Portable fridges?

Having both Engel and ARB I can offer the following. The ARB has a better latch,the Engel wins the frugal power award and both are good units. Engel's side opening on the larger units is a bit awkward too. The ability to score either of these units on a sale would be a winner.
 
I been on a search for portable fridg freez for over a year reading about construction, compressors, power usage & what settled me with Engel was this video.
IMO the latch doesn't bother me at all.
 
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I would agree if it was a substantial metal latch but the one on my 45 Engle is cheesy in my opinion
 
woody said:
I would agree if it was a substantial metal latch but the one on my 45 Engle is cheesy in my opinion
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...but, one looks substantial and other works substantially well. To each their own, I guess. That latch was one of my chief complaints about the ARB.
 
woody said:
Having both Engel and ARB I can offer the following. The ARB has a better latch,the Engel wins the frugal power award and both are good units. Engel's side opening on the larger units is a bit awkward too. The ability to score either of these units on a sale would be a winner.
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I'm not discounting Mark's experience, but merely adding mine, if it's any help. I've had an ARB with plastic latch since they introduced that version. Never had a problem with it and as you know it's been in the bed of my truck for the past 7 years, full-time. Working on the retail side, we've never had a return of an ARB fridge for a broken plastic handle. Of the people I know who own ARB's, they've never commented that their handles have broken. FWIW.
 
Fair enough, I suspect most of those issues I heard of probably involved some form of misuse.

When I was making my decision I thought the ARB really stood on top of the competition for the included drain. That makes cleaning a ton easier than my Engel and was something I really wanted. In the end, I bought the Engel for the smaller/narrower footprint more than any other factor.
 
Trump said:
Fair enough, I suspect most of those issues I heard of probably involved some form of misuse.

When I was making my decision I thought the ARB really stood on top of the competition for the included drain. That makes cleaning a ton easier than my Engel and was something I really wanted. In the end, I bought the Engel for the smaller/narrower footprint more than any other factor.
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The drain is awesome... especially when something breaks and it gets a little "malodorous"!

Size is a very big consideration... I've recently seen a few bargains on quality fridges lately, with the buyer backing out only because they failed to take a few basic measurements into consideration. Make sure that fridge fits your desired placement first!
 
For the record... I don't give a rat's be-hind if it's an ARB, Engel, or Sno-Master... it has to be the correct product for my application and have a good record of performance and support; price is a consideration but is tempered with the philosophy of, "buy once cry once".

I comment on the ARB because I have one... I don't comment on any others because I don't have experience with them. :tango
 
ArkansasDon said:
fridg\freez's are like trucks, I wont own nothing but a GMC, I've owned 4 of them & 1 Ford.
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I can't say I agree. My first was a Waeco that worked great. I sold it only because I couldn't find a slide that would work with it in the area I needed to put it. I bought my current Engel for the reasons mentioned above, but I originally wanted to go with the ARB. I love the low power consumption of my current fridge and the amazing Sawafuji Swing motor compressor, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy any 12v fridge with the industry standard Danfoss compressor.
 
this is my 1st fridg\freez & will be my last. Like I mention I shopped around for a year checking out all the information on them. Reading reviews after reviews. I wanted one that would last me like my past trucks did. I kept going back to Engel because of their reputation of longevity, low power consumption & construction. The video I posted is what sealed my decision for the purchase. I did pay full price & would so again. I looked at every one of them, many of them didn't add up to what I was looking for. If this one gets stolen, I'll buy the same exact one again.
I mention fridg\freez's are like trucks, cause 3 of the 4 GMC's I've owned "I" got great long existence of service from them. So I keep buying GMC truck's. My current 2000 1\2 ton GMC z71 has barely 100,000 original miles on it. My wife didn't want the Nissan Pathfinder she has, she got 376,000 miles from her 2000 Suzuki Grand Vitara, she wanted another Suzuki Grand Vitara but they do not have them here in the states anymore. When she traded hers in it still ran good & 19 mpg when she settled for her Pathfinder. My wife would get rid of that Nissan in a heart beat for another Suzuki if they were sold here in the U.S. again That is what I meant for "me" fridg\freez's are like trucks.
 
Trump said:
My first was a Waeco that worked great. I sold it only because I couldn't find a slide that would work with it in the area I needed to put it.
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I bought this fridge from Mark way back when and loved it. Decided I wanted something larger and sold it to @Big Dave I was not thrilled with the larger fridge and have since replaced with the Dometic (same company as Waeco) we have now and could not be happier with it. As far as I know, Dave is still running the Waeco from Mark.
 
BlkWgn said:
I bought this fridge from Mark way back when and loved it. Decided I wanted something larger and sold it to @Big Dave I was not thrilled with the larger fridge and have since replaced with the Dometic (same company as Waeco) we have now and could not be happier with it. As far as I know, Dave is still running the Waeco from Mark.
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Which Dometic fridge did you get? We're glad you're happy with it! Post some photos!
 
DometicOutdoors said:
Which Dometic fridge did you get? We're glad you're happy with it! Post some photos!
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The original fridge was a cdf40 I believe, the old one with the slide controls for temp and battery cutoff. The fridge I have now that I have been running 24/7 for a few years is a CFX-65DZ. It was in the backseat for a couple years and has spent the last year in the bed of the truck on a @TemboTusk slide. I have added a transit bag to it since this photo.


Dometic.png
 
It looks like Engel is finally giving us some of the features they introduced on their Australian models a few yeas ago.

We finally get digital temp control and a low battery shutoff on some models. (see the "platinum" models on their page below)

I'm not sure how it works though. The photos seem to still have the old temp control knob like mine. I'm happy with the one I have, it uses verrrrry little power, but I have bumped that knob a couple times and accidentally reset the temperature. Warm beer is no fun.

https://www.engelcoolers.com/shop/1...933038087440664686713659045409796463684000369
 
BlkWgn said:
The original fridge was a cdf40 I believe, the old one with the slide controls for temp and battery cutoff. The fridge I have now that I have been running 24/7 for a few years is a CFX-65DZ. It was in the backseat for a couple years and has spent the last year in the bed of the truck on a @TemboTusk slide. I have added a transit bag to it since this photo.


View attachment 39538
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Glad to see that we could keep you in the Dometic family with the newer CFX! Looks like a solid set up and we love to hear that you're happy with it!
 
Looking for a new fridge. I just sold the Edgestar 82 qt I bought from @BlkWgn 4 years ago or so. It was still working great. Problem was while it fit great in my old Suburban, not so much on top of my drawer system in my 100 series. I've been looking at Dometic 50 qt and Whynter 62. The Whynter 62 is a dual zone fridge, and an open box, so it's pretty cheap. The @DometicOutdoors I can get in the regular 50, or in a dual zone. In everyone's opinion, is the dual zone worth the extra cost? My usual trips are 3-4 days.
 
In nearly 15 years of 12v fridge ownership and many many trips, I’ve always been fine with a single compartment fridge.

But I really like the idea of a dual zone fridge, maybe if I had the room I’d try one out. Ice cream in the desert would be the bees knees :thumbsup
 
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