ARB Fridge 50qt vs 63qt - Opinions Wanted

[roscoFJ73]

so the long term goal is a National Luna fridge/freezer conbo. Just a little pricy!
FWIW.

Gord

The National Luna have the same Danfoss compressor (BD50 or BD35) that weaco and 6 other brands use. The NL also have a reputation for sucking power because of their poor insulation.
Tests done in a military testing centre in oz exposed them as one of the poor performers.
Pretty to look at.

 

[motorcoach123]

The National Luna have the same Danfoss compressor (BD50 or BD35) that weaco and 6 other brands use. The NL also have a reputation for sucking power because of their poor insulation.
Tests done in a military testing centre in oz exposed them as one of the poor performers.
Pretty to look at.

Just needing a fridge/freezer combo, not many out there in one unit.

Gord

 

[Saragato]

Think of it like buying a good quality flat screen TV for your man cave at home....thats what i did for my LC80 ....not too big, just right.

I went with the new 63L ARB and am so glad..no regrets at all.

Never did i say, (while 200 miles from the nearest store), gosh, "i wish i bought the little one, there's too may beers and cold food in there"....

Essentially, this purchase will last a lifetime, and hundreds of days on and off the road....you wont regret it....It fits the 80 just fine, big, solid...but not too Big or excessive...and the chicks will dig the chilled white wine that you pull out by the fire pit.

ARB 63L is sized perfectly for a Landcrusier...

 

[roscoFJ73]

Just needing a fridge/freezer combo, not many out there in one unit.

Gord

All they have is a separate door for each compartment,they still have only one control knob and one compressor.
I can freeze things in my Waeco and still have things cool at the other end with the partition in..
If you want to keep the frozen stuff colder when you open the lid,get some perspex cut to the shape of the fridge and lay it over the top.But its not such a big deal as the cold air sits at the bottom and doesnt escape like an upright house fridge
Its up to you ,but I wouldnt pay what they want for any of their models.
You could probably buy 2 cheaper ARB or Waecos for the cost of a NL and use one as a fridge and one as freezer.If one ever breaks down ,you still have one fridge to get you home.

Ill tell you one more thing.When you are on the road with a fridge,it is far better to have everything chilled and nothing frozen.
Things like meat can be put into vacuum bags and kept at a low temp for much less power than freezing.

 

[MANUCHAO]

Tests done in a military testing centre in oz exposed them as one of the poor performers.
Pretty to look at.

wow... any chance you can post a link to these tests?
I was looking at the NL as well..

 

[motorcoach123]

All they have is a separate door for each compartment,they still have only one control knob and one compressor.
Ill tell you one more thing.When you are on the road with a fridge,it is far better to have everything chilled and nothing frozen.
Things like meat can be put into vacuum bags and kept at a low temp for much less power than freezing.

National Luna says they have dual independant thermostats....74-litre Double
so although it uses a common compressor, it sounds like there are two zones....similar to automotive, only one compressor but dual zone comfort.
When on the road for weeks at a time, we like to have some meat frozen.....just our preference.
FWIW,
Gord

 

[MANUCHAO]

NL has several models with dual thermostats, doors and compartments...
Im looking at the dual thermostat with one lid...
thus my question about a link to the OP.

 

[RHINO]

i would like to see those tests also,,, all the reading (tests included) show the NL of top every time.

 

[roscoFJ73]

wow... any chance you can post a link to these tests?
I was looking at the NL as well..

Sorry ,it was in a 4WDAction mag.They had it on their home site for a little while but have since deleted it.
These 2 links from Waeco and ARB reproduce the article in part to suit their advertising.
The test gave the NL 7/10 overall which I thought was generous considering its price and its power consumption.
When you are on the road and only have the alternator to recharge the battery,the low consumption fridge is the only one worth having IMO.
Its true they gave the NL top marks for its rugged construction,but I have 2 plastic Waecos that have spent days on bad roads that shook my fillings out,killed my headlghts and caused the glovebox lid to fall off and they survived .
Maybe the NL is the one to have if you want to parachute it out of a plane.
My brothers Engel survived a rollover with a big dent in the lid and it still works great.
Im not sure how much the NL is in the US ,but I think it was something like $1800AUD for the 50litre here and the Waeco was $1100(if you shop around)
For $1800 you could get 2X40 litre Waecos at $850AUD each and these are in the top 3 as far as efficiency goes AND HAVE ANOTHER 30 LITRES OF REFRIDGERATON.

Those prices are for single zone fridges,if you want the double doored NLs ,then add another $1000 onto $1800(oz pricing)

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...&sig=AHIEtbTQkIVsy8Bec2Ji-Rll7ygq5rIbvg&pli=1

http://www.arbusa.com/uploads/Newsletter/ARBmegaFridgeComparo.pdf

 

[roscoFJ73]

i would like to see those tests also,,, all the reading (tests included) show the NL of top every time.

Got a link?
I see lots of people repeating the same old "its the best fridge in the world" bunkam but not a lot of proof.

 

[BENJIE]

I live in oz in the norther territory and the engel and trail blazer are the more common and better performers in the heat and very robust with metal body's Also with the engel you can get a spacer to increase capacity ( not sure how well it works tho) my pick would be a engel if you can get them in the USA good parts back up

 

[RobRed]

Think of it like buying a good quality flat screen TV for your man cave at home....thats what i did for my LC80 ....not too big, just right.

I went with the new 63L ARB and am so glad..no regrets at all.

Never did i say, (while 200 miles from the nearest store), gosh, "i wish i bought the little one, there's too may beers and cold food in there"....

Essentially, this purchase will last a lifetime, and hundreds of days on and off the road....you wont regret it....It fits the 80 just fine, big, solid...but not too Big or excessive...and the chicks will dig the chilled white wine that you pull out by the fire pit.

ARB 63L is sized perfectly for a Landcrusier...

Can you post up a photo of your 63 in place in the crusier? I'm considering the 63.

 

[rhyary]

I am going to share my experience.
After researching forever, I decided to go with what I thought would be the best Fridge for the battery.

I selected the NL 40, and am not disappointed. I am not going to comment about the price since that is subjective. Value depends on too many other factors. For me supercharging an 80 or Turbocharging is a waste of money. But I see plenty of interest.

Anyway, the NL40 is very very efficient. I have a battery monitor and I watch the voltage in my second battery very closely. Last summer I was at a motorcycle 2 day event at least 5 times. Each time the LX450 was baking in the sun for 2.5 days. I keep the food very cold but not frozen. Temp around 34 as measured by a thermometer inside the fridge.

The voltage on the battery hardly budged. Started at 12.6 and ended 12.2. The NL40 has thick walls, unlike the weekender versions. I arrive at the track Sunday afternoon and started the truck to go home Tuesday 6pm. As I said, I repeated this 5 times throughout the Summer. I opened the fridge multiple times between 1pm and 5pm, which is hotest time of the day.

The fridge is mounted and stays in my truck full time. After a week trip were the truck stayed home and was not started, the battery was still above 11.75V which is the fridge cut off settings

I keep small 8oz water bottles to fill it up, I remove as many as I need to fill up with food and as I use the food, I replace the small water bottles as needed but only if driving.

The NL40 shape is perfect facing out. I can still sleep next to it.

Just my .02.

Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

 

[RHINO]

Got a link?
I see lots of people repeating the same old "its the best fridge in the world" bunkam but not a lot of proof.

heres a couple, they are both from overland journal and i dont assume OJ is the end all be all of tests, but the fridges were tested and measured in the exact same way and the results show for themselves.

for the record i own the worst tested fridge, edgestar (whynter) but the low price point was my entry to the fridge world and now that i'm a believer i see the value in something as expensive as NL.

http://www.equipt1.com/Company Prod...l B Travel Box Test and Comparison Report.pdf


Overland Journal Portable 12V Fridge Review

 

[RobRed]

Curious how the new ARB fridge fits into that test group. Lots of the complaints were addressed in the new design.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

I started with a 63 sold it and went with a 50 mostly because it would not fit through the door of my pop-up. Also found the 63 a little oversized for my needs.

 

[roscoFJ73]

heres a couple, they are both from overland journal and i dont assume OJ is the end all be all of tests, but the fridges were tested and measured in the exact same way and the results show for themselves.

for the record i own the worst tested fridge, edgestar (whynter) but the low price point was my entry to the fridge world and now that i'm a believer i see the value in something as expensive as NL.

http://www.equipt1.com/Company Prod...l B Travel Box Test and Comparison Report.pdf


Overland Journal Portable 12V Fridge Review

Thanks for that. The NL looks better when you dont mention the price. The author of the review preferred it over the the Waeco based on its abilty to cool down the quickest.
Im not sure why this happens considering they are using the same compressor,maybe its how they are wired up.
In any case I always load the fridge up with food and drinks that have been prechilled in the house fridge.
The other thing he mentioned was the cheapish Waeco fridge seal.Im not sure which type the one in the test uses,but the one on my Waeco 50 works great and is inside the lid molding out of the way.
My 10yo? Waeco 80 has a simple seal on the flat surface of the lid ,it came off last month and I have glued it back on and it seems permanent.

But Im still trying to fathom why the NL is so much more expensive than the competition.
Cool down tests are only valid for the 1st few hours,its overall power consumption is what counts when you are away(unless you plan on loading it up with warm food every day)
And the ARB is equal to the NL power comsumption in this regard.
In other tests done in oz the NL was not such a great performer,but they re probably using different models.

I like that Fridgefreeze model.It looks easy to maintain and repair your self from parts you can get anywhere

 

[roscoFJ73]

I am going to share my experience.
After researching forever, I decided to go with what I thought would be the best Fridge for the battery.

I selected the NL 40, and am not disappointed. I am not going to comment about the price since that is subjective. Value depends on too many other factors.

Cost is very subjective,but for many people,a car fridge is an expensive item.
If you have a family of 5,you are going to need something much larger than a 40 to keep them all fed unless you plan on camping near supermarkets.

My 50L and 80L Waeco's would cost around $2800 to replace in oz ,but if I bought the same capacity in NL,it would be over $4000,thats a new set of tyres and 4 weeks beer supply.
I could buy a 125L for about $2900,but 2 fridges is much better than rummaging around in one large fridge for things at the bottom.

You could get the same efficiecy from a 3-4 other brands that you got on you re 2 day trip.

 

[RHINO]

i dont know why the NL is so much more,,,, and although i can see the value in such a fridge, when i replace my edgestar it will most likely be with an arb/engel/waeco, we'll see whats out when i'm ready.

 

[OilHammer]

I have the big edgestar...been running it for a little over 2 years. While it does take a lot of space, it fits very well in my 40 behind the passenger seat. I have about 4 inches at the top of the seat between the seat and fridge, but plenty below for storing stuff. I keep a thermarester or similar between the fridge and the rear doors to keep from sliding around. I have taken it to Moab (middle of nowhere) expedition style trips for 5 days or so. Works great, and as others mentioned, you can store everything in it all at once instead of stocking it. Pretty easy to put 4 days worth of beer in there, and food, and chips or whatever you don't want to get smashed. It's pretty big in the 80, but you can open the lid. 40 is way better sized for it with the tall ceiling though.