Two Zone Club
- Thread starter teotwaki
- Start date
teotwaki
Excelsior!
Two Zone insulated cover
I just received my unit with accessories on Monday. Right on schedule thanks to Wendy and Will at Sierra Expeditions! :wings:
The insulated cover is a very tight fit. I ended up placing mine inside a pillow case and wedging it in the clothes drier to minimize tumbling. Let it run on low temps for a bit to warm and soften a little and then I was able to stretch it over the Two Zone and get the velcro to align and attach.
I am going to repeat the process tonight as I want the cutouts for the latches to be centered. Right now they are off to the left.
My other concern is how the zippered portion is such a tight fit at the point where the Engel lid and the Two Zone seal together. Right now I have to work the lid down into the cover and then carefully work the zipper shut. I'm hoping that it willstretch some more and not be so fussy...
Anyone have comments?
I just received my unit with accessories on Monday. Right on schedule thanks to Wendy and Will at Sierra Expeditions! :wings:
The insulated cover is a very tight fit. I ended up placing mine inside a pillow case and wedging it in the clothes drier to minimize tumbling. Let it run on low temps for a bit to warm and soften a little and then I was able to stretch it over the Two Zone and get the velcro to align and attach.
I am going to repeat the process tonight as I want the cutouts for the latches to be centered. Right now they are off to the left.
My other concern is how the zippered portion is such a tight fit at the point where the Engel lid and the Two Zone seal together. Right now I have to work the lid down into the cover and then carefully work the zipper shut. I'm hoping that it willstretch some more and not be so fussy...
Anyone have comments?
teotwaki
Excelsior!
The quality of the cover is very high. I like the way they out-thought Engel and made allowances for dealing with the latches. Right now that area is not properly centered and I'll try another warm tumble in the dryer and then a fitting session.
I am not crazy about the wrap-and-Velcro approach to making the fit just because I wonder if the Velcro will last for many years with the strain on it. I think an improvement would be to make the Velcro fuzz/loop portion much wider and leave the hook portion narrow. This would allow some adjustment for fit and tightness. Right now you have to align the two pieces for an exact fit because they are so narrow and the contact area is limited.
I think that the tight fit of the cover is to keep it from sliding off when you raise the body of the Two-Zone above the Engel. Similar to Engel, Two Zone has some strategically placed double-sticky Velcro pieces to hold the cover in place.
If you look at the pictures showing the cover's zippered area the fit is a bit too close. When you drop the lid back down the zipper can get caught underneath as it does not sit as far away as the Engel's zipper.
Overall, much better than no cover at all as it saves on compressor cycling and battery drain.
I am not crazy about the wrap-and-Velcro approach to making the fit just because I wonder if the Velcro will last for many years with the strain on it. I think an improvement would be to make the Velcro fuzz/loop portion much wider and leave the hook portion narrow. This would allow some adjustment for fit and tightness. Right now you have to align the two pieces for an exact fit because they are so narrow and the contact area is limited.
I think that the tight fit of the cover is to keep it from sliding off when you raise the body of the Two-Zone above the Engel. Similar to Engel, Two Zone has some strategically placed double-sticky Velcro pieces to hold the cover in place.
If you look at the pictures showing the cover's zippered area the fit is a bit too close. When you drop the lid back down the zipper can get caught underneath as it does not sit as far away as the Engel's zipper.
Overall, much better than no cover at all as it saves on compressor cycling and battery drain.
FlyingWen
Explorer
Gear said:
These TwoZone covers are brand new and only a handful of people in America have them. Until we had our cover, we took off our Engel Transit Bag to accommodate for the TwoZone also. The cover is supposed to fit snuggly to keep the cold inside and the heat out. The pictures look very similar to how our cover fits, but keep us posted.
Justin-
How are you liking your TwoZone? Are you still using it in the Chaser?
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flyingwil
Supporting Sponsor - Sierra Expeditions
I am trying to work with TwoZone to create an all in one bag... it is like pulling teeth, but I hope to make progress sometime in the future.
To clarify on Wen's comments. We received 4 bad PC10S covers, that were made too small. Unfortunately the markings and packaging was identical to the the good ones. There was an error at the factory where they shortened the template (according to TwoZone).
They have since resolved the issue, and caught it with in 20 units manufactured incorrectly. Unfortunately we got 4 of them. The defective covers will not fit on the twozone at all and the zippers to not match up. With such a great product we hope that the all in one cover will come soon and will resolve all issues.
To clarify on Wen's comments. We received 4 bad PC10S covers, that were made too small. Unfortunately the markings and packaging was identical to the the good ones. There was an error at the factory where they shortened the template (according to TwoZone).
They have since resolved the issue, and caught it with in 20 units manufactured incorrectly. Unfortunately we got 4 of them. The defective covers will not fit on the twozone at all and the zippers to not match up. With such a great product we hope that the all in one cover will come soon and will resolve all issues.
SAR_Squid79
Explorer
I'm still EXTREMELY stuck on the fence about which fridge to get for my trailer. The MT-60 Combi, or the MT-45 with Two-Zone.
What is the overall height of the 45 with the Two-Zone on there?
What is the overall height of the 45 with the Two-Zone on there?
mrbishi
Adventurer
I love my TwoZone - I usually store all my drinks in it along with anything small like cheese/dips etc. The Engel then stores the rest. Its awesome being able to open the fridge in sections, rather then rummage around to try to get to things.
I was VERY unimpressed by my TwoZone until I modified it.
While my Engel fridge would be almost freezing things, the drinks in the Two Zone would be moderately cold - as soon as you open it all the cold air falls downward out of the Two Zone and I imagine it takes some effort to cool it back down again. Found this on multiple trips and was cursing it.
What I did with mine is in one of the corners under the basket I mounted a 12v, 80mm computer fan blowing upward. Above it I made a duct that goes straight up almost to the lid and stops. What this does is allows cold air from the Engel to be fan circulated upward and over the contents in the Two Zone. Works like an absolute beauty now - everything starts awesomely cold and the fan draws a extremely low amount of power. You do lose a small amount of space but the gain in performance is more than worth it.
I'll get some pictures of the mods up soon.
Here is how it sits in my rear storage - the Fridge is a 25 year old Engel that I stripped back, sprayed white and replaced all the seals. As good as a new one!
A couple more (forgot to have the basket in this one - will get a shot of basket and fan asap!)
I was VERY unimpressed by my TwoZone until I modified it.
While my Engel fridge would be almost freezing things, the drinks in the Two Zone would be moderately cold - as soon as you open it all the cold air falls downward out of the Two Zone and I imagine it takes some effort to cool it back down again. Found this on multiple trips and was cursing it.
What I did with mine is in one of the corners under the basket I mounted a 12v, 80mm computer fan blowing upward. Above it I made a duct that goes straight up almost to the lid and stops. What this does is allows cold air from the Engel to be fan circulated upward and over the contents in the Two Zone. Works like an absolute beauty now - everything starts awesomely cold and the fan draws a extremely low amount of power. You do lose a small amount of space but the gain in performance is more than worth it.
I'll get some pictures of the mods up soon.
Here is how it sits in my rear storage - the Fridge is a 25 year old Engel that I stripped back, sprayed white and replaced all the seals. As good as a new one!
A couple more (forgot to have the basket in this one - will get a shot of basket and fan asap!)
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mrbishi
Adventurer
Jim - trust me it works about 100% better with the small fan installed. The fan is simply zip tied in all 4 corners into the corner of the basket. It blows upward and the ducting is a simple piece of aluminum bent into a 90 degree angle above the fan in the corner which stops just before it reaches the lid. The cold air gets blown up through the duct and over the top of the contents in the TwoZone keeping them the same temp as the Engel.
I've tapped into the 12v power inside my Engel to run the fan, so when the Engel is on the fan is on. I'm not sure how easy this is to do or if you wanted to open up a newer Engel to try it out. Worst case scenario just run a separate set of cables into a 12v outlet in your rear area.
I've become quite attached to my old Engel/modified TwoZone setup to the point that if I was offered a new Engel I think I would keep my current setup
I've tapped into the 12v power inside my Engel to run the fan, so when the Engel is on the fan is on. I'm not sure how easy this is to do or if you wanted to open up a newer Engel to try it out. Worst case scenario just run a separate set of cables into a 12v outlet in your rear area.
I've become quite attached to my old Engel/modified TwoZone setup to the point that if I was offered a new Engel I think I would keep my current setup