ENGEL MR040 40 Quart Portable Top Opening 12/24V DC - 110/120V AC Fridge-Freezer

I did a lot of online research on these refrigerator/freezers. I choose the Engel due to reliability. Basically the decision came down to the Engel and ARB. I like the idea of the single moving part Engel swing compressor. Engel wins! Out of box unpack audit was a little disappointing. The unit seems to be packaged well however there are no cursory unboxing directions. If you open it from the top and try to dig your hands in and grab the cooler there is nothing to grab onto because you have to attach the handles. There are tight fitting recesses for each corner in the bottom of the box. Pulling the cooler up, the recessed cutouts grab the rubber isolator feet and pulls them off the cooler. Pulls them right over the screws and washers holding them on. So now you gotta figure how to screw them back on without flipping over the cooler. Once I got the rubber isolation legs back on, I noticed the lid was loose. The hinges and latches were loose, not screwed in all the way, so I tightened them up. Not a good first impression. I set the unit up and immediately plugged it in to AC current to test it out. I put a few room temp items in along with a wireless room thermometer. It quickly (35 minutes) went from 85° ambient to 37° for refrigeration mode. I left it there for several hours then turned the freezer setting on. It went to zero within an hour. It froze some water containers quickly. I purchased a 12 volt 55ah deep cycle AGM battery as a spare power source and backup to the AC and my vehicle battery. Both AC and DC can be plugged in at the same time. The unit defaults to AC power. So if AC power fails it will switch automatically to DC, then back to AC when restored so you loose no cooling. I tested the unit just on the AGM battery. From full charge, 12.7 volts, I ran it for 48 hours with a decent load of items in it at refrigeration temperature 37°. Ambient temp was roughly 80° during the day and 60° at night. I opened and closed the unit ten times per 24 hour period during this time to simulate real world usage. At the end of the 48 hours the battery voltage was at 12.2 volts. So in 48 hours it ran down the battery .5 volts. Not bad. I then put the unit in the back seat of my truck for one week on refrigeration mode 37°. It held temperature fine even though at times it was in the sun. When parked I made sure to keep it away from the sun, however it was in a black truck and it was 85° outside. The truck battery was always at over 12.4 volts in the morning with the Engel and a bunch of other electronics responsible for the drain from 12.7 volts full charge. My usage for this is refrigerator is primarily camping in Baja, many times in remote areas with rough roads, sporadic AC power (if any) and warm days. My testing so far has worked out favorably. The main concerns were reliability and low power consumption. I think the Engel satisfies those concerns.

We have this MR40 in our travel van and love it! Durable and quiet (it’s under the bed). It sips power, even in hot Southern summers. It saved us after a hurricane when power was out at the house. We simply transferred food to the Engel, and went about our food lives as always. We bought this during Covid times, when supply was short. It was the only one we could find. I’m glad we found it. It’s been great!

We used a very old model for years but returned it to the owner so we could get a new one. The old one got us through Hurricane Ian and used very little power. Used the generator off and on and the Engle kept everything cold. Accidentally moved the temperature setting and it almost froze the food. Excellent product.

I bought this freezer so that I can freeze meats and make ice when I'm camping or on my vacant, undeveloped land. I've been traveling with it for the last month or so, and I can say it works great. It'll freeze a bottle of water over night, and is also cold enough to freeze meats. I've run it off of AC, in my car (plugged into the cigarette lighter), and also off a 12V deep cycle battery, and has worked consistently from all power sources. It'll work just fine even in the heat, especially at the highest setting. At night, or if it's cool, you might be fine using a lower setting and save some power. The only downside is its weight, but the handles are sturdy enough that you won't have to worry about carrying it around (hopefully with someone else's help).

Making ice is one of the major reasons I purchased it along with the fact that I can store frozen meat for long periods. It works so well you have to keep it above # 2 so things don’t freeze on the bottom. I will note it is extremely quiet and only by being right next to it do you hear anything. Something the instructions noted is that when charging your battery With a charger you should disconnect the DC or it may damage the coolers inverter electronics. This would only be important if you’re using the cooler at a campsite using a battery and charger separate from the car. I find the latches and the ac plug substandard. The ground plug has already broken and the plug into the unit comes loose easily.One other thing thing I am not fully satisfied with is that there is no way to secure the cooler. It is too expensive to leave unguarded so I must attach something somehow so that is Secure at the campsite. I wish there was a way to attach a chain lock.(update) 11/13/19 my solution to date for theft is to use permanent glue over all the handle components and screws so the handles are permanently fixed. I secure both handles with cable locks. You would destroy the cooler trying to steal it. I find the unit extremely reliable other than the plug occasionally being jostled loose. wrapping the cord around the handle then plugging it in the cooler helps.

This is my second Engel, and is just as good as the last one. Good sturdy construction and the low power demand which makes them ideal for 12-volt applications. A standard car battery in good condition can easily run this fridge for 24 hrs and still start the car. I would have liked to see metal handles instead of the plastic ones, or some alternative means of easily securing the unit for off-road situations. Additionally, I think a digital temp display would also be useful. However, I did purchase the Engel wireless digital temperature gauge which can be remotely mounted Engel USA Wireless Cooler Thermometer . Regardless, the fridge is very efficient and is ideal for keeping food and drink chilled, or deep frozen.

Engel une marque de référence pour les amateurs de voyages dans les coins perdus. Pour l'avoir utilisé plusieurs mois en Afrique dans des conditions très difficiles (Namibie, Botswana, Afrique du Sud), je confirme la qualité de ces réfrigérateurs qui équipaient 80% des 4x4 rencontrés. Livraison effectuée dans les temps par vendeur allemand.

Ich habe diese Kühlbox während meiner Offroad Reise durch Schweden permanent im Betrieb gehabt. Sie lief sehr ruhig im Auto während der Fahrt, der Stromverbrauch ist optimal niedrig. Auf dem Stellplatz/Campingplatz habe ich sie über eine Power Station betrieben und dort wo verfügbar war über Netzstrom. Nie hatte ich Probleme gehabt, das evt. die Kapazität der Power Station zur neige geht oder der Strombedarf trotz 30° C zu hoch wäre. Ich konnte sie durchgängig an der Power Station betreiben, Tagsüber mit Solarpanel. Schon auf Stufe 1 immer alles TOP gekühlt.

Utilisé comme frigo dans un van aménagé. J'avais un karlstein 50l avant qui était génial mais dont l'électronique du moniteur led a lâché quelques mois avant la fin de garantie. Comme il était soi-disant pas réparable, j'ai été remboursée et devais trouver un nouveau frigo. J'ai longtemps hésité à racheter le même mais en DOMETIC, or les commentaires mentionnaient aussi des problèmes électroniques. Du coup, je me suis dit qu'un frigo fait pour transporter des organes par les ambulances devait être plus costaud. Et c'est vrai. Il n'y a aucun électronique dessus. Le réglage de la température est manuel avec on bon vieux et sûr bouton à molette. A l'utilisation, il est sûr, mais si la marque avait proposé un frigo plus grand, je n'aurais pas pris ce 38l. Ranger les aliments n'y est pas aisé. Un vrai jeu de tetris. J'ai pris deux boîtes étanches afin de créer des compartiments fromages et charcuteries et un autre pour les légumes. Le reste, bocaux et bouteilles sont rangés et empilés juste à côté des boîtes. Il est souvent bourré jusqu'au bords. Le couvercle doit être retenu quand il est ouvert car il n'y a pas de mécanisme qui permette de le tenir relevé quand il est ouvert à moins de 90 degré. Autre bémol : la prise électrique est du même côté que le panneau de contrôle et que la ventilation, ce qui fait qu'on se retrouve avec le fil en plein le chemin.

Amazing fridge/freezer. Bought this for my husband who was heading off to do the North Coast 500, he is very impressed with it.