Richard Kollman it is great to see you here! I thank you for your writing, website and knowledge. Having purchased a 1983 CaboRico 38 3 years ago and starting a 3 year
refit, your knowledge allowed me to utilize the existing Adler Barbour Cold Machine, which was new enough to have R134.
After removing the evaporator box to
rebuild the ice box and unknowingly loosing all the refrigerant, I had a home AC company come and evacuate and re-charge the system. I came across your website and did some
research and found they had overcharged the system do to the lines frosting all the way to the compressor. Using your guidance, I was able to buy a automotive style
single gauge and R134 can and bleed off the overcharge and re-charge to an 80% frost level. The system has been running for 2 straight years, until yesterday.
While pulling unused wire from the
wiring harness, I pulled the Negative cable from the PC Board. After replacing it, I found the Thermostat receptacle on the PC Board had split apart and allowed the Thermostat
phone cord to come out. Attempting to
repair the female part, the Red and black wire shorted and burned uo the
plug wire. I cut the female
plug out of the system and did a "thermostat Bypass" test, with no luck.
Working at a Full
Service marina, I found a spare module and was able to swap out the module, and connect the Yellow and Blue thermostat wire straight to the module. Results successful.
While researching replacement systems, I came across FrigOboat system, also several friends have this system. Specifically the
Capri 50F with Speed board and Guardian Speed controller with digital thermostat.
Frigoboat
My question to you is since I need to buy a new Module, can I add their Merlin speed controller and Guardian Thermostat and update my system? Can I just eliminate Dometic's PC Board?
"The Ultimate Combo! ‐ Guardian plus Merlin: Gives operator full system
temperature control and diagnostics, plus the choice of using either the automatic speed routine of Merlin, or manual speed override."
Your thoughts are greatly appreciated!