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Old 09-12-2009, 12:17   #1
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Can a Household Refrigerator Work on a Sailboat ?

We just purchased a 1976 Morgan 41 and she needs lots of updating... The first question is how do we set up wiring to use a regular refrigerator/Freezer?
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Old 09-12-2009, 12:26   #2
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You need an inverter. One that has a much higher rating than the fridge/freezer's motor, because on start up they draw much more. Say 3 or 4 times the motors wattage.

It's best to fit the inverter close to the batteries, because they need heavy cable on the 12 volt side.

Household fridges won't be as efficient as a proper boat fridge, they are not as well insulated. An improvement is to use a household freezer with a fridge thermostat.

But they are cheap, and some of the money you save can be spent on generating more power to run them.
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Old 09-12-2009, 12:31   #3
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Many boat refrigerators can run off both shorepower (120VAC) and the boats 12VDC system. Its nice to have both options. Look at some of the refrigerators for RV's...they might cost less than "marine grade" refrigerators.
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Old 09-12-2009, 12:52   #4
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Household units don't like to lean over. Something to consider if you want to go sailing.
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Old 09-12-2009, 12:55   #5
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On the EU market, I just see the same brands and same prices on the RV market
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Old 09-12-2009, 13:02   #6
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Household fridges won't be as efficient as a proper boat fridge, they are not as well insulated. An improvement is to use a household freezer with a fridge thermostat..
Darn innovative idea... Good on ya!..

We just had to replace a chest freezer at the house..159.00 for 7.00 cf...dirt cheep!...if I were ever building an interior of a boat from scratch I will consider this Idea...Thanks!

One might be able to gimbel the compressor simple enough as well if needed.
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Old 09-12-2009, 14:04   #7
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heeling is a problem huh?

so am I to read this thread to mean that if I had a Cat (that doesnt heel over like the lead belly wonder) instead of a monohull I could stuff it with a massive stainless fridge!!??? like in the house?
nicccccceeee...
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Old 09-12-2009, 14:15   #8
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I did actually read an article about this sort of conversion project the other day..
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Old 09-12-2009, 14:20   #9
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so am I to read this thread to mean that if I had a Cat (that doesnt heel over like the lead belly wonder) instead of a monohull I could stuff it with a massive stainless fridge!!??? like in the house?
nicccccceeee...


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Old 09-12-2009, 15:15   #10
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Wow.

Now that's what I call a liveaboard...
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Old 09-12-2009, 15:19   #11
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I wonder what that fire extinguisher is for...I know there a fire truck in there somewhere..
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Old 09-12-2009, 15:22   #12
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Probably for the nuclear power plant you'll need to keep that fridge going..
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Old 09-12-2009, 15:38   #13
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I did actually read an article about this sort of conversion project the other day..
Great read...Thanks!
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Old 09-12-2009, 15:54   #14
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Probably for the nuclear power plant you'll need to keep that fridge going..
Maybe, but like 44cc said

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But they are cheap, and some of the money you save can be spent on generating more power to run them.
I would suggest that there would be many many many many thousand of dollars saved (compared to building a unit like that in 12 volt) that could be spent on power generation be it solar or genny.

I recently looked at a vessel here that had an Iceer 12 volt unit that are recognised as being one of the better units available in Oz due to the fact that they have 100mm plus of foam around them..

It would have cost between $3000 and $5000 aud, and still wasn't enough for liveaboard, proof being that they had additional smaller top loading 12 volt icebox style fridges as backup around the boat
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Old 09-12-2009, 16:59   #15
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On a cat or a motor yacht I'd go for a modern domestic 'A+' fridge and freezer (that's the Euro rating system, don't know about USA or elsewhere). Even a very good domestic model will generally use more power than a marine system.

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It would have cost between $3000 and $5000 aud, and still wasn't enough for liveaboard, proof being that they had additional smaller top loading 12 volt icebox style fridges as backup around the boat
I totally agree, £126 bought me a massive domestic top loading freezer for the lazerette, I was quoted £4,800 for a marine 12v or 24v system, which would have had to be built specially.

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