DRAWER FRIDGE COMPARISON || KINGS v ENGEL v EVAKOOL | 12v fridge review with surprising results!

[@tmcginnis4500]

The other drawer fridge worth checking out (and making an organiser for perhaps...) is the Oztrail 20L. It has the same chassis size as the Kings 30, but with an LG compressor and the ability to freeze down to -18. It also seems better insulated, and the latching system is better (twin side latches rather than a single center latch). I run a Kings 30 with an Oztrail 20 - kings for refrigeration, Oztrail as a freezer. They replaced an old Engel 38L Eclipse.

[@peterwright2692]

Had to put a new lid on my 15L engle this week ,I bought the fridge in 1983,still goes great.

[@seanchristie7150]

Fantastic assessment Cam, We have a 60lt car fridge has been running for about 6 years on 240v and has done several 10+ day trips and has not missed a beat. I feel they are a fantastic entry level product. Keep up the awesome work.

[@kentgriffiths6288]

Just an idea for your fridge organisers. Assuming the front is steel, could you have rare earth magnets sewn into some pockets? To fix them on with no permanent gluing?

[@bnaccas76]

My Kings has been running -1 now for a little under 2 years. Seems pretty good.

[@ramenzwagermam4193]

I've randomly come across this video, but wanted to give some praise about some really well presented content. It would be interesting to remove some variables and compare temperature accuracy. Thanks for the great video.

[@cootey]

Good comparison mate, I've got a Kings 30l drawer, bought it when they came out. 4 years later and it's still running so well. Just bought one of your organisers. Proud to support 👍🏻

[@WildTouring]

That’s a good run! Got to be happy with that. Appreciate the support mate! 🙏

[@Dorko85]

I have all 3; the Engel, Evakool and Dometic drawer fridges in different cars. The Evakool is brilliant but huge; but needed extra fans to pull the heat out. The Engel has the front vents and brilliant- love it and works very well as an all rounder. The Dometic is ok- can’t handy hear over 40 degrees well; but for any temperature under works well My pick is the Engel!

[@slowboat6021]

thanks appreciate your honest comparison. these are are good beer fridge option but we went and got a bushman, its quiet and efficient can be a freezer or a beer fridge.

[@StephenCawrse]

I love my kings fridge beers 🍺 are cold for the price can't go wrong cheers legends 😄

[@travelling_kelpies]

I was still undecided which fridge to go with, so this has been great. Thanks for doing it. Will get the evacool, for sure.

[@COLRUS]

those that asked about how loud they are, I know the kings draw isn't loud, I've got the 60L and it draws the same amount of power consumption as the 30L that Cam had shown roughly 23ah over 24hrs. LOVE MY KINGS 60L and at $429 on sale can't go wrong. It does cycle every 10 minutes but only for 3 minutes when it has reached the temperature, however I've heard changing the fan in them fixes this issue also making it more efficient. Good comparison on the 3 major sellers Cam.

[@WildTouring]

Thanks for the comment! Wish I’d thought to test noise!

[@chrisspies8123]

Good comparison vid. I've been tossing up which one to get but will be using it as a freezer mostly. But good to know even at fridge temp for other times when I need a 2nd fridge. Thanks Cam!

[@johnmathisen1167]

As I’m not very rich most of my stuff is kings , sure some of it is very cheap plastic but it’s always worked and it’s hung together,so I’m happy with kings.

[@WildTouring]

Nothing wrong with that! If it’s all working, then you’re winning!

[@directionoverland9397]

Love your reviews. Honest and straightforward. Your channel is going great!! Enjoying following along.

[@WildTouring]

Thanks mate 🙏 appreciate the feedback and support

[@boofhead7338]

I bought the Ice cube 40l drawer fridge by Ironman, all metal interior, superior in quality, road test for 5 weeks fridge and freeze. Awesome performance.

[@JimsCS2]

The Kings drawer is ok, the problem is when it gets hot outside and the thing is constantly running at 5 amp. I've ran two of them for a while. If you are down south, great fridge.

[@WildTouring]

Heard the same thing from a few people now. Especially at freezer temps!

[@HandcraftedByTerryG]

Hi Cam and Tiff hope you guys and the kids are well thanks for sharing this information with us I was really interested because we are looking for a draw fridge for the caravan so we can use it as a freezer we where interested in the kings 60L draw fridge but like you said they only go down to -10 and yes it’s worth the money to spend a little bit more and get a better quality thanks heaps guys for the information. Love the new draw fridge organisers hopefully you will sell heaps of them. I will definitely have to get 1 when we get the new fridge. Thanks 👍🇦🇺

[@davidlovell4390]

I have run one of those Engel draw fridges for the last five years. It is built into a set of draws and runs 24/7. I have had no problems with it. In fact I will put my Engel in my next Ute. The thermostat control is a pain in the arse, it takes up a lot of space and does affect how you pack it. Yes the vent run all the way to the back. All in all l am pretty happy with it , and always have cold drinks and fresh food when on site.

[@OnCountryWithMick]

Interesting comparison and a bit of a surprise to see Kings being so good there. I've been running the Dometic CD-30 Drawer fridge for about 4 years or so now and its been great. Like the Engel though it has the control inside and this limits what you can put in it and no dividers. I have siliconed some thin Perspex in to make my own and this allows me to keep half a case of cans under the control and other items away. One thing I have found with the Domestic though is I get condensation on the outside even with plenty of air flow around it and this has caused mould to form on my drawer system below it. Have you noticed this with the Evakool at all?

[@cyclemoto8744]

I was surprised to hear the weight of the Evakool compared to a larger chest fridge pretty heavy although I do reliase you don't need a fridge slide. Should I get off the fence and purchase a drawer fridge as a second fridge or freezer you've certainly convinced me to stay away from Engel and reinforced my opinion of the EvaKool model. Thanks for sharing. ps: All these fridges use a lot of power comared to a chest design. Cheers

[@seanmcm157]

SOLD!, Order placed, Got the 30L Kings Fridge Organizer for my 60l Kings draw fridge.

[@LiamMarcon]

That Engel design is hot trash. Like sure, it might be a good compressor and door latch but the dial, position of the dial, etc is a deal breaker imo for the price.

[@merv190]

I’ve used a small Kings as a freezer on trips for 3 yrs now and it’s been good for the price, no complaints. Not sure I’d trust one for my main fridge though. Great video Cam.

[@WildTouring]

Cheers mate! They won’t refund mine, so looks like I’ll be getting it repaired and will continue to use it for longer trips and in the boat. Other than the seal and the lid (which are minor issues on a $300 fridge), it did the job pretty well!

[@gregdogg10]

@@WildTouringdid they just offer to replace the lid ?

[@WildTouring]

@@gregdogg10yeah. Which I understand. But my argument is it’s not fit for purpose if it fails in 4 months. Which is why I wanted a refund.

[@vise5027]

great content as usual mate. I am basically looking at one of these 3 brands myself. One of the big deciding factors is the width, which I didn't really hear you touch on. Personally I want the fridge to be as narrow as possible and the extra volume coming from depth and length so that the draws next to them could be wider.

[@WildTouring]

Here ya go mate. External dimensions (Lx W x H); Evakool 40L 836mm x 595mm x 326mm Kings 60L 720mm x 490mm x 410mm Kings 30L 695mm x 440mm x 260mm Engel 30L 716mm x 440mm x 250mm

[@tompowellr31]

I ran a Kickass drawer fridge (identical to the kings 30ltr) for 3 - 4 years in my old prado. I always thought the latch felt flimsy, but it never broke. It was power hungry but maybe more ventilation would have helped. I'd hate to run it at freezer temps. I'd say it would be running constantly.

[@aaronmorrissey2039]

Hey Cam, great review, I love my 30lt kings draw fridge. I have had it running for the last 12 months mostly as a drinks fridge. I just wanted to comment on the durability of the latch I made the mistake of setting it from 0 to -10 so we could take our drinks icy cold in a back pack. The change in temp made the fridge suctioned the draw shut and I really gave the latch a solid workout and it held up. There was no way the fridge was opening so we headed off on our day trip drinkless. I turned the fridge back to 0 and had no problem getting an icy cold drink after our day trip. I guess the moral of the story is the latch is solid and if you want to drop the temp of you fridge just make sure you open it a few times to allow for the pressure change. Cheers

[@WildTouring]

Thanks mate, great feedback! Was their ice around the drawer seal causing the issue? Or just pressure from a good seal? Reason I ask is my kings chest fridge would get ice around the seal at freezer temps and freeze shut- and that’s because the seal was letting air in, condensing and freezing.

[@aron2199]

Cam, good content and largely agree with your conclusion-your testing method could have been better with an external thermometer and all 3 running at the same time; I have had kings 30l, sold after 1 month, terrible insulation and terrible power consumption ( used as fridge only); Engel - didn’t pass test in shop, the latch might be metal but can’t even resist 2kg of pulling force - try a general pull of bottom of door- you can almost stick a finger in there - i imagine sealing would be terrible on bumpy road; shame since my other Engel is the legendary mt45; Dometic very good good latch but thin insulation; Oztrail almost as good Evakool’s seal and even better latching and insulation is just as good- but the thicker insulation means it’s an only 20l fridge - it will do freezing good enough. Power consumption is only a little better than evakool though not withstanding only 50% of size; 27ah over 24 hr in Brisbane summer compare Evakool’s 35ah - I kept this for daily use ( shopping and work lunch) etc, Everything with evakool Is great except its size and weight ( but you save a drop 13:56 slide or just slide)for wagon setup- I have this one for bigger trips when I am not towing- wagon only setup Nothing compares to a chest type of fridge (mt45) and now national Luna when it comes to low power consumption efficiency- but they belong in my trailer

[@Gary-xt3eq]

Great video Cam - i have 2 x Engel 30ltr draw fridges and exactly as you said the temp control location is a real pain - both my fridges seem to cycle often so your overall power draw numbers make sense - they must be not well insulated/sealed.

[@WildTouring]

Yeah to be honest I think insulation is a bit of an afterthought on most drawer fridges. And then they are normally buried in a drawer system with little ventilation so they have to work really hard!

[@RobertsAdventure]

Interesting to see the Engel being more power hungry, they're typically super efficient.

[@jamescullis]

Another cracking review Cam, cheers mate.

[@WildTouring]

Pleasure mate! 🙏

[@WrongTurnAdventures]

Great vid Cam. Good to see the comparison. I'm running the Kings 30l in the back of our Jeep GC. Hasn't missed a beat until last weeks heatwave where consumption sky rocketed to 117 for 47hrs. Will do some airflow mods and retest.

[@WrongTurnAdventures]

The kings drawer does remove fairly easily but only when empty. The Evakool is much better design in that regard.

[@WildTouring]

Cheers mate, keen to hear how it goes with a look into the ventilation around it!

[@WrongTurnAdventures]

@WildTouring today's update. Haven't done ventilation yet. 52Ah in 24hours.

[@Wilbargosh]

I wonder, can you easily change the thermostat in either if these fridges to turn them into compact freezers? Trailblaza are a good unit and their old models had two thermostats, one for fridge and one for deep freezer with the flick of a switch.

[@allanaitchison9570]

The Kings lock have a steel locking latch at the bottom and plastic at the top very secure

[@kevinsmith902]

Great comparison Cam.

[@jamiegarton1967]

For the price I couldn't go past the Kings 30l. I have 2, one as a fridge and the other as a freezer. I've been on a lot of corrugated roads and both are holding up well with no issues to date. 5 year warranty is really good for a $300 fridge.

[@WildTouring]

The price is really appealing! Glad to hear you’re having a good run 👍🏼

[@steveformosa5191]

I am Happy with my Evakool drawer fridge had 3 years

[@WildTouring]

Yeah me too 👍🏼

[@ballaratst]

I looked at all the 30L drawer fridges and the Dometic came out on top. First of all they’re not all 30L capacity, I measured all the available space and the Kings was much smaller than the Dometic. The other important thing was the seal, the Engel was so bad, just a thin bit of foam, the door latch seemed very low quality also. The Dometic still has the issue of the dial taking up space inside the drawer.

[@trevorsharpham2112]

How was the temp in the fridge compared to what the dial says?

[@andrewford80]

Cool test Cam. Couple of questions re power consumption. Did they all have the same amount of stuff in them during the test? Thermal mass can effectefficiency so having more stuff would mean less cycling, usually. Also, did you have a thermometer in the fridges to see if they were in fact the same temp? We have a dometic and a mycoolman and neither of the displayed temps necessarily match the actual temp inside the fridge compartment. It's usually close, but a few degrees can affect the power consumption. Cheers!

[@WildTouring]

Hey mate. Yep exact same thermal payload in them. Which all went in at room temp for each fridge. Didn’t measure internal temp or temp fluctuations. Just banged the gear into them and set the temp on the controls. Not a perfectly controlled test by any means, but it pasts the pub test for most punters I think!

[@andrewford80]

@@WildTouring Roger that. Definitely more thorough than most of us are able to do, so thanks for that. Good work!

[@DenisColdham]

Great comparison Video Cam!

[@WildTouring]

Thank you mate 🙏

[@oscarsmitty]

good review mate thank you

[@4x4Overlanding247]

Nice one Cam 👍 Very interesting to see the differences in the different brands! Bang for buck the kings would win hands down. Ive had a kings 85L for over a year amd its been great so cant knock em even tho i swore id never buy anything kings from previous bad experiences with customer service bit that was years ago and was proper bad shit . . . . I inly bought the 85L because i did research and it is the same as the bushmans bit better with digital display etc. More warranty etc and i cant rault it at all Im interested in a drwaer fridge purely for beer stockage so might look into the kings and get one of your organisers to go with it. Interesting idea doing the full wack carpet glueing . . . Love your vide mate 👍👌😎

[@bedmaker]

Hey Cam, Another great Vid, you've helped us decide on a draw fridge to buy. BUT...I did notice you have a lot of dust on the inside of the 300's back door, dust around the Victron guage and on your drawers. We're looking to buy a 300 and have read on FB pages where the back door seal is an issue. What's your opinion, does the 300's back door not seal well enough to keep the dust out? Cheers!

[@WildTouring]

@@bedmaker no worries mate! Yeah I’m actually editing a comprehensive review of the 300 as we speak, and the dust is one of the issues I’m addressing. The rear passenger door seals and the boot seal do let in too much dust. But it’s not a huge deal and i wouldn’t let it put you off buying the car. That build up is from a 10,000km trip across the country including thousands of kms of unsealed roads and tracks. It’s not a perfect car by any means, there’s a few minor issues. But it is a fantastic vehicle overall, and I’d happily recommend it to anyone!

[@craigtomkinson2837]

Lovely ep and product review

[@WildTouring]

Thanks mate

[@dazza0485]

Just got an XTM 30L from BCF, chills down to -18c. Was hoping you could review that too.

[@WildTouring]

I won’t be at this stage mate, cant afford to buy and review them all!

[@Steveshell-oc7mr]

Had a kings for 2.5years running 24/7 thought for the price i just wanted to take weight out of my ute rather then a dualzone and heavy drop down slide. Done birdsville track, camerons corner. Big red bash and a mund mundi, could they be better,,? Of coarse but they come in bundles as low as 250 so i call it great value for money,

[@pantoqwerty]

What would have been interesting is the temperature over time as well as power consumption. You can obviously use less power by having a higher threshold before cycling and/or not being accurate on the temperature. Engel for instance set to 2 on their 1960s dial goes to what exact temp and ranges between etc. etc.

[@WildTouring]

Yep, lots of variables that could be controlled better! Not a perfect test by any means. But a good indication for the average punter that’s just going to throw their gear into it, and set and forget! Like me 🤣

[@hughc5522]

Hey Cam. Just curious, in the instructions to the Engel fridge it says very specifically that you need to move the fan at the back of the unit or the cooling efficiency will be reduced significantly when top mounted and not built in. Did you do that or not in this test? Cheers

[@billmcintosh1242]

Great review! keep them coming! Bill Mc

[@stuartkcalvin]

Great review, thanks 👏👏

[@Off.Track4x4]

Great review video mate, really enjoyed it and glad you did some power consumption test. Also handy you mentioned you bought the fridges for transparency. Just checking was the Evakool sponsored or bought it aswell?

[@WildTouring]

Thanks mate! Evakool supplied me the drawer fridge for the build series last year. No obligation, no money. I was only comfortable accepting it because I’d bought two already and had them for years. Same deal with all the brands I work with, I don’t do cash for comment and never have 👍🏼

[@franklutton7149]

ive used waeco cf18 fridges.... 2 fridges , for years..... the hinge point of the lid is a failure point that you just have to wear ..... so is the latch itself over time.... which is its own part..... i still have both the cf18 fridges and for the use i have put them thru.... cant complain on the repair prices..... and when i say years..... it would be nearly 19 years now on my first fridge..... made many mine workers jealous when at lunch they eat esky sanwiches and i had cold rolls and frozen yougurts cause id set the fridge to max chill after 10....

[@WildTouring]

I’d be stoked with a run like that from any fridge!

[@franklutton7149]

@@WildTouring i still have and use both......not worth bucks to sell.... cannot replace them foe gold........a good fridge is cold gold.....

[@dylansampson8304]

Hi there, do you know where I can get MOZFOG refillers or similar? Cheers.

[@jameselks1529]

Great review !

[@OutbackOutlaw]

Awesome review.

[@WildTouring]

Cheers mate 🙏

[@scottbragato9829]

Please do organisers for uprights

[@Mrbuckaroonie..]

There is no doubt Kings is upping their game. 5 year warranty. Can't go wrong with that and at $299, it is the go to for the average Joe. I was in the Kings store in Cairns the other day. Huge crowd and people had trolley loads of stuff. In the early days it was garbage but they have got their shit together now.

[@WildTouring]

@@Mrbuckaroonie.. tough to argue with the price hey! The warranty claims process is pretty interesting though 🤪 going through it now and I’ve had to be bloody persistent to get my basic consumer rights!

[@TheLukaszpg]

​@WildTouring yeah they don't do cash refunds very easily, do they? Insist on store credit

[@davetunbridge6637]

It’s almost become “unaustralian” not to have at least one kings product 😎

[@Mrbuckaroonie..]

@@davetunbridge6637 I like that mate.

[@robertwilson1827]

WoW...interesting comment!

[@lauriecetinic-dorol8293]

Hi Cam, just the video i needed, as looking to get a drawer fridge... . Can you pleaee test how LOUD they are? . I want to put it under a sleeping platform

[@WildTouring]

Sorry mate I missed that! And I’ve moved the fridges on already, but there’s a few comments here that have touched on it!

[@Mosesk1988]

How cold was the tins 🍻 but? Thats all we care about 😂

[@WildTouring]

Cold enough to drown a thirst! 🤣 🍻

[@callumdemamiel4215]

Hey Cam, do you what happened to Mozfog? Website and Facebook shut down?

[@kevinryan7649]

Cheers for the info good to know, how’s gub going has he got his ute back home

[@WildTouring]

He’s going alright! Took 5 week to get the car back. Filmed a bit of a recap on what happened which I’ll post after the Fraser vids in a couple of weeks 👍🏼

[@kevinryan7649]

Look forwards to it thatnks for showing us the reality of things and always keeping it real

[@chrismoore4406]

Keen on a 30 or 40L drawer fridge but currently have a 55lt chest fridge and worried about downsizing. Do you find you make better use of the space in a drawer?

[@WildTouring]

I went from a 85L upright to a 40L drawer and I am missing the little freezer, and not being able to stand bottles up. But in terms of space I have no issues. At the end of the day fresh food only lasts around a week or so, and then you’re restocking at the shop. I’ve lived out of the drawer for 3-4weeks with no dramas.

[@jamessouth4776]

Brass monkey do a great drawer fridge, worth looking into the price was around 499

[@paulsteven4551]

still using my fathers Engel purchased 1986

[@WildTouring]

Heaps of the old chestys still going strong! 💪

[@whatupg1]

So was my mate recently until we took some current (A) readings. The compressor used double the power of his now purchased Brass monkey 30L. Not to mention the Engel was much heavier. Let's see how long the BM lasts. It's got a 3 year warranty.

[@kromey111]

Pity dometic wasn’t tested. Apparently only go down to -2

[@Wildtrakadventures]

I bought a Waco 60lt as a fridge and the kings as a freezer at the same time. Waco thermostat gone fridge now doesn't work. Kings still going strong. And I am definitely a kings fan but they do have a couple of good products at a cheap price and the draw fridge is one

[@WildTouring]

I’ve also had a thermostat failure on a Waeco! Glad to hear the Kings is serving you well 👍🏼

[@robertwilson1827]

Are kings the only 60l side fridge manufacturer in Australia??

[@WildTouring]

Kings drawer fridges are made overseas. Evakool drawer fridges are made in Australia, not sure if they’re the only one!

[@Stubbyholder999]

Only PAYPAL option on checkout???

[@WildTouring]

Yeah, you don’t have to have an account with PayPal. You can checkout as a guest and use a credit card. Otherwise you can email me and I can take a direct deposit if you would prefer; [e-mail]

[@gilmourvibes9078]

Take note of the fridge seal! The reason the Engel was a poor performer is because they use a shitty foam seal! The foam is a horrible material for a seal as it is porous. The foam seal eventually compresses an indentation of the compartment surface allowing the cold air to bypass the seal completely. The Kings and the Evakool have a PROPER rubber fridge seal. This makes all the difference to how often a fridge is turning on to maintain temperature. I bet anything if you look at your Engel you will see the seal has an indentation. No one ever pays attention to the fridge seals. Its a massive oversight on Engel's behalf. The Engel chest fridges have a proper rubber seal.

[@buster_1972]

I'm using a King's 95lt in my camping trailer and have no issues with it. For the price and warranty, it's a good thing.

[@WildTouring]

Price is great, their warranty process is a nightmare though. Going through the motions now on the chest fridge I broke 🤦‍♂️

[@JasondenHollander-qj5hp]

2deg is a very low temp setting; 3deg is hospitality/retail standard in Oz so save yourself some Ah

[@SomervilleMetalWorks]

Cam the kings chest fridge you bought is obviously the cheapest one they sell. They sell a more expensive model (stayzcool) which i bought the 60lt for my simpson trip and its been great the quality is a big step over the cheaper one. To be honest its as good as my arb zero fridge which has shit the bed once already and that cost $1500 compared to $400 the kings one cost

[@WildTouring]

I’m sure you’re right. It runs well, but the case is really cheap. Shame for a pretty minor issue to render it completely useless. That’s not good to hear about the ARB. I’ve lost so much faith in ARB lately 😞 had so many issues with their gear on my car.

[@SomervilleMetalWorks]

@@WildTouring Yeah the thermostat went in it the day before I was supposed to do a big Tassie trip. My local ARB store lent me they're display model fridge for the trip and they sent mine off to repair . So that was really good customer service . I really cannot say a bad thing about that experience.

[@tazin8r]

Good luck getting your money back on your Kings fridge

[@WildTouring]

Haha we’re doing the ‘how well do you know your basic consumer rights’ dance as we speak 🤣 the process is very… interesting 🤔

[@tazin8r]

@@WildTouring Yeah, my son had an "Interesting" experience getting warranty on one of their swags.

[@robertgriffiths3710]

I’ve got an Engel, is sucks heaps of power. Also, if you have it in direct sun for 10 minutes (or even less) the door heats up and bows outwards and locks you out from being able to open it until you can cool it down. I wouldn’t get one again. The stupid switch has caused me grief a few times with stuff moving and getting caught behind it making it impossible to slide the door open. Overall it’s a bad design.

[@TheLukaszpg]

@13:37 Is that Cloe?? Haha

[@WildTouring]

Haha yes! 7 years ago now!

[@6226superhurricane]

test is irrelevant as far as the engel goes. pro's of a rotary compressor fridge (kings,evacool) ability to cool from warm quicker cons uses more power to maintain temps, doesn't like angles, less reliable. pro's of a sawafugi swing motor (only engel) uses less power to maintain temps, handles steeper angles, one moving part more reliable. cons takes longer to get down to temperature and will use comparatively more power in those conditions. you've recreated the infamous 4wd action fridge shootout where they biased the testing to disadvantage the engel so they could promote their sponsors fridge as the winner (weaco) while the advantages of cooling from warm quicker may be an advantage to some, for most people the fridge and contents will already be cold the majority of the time with hot items added periodically here and there. it would also be expected that loading a fridge full of warm contents would be done when starting a trip where current draw wouldn't be an issue as you'd be charging while driving.

[@WildTouring]

Some fair points there. Agree the test was definitely not perfect, but the best I can do without spending weeks on it. It’s not sponsored content so I can’t afford to do that. Interesting that Engel had the shortest warranty period given you say the compressor is the most reliable! Can also confidently say I’ve never ever had an issue with the angle of a car fridge affecting performance in 20 years of owning them. Nor heard of anyone else having that issue.

[@6226superhurricane]

@@WildTouring warranty is a non issue for engel as they typically last decades. but yes you would think that's reason for them to extend it. their chest fridges have been extended to 5yr maybe the drawer fridge will follow. angles only become issues in hard 4wdriving, having your fridge get hot or fail because your 4wd is on a steep hill for a while is where 30 degrees vs 45 degrees matters. you also didn't have to spend any extra time to do a realistic test. which would involve a cold fridge and cold contents. i think the engel drawer fridge has some big drawbacks in the design that you pointed out, but seeing as you made a pretty big deal about power consumption we don't really know if that's the case in normal usage.

[@JustTony72]

Evacool could draw less because it's got better insulation internally or the draw system is acting as insulation

[@Lee-in-oz]

Ive got a gen 1 engle draw fridge and bugger me it sucks so much power.

[@WildTouring]

Surprising because their chest fridges have always been really efficient!

[@Lee-in-oz]

​@WildTouring absolutely Cam. My ARB60 is brilliant however, I have 3 ridgbacks so I need the draw fridge in the back of the 200

[@Bigcountry_littlelegs]

All the super cheap fridges I consider to be a 2 to 4 year fridge for the average person's use, engle has the toyota reliability reputation, others at same price as engle are good have some better features but don't have that 20 to 40 year reliability reputation yet

[@robertjohnston3658]

Engel

[@cjayd6422]

Kings wins by a mile. Warranty for 15 years if u have to replace them every 5 years for a cost of $900.

[@WildTouring]

Yep no competition for cheapest of the bunch! If that’s your main concern for choosing a fridge then it’s a no brainer 👍🏼

[@darrengray2309]

So the $900 fridge has a 2 year warranty and the $300 fridge has a 5 year warranty mmm that says Alot.. Engel FANBOYS are like Toyota FANBOYS they both think they are Gods greatest gift to mankind. I have the Evakool drawer fridge but i also have the plasitc lids which helps to keep the cool in

[@WildTouring]

You’re not wrong. Although im in the process of trying to return my broken Kings 30L chest fridge and I can tell you it’s not an easy process 🤪

[@aussiewalkabout4x4]

I really think you should have run all three with the same thermometer in them to set them all at 2 degrees before starting the test ... even 1 or 2 degrees difference will make a huge difference in power consumption due to the latent heat of vaporisation ... basically, it takes more power to turn 0 degrees water into 0 degrees ice than what it took to lower the water temp from 30 degrees to 0 degrees. To get the cabinet temp down to 0 the evaporator has to be about minus 15 ish ... gets very technical and not enough room to explain it here.

[@WildTouring]

Yeah it’s not a perfect test for many reasons. It’s a basic test for the average punter in a real life situation. At the end of the day most people (like me) are just gonna set the fridge to 2 or 3c on the display and bang some food and grog into it, and probably wouldn’t notice if a thermostat was a degree or two off.

[@sbiggs10]

good idea but be very careful about doing reviews google dcs batttery review via you tube

[@maddawg9116]

$900 for a 30l drawer fridge with 2 yr warranty is fair? C,mon mate easy on the kool-aid.

[@WildTouring]

@@maddawg9116 the warranty period isn’t an indication of reliability. The Engel will likely go for 10+ years like they always have. They are serviceable and spares are available In the country. My kings chest fridge lasted 4 months before failing. And they won’t let me return it. Frustrating! I need another kool-aid 🥴

[@maddawg9116]

@@WildTouring Are you ok if Toyota offered 6 months warranty on their vehicles? Kings won't refund you with cash? need to be more specific.

[@michaelmcloughlin83]

Good luck in returning that fridge. Kings are notorious for bad service and terrible quality.

[@thewanderingjimi1979]

Quick grip stinks and stinks for weeks, you would never use that inside the vehicle

[@WildTouring]

Yeah the solvent based glues smells until they’ve cured. I left the boot open over the weekend during the day and it was fine.

[@Darkstar-qb3dh]

Kings are a trash brand and the quality is horrendous some of their gear is alright though

[@mickm2999]

Engel don't pay sponsor money because they are the best end of story

[@TheLukaszpg]

Lol amusing comment, you must own one

[@WrongTurnAdventures]

😂😂😂😂

[@WildTouring]

They sell a great fridge. But of course they sponsor content. Here’s a few from over the years; Ronny Dahl Pat Calinan Graham Cahill Ernie Dingo iFish Rick Kelly (Supercars) Emma George (Aussie Pole Vaulter) Jo Clews (Author/camp oven cook)

[@WrongTurnAdventures]

@@WildTouring don't forget the OG. Malcolm Douglas

[@darrengray2309]

Engel fanboy 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@FroggysGoldProspecting]

Who makes the kings branded fridge?