I want a new fridge

Been looking for a new compressor fridge just can not decide ARB or Engel
Would apprciate thoughts and experience around 45l ish and good place to buy

Wish I could afford either! After a string of lesser fridges that struggled to do what they say on the label, I've come to the conclusion that it's better to wait until I can afford to purchase a 'proper' one.

Can't point you in the right direction I'm afraid, but do know that the National Luna brand is also worthy of consideration.

We have an Engal, had it for 3years, not had any problems, do not know about other models.

Waico is my favourite. I've had the 40ltr fridge freezer for 8 years, in my 110, 130 and DAF and it has never missed a beat, also the slider mount is better than the Engel I had previously. The larger Waico fridge freezer in the truck is very economical, saying that, both are very low on battery drain for the refrigerant you get from them. Yes, the compressor fridge freezers are expensive but they work much better than the cheaper three way fridge freezers.

See below, the centre is the 40ltr and to the left is the fridge freezer.

we,ve got an engel MT 45 had it about 5yrs no problem bought from mps. when not in the back of the landrover spend the rest of the time as a 2nd freezer on the kitchen work top,also got the two zone top box at the same time,extra 20 ltrs storage and a different tempreture zone ie bottom half fridge top half cooler for fruit/veg or bottom half freezer top half fridge but never tried it like that so cant comment on its effectiveness,also know people who have the national lunar chest type fridge freezer who swear by it.personnally cant see the need for a freezer on a long trip just get your butcher to vacuum pack meat portion so they save longer in the fridge


cheers kevin

I also have the Engel MT 45F. Has been brilliant.

1 Year after I had it, the compressor got 'what I consider to be noisey' It was replaced under warranty no questions asked.

Runs on my 80w Solar Panel and still leaves excess power to feed the aux battery.

Thanks all I did have mt60 which was to big for my disco, was hoping someone would have experiance of the ARB fridges, as well as they have a few extras built in, where the engel has to purchase extras

We have used both the Engel MT45 and the ARB 47 extensively over a number of years

The Engel MT 45 is a 40 litre fridge whereas the ARB 47 is a 47 litre fridge.

To set the temperature on the Engel you turn a rotary potentiometer knob and see what temperature is achieved. The controls on the Engel are at the rear and are susceptible to have the temperature control knob knocked and you get either warm beer or black frozen lettuce.

On the ARB fridge you set the temperature in degrees Centigrade. The controls are at the front so much more friendly useable and has better built in design features then the Engel




A good place to buy? Look here


Brendan

I do like the look of the arb 47l fridge can't afford the cover yet can you better mps trading Brenda price wise seen them on eBay at £675 from them

I’ve been doing some homework, have to say it was fascinating! Annoying that companies don’t clearly state if their products include or exclude VAT, as that 20% on top makes a BIG difference.

4x4 Overlander – can’t find within website if these prices are + 20% VAT or not???
No mention of delivery charges.
ARB 47 litre fridge: £768.00
ARB 47 litre fridge transit cover: £183.00

ARB 47 litre fridge and transit cover: £820.00

LRS Offroad
ARB 47 litre fridge: £675.00 (incl. VAT) + £16.50 delivery (price on ebay)
www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=ARB+47+litre+fridge&_sacat=0&_odkw=ARB+10800471&_osacat=0&_from=R40

Exactly the same fridge from the same company …

ARB 47 litre fridge: £768.07 (incl. VAT) no mention of delivery charge (price on LRS Offroad website)
ARB 47 litre fridge transit cover: £184.02 (incl. VAT) no mention of delivery charge
www.lrsshop.co.uk/catalog/expedition-travel/fridges/fridges

Arbil 4x4
No mention of delivery charges.
ARB 47 litre fridge: £640.06 (excl. VAT)
ARB 47 litre fridge transit cover: £152.35 (excl. VAT)
www.arbil4x4.co.uk/Catalogue/ProductList/fridge-freezers?catalogueLevelItemID=061b8a84-598e-46f9-941f-af71ba5e77ea

MPS Trading
No mention of delivery charges.
Don’t think they sell ARB (can’t see ARB on their website), only Engel and Waeco.

Surely for this price this has to be worth looking at:-

Waeco Coolfreeze CF-50 49 litre Compressor Fridge/Freezer £569.99 (incl. VAT)

Plus add a TwoZone for £135.00 incl. VAT and you have double the capacity - room for a bottle of white and even more beer! www.mps4x4store.co.uk/TwoZone.htm

Surrey Off Road
Uncertain if Chris Bashall at www.surreyoff-road.co.uk sells ARB fridges. Worth checking out as he sells most 4x4 gear such as ARB lockers. He’s certainly local to you (Dunsfold) plus he’s a really nice bloke with an excellent reputation.

Personally I would start asking around about the Waeco Coolfreeze CF-50 49 litre Compressor Fridge/Freezer. If the feedback is good, then you have your answer, especially as the MPS Trading price is the best I could find - £100 less than everywhere else!

The thing with waeco fridges from what I have seen if I did decide to sell it they lose a lot of money
But thanks for the info will try surrey today and the Lrs one on eBay comes in cheaper than mps one on eBay can't post a link as on ipad so looks as it might be that one

Tom, you need to do more homework!

VAT, according to HMRC, it is a legal requirement to include VAT in retail prices at one of the three appropriate VAT rates.

You do not go into your local supermarket or fuel filling station and ask if the prices include VAT or not. 4x4 suppliers are no different if they are within HMRC legal requirements

Our VAT number is displayed on our website and is on our printed invoices which is a legal requirement.


Business to business concerns prices do NOT have to be VAT inclusive as the business is not the end user and can reclaim the VAT.

Businesses which deal with both business and the public can display both inclusive and exclusive prices IF they are displayed with equal prominence.


Delivery charges are difficult for the small business. We charge a maximum of £20 normally. Only exception is Ozbaskets which due to volume is £30


Our parcel of £820 + £20 delivery for ARB 47 litre fridge and cover is about £40-50 cheaper then anything on ebay! So is a good deal.




Brendan

Can you beat 691.50 delivered without the cover then

I need to do my homework??? What! Is it my fault Brendan if your website is unclear?

LRS Offroad, Arbil 4x4 and MPS Trading all state whether VAT is included or not, so why don’t you? Don’t forget, I don’t sell products like you, I am just an ordinary, everyday punter who doesn’t know the law relating to Value Added Tax, so how am I supposed to know whether you sell to the trade or not?

“Businesses which deal with both business and the public can display both inclusive and exclusive prices IF they are displayed with equal prominence.”

This means nothing to me, same goes for quoting your VAT number, but to see the words including V.A.T. or excluding V.A.T. I certainly do.

~

When I stated, “No mention of delivery charges”, I wasn’t having a go at you personally (I stated the same about the other companies), I was simply stating … No mention of delivery charges! I am sure it is difficult pricing up items like fridges, then again if traders on ebay can manage it, why can’t you? Surely it would be to your benefit informing potential customers that you only “charge a maximum of £20 normally”, instead of assuming it could cost a further £30-£40 extra for carriage. Strange marketing I’d say, to me it’s another ‘plus’ knowing that it will only cost £16.50 carriage.

~

"Our parcel of £820 + £20 delivery for ARB 47 litre fridge and cover is about £40-50 cheaper then anything on ebay! So is a good deal."

It may well be, who knows, but there's more out there than just ebay. The man needs a fridge, and as you have touted your wares within a forum post, in the interest of fairness I simply listed other companies that also stock ARB fridges - plus gave 'mudslinger' some alternatives.

Wherever possible I also state which companies have a good reputation within the 4x4 marketplace. Did the same the other day when talking about B.O.A.B. so mentioned they are really nice people with a great reputation. Okay, it is only my opinion, but as you well know, some companies do not have a very good reputation, and bad news travels fast. In this instance, rather than be sued for libel, when I come across companies who I have heard bad things about, poor service or whatever, nowadays I simply did not voice an opinion one way or the other. I will therefore say nothing whatsoever about 4x4 Overlander. Likewise, LRS Offroad who I have had no dealings with at all, so can't comment. Sitting on the fence may give me splinters, but it's a lot kinder on my wallet!

I had a 40 litre minus 40 (not sure if you can still get them in the UK) in the 101 - very reliable and low power consumption. Bought for half price from a trader at a show cos it was the old model

I now have a 74 litre National Luna fridge freezer (or fridge / fridge) in the Iveco,bought 2nd hand off ebay for a fraction of the new price

I think the South African brands have better insulation on them (have used an engel in a hire vehicle and they also seem to provide the insulated cover too)

Always thought the waeco are not as robust (plastic cased) but the waeco / nat luna and minus 40 all use the same compressor, Engel have their own design which supposidly have less moving parts

No experience of the ARB but would tend towards the National Luna or Engel (or minus 40 if you could get one here)