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Old 08-19-2008, 05:53 PM   #1
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12v Portable Refrigerators

I'm looking at several brands,Waeco,Engle,EdgeStar,National Luna, in the 40 to 50 qt. sizes. Anybody had experience with any of these. Engle seems the most popular. National Luna is the most expensive but has a seperate 10qt. freezer. EdgeStar got a better review than Engle in an off road forum I stumbled into. It will be my only "appliance" other than the Penthouse lights. I will also have a solar panel in the 50 watt range to charge the aux. batt.

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Old 08-19-2008, 06:02 PM   #2
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We had a 45QT ARB Freezer Fridge in our adventure trailer. It worked bitchen. It actually IMHO worked better than this Norcold in our SMB. It actually got colder faster and didn't run nearly as much. It took plenty of abuse too. If you get one, make sure you get the cover for it. This helps out big time in reducing the amount of time the unit runs.

But yeah, flawless.. awesome performance.. wish they made a huge unit to replace the fridge in the SMB, if they did i would trade it out tomorrow for the ARB.

Also, one side note, the ARB is the same unit as the Engle. Same factory and all. ONly difference is the ARB is a hair more expensive but has a built in thermometer readout.
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Old 08-19-2008, 09:57 PM   #3
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Before we bought our Sportsmobile, I looked into doing our own version of a Transformer van. I had looked into 12 volt coolers and refrigerators and was very impressed with a company called FridgeFreeze. Made in the US, and very high quality. I talked to several people that owned them and all were very satisfied with them. You can see them at
www.fridgefreeze.com
See what you think. oclv
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Old 08-20-2008, 10:43 AM   #4
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How much did the Fridge Freeze weigh? There is an article in Overland Mag about these units. They did not like the Fridge Freeze due to it's bulk and weight! I'll check them out. Funny that Overland liked the Engle but not the Fridge Freeze if they are the same company. Thanks for the comments.
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Old 08-20-2008, 10:48 AM   #5
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That is funny. I dont know the exact weight but it wasn't anything to get excited about. I transported the fridge from our trailer to our landruiser all the time. It felt light to me. Yep, that too is funny that they didn't like the ARB when its the same fridge. What issue is that? I need to look at it again and see what they didn't like.
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Old 08-20-2008, 11:58 AM   #6
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I went to the Fridge Freeze web site and the 45 is heavier and bigger than the Engle of similar capacity and others I have looked at. It is also the most expensive at over $1500. It does look "industrial".
The National Luna @ $1250 has a 50 liter capacity, is 2" to 3" smaller in all dimensions and weighs 50 lbs as compared to 67 lbs for the Fridgefreeze.
The Engle is $700. It's about the size of the National Luna but does not have a seperate freezing compartment.
I'm guessing the Fridge Freeze will "hold" longer with the power off by virtue of more insulation??
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Old 08-21-2008, 07:43 PM   #7
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Fridge freeze? you mean ARB?... shouldn't be over $1500.....?

Engle: http://www.sierraexpeditions.com/index. ... etail&p=25

ARB: http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/42- ... -3181.html

Looky what i found..
http://spokane.craigslist.org/for/805182627.html
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Old 08-22-2008, 01:58 AM   #8
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Re: 12v Portable Refrigerators

Quote:
Originally Posted by Christopher Thwaites
I'm looking at several brands,Waeco,Engle,EdgeStar,National Luna, in the 40 to 50 qt. sizes. Anybody had experience with any of these. Engle seems the most popular. National Luna is the most expensive but has a seperate 10qt. freezer. EdgeStar got a better review than Engle in an off road forum I stumbled into. It will be my only "appliance" other than the Penthouse lights. I will also have a solar panel in the 50 watt range to charge the aux. batt.
My buddy who is a Van Camper has the Waeco Coolmatic 52 quart. He has beat it to death and it still works great; 4 years.

The 5o quarts are movable by one person when loaded and the 80 is a two man.

About the only thing he has done is to replace the electric connector. Made it so that when you yank it out, it doesn't damage it.

This Waeco (on my Wish List) has both 12v/24 and 110V (Switches automatically to 110 when plugged in to shore power):
http://coolmatic.net/coolmatic_cf_50_ac_dc.html
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Old 08-22-2008, 11:03 AM   #9
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The ARB and Engle are the same unit. FridgeFreeze is different and more expensive. Wish I was closer to Spokane and could check out the one on Craigs list. Appreciate the input.
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Old 08-22-2008, 11:42 AM   #10
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Somehow i totally skipped that fridgefreeze link. My buddies dad has one of these units and it works great too. It's for more industrial applications and is probably more heavy duty. However, the Engle, ARB and National Luna's are just fine for what we do.
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