Electric Fridge, ASAP

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Electric Fridge, ASAP

Postby Gerdo » Fri Apr 18, 2008 9:50 am

I may be living in my TD for the next 3 weeks. (for work) I've been thinking about an electric fridge. I know that the Engle fridge ... or and the ARB are great. I have even heard that Engle makes the ARB. They both will run 12vdc or 120vac. They are good but expensive. I know that there are cheap options but I have heard that they don't really work well.

Are there any other options?

I'm looking for options ASAP!
Last edited by Gerdo on Fri Apr 18, 2008 3:22 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Postby brian_bp » Fri Apr 18, 2008 1:14 pm

This gets discussed here quite a bit, so searching for existing topics should be useful. The Engel products use a compressor (unlike an absorption-cycle RV refrigerator), so when they are discussed the subject of Danfoss brand compressors arises. There are also usually comparisons with Waeco compressor-type refrigerators.

So, good keywords to use in a search:
    Engel
    ARB
    Waeco
    Danfoss
Last edited by brian_bp on Fri Apr 18, 2008 1:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby GregB » Fri Apr 18, 2008 1:16 pm

Gerdo,

There is also WAECO but it is just as expensive as Engel. These are the only Danfoss type 'fridges that I know about. Still, there doesn't seem to be anything better, and, most importantly, the next best choice appears to be cooler or two with ice.

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Postby brian_bp » Fri Apr 18, 2008 1:26 pm

The Norcold AC/DC refrigerators (models starting with DE, DC, EV, and MRFT) all appear to be compressor-type units as well.

You could also use the humourously named Norcolder™ SCQT 4407 Refrigerator Conversion Kit to make a suitable cooler or custom-built cabinet into a compressor-type refrigerator... when there's more time for a project.
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Postby brian_bp » Fri Apr 18, 2008 1:34 pm

The Tundra line of compressor-type refrigerators now belongs to Dometic, and is found their line of commercial vehicle equipment: Refrigerators. More of the Tundra line also appears as Dometic Marine Refrigerators and Freezers.
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Postby brian_bp » Fri Apr 18, 2008 1:45 pm

If you want stuff from the other side of the planet, there's also Evakool.

From closer to home, the FridgeFreeze looks interesting.

I'm not helping make a quick choice, am I? :lol:
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Postby brian_bp » Fri Apr 18, 2008 2:01 pm

And your trivia for the day...
Engel is made by Sawafuji Electric; their products are apparently also sold as ARB and possibly Norcold... it sure looks like the Engel Swing Compressor in the Norcold parts lists.

For a biased (but maybe true) Engel versus the others (including Waeco) comparison, there's the Engel USA Competition page.
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Postby PaulC » Fri Apr 18, 2008 2:17 pm

Damn Brian, why not confuse a Bloke :lol:
Down here, it's always a debate of Engel V Waeco. There are plenty of other Brands avaiable but, they are all copies of the original, pretty much.
Engel was first, I think, with the 2 way fridge. ARB is a rebadged Engel.
Engel is metal construction, waeco is plastic.
Engel has the "one moving part" swing compressor, Waeco uses a different compressor, entirely.

Gerdo, it's a bit like the Chev V Ford debates that happen. Your choice in the end. Mate.

Personally, I own a 40l and a 30l Engel.

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Postby Steve F » Fri Apr 18, 2008 3:11 pm

Yep, like Paul says down here Engel or Waeco and then the rest. I own a 50lt Waeco and have for the last 6 years with no problems.

I'd be happy with either but got the Waeco because the lid hings was on the side and not the end and I needed a lower profile when opened so it wouldn't hit the tailgate in the Jeep.

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Postby Gerdo » Sat Apr 19, 2008 8:24 pm

Any one know if the Norcold is made by Engle? I wonder if it is as good. Camping World has the Norcold on sale (sale price not shown here) I may be a little confused. Are the Engle and Norcold both compressor types?
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Postby Gerdo » Sat Apr 19, 2008 10:27 pm

Waeco uses a Danfloss compressor. I'm guessing it is different then the swing motor Engle uses.
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Postby PaulC » Sat Apr 19, 2008 10:45 pm

Norcold is listed as America's major constructor of this type of fridge.
http://www.thetford.com/HOME/Products/NorcoldRefrigeratorsHome/MRFT40/tabid/200/Default.aspx

Yes, the Waeco and Engel compressors are different. The Engel has only one moving part unlike the normal Waeco,Danfoss, style compressor.
the Engel compressor is of Japanese construction.
https://www.expeditionexchange.com/engel/

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Postby brian_bp » Sun Apr 20, 2008 4:48 pm

The "Swing Compressor" built by Sawafuji Electric and used in the Engel and ARB products is an unusual design; most compressors have a more conventional electric motor and a compressor that's like an air compressor, presumably with a piston, connecting rod, and crank; the motor and compressor are sealed together in one housing.

The "swing" name makes no sense to me, but the design makes a lot of sense. While the description from Expedition Exchange as an "electrodynamic reciprocating device" is good, the common claim that it has only one moving part is not true, as is apparent from the illustrations posted by Engel USA: in addition to the coil/piston assembly, the entire mechanisim bounces on springs within the outer housing, and there are spring-loaded intake and exhaust valves. It is simple.

I just guessed that the Norcold compressor-based products - or at the least their motor/compressor - might be made by Sawafuji because of the shape of the compressor unit. I don't know one way or the other, but photos of the external design of Engel and Norcold portable units look identical to me.

The Norcold refrigerators with model names starting with "N" use a "gas absorption" cycle - not a compressor - as shown on their section of Thetford's Norcold Inc. Refrigerators page.

Similarly, Dometic sells huge numbers of gas-absorption-cycle refrigerators (the conventional RV design); only the models starting with "T" (from the original Tundra name) are compressor-based.
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Postby Alphacarina » Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:10 pm

I think the 'swing' part is descriptive of what moves the piston . . . . as opposed to a rotating motor which requires some sort of crankshaft and connecting rod to get a reciprocating motion out of a rotary powerplant

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Postby brian_bp » Mon Apr 21, 2008 5:29 pm

Alphacarina wrote:I think the 'swing' part is descriptive of what moves the piston . . . . as opposed to a rotating motor which requires some sort of crankshaft and connecting rod to get a reciprocating motion out of a rotary powerplant

Don

Sure, but to most people "swing" would mean to oscillate through an arc (much less than a full rotation) about a pivot point, like a child on a playground swing; this machine oscillates in a straight line. It is truly a reciprocating piston compressor - driven by a reciprocating coil motor. I've never seen any of the various crankless reciprocating engine designs (such as the free-piston engines) use the term "swing" for this motion; perhaps it is an artifact of Japanese/English translation problems.

The Engel USA Technical page describes it well; only the "swing" term in the name (which they don't use in the description) is confusing... but then in the Competition page they call the common design "reciprocating", undoing all the good understanding which they had set up.

When I first heard the name, I assumed that it would be a swinging (about a pivot) oscillating electric motor, since that could be built, and would fit the name.
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