32 - June 24, 2018, Refrigeration

Our little Winnebago Winnefred came to us with a perfectly functioning refrigerator. It works on both propane and 120v electric (when we're plugged in.) This means that the only way we could use it on the road would be to run the propane while driving. Both Adam and I feel uncomfortable driving with the propane burning. Enter, the Engel. Engel portable fridges are well known by cruising sailors. These little devices are true compression driven refrigerators and their current draw (both plugged into 120v or 12v) is very, very low. This is not one of those "thermal" portables. I have one of those and they are great on roadtrips. This is much, much better.  I believe these were first developed to bring vaccines to remote parts of the world.This is what these Engels are designed to do. The downside is that they are very pricey, in the $600 neighborhood. Ebay to the rescue again. Unbelievably, I found one, un-used and still in the original box, for $299. I know, still expensive, but I will be using it on my boat too so well worth it.

They come in different sizes. Our one is relatively small but perfect for our needs. It fits under the table and plugs into a 12v cigarette-type plug. One of the beautiful things about it is that our solar panels combined with our two golf cart batteries can keep it running 24/7. Pretty cool.

It cools drinks very quickly. Small, but we don't have a lot of room anyway.