Portable Fridges, Engle MT45 or Dometic CF50?

[Gerry Connolly]

I'm up in the air about which one I should buy. Anyone have any experiences with either one, which would be the most energy efficient?

[ctl411]

I bought one from compact appliance I think is a Northstar brand. I used it for a couple years on my 30 then a year on my 37c. They were a lot less expensive and it worked great. It runs on 110v or 12v didn't seem to run much and is quiet. The down side to the portable type is the heat output into the cabin versus a built in heat can be vented to a locker. I went with a Isotherm SP water cooled when I built my refrigerator box, no heat in the cabin from the condenser.

[Gerry Connolly]

Never considered the heat from the compressor. Thanks

[Agape39]

Originally Posted by Gerry Connolly

I'm up in the air about which one I should buy. Anyone have any experiences with either one, which would be the most energy efficient?

I use the DometicCF80 as a backup for long cruises, been running 3yrs now. Very efficient but does output some heat. But as a bonus it will act as a freezer if you have the need. Mine will pull about 7amps when the compressor runs, which maybe an issue if under sail for long periods without wind or solar backup.

[Jentine]

I used a Dometic for several years and it performed well both in the freeze and refrigerate modes. The only reason I would never buy another produce from Dometic is the lack of after purchase support. The digital temperature control malfunctioned. I contacted the factory and they would not sell me the necessary parts, nor could they give me the name of a repair shop.



Their service SUX!

[Sumner]

We also bought from compact appliance. A couple years ago bought a 63 quart EdgeStar and it has worked great, but we only use it in the Suburban traveling and on the boat. The boat time was 4+ months of continuous use and it has worked very well.

It comes on about 5 amps, but after a couple minutes is down to about 3 1/2. I think all of these units are about the same as to how much elect. they use. I know one uses a little less than 3 amps, but according to reviews runs much longer.



On the Mac in Florida we would turn it off at night, probably shouldn't of. It would be on the thermostat at 36-37 (will freeze if you want it to) and by morning, 10 hours or so later it would be up to about 44. This was in April in Florida (west coast and keys) so we were getting into the mid to high 80's. It would then run continuous to late afternoon before getting back down to 36-37. So in 24 hours it was on about 8-9 hours or about 40% of the time which seems to be about normal for these units.

We were also adding hot drinks during the day and the cabin on the little Mac gets hot. I'd recommend the unit, but I do know of one owner that has had problems with his, but they are fixing it under warranty.

When we got ours it was in the low $400's and they had a deal at Christmas with free shipping. It is more now, but it looks like all of the portables have gone up. If we were to do it again we would buy the same one. We considered the 43 quart, but it is almost the same size. I guess since they both probably use the same compressor/condenser.

I have more about it on our site here....

Macgregor 26S Inside Mods page 22

Sum

[Dulcesuenos]

Plus1 for the edgestar. Almost 3 years and not a problem other then I broke the plug. Freezes, draws 3 amps great prices!

[Gerry Connolly]

Thanks, the info is pretty useful. It's a hasel to order things into Canada from the US so I think I'll have to find a dealer in Canada. The Binnacle in Halifax has a fall sale with an Engles MT45 for around $800.00. I'm going to have a look at it.

[Sumner]

Originally Posted by Gerry Connolly

Thanks, the info is pretty useful. It's a hasel to order things into Canada from the US so I think I'll have to find a dealer in Canada. The Binnacle in Halifax has a fall sale with an Engles MT45 for around $800.00. I'm going to have a look at it.

For that kind of money have you considered building one? If I had it to do all over again I would make one for the MacGregor after making one....



....for the Endeavour. You can put in much more insulation....



...than what they can on a portable and with...



... an efficient compressor/condenser you can have...



..a larger box and ....



...even a freezer. If you are interested in what is involved here is the build....

Endeavour 37 Interion Mods Index

After using this for a couple months I think it is using only 2/3's to less than 1/2 as much electricity as any of the portables or even less. It hardly ever came on and the cabin temps on the boat during that time were upper 80's in the day and around 80 at night,

Good luck,

Sum

[SV Demeter]

I researched the potrable units by Engle, Dometic, and Edgestar and found from their published stats that the Engles were the most efficient but also the most expensive. I found the Dometic to be nearly as effecient as the engles but at a lower price. The Edgestars were the lowest priced and least efficient but even so their amp hours per day were not rediculous. All of these units use Danfoss BD compressors jsut like what you would install in a built in fridge. I ended up buying a CF-40 from here: Dometic CoolFreeze Portable Refrigerator Freezers CF40 - $529.00

[Gerry Connolly]

Thanks for all the information. The Binnacle was sold out of the $800 Engle MT45, they can get more for $900.00 so I'll wait till a better deal comes up. Maybe State side this winter so may pick one up then The waeco/dometics seem to be priced about $200.00 less so I would consider one of them. Don't want the hassel of installing a refer system in the existing ice box. Will have to upgrade the batteries and install solar panels as it is.

[onestepcsy37]

my neighbors built in adler barbour fridge failed after fifteen years. he never really needed that big a box so he replaced it with a dometic portable. been three years now and he says he hasn't had any problems, it draws less power than the old unit, and is big enough for him...