I bought that same one. So much condensation inside, have to empty it and clean it every week. Have you come across the same problem? The company isn't helping at all.
Great review! And fully agree. I’m on my second Bushman fridge, I had one of the first that came out. The first lasted about 20 years and received quite a lot of use out camping and 4wd’ing and also as a beer fridge in between trips. So it had quite a lot of use over that time and was no surprise that it finally gave up. Was I annoyed? No, not one bit, it gad done a great job and nothing lasts forever. I considered the other brands and nearly bought one, but in the end I couldn’t go past the back up and good old fashioned after sales service from the importers and service providers at DP REFRIGERATION in Reserch Vic, who sold me my second Bushman. As far as warranty goes, mine came with a 5 year compressor warranty. Im a happy camper with my Bushman.
Thanks Tony, hard to go past when you need another! Mine is now permanently running in the back of the Hilux. Given how old it is it will be interesting to see how much longer it lasts... I'm expecting a long time yet!
You could, but everything else in the fridge would freeze, You might get away with being able to refrigerate the top basket while freezing in the bottom.... maybe. Same with the ice, you would have to run the whole fridge as a freezer.
I subscribe to Choice magazine online and your review pretty much reflected everything they had to say about this fridge. In their review, the Bushman just edged out the 40 ltr. Engal, mostly because of its better power usage. The Choice review didn't mention the size increase option with the Bushman, but to my mind, even if the power usage goes up with the Bushman when the extra bits are added, it's still a good trade off. So with Choice's good review of a brand new Bushman and your review of a 9.5 years old one, I now know for sure which one I'll be buying.
Interesting mate, I haven’t seen that comparison. I’m just decking out a canopy and I’m looking at how I set it up. I want to keep the Bushman..... I might end up with 2!
The bushmans has better efficiency than the engel while it’s in the 52 litre config. One guy on here did a 24 amp draw test and set at -5 with an empty fridge and no thermal mass it only pulled 16amps over 24 hours. Unreal efficiency. The engel 40litre averages 25amps per 24 hour period. Both tests had an ambient temps in the 20s and were run without opening
Thanks for the long term review. Not enough people put their gear to the test before they review it. How's the fridge going these days? Still no issues? Like you said, everybody raves on about the engels but I think even if I manage to get 10 years out of a bushman, the versatility with the different temperatures in each basket makes it way more usable that I wouldn't care if I needed to buy a replacement before the engel owners. Id never buy a dual zone as it seems like they aren't built to last. The bushman seems like the best of both worlds
Cheers mate. Yes it’s still going strong. It hasn’t had much use the last couple of years though as I have the Bushman upright in the canopy on the Ranger. The old Bushman lives in the Cruiser now and doesn’t get used a whole lot. Still strongly recommend them, so much so I had no hesitation getting the upright for the Ranger.
Cheers for the reply. If I had a Ute then the upright does make the most sense. However with the wagon I want a false floor so I can make everything modular with a battery box set up to easily get my boot space back. It's honestly surprising how few people have the sc35-52, but everybody who has them reports great reliability and longevity. It's good to see bushman getting the attention they're receiving from the upright market though
Very informative review, given that the Bushman is an aussie product, has great service, works so damn well, is very robust (based on an unrivalled quantity of happy customer reviews) its basically a no brainer. Happy to pay a little more for this fridge, just ordered one today. Keep up the good work.
Do your homework! I did! MADE IN CHINA Paying Aussie prices for a Chinese made Fridge. Change your review as seeing UA-cam reviews and comments. I too was led to believe I was buying a Aussie made Fridge with a German made Devros Compressor. And even found out they even sold there soal to China and now sold under SeaCop banner! VERY DISAPPOINTED TO FIND OUT I PAYED AUSSIE PRICE FOR CHINESE MADE PRODUCT when it was one of the main reasons I chose Bushman to buy. Then to be Told By Paul at Bushman was German Devros but now as I found out is Seacop China! Come on Boys. We want Australian made and are prepared to pay for it! But FUCK YOU CHINA!
@@davidowencunningham2743 I know its made in China as Bushman even say so on their videos. What I was saying its an actual Aussie company, the money stays here, fridge is ultra reliable and IF something goes wrong its sorted fast. I have a Trailblaza fridge also which is basically made in Queensland with the exception of the compressor and rate both fridges as great. Holden and Ford were made here with many components made overseas also. Regardless of where the Bushman are made, surely you can't deny they're a bloody well designed and made product .I knew what I was getting into but it seems like you bought before you did your homework....a little late.
Awesome video ! Choosing between fridges now for overnights and longer trips, choosing between one of those a and maybe a waeco now Just wanted to ask, if you set the bottom to -2 would it actually keep frozen stuff frozen? As normal freezers are about -15 or lower, just concerned if we go away for a week and put frozen meat in the bottom that on -2 it won’t be cold enough to keep it frozen Thanks!
Alex Sallery thanks mate! It will keep the food frozen for a short time so if you were going to thaw it out anyway you would be right. For long term storage of meat I think it must be kept at -15.
Using the 52l configuration for a camping trip bringing variaty of foods from ice cream to fruits, my question is that will ice cream stored at the bottom stay frozen for let's say 3 days? What temperature setting should i run to maintain the ice cream frozen yet not too cold for the rest of the produce. Thank you.
No, won’t keep it frozen. It has different baskets using a temperature differential between the top middle and bottom but if you want the bottom to be cold enough to freeze, then the top and middle will be too cold to store anything to a fridge type temperature.
According to the manufacturer you can maintain food in a frozen state in the 52L config (set at -5) as long as it's stored at the bottom. They also state using the thermo dynamics of the fridge the middle section should be the right temp for drinks etc. At least that's how mine works have tested it with ice creams frozen meat etc. Strange that your real world experience differs.
@@troycrees7391 hi Tony. The thermostat sets the temperature at the bottom of the fridge. If you set the fridge to -5 then the bottom will be -5 give or take a degree or 2, the middle tray will be around -3 to 0 and the top will be around 1-4 degrees. -5 would be ok for some foods but foods like meat etc should be frozen at -18 ideally.
@@TasmanianOffroadAdventures I think where it differs is if the food is pre frozen I'm not sure I'm no expert. Without knowing the science I'd say for long term freezing -18 is probably the go but I've found -5 keeps things like ice cream and meat frozen in mine anyway. Either way it's an excellent fridge and the extension collars are genius.
Hi Fantastic video i have heard nothing but fantastic reviews on the fridge would you have the dimensions of the fridge height length and width, please.i am going to buying one,
Great review. I have had one for around 18 years I'm one of the early adopters. They only had plastic handles then. Well wouldn't you know it but last week I broke one of the handles. I think that's my excuse to upgrade to a new one.
@@TasmanianOffroadAdventures Yeah and it has never skipped a beat and it has taken a beating. I just can't replace the handle. It only had the raised lid as an option when I bought it so it's time to upgrade.
@@TasmanianOffroadAdventures I'm going to buy another Bushman I can't get the handles any more so I'll put the broken one in the Garage for cool beverages. Yes it's the one that takes batteries for the digital display.
Hey mate, great review. Can I just clarify the power consumption? You say 20 amp a day, so that would be an average draw of 0.83 amp, so 10 watts? Power consumption is therefore 240 Wh over the day. I am trying to get my head around all this.
John Lorimer yeh thereabouts mate. The voltage isn’t always at 12 volts, usually somewhere between 12-13 volts so that would change the actual wattage, but safe to say it would be around the 240 wh over 24 hours.
@@TasmanianOffroadAdventures thanks for the reply mate. I will keep that in mind and probably just do any calcs at 13v. I am going to give Bushman a call about their 190l fridge as they have the energy consumption as 'Average 2.0 Ah over 24hrs (25º ambient 4º fridge)' Surely it is more than that!
Thanks for the review! Looking to buy one very soon! Is this an Aussie made fridge? I have looked on their website and nothing clearly states this? Also only coming with 12v cig connection like your original?
Not Australian made Pat. Made in china I believe. Pretty sure they still come with the cigarette plug, but maybe contact them via their website to check.
I have been on the road now for 7 weeks straight with a brand new bushman 130litre upright fridge and I am not impressed,,,,by the way it’s made in China, and that info is freely available on the net,,,,it might work fine in Tassie, but I’m running it at 6 in the winter in QLD and IT ONLY GOES TO 7 so it won’t stack up come summer, I’ve had to add another latch to the door and I’m kickin my self….there is only one fridge to buy and that is National Lunar
100% made in China, I’ve never referenced otherwise so not sure if that is pointed at me. I’ve got the 85 litre upright in the back of the Ranger canopy and it’s perfect. Qld winter would be colder than Tassie summer and mine works perfectly well, will freeze if I set it too low.s I’d suggest you either have a faulty unit or it hasn’t been installed correctly. Have you contacted DP Refrigeration?
I owned one for 11 years before it died. It was mostly used as a deep freezer in the home due to a small freezer space in the house fridge. Compared to todays variety of different brands it is overpriced.
MADE IN CHINA! DANFOSS no longer made in Germany. Sold and renamed compressor as SeaCop? Let us know if there is any such thing as a Aussie made car fridge made out there?
Yes, made in China. I think Evakool might still make their high end fridges in Australia. Not sure if Trailblazer are still around. Regardless of where it is made the Bushman has served me well in the 11 ish years I’ve had it.
@@TasmanianOffroadAdventures No argument there! Same reason. I had a mate say he's had one for years in the back of a ute and has served him well! But his is a early one that was made in Australia with a German made Compressor. Now I hear that China have now bought them too, Danfoss was renamed SeaCop and now made in China as well! I had know idea that Australian Manufactured so called products were so hard to find? There you go Australia. How about we make our own Fridge?
I don’t think the Bushman was ever made in Australia. In the ‘old days’ there was Evakool, Trailblazer and Explorer fridges that were all made in Australia. Explorer closed about 10 years ago and Evakool import most of their fridges these days, but you can still buy a trailblazer.
@@davidowencunningham2743 No mate, Explorer was a made in Brisbane and was similar to the Trailblazer, but they had 2 door models as well. Trailblazer fridges have been around since the mid 1980's.
I bought that same one. So much condensation inside, have to empty it and clean it every week.
Have you come across the same problem?
The company isn't helping at all.
No sorry, haven’t had that problem. My old man used his for years too as a second fridge without this problem.
Great review! And fully agree. I’m on my second Bushman fridge, I had one of the first that came out. The first lasted about 20 years and received quite a lot of use out camping and 4wd’ing and also as a beer fridge in between trips. So it had quite a lot of use over that time and was no surprise that it finally gave up. Was I annoyed? No, not one bit, it gad done a great job and nothing lasts forever. I considered the other brands and nearly bought one, but in the end I couldn’t go past the back up and good old fashioned after sales service from the importers and service providers at DP REFRIGERATION in Reserch Vic, who sold me my second Bushman. As far as warranty goes, mine came with a 5 year compressor warranty.
Im a happy camper with my Bushman.
Thanks Tony, hard to go past when you need another! Mine is now permanently running in the back of the Hilux. Given how old it is it will be interesting to see how much longer it lasts... I'm expecting a long time yet!
Thanks for the review! The 20 amps over 24 hours - was that in the 52 liter configuration or the std 35 liter/flat lid setup? Cheers - John.
quedecree cheers mate. That was the 52 litre configuration.
Thank you so much,
Do you think you can keep:
1) 2 litre ice cream frozen in it?:
2) can you make ice in it.
Thanks once again.
You could, but everything else in the fridge would freeze, You might get away with being able to refrigerate the top basket while freezing in the bottom.... maybe. Same with the ice, you would have to run the whole fridge as a freezer.
Well mate great review. I'm sold I'll be getting one sometime this year great fridge. Thanks 👍
If it's anything like mine mate you will love it!
I subscribe to Choice magazine online and your review pretty much reflected everything they had to say about this fridge. In their review, the Bushman just edged out the 40 ltr. Engal, mostly because of its better power usage. The Choice review didn't mention the size increase option with the Bushman, but to my mind, even if the power usage goes up with the Bushman when the extra bits are added, it's still a good trade off. So with Choice's good review of a brand new Bushman and your review of a 9.5 years old one, I now know for sure which one I'll be buying.
Interesting mate, I haven’t seen that comparison. I’m just decking out a canopy and I’m looking at how I set it up. I want to keep the Bushman..... I might end up with 2!
The bushmans has better efficiency than the engel while it’s in the 52 litre config. One guy on here did a 24 amp draw test and set at -5 with an empty fridge and no thermal mass it only pulled 16amps over 24 hours.
Unreal efficiency.
The engel 40litre averages 25amps per 24 hour period. Both tests had an ambient temps in the 20s and were run without opening
Thanks for the long term review. Not enough people put their gear to the test before they review it.
How's the fridge going these days? Still no issues?
Like you said, everybody raves on about the engels but I think even if I manage to get 10 years out of a bushman, the versatility with the different temperatures in each basket makes it way more usable that I wouldn't care if I needed to buy a replacement before the engel owners. Id never buy a dual zone as it seems like they aren't built to last. The bushman seems like the best of both worlds
Cheers mate. Yes it’s still going strong. It hasn’t had much use the last couple of years though as I have the Bushman upright in the canopy on the Ranger. The old Bushman lives in the Cruiser now and doesn’t get used a whole lot. Still strongly recommend them, so much so I had no hesitation getting the upright for the Ranger.
Cheers for the reply. If I had a Ute then the upright does make the most sense. However with the wagon I want a false floor so I can make everything modular with a battery box set up to easily get my boot space back.
It's honestly surprising how few people have the sc35-52, but everybody who has them reports great reliability and longevity. It's good to see bushman getting the attention they're receiving from the upright market though
Thanks mate been looking for a fridge freezer and looks like I will go for this one and love how it’s Ozie 👍👍
It’s a ripper fridge mate. Just to clarify though, it’s not Australian made.
Made in China!
Very informative review, given that the Bushman is an aussie product, has great service, works so damn well, is very robust (based on an unrivalled quantity of happy customer reviews) its basically a no brainer. Happy to pay a little more for this fridge, just ordered one today. Keep up the good work.
Do your homework! I did!
MADE IN CHINA
Paying Aussie prices for a Chinese made Fridge. Change your review as seeing UA-cam reviews and comments. I too was led to believe I was buying a Aussie made Fridge with a German made Devros Compressor. And even found out they even sold there soal to China and now sold under SeaCop banner!
VERY DISAPPOINTED TO FIND OUT I PAYED AUSSIE PRICE FOR CHINESE MADE PRODUCT when it was one of the main reasons I chose Bushman to buy. Then to be Told By Paul at Bushman was German Devros but now as I found out is Seacop China!
Come on Boys. We want Australian made and are prepared to pay for it! But FUCK YOU CHINA!
@@davidowencunningham2743 I know its made in China as Bushman even say so on their videos. What I was saying its an actual Aussie company, the money stays here, fridge is ultra reliable and IF something goes wrong its sorted fast. I have a Trailblaza fridge also which is basically made in Queensland with the exception of the compressor and rate both fridges as great. Holden and Ford were made here with many components made overseas also.
Regardless of where the Bushman are made, surely you can't deny they're a bloody well designed and made product .I knew what I was getting into but it seems like you bought before you did your homework....a little late.
Hi mate thanks for the honest in-depth reviews. Are those handles removable and would you have the dimension of it with both removed. Cheers
Lan B hey mate, thanks for the feedback. Yes the handles unscrew. If you take the off the fridge is 670mm wide.
Awesome video ! Choosing between fridges now for overnights and longer trips, choosing between one of those a and maybe a waeco now
Just wanted to ask, if you set the bottom to -2 would it actually keep frozen stuff frozen? As normal freezers are about -15 or lower, just concerned if we go away for a week and put frozen meat in the bottom that on -2 it won’t be cold enough to keep it frozen
Thanks!
Alex Sallery thanks mate! It will keep the food frozen for a short time so if you were going to thaw it out anyway you would be right. For long term storage of meat I think it must be kept at -15.
Thanks for a great video. Long term reviews are very handy. Subbed.
AKA Nathan cheers mate
@@TasmanianOffroadAdventures I just bought a 2nd hand one, partly due to your review. These look to be good solid units. Cheers.
Nice one Nathan I'm sure you'll love it!
Using the 52l configuration for a camping trip bringing variaty of foods from ice cream to fruits, my question is that will ice cream stored at the bottom stay frozen for let's say 3 days? What temperature setting should i run to maintain the ice cream frozen yet not too cold for the rest of the produce. Thank you.
No, won’t keep it frozen. It has different baskets using a temperature differential between the top middle and bottom but if you want the bottom to be cold enough to freeze, then the top and middle will be too cold to store anything to a fridge type temperature.
@@TasmanianOffroadAdventures Thanks for sharing your experience with the unit. Your answer has helped me alot on my buying decision.
According to the manufacturer you can maintain food in a frozen state in the 52L config (set at -5) as long as it's stored at the bottom. They also state using the thermo dynamics of the fridge the middle section should be the right temp for drinks etc.
At least that's how mine works have tested it with ice creams frozen meat etc.
Strange that your real world experience differs.
@@troycrees7391 hi Tony. The thermostat sets the temperature at the bottom of the fridge. If you set the fridge to -5 then the bottom will be -5 give or take a degree or 2, the middle tray will be around -3 to 0 and the top will be around 1-4 degrees. -5 would be ok for some foods but foods like meat etc should be frozen at -18 ideally.
@@TasmanianOffroadAdventures I think where it differs is if the food is pre frozen I'm not sure I'm no expert. Without knowing the science I'd say for long term freezing -18 is probably the go but I've found -5 keeps things like ice cream and meat frozen in mine anyway.
Either way it's an excellent fridge and the extension collars are genius.
Hi Fantastic video i have heard nothing but fantastic reviews on the fridge would you have the dimensions of the fridge height length and width, please.i am going to buying one,
Cheers mate, mine has been a winner. Dimensions; L 690mm x W 385mm
35L H 380mm, 42L H 475mm, 45L H 465mm, 52L H 545mm
Great review. I have had one for around 18 years I'm one of the early adopters. They only had plastic handles then. Well wouldn't you know it but last week I broke one of the handles. I think that's my excuse to upgrade to a new one.
Wow, 18 years!
@@TasmanianOffroadAdventures Yeah and it has never skipped a beat and it has taken a beating. I just can't replace the handle. It only had the raised lid as an option when I bought it so it's time to upgrade.
BigBird130 that's awesome, why wouldn't you buy another! A mate of mine has an old one as well, takes batteries for the digital display.
@@TasmanianOffroadAdventures I'm going to buy another Bushman I can't get the handles any more so I'll put the broken one in the Garage for cool beverages. Yes it's the one that takes batteries for the digital display.
BigBird130 nice one mate. I have mine now in the ute permanently running 24/7. It will be interesting to see how long it keeps going!
Sold I ordered one after watching this vid..... one question if you run it in the 35L configuration can you run it solely as a freezer?
emorty yes mate, have done this when we had a power outage at home
Still going strong?
Hey mate, great review. Can I just clarify the power consumption? You say 20 amp a day, so that would be an average draw of 0.83 amp, so 10 watts? Power consumption is therefore 240 Wh over the day. I am trying to get my head around all this.
John Lorimer yeh thereabouts mate. The voltage isn’t always at 12 volts, usually somewhere between 12-13 volts so that would change the actual wattage, but safe to say it would be around the 240 wh over 24 hours.
@@TasmanianOffroadAdventures thanks for the reply mate. I will keep that in mind and probably just do any calcs at 13v. I am going to give Bushman a call about their 190l fridge as they have the energy consumption as 'Average 2.0 Ah over 24hrs (25º ambient 4º fridge)' Surely it is more than that!
I assumed he meant it would burn 20Ah of capacity off of a battery in 24 hours. Plenty more then 2Ah but it still sounds very impressive.
@@mikedavis3125 You assume Bushman meant 20 no 2.0?
Is there a Battery in thermostat?
No mate. I think the very, very early ones took a couple of AA’s. This fridge is now around 14 years old, so it was before then.
Nice review 👍🏽👍🏽
Thanks for the review!
Looking to buy one very soon!
Is this an Aussie made fridge? I have looked on their website and nothing clearly states this?
Also only coming with 12v cig connection like your original?
Not Australian made Pat. Made in china I believe. Pretty sure they still come with the cigarette plug, but maybe contact them via their website to check.
@@TasmanianOffroadAdventures Thanks mate!
Great review. Can it be used as a freezer?
Ozyrob2 yes mate, can be set down to -18 degrees
@@TasmanianOffroadAdventures thanks gor getting back to me, who sells them in tasmania?
I've seen them at Tamar Marine in Launceston. Check their website, should have a list of stockists there.
I have been on the road now for 7 weeks straight with a brand new bushman 130litre upright fridge and I am not impressed,,,,by the way it’s made in China, and that info is freely available on the net,,,,it might work fine in Tassie, but I’m running it at 6 in the winter in QLD and IT ONLY GOES TO 7 so it won’t stack up come summer, I’ve had to add another latch to the door and I’m kickin my self….there is only one fridge to buy and that is National Lunar
100% made in China, I’ve never referenced otherwise so not sure if that is pointed at me. I’ve got the 85 litre upright in the back of the Ranger canopy and it’s perfect. Qld winter would be colder than Tassie summer and mine works perfectly well, will freeze if I set it too low.s I’d suggest you either have a faulty unit or it hasn’t been installed correctly. Have you contacted DP Refrigeration?
100% agree, son owns the dual lid 90 lt model and it blitzes my 80 lt Engel
The xtra $700 bucks over a 30 year life span is zero
I owned one for 11 years before it died. It was mostly used as a deep freezer in the home due to a small freezer space in the house fridge. Compared to todays variety of different brands it is overpriced.
MADE IN CHINA!
DANFOSS no longer made in Germany. Sold and renamed compressor as SeaCop?
Let us know if there is any such thing as a Aussie made car fridge made out there?
Yes, made in China. I think Evakool might still make their high end fridges in Australia. Not sure if Trailblazer are still around. Regardless of where it is made the Bushman has served me well in the 11 ish years I’ve had it.
@@TasmanianOffroadAdventures No argument there!
Same reason. I had a mate say he's had one for years in the back of a ute and has served him well!
But his is a early one that was made in Australia with a German made Compressor. Now I hear that China have now bought them too, Danfoss was renamed SeaCop and now made in China as well!
I had know idea that Australian Manufactured so called products were so hard to find?
There you go Australia.
How about we make our own Fridge?
I don’t think the Bushman was ever made in Australia. In the ‘old days’ there was Evakool, Trailblazer and Explorer fridges that were all made in Australia. Explorer closed about 10 years ago and Evakool import most of their fridges these days, but you can still buy a trailblazer.
@@TasmanianOffroadAdventures Explorer was there name before Bushman.Trailblazer is a rip off of National Luna it looks like?
@@davidowencunningham2743 No mate, Explorer was a made in Brisbane and was similar to the Trailblazer, but they had 2 door models as well. Trailblazer fridges have been around since the mid 1980's.