North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

Anyone had any dramas with using the engel in their boats? Got a big trip planned and don't think ice is going to last.

no drama's. I run the 38lt plastic model.
put in a second battery and a VSR.. connected them with good wire and Anderson plug quick disconnect in the middle..
regularly run the fridge for several days... biggest trip was 8 days down the roper last year..
with the VSR.. when the main battery is over about 12.6v (don't quote me on that number) the gate opens and starts charging the other battery..
Extra battery $150.. VSR $100 $30 cables and Anderson plug...

I do find with the Bimini Down in the heat of the day you want to crank the engel up.. no chance of freezing in the blazing sun...
the engel cover helps keep the temps down I find.

that's my two cents

I was on an extended trip a few years ago in a mates boat when his nearly new engel decided to stop.
we only realised when beers seemed to be getting warm.
luckily mate did not fully trust his engel and he also had a large esky with ice which when carefully managed got us thru but it was a tough 4 or 5 hours til beer chilled & drinking warm beer for a bit.


good luck whichever way you go.

cheers Craig

Mate, should be fine of you have a second battery. The newer Engels tend to cut off before they drain the whole battery anyhow. If you are going out for a few days I would also consider a solar set-up end whack the panel on the Bimini as you fish during the day. The sun in the middle of the day should keep the charge in the battery, enough o keep the engel happy. Between the motor alternator and the solar panels I've never had any loss of power for days. I have a 20 watt solar panel that clamps straight onto the battery, gives enough juice to top up the minn kota and the engel! Best of luck.

Cheers. I'm not really worried about power usage just if it's gunna rust out. Probably only be the one trip I do with it in the boat and I'll wrap it in a tarp.

we have a waeco, that we keep in the boat.
The fridge is going to work harder in the boat.
Just be wary of your batteries, if they are not good, you may have problems.

dont wrap it a tarp the condenser needs free air.if youve got a bimini put a panel on it,youll be right for years,what do you want looks or cold p..s

Keep the salt spray off it and maybe spray it with a rust preventative.Make sure vapour from spray
Is gone before you turn it on.i had one between back of ute and boat for 12 years with no problems.

I killed an engel in under a year with salt spray . New boat fits the engel under the cast platform and mainly only take it barra fishing so there's no chance of it getting wet and does a great job but as said above if your relying on it and it fails even if you have enough ice then you have to carry a dead fridge around with you. If any one thinks they can fix the old engel let me know.
Cheers

I run an Eclipse also(38l plastic model), it worked a treat over the three days at Shady the other week. Didn't have any drama with running the battery low but I have a VSR. I don't have the solar panel, sounds like a good idea.

I think it depends how dry your boat is. Electrical things dont like water and hate salt water.
Have you thought about trying some dry ice?

We just had a 3 day trip to Anson bay with a trail blazer fridge as we ran out of ice on the last trip so gave the fridge a run . On the first day it started to play up and would not start, being a elec by trade saved my trip. Turned out to be the cable from the main battery isolator to console was to small , as I got the fridge plugged into a anderson plug on the side of the console.When the fridge tried to start the voltage would drop to 8 volt and the fridge was not able to get going, we got around this by connecting the fridge direct to the battery with a 4mm cable . I am running a 16mm from the battery to the console know without any dramas. I run dual 130 amp hours batteries ,if you run your boat motor during the day trolling you should not have any issues with power, take the fridge it works great beers @ 5 deg nice

Best set up would be 2 batteries (starter and secondary) have anderson plugs directly off each battery and while unde way or trolling run off the starter bat and when stopped for and length of time change over to the secondary.

I think a good quality battery switch helps with a two battery setup. Saves changing manually just switch. We run a fridge up in the cabin on extended trips and use the bigger rated house wiring to carry the load. My Bro in Law is a Sparky and Electrical Instrument technician too.

Thanks for the replies. Wired an Anderson plug straight from my second battery with a fuse. Ran it for 16 hours in the boat to make sure and it drained the battery stuff all so hopefully will be a goer