engel because they are the dominant player on the US east coast, the Caribbean, and Bahamas - not because of any proprietary technology and I don't think they are the most efficient of this style. I understand that the Australians make one that is similar and more efficient... but what if you need service? Are you going to send your unit back to Australia?

Engel is based in Jupiter, Florida so it would be easy and cheap to get services there.

FYI - if you do get one, be sure to get the travel bag. We keep ours on all the time and I think it has gone a long way to ensuring low power use.

[s/v Beth]

Has anyone checked out Domenic ?

[alctel]

Engel is an Australian brand

I have the fridge/freezer, works great

[zboss]

Originally Posted by alctel

Engel is an Australian brand

I have the fridge/freezer, works great

On the US east coast we only need to return them to Jupiter for service - which is very convenient for the Bahamas and Caribbean.

Here is the ARB which is basically the same as the Engel but harder to find stocking dealers in Florida/Bahamas/Caribbean:

Fridges

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

Has anyone checked out Domenic ?

I did a lot of research and I found that the Dometic Freezers have way less insulation. IMO - They are meant for temporary use more or less.

I would have bought the ARB but at the time I could not find a stocking dealer and shipping was expensive.

Here is a cool link:

http://www.adventureparents.com/blog...ruck-or-camper

[Snowpetrel]

Unfortunately my Engle has developed a serious vibration issue. Maybe they don't make them like they used to? It now very noisy rather than it's original quiet purr. Very annoying given its only 3 years old.

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[CarstenWL]

Engel is an Australian brand

No ...

SAWAFUJI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.

Regards,

Carsten

[FSMike]

Re: Engel service

I was going to drive by Stuart one day so I threw my Engel in the car since it had been misbehaving, not cold enough, too much power draw, etc. Went walking in the door of the Engel facility and got directed to somebody knowledgeable. He smiled when I described my problem, said he could check out the unit for a fee but if I wanted to save money I should just put in a new cigarette lighter type receptacle because rust in boat wiring/receptacles was the only problem he ever saw on those units.

He was right. I had the unit checked out anyway since I was there. It worked perfectly, and I went home and cleaned up the installation and to the best of my knowledge it's still working perfectly for the man I sold the boat to.

[alctel]

Originally Posted by CarstenWL

No ...

SAWAFUJI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.

Regards,

Carsten

I stand corrected - I thought they were originally an austrialian company that made them for 4WD vehicles in the outback

[a64pilot]

The Whynter brand was the one I was looking at, as it's sold at Home Depot, I believe it's at about 1/2 the price of an Engel, but I haven't looked or found a "good" price for an Engle.
Anybody have a source for a good price on an Engel?


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[Ortolan]

There's definitely a difference! 2 years ago I bought an Isotherm unit (instead of Engel), as that's what my favorite distributor (Defender) carried. BIG MISTAKE! After 1 month, the hinge of the lid broke off - it's only hollow plastic! 2 months later, while in the Bahamas the thermostat broke so it would only run continuously - I had to manually turn it on & off all day long & turn it off at night as not to kill my batteries.

When I returned to the US I fought & fought with Isotherm to get it fixed. Finally got it back working & with a replacement used lid (which fit poorly). Since it was at least working, I dumped it on eBay for cheap, but then the buyer said it quit after a week!

Just bought a new boat will *ONLY* buy an Engel!

Russ

[zboss]

http://www.bestrefrigeratorcentral.c...-real-fridges/

[s/v Beth]

Whynter FM-62DZ Dual Zone Portable Refrigerator/Freezer, 62-Quart anyone have any experience with this frig/company? I am buying a frig in the next week, looking at options.