MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: wartim on March 11, 2012, 08:16:22 PM
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I am interested to know what the owners of Evakool fridges really think of the product? I have never heard anything bad about them and am seriously thinking of buying the 70 litre fridgemate (yellow one).
Pros
Can be used as a split fridge/freezer at the same time.
Width of either the fridge or freezer can be adjusted according to needs.
BD35 Danfoss compresser, which will be more energy efficient than a BD50.
5 year warranty.
Value for money compared to Waco and Engel.
Rugged, Durable and hard wearing (scratch resistant) body. no need for a transit bag.
Excellent insulation - no need for a transit bag.
Readily available spare parts.
Australian Made
Cons
Have to buy a 240 volt adaptor as an extra.
Fridge seems shallow in height - need to check if bottles of milk and soft drink will stand up in the box?
Interested to know everyones thoughts?
Cheers
Wartim
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Buy the Evakool. We have a white one and we can't fault it as yet. 2 litre milk sits inside nicely ... as do 2 litre coke bottles ... ice cube trays ... drumsticks ... keeps cans nicely cold ... oh and food. We start it up the night before we go on the 240 and it runs off the batteries for the rest of the trip.
Kit_e
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Go for it mate :cheers:
I've said before that if the compressor Shits itself, a bag of ice will last for days in an evakool
And a bag of ice in a engel/waeco will last a couple of hours :cheers:
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G'day Wartim,
I've got a RF60 Evakool Fridge /Freezer (white fibreglass)..... and I'm very happy with it, pretty sure it doesn't fit a 2ltr softdrink bottle as they are just a little too tall standing up..... not really a problem though as i don't reckon i would ever take up 2 ltrs of room from the esky with a big bottle of softdrink, would rather carry a carton of cans, and cycle them through the fridge a few at a time..
I reckon the Fridge Mate units would certainly handle the heavier knocks, but i went with the fibreglass as mine wil be only ever in the back of a Cruiser Wagon or sitting around the CT kitchen, also mates have owned the old Evakool ice boxes and reckon they were tops.
Also, they are made in Aus, and from everything i've heard the after sales service is great.
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Hi I have the 47lt EvaWarm unit and I allways seem to have the hottest beer after a long days travelling dont know why. It is good for keeping a few ice cubes frozen and it is the loudest 12v fridge i have heard. Go for a Engel
STUMPSHHH
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I allways seem to have the hottest beer after a long days travelling dont know why.
STUMPSHHH ... You have to plug it in! ;D
Kit_e
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I might not be a computor wizz but I can plug a 12v socket in
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I might not be a computor wizz but I can plug a 12v socket in
Have another bong mate :cheers:
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I have an Engel and just got a 47litre second hand Evakool, a white one.
Used it over the weekend to cool beer and very happy with it. Bottles stand up in it no problems.
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Hi I have the 47lt EvaWarm unit and I allways seem to have the hottest beer after a long days travelling dont know why. It is good for keeping a few ice cubes frozen and it is the loudest 12v fridge i have heard. Go for a Engel
STUMPSHHH
I have 2 evakool fridges and you have no idea.
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Hi I have the 47lt EvaWarm unit and I allways seem to have the hottest beer after a long days travelling dont know why. It is good for keeping a few ice cubes frozen and it is the loudest 12v fridge i have heard. Go for a Engel
STUMPSHHH
I've got 2 of those fridges and 6 months travelling with them on 24/7 my beers were icy cold, the meat stayed frozen no matter what the temp!
Here's the evidence...
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You can't go wrong with an EvaKool and if you can find the extra coin for a white fibre glass model you won't be sorry.
Hi I have the 47lt EvaWarm unit and I allways seem to have the hottest beer after a long days travelling dont know why. It is good for keeping a few ice cubes frozen and it is the loudest 12v fridge i have heard. Go for a Engel
STUMPSHHH
What everyone else said :-*
:cheers:
Craig
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Go for it mate :cheers:
I've said before that if the compressor ****s itself, a bag of ice will last for days in an evakool
And a bag of ice in a engel/waeco will last a couple of hours :cheers:
Hi Outback Jack
I have to challenge the second part of your comment there, I have an 80 litre Waeco fridge, and a 70 litre Waeco esky, and ice lasts two and half days in the esky, and over a day in the fridge when it is not turned on.
Regards
Tjupurula
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I've got the 70 Litre yellow fridge / freezer. I don't like it at all but I can't recall anyone else who owns one ever saying anything bad about them. I find it difficult to get the temperature right - but that is quite probably just operator error. When I have the divider in between the fridge and freezer, the far end of the fridge really struggles to be cool, but without the divider it tends to freeze the whole thing (and yes, I realise that this is how you operate it as an entire freezer). I have thought about drilling some more holes in the divider but haven't been brave enough. One thing that is really crappy on them is the cigarette plug - I changed mine over but before I did it was quite common for it to unplug itself while travelling. I'm thinking of running mine just as a freezer and buying a 60L ARB for a fridge.
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I've had one for a few years now and run it 24/7 as a beer fridge when at home. They are great units and I'd buy another one at the drop of a hat. The few times I have used the divider for fridge/freezer, as morcon has said, the fridge side can struggle. But I find if you lift the divider off the base of the fridge a few mm, this lets more cool air in. I've also seen where people have installed a 12v fan in the divider to push more air in.
I've also found it useful to use only half the fridge sometimes. A bit of duck tape over the holes in the divider, and you've all of a sudden got a 35L fridge and 35L food storage. I do this sometimes when just going away on short trips on my own. no point keeping the entire fridge cold when you don't need it.
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I have the FM55. I Like it and have used it as a fridge freezer only once. Most of my tips are short so a fridge will do. I like the idea of only using half the fridge. Never thought of that.
I also have the digital thermostat that takes the guess work out. Buy it from Australian direct and most often you get a 240 adapter with it and for good prices.
Regards
Crisp Image
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I've had one for a few years now and run it 24/7 as a beer fridge when at home. They are great units and I'd buy another one at the drop of a hat. The few times I have used the divider for fridge/freezer, as morcon has said, the fridge side can struggle. But I find if you lift the divider off the base of the fridge a few mm, this lets more cool air in. I've also seen where people have installed a 12v fan in the divider to push more air in.
I've also found it useful to use only half the fridge sometimes. A bit of duck tape over the holes in the divider, and you've all of a sudden got a 35L fridge and 35L food storage. I do this sometimes when just going away on short trips on my own. no point keeping the entire fridge cold when you don't need it.
That sounds like good advice - I will give those ideas a go.
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You simply can't go wrong with an evakool. Lift the divider up a couple of mm (as was mentioned earlier) and the fridge/freezer problem is solved. I just need to turn mine on, get beer and go camping!
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I have used my 85l as fridge/freezer and the most I did was leave the Perspex lid off the freezer.
Was -15 in the freezer and under 3 in the fridge.
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We have an ED70 - white fibreglass - over 10 years old now. The only mod was to ditch the cigarette plug and replace with a Hella plug.
Our model has the 12V cable hard wired into the fridge - unlike the next series that uses a 4 pin microphone plug/socket.
Have used it as a freezer / fridge / or combi unit with the insulated separator. 2L pop or milk bottles will stand in it ok.
Have seen minus 24°C in it, and believe me - ice cream at that temp is VERY hard!
Have used ours in a number of 4x4's and also ran on 24V for 5 months as a freezer - in our Hino motorhome on a trip around the big island.
Highly recommended - great fridge.
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Yeah i have the Evakool RF60,The 60l Engel as about 20kg's heavier too..
Decided to ditch the ciggy lighter for Anderson plug too...If you buy one i suggest you buy a wireless thermometer for it too for about $35...Keep an eye on the temp from your cabin....
They can be too efficient and freeze stuff when using as a fridge thats why i suggest the wireless...
(http://www.australiandirect.com.au/assets/full/EVAEDTM-W.jpg)
Goodluck
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In this article i converted my old fibreglass Evacool esky to a fridge freezer. Using a scraped Waeco for parts. http://caravanersforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15251 (http://caravanersforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15251)
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You simply can't go wrong with an evakool. Lift the divider up a couple of mm (as was mentioned earlier) and the fridge/freezer problem is solved. I just need to turn mine on, get beer and go camping!
Yeah mark pull your finger out mate :cheers:
Currently at avoca having plenty of :cheers:
Send me a email and will organize a trip ASAP
Say g'day to zippy and the girls :cheers:
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In this article i converted my old fibreglass Evacool esky to a fridge freezer. Using a scraped Waeco for parts. http://caravanersforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15251 (http://caravanersforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15251)
Thanks for this DeBe :cup:
:cheers:
Craig
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Have another bong mate
I have 2 evakool fridges and you have no idea.
Geez, someone has a different experience or opinion than you and you sh*t on the guy ???. Nice one.
Read what the original poster requested:
I am interested to know what the owners of Evakool fridges really think of the product?
They didn't say don't post if you've had a bad experience with an Evakool fridge.
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What are you doing with your post? Helping out the OP with some great advice?
I have had great experiences with my 2 evakool fridges not any bad experience at all.
I replied to his post in the same tone he did. so what!
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What are you doing with your post? Helping out the OP with some great advice?
No mate, just pointing out your arrogance.
I have had great experiences with my 2 evakool fridges not any bad experience at all
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That's terrific - so why tell someone they have no idea when their experience is different to yours?
I replied to his post in the same tone he did. so what!
Because your comments were directed at him and were condescending. Maybe a little bit of respect for other peoples opinions might go a long way.... ::)
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Maybe you should focus your energy into a worthwhile reply to the OP rather than dwelling on my arrogance. My arrogance has been tested by the best and found to be within acceptable parameters.
Respect for other peoples opinions? My opinion is he has no idea. You just disrespected my opinion. My "opinion" is you should give yourself a dressing down. But that's just my opinion rotare. Don't take it to heart.
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Rotare, given most people have not had bad experiences maybe the person that has should be explaining his problems, not sure that the off the cuff comment really gave me any information of assistance either...
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My arrogance has been tested by the best and found to be within acceptable parameters.
Having sat around many campfires with Laith I can confirm that his arrogance is within acceptable parameters.
As for Evakool fridges, the beer that I regularlay help myself to out of Laith's fridges is always cold so I can only assume they work well!
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Rotare, given most people have not had bad experiences maybe the person that has should be explaining his problems, not sure that the off the cuff comment really gave me any information of assistance either...
But he did explain his problem? It doesn't keep his beer cold and it's noisey. Maybe he got a dud Evakool, who knows! But thats his experience. We're not all literature masters so some people don't string words together, or get their point across as well as others. Don't see the point in bagging the guy because his experience is different to most.
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Rotare......MATE........not sure if you are a regular here....but, some things are said in jest....and as a whole no offence is usually taken...but if you think it it offends you.....let them know by PM
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Mate, you are obviously a literary master, mmmm maybe not good luck with it...come to think of it one might ask why you chose to become involved...like Gronk said if you have a problem report the post to a moderator or pm the person.
Cheers
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Let's all get back to helping the bloke out with his original post... Guys this is a great forum for opinion and at times banter. Its why I love Myswag
Greg
FWIW, I have only heard of positive thiings regarding the fridges... I have an and ARB myself and love it
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Rotare......MATE........not sure if you are a regular here....but, some things are said in jest....and as a whole no offence is usually taken...but if you think it it offends you.....let them know by PM
Fair enough. Point taken. I'll keep my opinions to myself from now on.
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Fair enough. Point taken. I'll keep my opinions to myself from now on.
Rotare. C'mon.. this forum is all about opinions... that's what makes a great forum like this
Greg
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People have helped me a lot in this thread given I'm a new owner. It is with actual interest I would like to know why the bloke thinks his is not working?? Has he tried anything and perhaps this thread might help him?
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I bought a 70lt yellow evakool before xmas and it had a pretty decent workout in + 30 deg every day for a week.Cant fault it ,kept stuff frozen on half setting on the dial.Great value.robust.and its yellow......
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Yes all the coments are there but all you have to do and look at whats out there heaps of Waeco & Engles not many Evawarms
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G'day STUMPSHHH,
Sorry to hear you are not happy with your evakool fridge.
As suggestion why don't you use this forum for the valuable resource it is which is to your advantage and describe the problems you are having, the settings you are using, what you are putting into it, the type of connections used and anything else you may suspect is causing the problem.
I am sure there will be a solution on this forum that will solve your issues with the Evakool fridge.
Cheers
Wartim
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The Nomads have a 70l yellow evakool..very happy and others have said great value
The only breakage Ive had is the very thin perspex cover that fits over the top of the freezer .
Have replaced it with a plastic box lid (the same size and its not brittle like the perspex)
Kind Regards John
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Yes all the coments are there but all you have to do and look at whats out there heaps of Waeco & Engles not many Evawarms
Thanks for the input, very useful.
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Almost 7 years on and my 60 litre Evakool RF still looks ands runs like new. It did take awhile to learn how to pack the fridge and what setting to run though. Never had warm beer, but have had a few frozen ones!
Simple, solid construction.
Quality compressor.
No electronics.
Uses off the shelf parts so any fridge mechanic can service them. (not that I've needed anything ;D)
Australian made.
Downside is they are long. Which makes them awkward to carry and difficult to fit in the back of some 4wd's.
The fibreglass is good, but if the yellow fridgemates were available back then I would have got the 70 litre one instead.
The Fridgemates look like they can handle a bit more abuse.
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There was thread on here somewhere about installing a little fan to help circulation in evakools
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There was thread on here somewhere about installing a little fan to help circulation in evakools
I think this is the one your talking about!
http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=18998.msg292791#msg292791 (http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=18998.msg292791#msg292791)
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I posted a while back i was having trouble with mine and its currently at the service mob for Evakool down here so im not sure what the issue is. I do like mine, and i still think all the positives apply, eg good insulation, australian company, etc. But i have had a few issues over the years, ive had the vehicle/wiring looked at and found no issue but the fault light indicating low voltage has reared it head a few times. As i said its being looked at as we speak so ill reserve any final judgement until i found out whats happened to it. Will let you know how i go!