A Real DC Refrigerator

[Erik Hardtle]

I spent the 3-day July 4th weekend on Shackleford Island near Atlantic Beach, NC.

I saw a thread on this board about coolers and someone mentioned Engle as a good frige... so I checked it out and had them send me one just before the weekend.



It is just the right size without putting on the handles and taking the corner feet off. I cutout some of the factory cooler insert to allow it to ventilate and added more fiberglass roving to help support the extra weight. It automatically detects if AC current is on and uses it instead of DC.




It is a little pricy... here is the link to the frige:
http://www.ahoycaptain.com/shop/product267.html

It worked GREAT... I had a smaller cooler with ice in it.. the ice was gone by the end of the day.. the frige (on refrig setting) was cold all weekend long... and did not drain my battery much at all.. it draws .7 to 2.5 amps depending on the setting. It has a wire insert that you can load up at home and then drop it into the frige.

I have more pictures of the installation on my website.. click the WWW button below.



... I'm still looking for the A/C for DC....

[Billy]

Erik, I posted about the Engle after I saw one in Bimini that was used all winter with a solar panel. Which size or model did you order to fit in the cooler insert?

[Jeff S]

Does anyone have the 40qt Coleman thermoelectric cooler? I have one that was installed by the PO, but I am not sure the power draw on it. I am waiting to hear from Coleman, but if anyone has one with the manual could you please look at the power draw?

Thanks,
Jeff S

[Erik Hardtle]

It is the Engel 35 Mid-size 34 Qt. Commercial Refrigerator/Freezer... it has the right dimensions. The link in the first post has the link directly to the right size.

Model Number MT35F-U1
Power consumption 0.7 - 2.5 Amps
Volume 34 qt.
Equivalent 54 cans (12 Fl.oz)
Weight 46.3 lbs.
Inside Dims 15.4" x 10.8" x 12.4"
Outside Dims 25.5" x 14.3" x 16"
Freezing Ability From 40F to 0F
Temp. control Variable
Available colors Gray
Carry handles Yes
Refrigerant Gas 134A
Input rating DC12V - 2.7A
Power Leads 9' detachable
Fuse 10A external fuse
Max Noise 38 dB
Shipping Dims 29" x 17" x 19"
Shipping Weight 59 lbs.
Warranty 2 years.


I tried the igloo thermoelectric a couple years ago and found that it did not keep things cool enough and it draws a lot of amps. I looked again at both the Coleman and Igloo coolers before deciding on the Engle. Here is the amps from the Igloo website:

What is the wattage/amperage on the units?
"The active cooling units use approximately 48 - 60 watts (depending on the unit) and about 4.2 - 5.0 amps."

[Rich Smith]

Eric - I just went to your website...not only is the site very well done but the modifications you've made all look top notch! Well done!

[Don B]

Erik, How quiet is it ?

I have a Igloo brand and the only two complaints I have are that it is noisy and takes up a little more room in the cabin then we want.

I think my fan has gotten noisy over time and I am going to replace it.

But we have been trying to scope out a little bit smaller a DC cooler.


I was beginning to think they quit making them as you don't see too many of the DC'd for sale. I saw none at Boaters World and West Marine. Saw two choices recently at Wally World.

-Don B

[Jack O'Brien]

Erik:

Does the refrigerator have two power cords and you have both attatched so it can automatically switch to AC when available?

[Tom Spohn]

Jeff,
I believe the Coleman draws about 5 amps.

[Erik Hardtle]

Jack:
Yes, it has two cords, one for DC and one for AC, I leave them both attached and the AC takes over when I plug in the boat at home or on shore power.

Don B:
I only heard it when we were sleeping on it (we drop the table to make the berth which is partially over the cooler area) ... and even then it was a very low mur-mur... and it was not on constantly... only when it needed to maintain temperature setting. Obviously it takes no extra room except where the cooler would go.. if you can get over the sticker shock.. it is worth it. And when you're not using it on the boat you can take it in the car...

Rich
Thanks... kinda matches the boat design I came up with.

[Don B]

Erik,

Man they have come along way with these DC units. I see yours says it can freeze items. Mine sure can't do that. Plus yours uses less power so they must have found away to make those Pizo's more efficient.

I'll show this one to the better half.

-Don B

[Timm Miller]

I was at Shackelfords on Sat. We got to Beaufort on Friday and we left Tuesday morning.........I never saw another Mac. It was hot as all get out with that SW wind all weekend.

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

I was at Shackelfords on Sat. We got to Beaufort on Friday and we left Tuesday morning.........I never saw another Mac. It was hot as all get out with that SW wind all weekend.

Timm, next time...if you run into Erik, see if he will sell you some ice!

[Erik Hardtle]

Timm:
We left Oriental on Saturday, made our way down Adams Creek, and was anchored/beached Sat, Sun, and left Monday morning. We were sound side, next to the house boat that is permanently achored, and about 150 yards from the dock/pier there.

Did you see the huge white tent with the two rented houseboats in front, they put on a nice $5000 firework show on Sunday. I saw several sailboats, a hunter, a catamaran... didn't see any other Mac's either...

Don:
The frige has an actual compressor from what I understand.

[Don B]

I went back to the web site to see if it can do ice and drinks at the same time. It looks like it can only do one or the other.

By the way if you go to the sight it is filed under Portable not Fridge or Cooler.

I did learn that I was wrong about it using Pizeo Chips for cooling. Instead it uses some latest compressor technology with freon coolant for cooling. Of course who cares since it uses less amperage and cools better than the Pizeo coolers !

-Don B

[Russell]

I just purchased a Vector Thermo-electric cooler about 2 weeks ago and it works great. Its 20ct. is spacious with no ice, it has an internal chargeable battery(lasts only 3-4 hr.) and can run off of 12v(draws about 3.0amps when on). The down side is it won't fit under the aft seat. I purchased this at pepboys for 89.00