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Author Topic: Evakool fridges  (Read 15597 times)

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Offline wartim

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Evakool fridges
« on: March 11, 2012, 08:16:22 PM »
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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Offline Kit_e_kat9

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #1 on: March 11, 2012, 08:28:33 PM »


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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Offline outback jack

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #2 on: March 11, 2012, 08:59:17 PM »
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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Offline Barrabart

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #3 on: March 11, 2012, 09:08:27 PM »
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.
« Last Edit: March 11, 2012, 09:10:08 PM by Barrabart »
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Offline STUMPSHHH

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #4 on: March 12, 2012, 08:06:00 PM »
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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Offline Kit_e_kat9

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #5 on: March 12, 2012, 08:15:38 PM »
Quote from: STUMPSHHH on March 12, 2012, 08:06:00 PM
I allways seem to have the hottest beer after a long days travelling dont know why.

STUMPSHHH ... You have to plug it in!   ;D

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Offline STUMPSHHH

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #6 on: March 12, 2012, 08:18:16 PM »
I might not be a computor wizz but I can plug a 12v socket in
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Offline outback jack

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #7 on: March 12, 2012, 08:26:17 PM »
Quote from: STUMPSHHH on March 12, 2012, 08:18:16 PM
I might not be a computor wizz but I can plug a 12v socket in

Have another bong mate  :cheers:
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Offline NewcastleKnight

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Evakool fridges
« Reply #8 on: March 12, 2012, 08:27:12 PM »
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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Offline Laith

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #9 on: March 12, 2012, 08:34:40 PM »
Quote from: STUMPSHHH on March 12, 2012, 08:06:00 PM
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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Offline markymark

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #10 on: March 12, 2012, 10:39:08 PM »
Quote from: STUMPSHHH on March 12, 2012, 08:06:00 PM
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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Offline Ropes

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #11 on: March 13, 2012, 01:28:41 AM »
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.

Quote from: STUMPSHHH on March 12, 2012, 08:06:00 PM
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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Offline Tjupurula

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #12 on: March 13, 2012, 01:34:44 AM »
Quote from: outback jack on March 11, 2012, 08:59:17 PM
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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Offline morcon

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #13 on: March 13, 2012, 07:28:09 AM »
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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Offline poidda

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #14 on: March 13, 2012, 01:26:02 PM »
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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Offline Crisp Image

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #15 on: March 13, 2012, 01:45:45 PM »
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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Offline morcon

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #16 on: March 13, 2012, 02:57:06 PM »
Quote from: poidda on March 13, 2012, 01:26:02 PM
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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Offline ralphedward

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #17 on: March 14, 2012, 06:16:01 PM »
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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Offline Laith

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #18 on: March 14, 2012, 06:34:51 PM »
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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Offline Tuco

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #19 on: March 14, 2012, 08:58:45 PM »
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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Offline Swaggie

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #20 on: March 15, 2012, 03:37:39 PM »
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...



Goodluck
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Offline DeBe

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #21 on: March 15, 2012, 04:10:12 PM »
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   
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Offline outback jack

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #22 on: March 15, 2012, 07:57:44 PM »
Quote from: ralphedward on March 14, 2012, 06:16:01 PM
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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Offline Ropes

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #23 on: March 16, 2012, 02:10:50 AM »
Quote from: DeBe on March 15, 2012, 04:10:12 PM
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


Thanks for this DeBe  :cup:

 :cheers:

Craig
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Offline rotare

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Re: Evakool fridges
« Reply #24 on: March 16, 2012, 10:12:30 AM »
Quote
Have another bong mate
 

Quote
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.
« Last Edit: March 16, 2012, 10:15:06 AM by rotare »
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