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how old, and how good are the old green engel fridges??

Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 6:04 pm
by trains
How old are the green engels

are they worth getting, and what would be a fair price for one??

cheers

Trains

Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 6:55 pm
by CanberraMav
I have an old green engel. It works perfectly and has been bashed around the back of many of my 4x4's.

Buy a new bag for it to make it look a bit better.

Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 7:11 pm
by Madmac
i have a 15lt green engel for sale, its a bit knocked around but works perfect. yours for $250

Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 7:32 pm
by ISUZUROVER
Madmac wrote:i have a 15lt green engel for sale, its a bit knocked around but works perfect. yours for $250
What are the 15L ones like? Do you usually use it as a fridge or a freezer?

Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 10:13 pm
by TuffRR
Green ones would be around 20 years old i reckon. I just sold mine which was a hand me down from my parents. Not one problem in the time we had it. Fantastic fridges!!!

Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 10:15 pm
by j-top paj
green should be more than 20years i think..
my old man has a yellowish 32ltr thats over 20 years old and i havnt heard of any "green" models coming out since..
id say its a very early 80s one or even 70s..
but its an engel so it will go forever :armsup:

Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 10:26 pm
by Madmac
what you have to realise is, that even though they are 20 years old, most of them see very little service, they get used like once a month for a weekend trip, unlike a house fridge that runs 24/7, i reckon there will be green engels still alive and well in another 20 years time.
as for the question about the 15lt, ive used it as both a fridge and freezer, works well, just wont hold enough beer for my likings :D

Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 11:58 pm
by trains
TuffRR wrote:Green ones would be around 20 years old i reckon. I just sold mine which was a hand me down from my parents. Not one problem in the time we had it. Fantastic fridges!!!
What sort of current draw did it have?? is the insulation ok, or are they somewhat lacking in that??

Ive looked at the engel site, but they dont have alot of info on the older types.

Trains

Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 12:15 am
by nastytroll
same specs as the grey ones, my 60l engel is an 1981 model still pops coke cans on 12v on 1 setting could do with a re spray but is a great fridge, bought a new bag for it to help keep the food cold n from memory it should be 6.8 amps max on an engel as opposed to a waeco at 11.2 amps

Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 10:59 pm
by Seafarer
Just got myself a second hand 40L Engel 2 nights ago. Not too sure what was the original colour as it had been re-painted but by the looks of it reckons its arnd 8-10 years old.

Stuck a fridge temp gauge in and the performance did not seem that impressive.

Observation/readings are as follow:
1) On setting 3, lowest recorded temp was 5.3 celsius
2) On setting 4, lowest recorded temp was -3.6 celsius
3) On setting 5, lowest recorded temp was -9.6 celsius, when assisted with a 12v (50 cfm) fan the temp drops to -10.9 celsius.

*** Fridge was situated in garage during the testing and on 240V mains.


The same fridge temp monitor says my kitchen freezer's lowest recorded temp is -16.8 celsius..... which I would think its fairly accurate.

For fridge gurus out there. What do you think is the problem for my Engel's inability to cool at lower settings? I constantly hear other engel owners remarking that it freezes past setting 2. The lid seals looks fine to me. Welcome any feedback and suggestions.


Sorry for the hijack Trains.... just some additional food for thoughts. BTW, paid $275 for it and it has a home made spring base attached.

Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 11:07 pm
by j-top paj
nastytroll wrote: from memory it should be 6.8 amps max on an engel
:shock:
ive never seen mine draw more than 2amps and engel claim 2.5 maximum

Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 11:33 pm
by shamozzle
Problem could be coolant seepage, possibly. Could even be the motor not pumping enough refrigerant around the coils fast enough. As a comparison I have an Engel 60Ltr Combi and it sits @ around -25 on the highest setting. Very rarely will it dip below -10 in the freezer compartment. Current draw is around the 6 Amp mark as well.

Cheers,

Chris.

Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 6:14 am
by Mechz
My father in law has a 25 or 30L one that his mother bought and she died 23 years ago so it's gotta be a few years older than that.

He has it in the garage on 240 running 24/7 when it's not in his boat or my car. It's been serviced once in that time and all that needed replacing was a rubber mount from the motor.

IMO you can't get much more reliable that that.

Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 7:31 am
by cloughy
Mine was 14 years old when i bought it second hand 5 years ago, rides on my tray bare when i go away, has been with my old man on 2, 3 month trips as a freezer.

Now I'm chasing a 60l :D

Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 6:41 pm
by trains
Well, Im looking at an old green lid, beige color sided 39lt tomorrow.

its got a faun cover, and spring base.

He rekons its been in the family since new, he is the 2nd owner now for 5 years, uses it 3 times/ year as a fridge, uses another engel as a freezer.

What would a fair price be for that??

I dont want to rip him off, but dont want to get fleeced either.

I rang a fridge repair place, they rekoned 250 tops for an older unit like that, which is well below what he is asking.

Appreciate your thoughts.

ps, bugger all on ebay as a comparison.

Trains

Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 6:47 pm
by ISUZUROVER
trains wrote: I rang a fridge repair place, they rekoned 250 tops for an older unit like that, which is well below what he is asking.
Does the fridge place have any for sale? I think 250 would be a great price if it works. I have seen a few similar ones on ebay in the past go for 300 or more.

Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 7:58 pm
by trains
so you rekon 300 is a good price for an old green lid 20 year old engel??

Trains

Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 8:23 pm
by Madmac
Seafarer wrote:Just got myself a second hand 40L Engel 2 nights ago. Not too sure what was the original colour as it had been re-painted but by the looks of it reckons its arnd 8-10 years old.

Stuck a fridge temp gauge in and the performance did not seem that impressive.

Observation/readings are as follow:
1) On setting 3, lowest recorded temp was 5.3 celsius
2) On setting 4, lowest recorded temp was -3.6 celsius
3) On setting 5, lowest recorded temp was -9.6 celsius, when assisted with a 12v (50 cfm) fan the temp drops to -10.9 celsius.

*** Fridge was situated in garage during the testing and on 240V mains.


The same fridge temp monitor says my kitchen freezer's lowest recorded temp is -16.8 celsius..... which I would think its fairly accurate.

For fridge gurus out there. What do you think is the problem for my Engel's inability to cool at lower settings? I constantly hear other engel owners remarking that it freezes past setting 2. The lid seals looks fine to me. Welcome any feedback and suggestions.


Sorry for the hijack Trains.... just some additional food for thoughts. BTW, paid $275 for it and it has a home made spring base attached.
OK here goes, firstly when the fridge is set at 5, is it cycling ie. does it cut in and out? or does it run continuously? how long did you have it running to achieve the temp readings? does the evaporator plate feel like it is frosting all the way around? if its not frosting all the way around it may be an indication that its either low on refrigerant or the compressor is inefficent. what is the ambient temperature in your garage? is the condensor clogged up with fluff and crap? -9.6 would still be ok to keep things frozen for a weekend, but a bit colder would be better, the ideal temp for a freezer is somewhere between -16 to -24. i saw your other thread about dismantling engels earlier but didnt have time to reply, they are fairly easy to dismantle, but i wouldnt advise you go pulling it to pieces unless it looks like the condensor is clogged up full of crap. if you do want to dismantle it, its just a matter of removing a few phillips head screws, however be carefull, once you get the case off, there is 4 more screws that hold the condensor in place. once you take these out the condensor will flop around. be carefull not to allow it to fall too far. if you kink,crack or brake the pipes to the condensor, you will have big problems

Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 9:26 pm
by cloughy
ISUZUROVER wrote:
trains wrote: I rang a fridge repair place, they rekoned 250 tops for an older unit like that, which is well below what he is asking.
Does the fridge place have any for sale? I think 250 would be a great price if it works. I have seen a few similar ones on ebay in the past go for 300 or more.
^^^

I'd want 500 for mine, they're bulletproof ;)

Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 9:38 pm
by j-top paj
300, is a good price ;)

if i didnt buy a waeco crapcooler a few weeks ago id have some spare cash and id get a second hand engel.
they been around for years and will still be around for many years to come :armsup: