Visit our Popular Forums

Livin the dream · 07-05-2019, 12:47

Hello fellow cruisers,
New member and first post, so please be kind if this is a stupid question ...

I get down to visit my 1990 Hunter Legend sailboat (40 foot) almost every weekend for about 2-3 days. To conserve lifespan of the refrigerator and air conditioning units, should I be leaving them ON while I'm NOT on board, or should I be turning them OFF?

Stupid question probably, but I asked my fellow boat neighbors recently and it sparked an interesting debate!

My main concern would be to conserve the fridge and AC lifespan. Although my electricity usage is already paid for with our slip fee, I don't like to waste energy. But one of my neighbors stated it would cost more energy to turn them on and off. So I'm confused ... and feeling a bit naiive. Feedback was mixed on whether turning it ON/OFF would be better for it rather than just leaving it ON even though I'm not on board.

Thoughts?? (again, be kind ... first post!)

sailorboy1 · 07-05-2019, 12:51

wellon my boat the freezer/refrigerator take a LONG time to get back down to temp.

when you leave your house for a couple of days do you turn off the air conditioning and frig

Woodland Hills · 07-05-2019, 12:51

Keeping your boat air conditioned will lower the humidity and minimize mold growth. If you turn off the fridge, you will have to bring ice and cold beer with you every time you come aboard......

**a64pilot** · 07-05-2019, 12:56

Leave them running, the lifespans of both ought to be measured in decades, plus I believe that keep the inside of a boat cool and dry greatly extends the life of the interior, seems glues etc. fail in high temperatures, mold etc.

S/V Illusion · 07-05-2019, 13:07

Unless you like lugging food and drinks down to the boat every weekend, just leave it there and keep everything on. In southern climates, doing so is the normal practice and no one ever worries about it.

senormechanico · 07-05-2019, 16:25

Leave them on.

Montanan · 07-05-2019, 16:45

Ah but this thread so begs the question: Do you know if the light goes off inside your refrigerator when you close the door?

hellosailor · 07-05-2019, 16:50

So the OP is leaving them on 100% of the time, but really only using them 30-40% of the time. Since they are machines and they have moving parts (the compressor) and a limited life cycle?

I'd say turn them off when you leave the boat. I don't think most of us would keep many perishables sitting on the boat, versus bringing in fresh ones every week. If you only need it 3 days per week, you probably will get double the life by simply turning it off for the other four days.

If you want ice and cold drinks to be ready for you, then the option may be to put them on a timer or remote control (or tip a dock boy) to turn them on Friday morning, so they're all cooled down by the time you get there Friday night.

If you want the box to just be cold and waiting for you and not worry about the rest...then you just leave it on all the time.

Compass790 · 07-05-2019, 16:54

+1 vote for the timer

NYSail · 07-05-2019, 17:16

I never turn the refrigerator/ ice box off..... love my cold stuff to stay cold. With the air conditioner, my worry is the filter gets fouled with stuff. Wife Nd I were on boat this past weekend with heat on. By third day the filter and hose was filled with jelly fish..... sitting in one place sucking water creates a nice funnel.......

Greg

jkleins · 07-05-2019, 17:28

The thing that worries me the most is the air conditioner. I do leave mine on for short trips but I worry about that much water being pumped into the boat if anything happens to any part of the water path. You can see the through hull and strainer and they are robust enough that I feel I can trust them but the smaller hoses of the compressor and the heat exchanger are more of a black hole. I guess the same thing is true for a water cooled refrigerator but mine is air cooled so I at least don’t have to think about that one. I guess with good bilge pumps and backups it shouldn’t really matter but it still causes me some angst.

Jim

**GordMay** · 08-05-2019, 01:58

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Livin'.

Chotu · 08-05-2019, 03:08

Off for safety.

Am I the only one that closes every seacock when a boat I own is left unattended?

The salt water plumbing system is an enormous risk to sinking at the dock, especially with a pump helping the system to bring more water in faster.

jkleins · 08-05-2019, 05:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chotu

Off for safety.

Am I the only one that closes every seacock when a boat I own is left unattended?

You’re probably one of the few that doesn’t have cockpit drains that needs to stay open for drainage. I can’t close mine for that reason and don’t really see a much larger risk in leaving a few others open as well. It makes me much more diligent about checking them knowing they cannot be closed.