Yes, I realize this is a year old thread...but hey, at least it proves I AM using the search function before inflicting my inane newbie questions on anyone.
This 28 year old
boat we bought last year came with a "5 cu. ft."
freezer, made by Rich Beers in Ft. Lauderdale. I am assuming that this custom
installation is probably at least 20 years old. It has a heavy, kick butt 12 vdc
compressor on a 30 minute timer that gets the
freezer way cold real fast. Then there is a completely separate little
compressor that is supposed to keep it cold. We've been having issues since the
lightning strike. Mainly, I found that the power leads to the small compressor seem to be shorted, so for now I have disabled that. We're not cruising at the moment but I would have to get into fixing this fridge before we do. Without going into too many whiney details, I really don't like the entire setup that much from a logistics point of view. The compressors are below, and restrict access to one of my engines, its all old and beat up. Lots of components are rusty and looking 20 years old. Controls and
wiring are all over that side of the
boat. The insulation for the freezer and fridge boxes is not all that great, blah blah blah.
Instead of putting more
money into a 20 year old system, I am thinking of just removing it all from the boat and replacing it with two Engels 84 quart drop ins. Using one for a freezer, and the other for a fridge, with 100% backup. I don't have the power specs for the system already in the boat, but I have to believe that newer technology must have been an improvement over this old custom
installation, with support from Ft. Lauderdale but nowhere else in the world.
Can anyone think of any drawbacks to this approach? I was thinking two of the engels, installed side by side in a drop-in countertop, with the attached compressors underneath them. This would free up a lot of space in my
engine room, put all the
refrigeration equipment in one location, and they would be easy to
lift out for repair, replacement, etc.
If we were in the US or someplace where meat and frozen goods were available, we could use both Engels as freezers and live out of a portable cooler ( with plenty of ice) until we smuggled all that frozen meat home. Lots of flexibility with two identical Engels.
Thoughts on why this is, or is not, a good idea?