Waeco cf-80 vs cf-110 for family

[Ramdough]

So, I am planning out a new camper and I am trying to decide between two fridges. I am not too worried about the cost difference, power, or a place to put them. We eat really well when camping and have a family of 4. I would like to carry enough food for at least 2 weeks.

I like that the cf-80 can freeze and have a fridge space at the same time. The cf-110 is bigger.

Do you think the dual zone fridge is a better option than a larger fridge?

 

[IdaSHO]

My take, is that dual zone fridges are designed to keep things cold that really dont need to be kept cold.

So they are wasteful.

If you need the space, go bigger. But don't get hung up on the dual zone BS.



Items that NEED a fridge go in the fridge, items that don't go in the cupboard or pantry.



However, from an efficiency standpoint, a full fridge is always more efficient than an empty one.

So if you have space, and a few cans of beer laying around, by all means! :coffeedrink:

 

[Ramdough]

I see your point, but the dual zone I was looking at would be freezer and fridge, so I could have frozen meats, but not frozen eggs.

Does that make better sense why I might want dual zones?

A steak may only last three days in a fridge unless frozen.

 

[IdaSHO]

Ah, just a fridge/freezer combo, not a true dual zone.

No problem, just set the fridge cold enough to keep most things frozen.

This is what we do with our Waeco CR-1065.

And Ive found that even with the fridge set to keep things cold enough to remain frozen (different than cold enough to freeze)
that the items in the door compartment (such as eggs) stay warm enough to not be a problem.


Having and using a vacuum sealer is of huge benefit as well.
That alone can double the keep time of meats, even thawed and simply refrigerated.

 

[Ramdough]

So the cf-80 has an insulated divider that allows you to keep one area colder than the other. The theory is that one section can be freezing and the other can be just cold. I do not know how well it works, but that is how it is advertised. If you remove the divider, then you can set the entire thing to one temperature.

 

[Ramdough]

So, after some reading, I am now looking at maybe getting an Engel instead. They appear to be more reliable. Maybe a 60 or 80. Same delima applies. The 60 can be a combination fridge freezer and the 80 can only be one or the other.

Any thoughts?

 

[Honu]

family of 4 we had a 60 and 45 when we had a trailer the 60 was the fridge in trailer and 45 was freezer in vehicle
was a nice combo
and when we had shorter trips we could leave the 45 at home and just use the 60 in the trailer as a fridge
or use the 45 in the vehicle for day trips and over night runs etc..

we did some two week runs with that combo restocking a few things like milk part way through and did fine but used every bit of both

we sold the trailer and 60 fridge with it as we cut back on gear but if I was to do it again I would be buying the 80 this time around over the 60

but as far as space for us we can go 4-5 days with our 45 but that is about it unless we started to rethink our menus
but I can say after even 4 days our frozen stuff is still almost frozen solid only some thaw on the outer edges as we keep the temp right down to min of freezing as mentioned above

for packing we vacuum pack and lay on a sheet pan to freeze flat and then stack them in vertically so easy to see whats written on the end and grab it out quickly
all frozen on one side fridge on the other packed in by used first closest to fridge side

as far as size to go out longer than 5 days we bring a cooler on top of our 45

keep debating use the 45 as a freezer and have some water jugs or the blue ice kinda stuff to rotate in and out of a good cooler for longer trips instead of doing the freezer and the fridge kinda thing again ? not sure it would work but might

 

[stephaneD]

I have a weaco CFX65 dual zone and love it keep thing frozen in the freezer and noting froze in the fridge and beer is damm cold! if you need bigger just see weaco now have a CFX92 dual zone with 2 separate control temperature freezer and fridge pretty damm nice! http://cfx.waeco.com.au/cfx/cfx95dz.asp

Fully hermetic WAECO ACV25DC compressor, 2 x aluminium rollbond evaporators with independent control electronics and displays, 3-level low voltage protection, electronic fuse/automatic reverse polarity protection, WiFi transmitter, dynamically ventilated fin/tube condenser

FIRST PORTABLE FRIDGE/ FREEZER MONITORING APP

Wifi Enabled
The CFX-95DZ2 app allows you to monitor and control your fridge whilst on the move. This app is exclusive to the CFX-95DZ2 fridge and freezer and is available to download on your Android or iOS phone or tablet.
Key features include:
Monitoring both compartment temperatures
Setting both compartment temperatures
Alarm function

 

[Ramdough]

I like the looks of that fridge and dual zone features of that fridge. I am not sure if I like the wifi feature. Maybe it would be OK as long as when it failed it did not take down the fridge.

To be honest, I read some reviews of the cf-80 and cf-110 and they had me convinced to buy an Engel. I would like to see the reviews after this fridge has some time on it. Unfortunately, I would need to wait a while to know if these units were reliable.

 

[Perfect Switch]

I have a CF-80 and have used it on many multi-week road trips. It probably has 8 weeks of use and so far so good. The only complaint I have is the rubber seal has tried to un-glue itself and I keep shoving it back in. It takes up a lot of my Land Cruiser's back end...more than half including the slide I made for it. Initially I had buyer's remorse thinking I went too big, but when you consider the amount of space taken by insulation and components, family of three can soak up a lot of food and drink space.

 

[scbrooks87]

I've got the Dometic (Waeco) CFX65-DZ, and have had it running constantly since I received it about a month ago. I keep it in the garage and have it running in the dual zone setup right now. The freezer stays around -10f, and the fridge right around 32f. It works very very well. I've had no problems so far. It'll really be getting its first outdoor test this weekend on a 3-day trip into the AZ desert. For this trip, since it's so short, I'll only be using the freezer side for ice cream.... I like ice cream....

edit: The point of this post is pointing out that the dual zone is a really nice feature, and is totally removable if you decide not to use it! I'd have no problem recommending Waeco/Dometic at this point.