Engel MT45 Noise

[FIREYcookie]

Hey there..

Recently picked up a new Engel MT45 Combi over black friday. I plan on using it inside my camper van.

Currently, i own a Whynter Dual zone which has been going strong for 2 years now.

I’m a little bummed with how loud the Engel is.
My whynter doesn’t make nearly the same amount of noise my new Engel does.

I understood the compressor differences going into it..but i am still shocked on how much louder these units are than their danfross/secop counterparts. When it is sitting on the floor of my kitchen, i can hear the fridge running from the other side of my house…

I’m not sure if i’ll be able to tolerate the noise in my small van.

Does anybody have any experience with this? What are your thoughts?
I’m feeling kind of conflicted after dropping $900 on this thing.

I see many reviews and i’ve looked through every single thread on engels on the internet.
Some say super loud..some say whisper quiet..can’t even tell that it’s on..I have a hard time believing that someone wouldn’t know if this thing is on or not.

Is this the price you pay for legendary reliability? I also will probably just have to deal with it as there’s no way i'm paying the shipping and restock fees to get this thing back to florida.

 

[Cabrito]

I turn mine off at night if I'm sleeping in the vehicle with it.

Once while camping with three other Engel/ARB owners you could hear them across the camp site from inside their vehicles turning on and off all night.

 

[86scotty]

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles. I do hate a loud fridge. However, it does my heart good to hear this one instance of someone NOT proclaiming that Engel is the best fridge in the world and all others suck and are worthless, etc. etc.

 

[Cabrito]

I don't think I would recommend the older style ARB / Engel to folks these days because there are so many newer generation fridges with more features at a fraction of the cost of an Engel.

I will say that I am an Engle fan boy though and own three of the older style units - MT35 / MT45 / MT60 - The 60 is ancient and works great. Heck I even have the "Two-Zone" add-on that works with two of these.

The reason I'm such a fan is that my MT35 purchased around 2009 was manufactured in 2001. It's been run for weeks at a time and used as a fridge and a freezer. I've run it in three different vehicles, and used as a garage fridge. The fact that it still works great after over 20 years is why I upgraded to a used MT45 a year or two ago. I think it's the time proven reliability that earned their reputation.

 

[pluton]

Many times I have slept in my 4Runner, with my head about 3 feet away from the compressor end of the old-style Engel MT45. It doesn't bother me at all.
I think it helps to have it positioned on a cushioned, sound and vibration absorbing surface. In my 4Runner, it sits on the rear cargo area, which is 2 layers of carpet. Mounting it on an air cushion of some sort would probably eliminate most of the LF noise transmitting to the truck body. I did something similar at home where I have a Vornado fan sitting on a metal Sears roll around tool chest. The fan vibration was audibly amplified by the resonating tool chest sheet metal. I placed bubble wrap under a plywood plank and the fan is mounted to the plank. No noise transmits through the bubble wrap base.

 

[BritKLR]

Sorry to hear this.
I'm just going to say there's something wrong with it. Don't know what it could be, maybe different rubber material in the motor mounts or a poorly balanced motor. My MT45 turns 20 years old this year and I can't hear it running even when I'm next to it so I sometimes get nervous that its not working.....Heck, it recently ran non-stop for over two years as the official beer fridge during the Shop construction without any issues.

Good luck.

 

[mbuckner]

I have a MT45 that's close to 20 years old and it has hummed from day 1. But since I drive a TJ, I do not notice it, even with it located located behind the driver's seat. Sleeping in a tent I leave it on all night.

It's a good reliable unit, but not perfect. Back when I bought it there was not to choose from.

 

[Cabrito]

Sorry to hear this.
I'm just going to say there's something wrong with it. Don't know what it could be, maybe different rubber material in the motor mounts or a poorly balanced motor. My MT45 turns 20 years old this year and I can't hear it running even when I'm next to it so I sometimes get nervous that its not working.....Heck, it recently ran non-stop for over two years as the official beer fridge during the Shop construction without any issues.

Good luck.

Well if it is a problem with the unit then warranty should cover a replacement / repair. Everyone will have different tolerances and experiences to sounds. What's loud to me might not be loud or annoying to the next guy. It's all subjective to the individual.

 

[Josie'slandcruiser]

Hey there..

Recently picked up a new Engel MT45 Combi over black friday. I plan on using it inside my camper van.

Currently, i own a Whynter Dual zone which has been going strong for 2 years now.

I’m a little bummed with how loud the Engel is.
My whynter doesn’t make nearly the same amount of noise my new Engel does.

I understood the compressor differences going into it..but i am still shocked on how much louder these units are than their danfross/secop counterparts. When it is sitting on the floor of my kitchen, i can hear the fridge running from the other side of my house…

I’m not sure if i’ll be able to tolerate the noise in my small van.

Does anybody have any experience with this? What are your thoughts?
I’m feeling kind of conflicted after dropping $900 on this thing.

I see many reviews and i’ve looked through every single thread on engels on the internet.
Some say super loud..some say whisper quiet..can’t even tell that it’s on..I have a hard time believing that someone wouldn’t know if this thing is on or not.

Is this the price you pay for legendary reliability? I also will probably just have to deal with it as there’s no way i'm paying the shipping and restock fees to get this thing back to florida.

I have a ten year old MT45 Engel (model with plastic housing) which I currently have full-time in my 100 Series which also has a sleeping platform. At night I do hear it cycle but the humming does not bother me much (disclaimer: I am hearing impaired.) One idea that might help FIREYcookie is the run the frig at a lower setting the last few hours before bedtime then turn it down to the warmest setting ("cooler") for sleep time. This will keep the frig cycling infrequently overnight.

 

[Nomad1]

Theirs this cool invention called ear plugs...