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Old 24-11-2015, 16:13   #1
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Refrigeration for Tropical Climates

I want to convert an icebox space on my boat to refrigeration. I plan to move to Baja Mexico and live on my boat there. I plan to reduce the size of the available space as it is too large and some of it I can't even reach. I will be adding more insulation to take up the extra space and gain more efficiency. Can anyone give me some guidance as to what to buy. I've read about Cool Blue but even though I think it's the best I can't afford it and I don't need a freezer.
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Old 24-11-2015, 17:12   #2
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Re: refrigeration for tropical climates

The Engle drop ins are quite popular. I don't have one (yet) but I have not read or anyone who was less than happy with theirs.
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Old 24-11-2015, 17:14   #3
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Re: refrigeration for tropical climates

You said Baja? Well there is an expert in our midst. Perhaps s/v third day will respond.
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Old 24-11-2015, 17:18   #4
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Re: refrigeration for tropical climates

I would love some input from sv ThirdDay. I know he sells Cool Blue and has a wealth of fridge knowledge.
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Old 25-11-2015, 08:38   #5
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Re: Refrigeration for Tropical Climates

I've been fighting for a while to improve the efficiency of my fridge as the original build didn't actually bother to insulate the box at all!!

If you are building from scratch then do not scrimp on insulation. The more you have the slower the contents will warm up which means the chiller unit will not have to work so hard therefore drawing much less amps from your battery. The recommended insulation for my chiller is a minimum of 25mm (1inch) of isocyanuarte (sp?) foam which you can buy in a hardware store and also comes silver foil backed to reflect heat away. Better would be 50mm (2in). Don't forget to insulate the top and lid as well. More would be even more efficient.

Additionally ensure that your chiller has plenty of circulation around it to help it function properly. One of the biggest problems often comes from insufficient airflow to remove the heat from the evaporator. I have a 100mm (4in) diameter fan blowing air across the evaporator with a secondary 50mm (2in) fan to assist the airflow through the compartment (drawing cooler air up from the bilge). Make sure your chiller will cope with high ambient air temperatures (above 40ºC) so that it still works efficiently in the tropics and sub tropics.

If you can, install the temperature control externally so you don't have to open the fridge to adjust the unit along with an internal thermometer so you can monitor the temperature. With fine tuning you will find a setting that gives you the best temperature for the minimum of amp/hr. I've managed to get my fridge down to 10min run with 80min off for a temperature range of 0ºC to 7ºC at the base. Which is not bad with only 10mm of foam insulation inside the box.

Hope that helps

Keiron
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Old 25-11-2015, 09:05   #6
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Re: refrigeration for tropical climates

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Originally Posted by vjm View Post
The Engle drop ins are quite popular. I don't have one (yet) but I have not read or anyone who was less than happy with theirs.
I vote for the quoted above advice. You will be way ahead of the game..... IMHO.

Refrigeration is one of the never ending battles for many cruisers. My built in refrigeration is working great, but I don't use it for anything but a pantry. My stand alone unit is just so much more efficient that it makes no sense to use the built in. My stand alone is a Fridgefreeze. I am very happy with it. My point is that stand alone has by far, served me much better.
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Old 25-11-2015, 09:06   #7
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Re: Refrigeration for Tropical Climates

Quote:
Originally Posted by Franst8 View Post
I want to convert an icebox space on my boat to refrigeration. I plan to move to Baja Mexico and live on my boat there. I plan to reduce the size of the available space as it is too large and some of it I can't even reach. I will be adding more insulation to take up the extra space and gain more efficiency. Can anyone give me some guidance as to what to buy. I've read about Cool Blue but even though I think it's the best I can't afford it and I don't need a freezer.
Franst,

Welcome to the forum.

I agree about the Engle units. They are the most efficient on 12VDC.

We have a larger portable unit installed under a settee seat we use as a freezer. I wouldn't hesitate to drop one in place of our top loading fridge if I were in your situation.

Last I looked you can get them with the compressor mounted on the drop-in, or separated so you can mount the compressor assembly elsewhere.

If you go with a refrigeration assembly for your soon to be beefed-up icebox, consider one that uses water [and air...] to chill the condenser. They are much more efficient than air cooled units in hot weather. The PO of our boat installed a water cooled unit in the tropics, and plumbed to the potable water tanks to avoid the hassles of using raw water... It has worked well for us, and the water loop is optional [we can turn off the water recirculating pump and just let the fan air cool the condenser...]

In case this provides some more food for thought.

Cheers!

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Old 25-11-2015, 09:07   #8
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Re: Refrigeration for Tropical Climates

What about frigoboat with air/keel cooling?
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Old 25-11-2015, 09:24   #9
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Re: Refrigeration for Tropical Climates

Buenos Dias Franst8:

We are currently in Ensenada on our way down and around Baja. The weather is warm and gorgeous!

While we were on the hard in Astoria, Oregon we installed two independent Frigoboat keel-cooled systems - one for the fridge (7 cubic feet), one for the freezer (5 cubic feet.) Yes, 12 cubic feet in total. Both of our Frigoboat systems are the same size and use the same components except for the thermostats, which are different. They are "plug and play" and didn't require any additional Freon charging. The lines supplied were plenty long enough to reach from icebox to compressors. The compressors are really small and don't add hardly any heat to the lazarette.

I am amazed how well they keep food cold/frozen and how little power they use. Our boat has four 110 watt Kyocera solar panels. We are able to be completely off the grid for days and still make 4 large trays of cocktail ice daily and keep the freezer full, which makes provisioning meat, produce, and dairy less stressful between long legs of the journey.

We didn't add any insulation to the boxes, as our 1988 boat had about 4 inches around the boxes already. We also have a cavernous freezer. Reaching the bottom requires tongs - seriously. At one point someone made it smaller by adding addition insulation to fill up freezer space. Really glad we took out the (what turned out to be) moldy foam and returned the freezer to the original size. We need it. And use it.

The freezer evaporator plate is defrosted every 30 days. Frost builds up due to humidity because we open the freezer several times every day.

Since the install four months ago, I've had to replace each of the quarter-sized zincs on the keel coolers once. (There are two zincs per keel cooler.) They are the size of a 50 cent piece and don't wear at even rates. So, you'll need to be able to snorkel on your boat. We found a place to buy them online before leaving the states for around $1.50 each. (Some sites advertise $8.00 each. NOT!)

All around, we are both very happy with the system and thrilled with their energy consumption and performance. Not a single thing I would change, except the price. But, you get what you pay for. And we like having cocktail ice. And meat. And produce.

Good luck!
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Old 25-11-2015, 09:59   #10
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Re: Refrigeration for Tropical Climates

Frigoboat. Cheap easy install get keel cooler so no water pumps. Can use in freezer and use muffin fan to cool fridge as I did. Very helpful folks. Russ
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Old 25-11-2015, 10:00   #11
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Re: Refrigeration for Tropical Climates

Personally I would recommend pony up and get the technautics system. I have installed several of the icebox conversions and the best by far is the cool blue system and yes you can get it as just a refer but I would recommend a small freezer and spill over refer. Fish keeps better when frozen and can't say enough about ice cream bars. M2CW
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Old 25-11-2015, 11:16   #12
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Re: Refrigeration for Tropical Climates

I installed a Technautics Cool Blue cold plate system during my recent refit. It has worked great so far, it's quiet, and seems to be every bit efficient as promised. That's in-spite of the fact I did not add box insulation as everyone recommends.
I was attracted to this unit by two things; simplicity of design and efficiency. What I didn't expect was the level of customer support that comes with the product. The company's owner Rich customized my evaporator plate fittings to fit my application, and was/is always available to answer my questions. My boat is currently in La Paz, but will be crossing the Pacific this Spring. Knowing I have simple system that can repaired in-service if needed, and a technical rep like Rich available 24/7, gives me great comfort (and one less thing to worry about).
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Old 25-11-2015, 11:20   #13
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Re: Refrigeration for Tropical Climates

Over the past 35 years holdover systems have come and gone with popularity, most, like Cool Blue, were glycol filled. Some like Glacier Bay and Grunert were true brine eutectic plates (see in Calder's refrigeration book). The eutectic plates froze at a specific temperature, enjoying the efficiencies of fusion but were more expensive because they could not mix metal in brine, the whole plate and internal tubing had to be 316 stainless with a internal vacuum to save the weld points during eutectic expansion. Glycol is not temperature stable and not as efficient but allows use of copper tubing and steamer bins for plates. Yes, they are reliable and work as promised but in no way is pulling energy through a self insulating glycol media more efficient than pulling directly from the air into the refrigerant with keel or water cooling and a variable speed compressor.... i.e. Frigoboat. Steve Dashew and Nigel Calder both went through decades of evaluations on their own boats to come to this conclusion as well. If making and storing energy is not a cost factor for you then it can be stated that Cool Blue and Engel air cooled drop ins are a good price point.
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Old 25-11-2015, 12:17   #14
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Re: Refrigeration for Tropical Climates

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Originally Posted by newhaul View Post
Personally I would recommend pony up and get the technautics system. I have installed several of the icebox conversions and the best by far is the cool blue system and yes you can get it as just a refer but I would recommend a small freezer and spill over refer. Fish keeps better when frozen and can't say enough about ice cream bars. M2CW
We are also considering the Technautics vs. the Frigoboat.

The main consideration for the OP in this regard is that (from my research) I have determined that if you are going to have a box that is just freezer and a box that is just fridge, you are much better off power-wise going with two of the Technautics cool blue's... it uses much less power.

But, if you are going to have an evaporator bin in a single fridge unit then the frigoboat is the better option.
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Old 25-11-2015, 15:22   #15
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Re: Refrigeration for Tropical Climates

Plenty of boats I survey here in Queensland use a portable Engel or Waeco fridge. The boat I surveyed yesterday just removed the top of the fridge and dropped the Engel into it. My own boat I am building has a portable Trail Blazer fridge built into the galley. The two biggest reasons I think people go this way is cost and if it does break you can take it to the shop to be repaired. We had a 40 litre Waeco on our 24 foot yacht and we would fill it with food and chill it down at home. That way we already had half the food packed for a weekend away.
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