We test out the 40L Engel 60th Anniversary Special Edition portable fridge and guess what? This one has a new feature that is totally fitting for Australians.
In 1962, the first portable Engel fridge arrived in Australia and even way back then, it was awesome. Operated by the Sawafuji Swing motor (more about that further down), Engel was and still is, the only fridge in the world to use this patented piece of genius.
The reason it’s so special? Well, unlike other fridges, it has only one moving part and as a result, friction loss is extremely low. This results in a highly efficient compressor. In fact, Engel fridges are so efficient, they have the lowest maximum draw of any 12V fridge compressor not just in Australia, but in the whole world.
The cool new feature
60 years after its first appearance in Australia, Engel celebrated last year by releasing the 60th Anniversary Limited Edition Portable 40L Fridge. Still using the secret weapon that is the Sawafuji Motor, not only does this fridge look great, but it’s the first Engel portable fridge that can also be controlled with an app via Bluetooth.
And in a move that’s totally fitting for Australians, the app has a beer button! See that picture of a beer down there?

No, sadly it doesn’t eject a beer or wine at the press of a button, but it does instantly set your fridge to the perfect beer and wine chill temperature of 3 degrees Celsius.
What else can you do with the app?
The app is not just for chilling your beer and wine without leaving your camp chair. You can also:
- See if your kids didn’t shut the fridge door properly
- Power it on and off
- Set the temperature
- Set up your preferred level of battery protection
- Change the display brightness on the fridge
- Check your input voltage
What if I’m allergic to apps?
Don’t worry if you’re allergic to phone apps. You can still change your fridge temperature and settings on the Engel itself on a surprisingly simple-to-use display.

Why else do we love this fridge?
You can charge your phone from it
This fridge has a USB port in the back up the top near the display so that you can charge your phone or tablet on the go. Pretty handy, right?
It has a built-in battery monitor
The 60th Anniversary 40L Engel has three-stage battery protection. This works by cutting off the fridge to save your battery when the voltage drops below a certain threshold. The fridge can be set to:
- Off (no protection)
- Low – 9.6v
- Medium – 10.2v
- High – 11v
Shut the damn door fridge alarm
If you have the app open, you can see straight away if one of the kids hasn’t shut the door as on the top right of the screen, the “door closed” icon will turn red. If you don’t notice this, after about 15 seconds, the fridge itself will start beeping to let everyone know that someone didn’t shut the damn fridge door.
Engels work on an angle
You don’t have to worry about getting your levels right with this fridge as it works on up to 30-degree angles and on rough corrugated tracks with no drop in efficiency.
It looks good
I know looks aren’t everything, but the 60th Anniversary 40L Engel fridge looks great. Finished in an illuminating crystal pearl colour, it stands out from the other grey Engel fridges. It’s almost a shame to put the optional cover on it but the cover itself looks pretty schmick too.
You can use it as a freezer
If you prefer to use your fridge as a freezer, you’ll be pleased to know this one goes all the way down to negative 18 degrees celsius.

More about the Sawafuji Motor
I did mention before that I was going to talk more about the secret weapon Sawafuji Motor and well, here it is. As previously discussed, with only one moving part, friction loss is extremely low which results in a highly efficient compressor.
If you want to know how efficient, check out this article over on our sister publication RVDaily where we tested how long it would last on one deep cycle battery.
The Sawafuji Motor doesn’t need to perform a full stroke to start up which means that it doesn’t have a high start-up current draw. An electro-dynamic device which is powered by magnetic fields is connected to the piston, and with this technology, there is fewer moving parts and no need for con-rods, cranks or bearing.
You know what this means don’t you? Yep, fewer moving parts mean less chance of failure.
Specs
- Temp. range: -18 to + 8 degrees celsius
- Net weight: 24kg
- External dimensions: 508mm (H) x 631mm (W) x 360mm (D) + 60mm for each handle
- Internal dimensions: 370mm (H) x 380mm (W) x 270mm (D)
- Capacity: 40 Litres
- DC power consumption: Variable from 0.5 – 3.0 AMPS
- Power: Built-in 240V AC/12V/24V DC
- Warranty: 5-year warranty
The verdict
It’s been 60 years in the making and using the same tried and tested motor (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it), the 40L Engel 60th Anniversary Edition portable fridge gets our tick of approval. Although I’m sure the app will eventually make its way into other future Engel models, this fridge was worth the wait.