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Old 20-10-2010, 11:40   #1
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Refrigerator Water Cooled to Fresh Water Tank

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone has ever plumbed their water cooled fridge to their water tank">fresh water tank instead of using sea water.

We have been using ours with seawater for the past 3 years as full time live-aboards, but the maintenance and hassle of the pump is almost enough to spend lots of money on a new system (filter needs to be cleaned every week and the pump itself needs to be torn down and cleaned about every other month).

I spoke to a Frigoboat reseller and we are unable to install a keel cooler since the compressor is more than 5ft from where we can put the keel cooler thru-hull (we are on a cat and the compressor is in the bridgedeck, not in a hull).

So, he suggested using our water tank for the cooling, instead of the sea water. We have a 55 gallon aluminum tank (also located in the bridgedeck area, not in a hull), and he said the heat will dissipate rapidly enough to not really effect the water temperature in the tank.

It sounds interesting, but wondering if anyone has actually done it. The closest I found is someone who ran the copper lines into the water tank like a keel cooler, but I did not find any info on people that used a normal water cooled system with their tank.

We drink the tank water so we can't afford the water to be "hot", but its already pretty warm since we are in the Caribbean year round.

Thanks in advance for any insight.

Mark
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Old 20-10-2010, 12:50   #2
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Your Frigoboat reseller may be full of it.
All of the heat from the fridge (+ some) would have to dissipated into your water tank.
The Fridge heat exchanger is almost certainly not designed for potable water.
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Old 20-10-2010, 13:37   #3
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I agree that it would have to heat the water, perhaps you could have a separate tank for hot water and plumb it so that you have a free hot water heater!
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Old 20-10-2010, 13:55   #4
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Yes, the heat would go into the water, thats sort of the idea.

The question is will the heat in a 55 gallon tank of water then dissipate effectively so that the water temp doesn't just continue to rise and rise...

The dealer stated to me he has done this on other boats as well, and it has worked fine. He seems reputable and honest. He is not making any money off me by suggesting this, where if he sold me a new setup or keel cooler, he would.

Conceptually, it all makes sense, its just practically, will the tank be able to absorb the heat from the fridge, and dissipate it at a reasonable rate. I don't think it would make "hot water". I have run the fridge off a 5 gallon plastic jerry can while on the hard. Yes, the water got warm, but far from hot.
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Old 20-10-2010, 13:58   #5
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The Fridge heat exchanger is almost certainly not designed for potable water.
I'm not sure what you mean by this? The heat exchanger is designed to be water cooled, why would it care if its fresh or salt water?

As in, it will contaminate the water? That's not really a big worry to me. The water is traveling through a small tube on the compressor, and we have a very good filter for anything we drink. We fill out tanks with rainwater often so we have to clean the water a bit anyway before drinking it.
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Old 20-10-2010, 14:24   #6
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Go with Technautics

I would not try that with a 55 Gal tank. Drinking that water would not be a good idea.

If you are looking at a new system, look at Technautics.
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Old 20-10-2010, 14:53   #7
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The immediate reaction I have is how much water is actually in your 55 gallon tank on average?

If you are drinking it, then it is frequently going to be less than 55 gallons, and couldn't it actually go dry?

Fair Winds,
Mike
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Old 20-10-2010, 15:05   #8
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My buddy did it on his boat and he is happy with it. Much better than running salt water through your system and one less hole in the boat. I always thought it was a good idea but I wish I had a nickel for every time I had a good idea that didn't pan out.
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Old 20-10-2010, 15:14   #9
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The immediate reaction I have is how much water is actually in your 55 gallon tank on average?

If you are drinking it, then it is frequently going to be less than 55 gallons, and couldn't it actually go dry?

Fair Winds,
Mike
Since we live on the boat, we don't ever run out of water. I figure at the very least we need 5 gallons in the tank, and the fridge will turn off automatically if it overheats because of lack of water (if we really do run out, which in 3 years we never have). So, for this discussion, lets assume there is always enough water in the tank for the pump/fridge to run. But yes, it wont have 55 gallons on average in it, probably more like 25-30 since we fill it, then consume it, then fill it, etc...
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Old 20-10-2010, 15:16   #10
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I would not try that with a 55 Gal tank. Drinking that water would not be a good idea.
Why would drinking the water be a bad idea? All the water is doing is circulating (through water hoses suitable for drinking).

Am I missing something?
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Old 20-10-2010, 15:22   #11
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Why would drinking the water be a bad idea? All the water is doing is circulating (through water hoses suitable for drinking).

Am I missing something?
I don't think so, the hoses are drinking water hoses, the pump is just a plastic impeller type, the heat exchanger is copper nikel, none of this is too different from what we run in our houses all the time!!
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Old 20-10-2010, 15:26   #12
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Double wall heat exchangers, usually consisting of a tube within a tube with an air space in between, are used to prevent cross-contamination of potable water by a (possibly) toxic heating substance.
These, or similar strategies, are usually required in plumbing codes.
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Old 20-10-2010, 15:32   #13
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Might get a coil of soft plumbing copper place it in the bottom of the fresh water tank - presto freshwater heatexchanger with no cross contamination.
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Old 20-10-2010, 16:22   #14
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Might get a coil of soft plumbing copper place it in the bottom of the fresh water tank - presto freshwater heatexchanger with no cross contamination.
Cheers
Larry
This is true, but it entails a bunch of other issues, like cutting a hole in the tank, somehow attaching it so it doesnt move around in the tank, length of copper tubing that the refrigerant can move through, etc, etc. There have been other threads and people that have done this as well.

Using the water is easy. Two tee fittings from the already existing hoses.... Thats why I am curious about it. There has been some talk, but no people that have real experience with how it works.
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Old 20-10-2010, 16:25   #15
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Double wall heat exchangers, usually consisting of a tube within a tube with an air space in between, are used to prevent cross-contamination of potable water by a (possibly) toxic heating substance.
I guess there is a possibility of the refrigerant getting into the water supply, but its a gas and would expect it go out the vent in the water tank, not cause us too much concern. But, again, I am no expert which is why I am asking for opinions.....
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