Friggin' Frigoboat Fridge Fairly Frigid, Far From Freezing

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

OK what I'm saying is if you have 0 degrees in the freezer section, that is colder than average so maybe you just don't have enough air circulation to cool the fridge half.
I'm guessing average freezer temp is closer to 10 degrees F. Mine on a good day will only get to about 5


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0 "C" Mr. enGINear... !

EDIT- 48f is pretty damn good for a 32f spillover system...

[Kenomac]

Some of the recommendations being made on this thread are simply ridiculous. What do some of you do when your a/c in your car isn't keeping the car cool enough? Do you immediately run out and buy a new car or a/c unit, or do you stop by and have a local tech refill the coolant system with a recharge for maybe $100?

This is the same issue.

Most likely, it's just one of the small 25 cent "O" rings holding in the coolant gas which has dried up over the years and is now leaking just a little and can no longer hold the pressure.

[ctl411]

You need to defrost to check the performance of the system. Few easy things to get better performance. Is the drain in bottom of box plugged? Put new seal on door ( ice is air leaking in). Place a vapor barrier mat over door helps seal. Check condenser, clean/ good air flow. You may need a recharge, not easy to do right on small evaporator systems.

[BlackAdder]

Wow, I'm impressed by the response. Fast and furious typers you guys are.

OK, so just for those of you who want to theorize some more. Yes, it's a bin evaporator measuring 10"x10"x3", the fridge itself -- interior dimensions of 21"d x 16"w x 24"h for a volume of about 4.8 cu.ft.

The compressor is indeed a Danfoss BD35F.

I switched off the fridge now to allow the evaporator to de-ice. It has a solid inch of ice/frost on all sides except the flappy face plate. I do get an awful lot of water build up in it so I do suspect the seals might be part of the issue. Once it thaws out in an hour or two I'll switch it back on, try and improve the seal maybe by taping, and then shoot some new temps and we'll see what that does just for sh*ts and giggles. But I'm still leaning towards Kenomac's suggestion of having a tech service it.

I would love to upgrade the insulation as I know that is the first suggestion for a boat moved to the tropics but it's just such a big project. It would involve re-doing the counters and fiddles. Ugh. The thought of it is depressing. #FirstWorldProblems

[BlackAdder]

Originally Posted by ctl411

You need to defrost to check the performance of the system. Few easy things to get better performance. Is the drain in bottom of box plugged? Put new seal on door ( ice is air leaking in). Place a vapor barrier mat over door helps seal. Check condenser, clean/ good air flow. You may need a recharge, not easy to do right on small evaporator systems.

You just posted this as I posted my response to others. Yes, I agree wholeheartedly about the seals. I read on Mr. Kollman's site that this is a prime issue and judging by the ice over and amount of water I'm getting in the bottom I must have a lot of air getting in -- more than can be justified from the occasional door opening.

Yes, I will de-ice and check performance again and report back.

I checked the condenser and it is clean as far as I can tell. I hear this is also an issue.

As for the recharge, yes, I heard it's pretty critical to get the right charge and many techs might not get it right so that is a concern. I want to make sure I exhaust all other options first.

[Kenomac]

On our system, the persistent icing up issue also went away after the system was properly charged. I thinks it's because the compressor then didn't need to run so much of the time and then allowed the light dusting of ice crystals to evaporate. And now of course, the refrigeration doesn't consume anywhere near as much energy.

[ctl411]

A circulation fan in the box will help also. Even if you end up with a new system or recharge. More air flow to the compressor/condenser is always good for performance and compressor life. Your system may have terminals to add another fan.

[BlackAdder]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

On our system, the persistent icing up issue also went away after the system was properly charged. I thinks it's because the compressor then didn't need to run so much of the time and then allowed the light dusting of ice crystals to evaporate. And now of course, the refrigeration doesn't consume anywhere near as much energy.

OMG Kenomac. You've given me so much hope! Even my pet chicken thanks you!

[undercutter]

Go and buy yourself one of those new portable AC/DC friges/freezers that are air cooled. Wonderful invention. Space age insulation.

We bought a Primus which has a Danfoss compressor and draws less than 3 amps. You can buy these up to 16 cubic litres and they will work down to -20C.

Our fridges work well actually but the power demand is high especially the AC driven version. The DC version is less draw but works a lot more.

Now we freeze everything in the portable and just use the main freezer as a fridge. You can even take the portable with you to the beach and run it from a battery.

[DeepFrz]

BlackAdder, go to Richard Coleman's website and read the info there. He does not recommend hiring a service guy or at least certainly not this early. Your iced over evaporator is probably what is causing your current problem but as others have suggested your box is probably too big and poorly insulated. What others have done is add insulation to the inside of the box. That works as well as insulation on the outside but gives you a smaller box so that the compressor can work properly. Also, a very small fan mixing the air inside the box will even out the temperature.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

BlackAdder, go to Richard Coleman's website and read the info there. He does not recommend hiring a service guy or at least certainly not this early. Your iced over evaporator is probably what is causing your current problem but as others have suggested your box is probably too big and poorly insulated. What others have done is add insulation to the inside of the box. That works as well as insulation on the outside but gives you a smaller box so that the compressor can work properly. Also, a very small fan mixing the air inside the box will even out the temperature.

So..... would Mr. Coleman also recommend spraying foam insulation throughout the entire interior of an automobile if the air conditioner wasn't cooling the car enough? And if he did recommend doing that.... would you in fact follow his advice?

When I used to work as a piano tuner/technician, I'd run into people periodically who thought they could tune the piano themselves in order to save $100. In the end, they'd end up paying me or another tech nearly $300 to fix the mess they'd made of their piano.

[a64pilot]

Ken,
Your wrong, get over it.

Both Richard and Rich recommend hiring a tech as a last resort, both have often stated that techs often screw up the charge level, that particularly on a fixed orifice system that charge level is very critical.
I'm a licensed HVAC tech, and this is not a car, a car has rubber hoses and a compressor that isn't sealed and all sorts of places refrigerant can leak from, these sealed systems don't.
You say your a Frugal sailor, don't you think that the easy things should be eliminated first before hiring someone that may or may not know what they are doing?

For starters ice is an excellent insulator, reason why an Igloo will keep you alive, 1" of ice build up on the evaporator isn't helping anything, although I suspect that with everything working perfectly that this system is marginal, and if so the next logical step is what Deepfrz is recommending, increasing insulation and decreasing box size, both can be inexpensively done by an amateur and it's reversible too.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by HappyMdRSailor

0 "C" Mr. enGINear... !

EDIT- 48f is pretty damn good for a 32f spillover system...

I see that now, but I'm no Engineer, just a mechanic type.
I was hoping he had a spill over system and the freezer half was at 0 F, but I guess not.

[DeepFrz]

Ken, I stubbed my toe yesterday so if your foot hurts then you must have stubbed your toe.

If your foot doesn't hurt then you didn't stub your toe and that is for sure.

I once had a problem that sounds a lot like your problem so you should hire someone to do for you what someone did for me.

Do you think those are reasonable, sound conclusions?

They might or might not be correct.

[Kenomac]

My final recommendation to the OP:

Go to a large marina office or shipyard and get a recommendation from the manager for a quality refrigeration technician who services the long term customers. You'll then get your issue properly diagnosed and sorted out in just a couple of hours and for probably less than $150. The tech will have the proper diagnostic equipment and supplies to make the minor repair. You'll end up wasting more time and money the more you fool around trying to do it on the cheap.