Should I choose Isotherm or Vitrifrigo?

[Interblog]

New user here... I have a couple of questions, but first let me provide a bit of context. My husband and I are big camper van DIYers, extensively involved with the associated user forums. We are frequently infuriated by the poor quality of RV components, parts, hardware, etc. One of the best commercial upfitters in our universe is always encouraging all of us to stop banging our heads against the wall by continuing to use materials produced specifically for the RV industry – he tells us to use marine parts instead as they are better quality most of the time. To a large extent, we have taken this advice and found it to have merit. We buy a lot of hardware from West Marine as well as independent marine supply places around Galveston Bay.

We are considering the replacement of our RV-grade absorption refrigerator, as it cannot keep up with the Texas summer heat. We are considering either an Isotherm Cruise 100 or a Vitrifrigo C115IBD4-F, both of which are around 4 cubic feet and would fit in our existing cabinetry. Our van has been upfitted with 300 AH of lithium batteries, a 2,000 watt inverter, and associated charging capacity (specialized engine alternator components plus 300 watts of solar), so we can support an all-electric refrigerator off-grid. Our upfitter tells us that the models with the Danfoss compressors are probably the best option right now, hence those two potential choices.

My questions are as follows:

(1) Does anyone have any opinions as to which of those two might be better and for what reason(s)? If this question has been asked before, I apologize – I didn’t see anything in a quick thread search here.

(2) If anyone on this forum owns one of those two models, if you would be so kind as to email me a picture of an open freezer compartment, I would deeply appreciate it. The only marketing-related thumbnails I’ve located on the internet show the freezer doors closed. I can’t tell if the freezers are normal-sized, or are those racetrack-shaped curved coils that don’t really fit anything inside of them. I'm contacting the manufacturers, but I don't have any responses from them yet.

Thank you!

Interstate.blog – at – gmail

[SV THIRD DAY]

Add CoolBlue Marine Refrigeration to your search for low power usage and best warranty in the marine biz.

[Dockhead]

Welcome.

Rick's stuff (Cool Blue) is expensive (around $3 grand?) but extremely nice -- uses a real TXV instead of capillary tubes, special connectors, etc. etc. Much easier to service by the owner, which is important for sailors.

We are highly dependent on refrigeration, as you can't replace food spoiled by a bad reefer in the middle of the ocean. For many of us, spending $3k on a really good reefer system makes sense; don't know if you have the same priorities or cost/benefit analysis.

Whatever you choose, you might want to look at one of various units with holding plates and voltage-sensing controllers. These will freeze down the plate intensely when there is abundant power in the system -- engine running, or solar pumping out power -- and coast when the batteries are being drawn down.

Also pay great attention to insulation of the box -- total power consumption for refrigeration, in a given installation, is practically a linear function of insulation value. There is some really good vacuum insulation material available; quality of installation is also critical.

On 99% of cruising boats, refrigeration is the single biggest power consumer by far. I guess it will be the same for you. So optimizing power consumption, and managing when power is used, will be very important to you.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[Typhoon]

Also have a look at our ColdEh systems . Refrigeration is a cruisers biggest challenge . Also have a look at our blog , lots of information and videos on our site that may help you .

Regards John

[nhschneider]

We just installed two Isotherm units on our boat, both 'Classic Compacts', one the 2016 and the other a 2013. They've only been in a couple of weeks but, so far, we're delighted with them. I would suggest that you consider going a size larger than the specifications call for, especially if you travel in equatorial climates.

Wishing you safe travels and no traffic.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by nhschneider

We just installed two Isotherm units on our boat, both 'Classic Compacts', one the 2016 and the other a 2013. They've only been in a couple of weeks but, so far, we're delighted with them. I would suggest that you consider going a size larger than the specifications call for, especially if you travel in equatorial climates.

Wishing you safe travels and no traffic.

I have two Isotherm reefer systems. They are OK, as good or better than other mass produced systems. But they leak gas through the connectors, have vulnerable capillary tubes, and are hard to service and charge properly.

When I build my next boat, I will not be using these. Rather, I will invest in a better system with real expansion valves.

[Anna Sail]

Vitrifrigo makes a good product installed on many different types of boats (and RVs, both propane and 12/24v-115/230v versions). There are pictures of the interior, including the inside of the freezer box, on the Coastal Climate Control web page:

Vitrifrigo

The Danfoss/Secop compressor is tried and true, used by most marine refrigeration manufacturers for its durability, dependability, and long life. I have not ever heard of Vitrifrigo's fittings leaking, but note that I didn't use the word "never" (as in never say never!).

On the C115, the compressor is in the back and all one needs to do to service it is pull the unit out. If the evaporator leaks, say someone poked it with a sharp object, it's simple to replace.

I heard on another forum someone saying they needed their freezer section to be colder because the climate they found themselves in had gotten hotter. They simply put an insulated panel from a food delivery box into the drip tray below the freezer and presto-magico, their ice cream once again stayed hard for an extended time.

[Interblog]

Thanks for all these replies!

Increasingly I'm realizing that a marine vessel and an off-grid custom van face similar logistical challenges in a surprising number of ways - especially given that we live in a coastal area (Galveston County TX) where we've faced corrosion issues on top of everything else. Obviously our issues are not as bad as an on-water corrosion scenario would be, but we've had many perplexing incidents where stuff simply stops working and corrosion on some level is the likely culprit.

Looking at the fridge configs, I noticed that Vitrifrigo's marine fridges get shallower as they get taller, to the point where cubic foot measurements can actually decrease rather than increase with step-wise size upgrades. This was momentarily confusing until the obvious forehead-slapper occurred to me: the exterior walls (hulls / cabins) of sailing vessels are curved, just as our van's body is curved. Higher means a steeper angle, so I bet Vitrifrigo designed accordingly, to account for different space permutations.

Here's our rig on Bolivar Flats at dawn. Most of our travel is to fairly remote, no-service areas (Bolivar is not exactly remote, but it's a good local get-away with few over-nighters).

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Interblog

New user here... I have a couple of questions, but first let me provide a bit of context. My husband and I are big camper van DIYers, extensively involved with the associated user forums. We are frequently infuriated by the poor quality of RV components, parts, hardware, etc. One of the best commercial upfitters in our universe is always encouraging all of us to stop banging our heads against the wall by continuing to use materials produced specifically for the RV industry – he tells us to use marine parts instead as they are better quality most of the time. To a large extent, we have taken this advice and found it to have merit. We buy a lot of hardware from West Marine as well as independent marine supply places around Galveston Bay.

We are considering the replacement of our RV-grade absorption refrigerator, as it cannot keep up with the Texas summer heat. We are considering either an Isotherm Cruise 100 or a Vitrifrigo C115IBD4-F, both of which are around 4 cubic feet and would fit in our existing cabinetry. Our van has been upfitted with 300 AH of lithium batteries, a 2,000 watt inverter, and associated charging capacity (specialized engine alternator components plus 300 watts of solar), so we can support an all-electric refrigerator off-grid. Our upfitter tells us that the models with the Danfoss compressors are probably the best option right now, hence those two potential choices.

My questions are as follows:

(1) Does anyone have any opinions as to which of those two might be better and for what reason(s)? If this question has been asked before, I apologize – I didn’t see anything in a quick thread search here.

(2) If anyone on this forum owns one of those two models, if you would be so kind as to email me a picture of an open freezer compartment, I would deeply appreciate it. The only marketing-related thumbnails I’ve located on the internet show the freezer doors closed. I can’t tell if the freezers are normal-sized, or are those racetrack-shaped curved coils that don’t really fit anything inside of them. I'm contacting the manufacturers, but I don't have any responses from them yet.

Thank you!

Interstate.blog – at – gmail

I would stick with an RV unit, if it is labeled marine the price is the difference. An absorption unit seldom fails other than controls. Granted recovery may be slower than a Freon unit. If you think you can support total electric with 4 cubic feet, go to Lowes.

[Interblog]

Originally Posted by Cadence

I would stick with an RV unit, if it is labeled marine the price is the difference. An absorption unit seldom fails other than controls. Granted recovery may be slower than a Freon unit. If you think you can support total electric with 4 cubic feet, go to Lowes.

Our second Dometic brand RV absorption refrigerator failed yesterday at only 20 months of age, which is why I've launched this inquiry (and others). The Dometic parts have a 24 month warranty, but no labor is included of course, and so we are likely going to choose another brand rather than invest in high labor rates for this thing which is obviously so poorly made. I certainly am not prepared to buy a third Dometic, given the deplorable quality that we've encountered to date. Hence I'm considering these other two brands.

The absorption technology itself is old, tried, and true. But of course there's the electronics and whatnot that have to go with it, which are not constructed robustly. On our first Dometic, we rolled the dice and paid to replace the two most likely parts that might have failed, those being the control board on the face of the refrigerator, and a control module in the guts of it (forget what it's called). It was money wasted - we still couldn't get it to work. Aaaaannd then we bought the second one - also money wasted. Lesson learned.

[Symphony]

here's a vote to contact Cold Eh.
solid stuff, seen at the boat show!

[mr336]

Also familiar with the Cold Eh brand and it gets 2 thumbs and 10 toes up from the owner. Prolly the direction I head. Good luck.

[jeepbluetj]

For a Van, get a 110v unit that'll fit and power it with an inverter. Read this thread: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ge-180007.html

You've already got a good battery bank and solar, you've already paid for the expensive parts of a residential fridge conversion.

I have a 10 cu ft Magic Chef in my motorhome. Bought it at Lowes for all of $300
~400w of solar on the roof. Midnight Kid MPPT controller. The fridge, solar, and controller together were still cheaper than a new absorption fridge. I can run the fridge forever, at least in SoCal. And the ice cream remains frozen, unlike the POS absorption unit it replaced. A res fridge is much cheaper than a marine unit or a absorption unit. It'll be easier to install too. And it if breaks? There's a home depot/lowes/sears/bestbuy/etc close to wherever you'd likely be. (Yup, at $300 the entire fridge is a replaceable part)

IMHO, A typical res fridge is more reliable than the garbage that Dometic/Norcold is making these days (as I think you already found out). They also don't catch on fire as often.

[alansmith]

Home Depot has great return policies. Marine components costing what they do... u could replace 10 fridges and still be money ahead... yes, it is disconcerting at how bad things are made these days.... try looking at composting heads where it is all plastic and they want 1K for it. Then u can appreciate the dilemma of the boating crowd.

[Typhoon]

Sorry for the thread drift , but just to say thanks to Symphony and mr336.

And we just confirmed , we will be at the Annapolis Boat Show this fall as well , hope to see you there . More "Werther's"

Now back on topic. ..................

Regards John.