I'm looking for real-world power consumption data. Or anything other firsthand info about them, for that matter.
Does anyone own an Engel fridge/freezer?
- Thread starter Gene Neill
- Start date
Gene,
The overall reviews come down to what you want to do with it and how much of an energy budget you have, including sources of charging your batteries and how long between charges. Those are generally the parameters we all have to work with, regardless of boat size for our vessels.
The Engels are reported to work very well as backups to built in fridges, by using the Engel for daily stuff and leaving the house fridge closed. Alternatively, folks have used the Engel as a "don't open me" freezer and using the built in for soda and beer.
Nameplate power draw is usually reflective of power requirements for these units. I'm sure others will chime in and give you and daily ah load, but you never get somthin' for nuttin', so cooling BTUs work pretty consistently. If a built in fridge, poorly insulated, uses 60 ah per day (and I know they DO having had one for 20 years), budgeting 30-40 ah per day for an Engel has been repeatedly reported and useful info for you.
Having owned a C22, a 1981 #10496, it would be a great addition for you, but you have to back it up with a healthy battery bank.
Would probably fit well in the quarterberth.
On our C22 we would anchor out on warm sunny days. That's where we learned to drink rum neat.
The overall reviews come down to what you want to do with it and how much of an energy budget you have, including sources of charging your batteries and how long between charges. Those are generally the parameters we all have to work with, regardless of boat size for our vessels.
The Engels are reported to work very well as backups to built in fridges, by using the Engel for daily stuff and leaving the house fridge closed. Alternatively, folks have used the Engel as a "don't open me" freezer and using the built in for soda and beer.
Nameplate power draw is usually reflective of power requirements for these units. I'm sure others will chime in and give you and daily ah load, but you never get somthin' for nuttin', so cooling BTUs work pretty consistently. If a built in fridge, poorly insulated, uses 60 ah per day (and I know they DO having had one for 20 years), budgeting 30-40 ah per day for an Engel has been repeatedly reported and useful info for you.
Having owned a C22, a 1981 #10496, it would be a great addition for you, but you have to back it up with a healthy battery bank.
Would probably fit well in the quarterberth.
On our C22 we would anchor out on warm sunny days. That's where we learned to drink rum neat.
What size are you looking at? There are going to be a lot of variables, where it is in the boat (gets sun on it?), size of the portable fridge, how often it is opened, how many hot items are added a day, etc.
Which brand is best is like the 'old Ford vs. Chevy debate'. I did a lot of research before we bought our 63 quart Edgestar. There use to be a really good Aussie article on the major portables and in it they had them side by side with the same loads in them and set to the same temps out in a real world camping situation. There really wasn't that much difference in any of the brands. Some ran with more amps but ran shorter periods of time and one had about 2/3's the amps while running, but ran about 2/3's longer so it was a wash in total consumption.
We ended up with a 63 quart Edgestar about 9 years ago and ...
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/inside-22.html
... have been happy with it. We got it for a couple hundred less than the major name brands but it has the same type compressor setup. It had a minor wiring problem years ago but forgot what it was now. It was an easy fix if I remember right. As close as I could tell while in Florida and the Bahamas in the Spring using it full time and adding to it I'd say it was using about 35 amps a day. 200 watts of solar took care of it and other small loads, plus a C-pap machine on the Mac. 200 watts might be pushing it if you run into 2-3 days of cloudy weather and you are out days at a time. This was also the larger 63 quart size and not the 40 quart size that I think more people end up with. It is a big portable.
The drawback to good energy consumption with the portables is they don't have much insulation compared to what is possible with a built-in unit.
The fridge/freezer that I build for the Endeavour is almost twice as large but only uses about 2/3's the power of the portable due to the large difference in the amount of insulation that was used and it has a small freezer section.
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/endeavour-inside-mods/inside-index.html
One thing is for sure. Once you have a fridge you will never want to go back to ice again if you are doing multiple day cruises,
Sumner
==============================================================================
1300 miles to The Bahamas and Back in the Mac...
Endeavour 37 Mods...
MacGregor 26-S Mods...http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/endeavour-main/endeavour-index.html
Mac Trips to Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Canada, Florida, Bahamas
Which brand is best is like the 'old Ford vs. Chevy debate'. I did a lot of research before we bought our 63 quart Edgestar. There use to be a really good Aussie article on the major portables and in it they had them side by side with the same loads in them and set to the same temps out in a real world camping situation. There really wasn't that much difference in any of the brands. Some ran with more amps but ran shorter periods of time and one had about 2/3's the amps while running, but ran about 2/3's longer so it was a wash in total consumption.
We ended up with a 63 quart Edgestar about 9 years ago and ...
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/inside-22.html
... have been happy with it. We got it for a couple hundred less than the major name brands but it has the same type compressor setup. It had a minor wiring problem years ago but forgot what it was now. It was an easy fix if I remember right. As close as I could tell while in Florida and the Bahamas in the Spring using it full time and adding to it I'd say it was using about 35 amps a day. 200 watts of solar took care of it and other small loads, plus a C-pap machine on the Mac. 200 watts might be pushing it if you run into 2-3 days of cloudy weather and you are out days at a time. This was also the larger 63 quart size and not the 40 quart size that I think more people end up with. It is a big portable.
The drawback to good energy consumption with the portables is they don't have much insulation compared to what is possible with a built-in unit.
The fridge/freezer that I build for the Endeavour is almost twice as large but only uses about 2/3's the power of the portable due to the large difference in the amount of insulation that was used and it has a small freezer section.
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/endeavour-inside-mods/inside-index.html
One thing is for sure. Once you have a fridge you will never want to go back to ice again if you are doing multiple day cruises,
Sumner
==============================================================================
1300 miles to The Bahamas and Back in the Mac...
Endeavour 37 Mods...
MacGregor 26-S Mods...http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/endeavour-main/endeavour-index.html
Mac Trips to Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Canada, Florida, Bahamas
When I had my C-270, I hemmed and hawed about buying an Engel or installing a converion kit in the existing reefer. I opted to add the smallest Engel they made to augment the reefer.
It held about a 12 pack of cans.
If I remember right I was able to run the boat electronics and the fridge for a full day on the group 24 house batt. Using it as a freezer would increase power consumption. I liked it....the girls called it the "rumble seat".
It held about a 12 pack of cans.
If I remember right I was able to run the boat electronics and the fridge for a full day on the group 24 house batt. Using it as a freezer would increase power consumption. I liked it....the girls called it the "rumble seat".
Oh yes ... I understand completely.
For whatever it's worth, we're looking at about a 40qt model, maybe this one https://www.engelcoolers.com/mr040f-u1-mr040f-u1-ac-dc-fridge-freezer.html We are near enough to their HQ in Jupiter, FL to go take a look at them in person for the final decision.
That's amazing you got by with only 200W solar with a 63qt unit. We're planning for 300+ watts, with a diesel, and I'm still nervous. But there will also be a watermaker in the mix.
How much did the CPAP consume?
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FWIW, I installed a Dometic CF40 many years ago which is very similar to the Engel and I love it. I don't have real world power consumption numbers for you but after a year or two of using it, I decided to add two 65 watt solar panels to help offset the consumption and that has worked out very well. My house bank is only two group 27 deep cycle batteries and I've not had much trouble keeping things in order and I've never been stranded by a dead battery. We typically cruise for 3-4 days at a time but we have done numerous week to two week cruises where battery consumption is monitored closely. Again, power consumption has never been an issue. Our boat is a typical 35 foot cruising boat with standard systems (no water maker), lights, chartplotter and radar.
For our 7 week Florida trip we had 180 watts and that came close to doing it.
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor/outside-13.html
We did run the Honda/Alternator/12 volt charger I made about 6 hours total over those 7 weeks though. Then upped the watts to 200 and haven't used the generator since. We now have 560 watts on the Mac. I wanted to look at running a 24 volt trolling motor at times, but have failed to test that option out much. With the 560 watts the batteries hardly are ever under 75% charge even if there are a couple days of clouds. We have 480 watts on the Endeavor and that has easily handled all loads.
I have to use the humidifier on the CPAP at home in dry western air and I think it is 2-3 amps then. Down here in Florida and the Bahamas with the humidity I don't need to run the humidifier and I think it is about 1 1/2. I'll try and remember to check tonight but we leave in the morning on our crossing to Morgan's Bluff on Andros Island. If I don't post tomorrow I'll try and do it when we have WiFi again.
Sumner
=========================================================================
1300 miles to The Bahamas and Back in the Mac...
Endeavour 37 Mods...
MacGregor 26-S Mods...http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/endeavour-main/endeavour-index.html
Mac Trips to Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Canada, Florida, Bahamas
I have both the Engel $$$$$ Edge Star much cheaper and like it better the door opening and LED
read out temperature.
The Edge Star is quieter and does a great job and have it many years and I leave the Engel in my
RV and it’s good but like the Edge Star better and wish I had gotten the Edge Star first and not the Engel but both are low power user.
Nick
read out temperature.
The Edge Star is quieter and does a great job and have it many years and I leave the Engel in my
RV and it’s good but like the Edge Star better and wish I had gotten the Edge Star first and not the Engel but both are low power user.
Nick
Interesting, I was not familiar with EdgeStar.
I'm not stuck on Engel necessarily, just want lowest power draw and of course reliability. The reading I have done led me to believe Engel was where I would most likely get both.
I'm not stuck on Engel necessarily, just want lowest power draw and of course reliability. The reading I have done led me to believe Engel was where I would most likely get both.
I have the Engel 40 qt you referenced to. I haven't had a chance to use it alot on 12 volt but when I checked for power consumption it started up around 2.3 amps. When it cycled on it was just over 2 amps. As I stated I have not used it on 12 volt for any length of time but have used it mostly at home for extra storage on 110 ac. It runs very little and mine is reasonably quiet when running. It will reach temps of 0 degrees at ambient temps of 80 degrees. So far I am very pleased with it. Friends have an ARB and they are telling me it is drawing 4.5 amps.
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Amp draw while the fridge is running is a good thing to be concerned about, but more important is to know what the amp hours are for say 24 hours. According to some tests I've read some of the lower drawing fridges run for longer periods so they can use as much or maybe even more amp/hours over 24 hours vs. one that draws more amps but runs less time. I think it is a good sales line to use as most just look at the amp draw while running and not how long one runs vs. another. You can now find some youtube 24 hour comparisons now with a search.
On the Mac if the batteries are up early in the day and there is solar to be had we turn the fridge temps down to just above freezing and then when the sun is down and the solar goes down we turn the temp in the fridge up to the low 40's. This then cuts down on draw during the night as the fridge starts into the night at a lower temp vs. if you just left in in the high 30's/low 40's all the time.. Isotherm does this with a controller that senses the voltage available under solar and it will work with a lot of the larger stand alone fridges. I don't think they have a way to do this with a portable but no reason you can't do it manually like we do.
Sumner
==========================================================================
1300 miles to The Bahamas and Back in the Mac...
Endeavour 37 Mods...
MacGregor 26-S Mods...
Mac Trips to Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Canada, Florida, Bahamas
On the Mac if the batteries are up early in the day and there is solar to be had we turn the fridge temps down to just above freezing and then when the sun is down and the solar goes down we turn the temp in the fridge up to the low 40's. This then cuts down on draw during the night as the fridge starts into the night at a lower temp vs. if you just left in in the high 30's/low 40's all the time.. Isotherm does this with a controller that senses the voltage available under solar and it will work with a lot of the larger stand alone fridges. I don't think they have a way to do this with a portable but no reason you can't do it manually like we do.
Sumner
==========================================================================
1300 miles to The Bahamas and Back in the Mac...
Endeavour 37 Mods...
MacGregor 26-S Mods...
Mac Trips to Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Canada, Florida, Bahamas