Fridge ice box conversions

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by GarthGregory

I agree with SAINTED , I am going through the same problem right now - I have a 220 volt system with holding plates , that runs via an inverter from the battery bank or shore power ,it works very well , EXCEPT that in 15 minutes it has whacked the batteries . This is a SAILING boat with no freezer/ fridge , except when motoring . I intend to fit a 12 volt WAECO compressor unit . One to run the fridge and a second unit for the freezer - if I can't find a single unit to run both - I hope to air cool the units , but will water cool if rqd . the power rqd is not that high - good luck Garth fair winds

Why not just keep your current holding plates and power them each with a 12v DC compressor? We do these types of holding plate retrofits all the time. That gets you away from the power sucking 220v energy hog compressors in converting to 12v DC.

[winschwab]

You might look at the Engel conversion unit. I installed it in an eight cu ft box that used to have an Adler Barbour unit. Installation was relatively simple, it's dual voltage, doesn't draw much power (for a fridge) and has performed really well during a six week and a three month cruise. I will probably install a second one in a smaller box for a freezer. I also have a self-contained portable, dual voltage, chest freezer (not Engel) that works fine but is a power hog. In thee past I've had a marine dorm-style fridge that worked great on shore power, but not sailing unless under power.

[Cadence]

I know I'll catch a bunch of sh@#t. I might consider an absorption unit for efficiency and versatility.

[Matt Johnson]

Good God! DO NOT PUT an LPG fridge on a boat!


Cheapest evap, compressor and thermostat that I could find was the Vitrifigo system from Sure Marine in Washington. Shipped to Florida was under $550. Unfortunately, I miscalculated the box size and ordered a Danfos Bd35 when I should have gotten the 50.... know your box size!

Matt

[Rorzech]

A boat is a big hole in the water unto which you shovel much money into it continuously for as long as you own it.

[Rorzech]

Just buy your beer cold from the store cooler (If they sell Coors they have it cooled) in quantities that last you 12 hrs and throw it in a big plastic cooler with a 2.00 bag of ice. Problem solved.Cooler makes no noise and doesn't drain your power and doesn't cost you two grand. You can by a lot of beer for two grand.

[Djarraluda]

Looking at the posts here, we have a few mixed comments but in summary:
1. If spending the foreseeable future at the dock, use a domestic machine and save cost. Fit the marine model later when you go sailing.
2. Consider your ice box state at present, does it need more insulation or not. Note that this ha to go outside of your food (beer) compartment.
3. NOT gas. Absorption is good and we are getting towards soar powered machines but not really there yet and the gas option is absolutely not a good idea.
4. Compressor model - use one with a compressor and not one of those dielectric bridge things that suck up power and do not cool.
5. Eutectic or flat plate. The eutectic holds its cold, flat/thin plate needs compressor to work more. If you have power at some times and not others, use a eutectic.
6. Heat rejection - water cooled gets the heat out of the boat, air cooled needs ducting to outside, or the cabin gets hot.

[captain mitch]

Just completed doing a complete freezer rebuild on our Morgan.
Now have a Vitrofrigo 12 volt 8 cubic ft refrig with freezer AND I ripped out the original Morgan built in freeezer and built a new box in the same place, but with much, much greater insulation netting an 8 cubic foot freezer which runs on 12 volts (went with an Isotherm with their largest evaporator plate).
Keeps the box at zero at the bottom and 11 at the very top and just sips battery power. Added 1000 watts of solar to our hard-tops at the same time.
Now our 8 trojan batteries burn down to 12.6 over night and are back up to 13.9 by 10 AM running all refrig., TVs, lights constantly.
I have 3 zero degree A.B holding plates in excellent condition if anyone can use them (now in Daytona Beach)

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by Djarraluda

Looking at the posts here, we have a few mixed comments but in summary:

6. Heat rejection - water cooled gets the heat out of the boat, air cooled needs ducting to outside, or the cabin gets hot.

I think the only summary point that could use a little more info is No 6.

While yes water cooling does get the heat off the boat..how much heat and is it a good trade-off for the increased maintenance of using water cooling? If you are able to mount your condensing unit in a lazerette or locker that doesn't dump into the cabin then you will never feel any heat addition to the boat cabin. Some system do need the air ducting, while others can run without losing efficiency at up to 120-degs F...so no ducting to the outside is needed.

[GarthGregory]

Thanks Third Day , I have been dealing with Dometic U K who have been hopeless to date .I need to size the compressor unit (s).Freezer ( top load ) is 500mm L x 400mm W x 600mm D - (front Load )Fridge is 600mm H x 400mm W x 540mm D -so both about 12 Liters. Will 1 x 12 volt unit cope with both or do I need 2x units -what about thermostat controls - I have space for 2x units - current system is water cooled . I hope this is not the wrong forum for this post - Garth

[ErikFinn]

Originally Posted by funjohnson

Cheapest evap, compressor and thermostat that I could find was the Vitrifigo system from Sure Marine in Washington. Shipped to Florida was under $550.

Matt

Hi Matt,

that sounds incredibly cheap. Was it a one off offer?
Cheapest comp/cond/ecu set I can see on their website is USD 490:

Sure Marine Service, Inc. | Air Cooled Cooling Units

Add the cheapest evaporator plate I can see USD 125 and the thermostat USD 54, and you get about USD 669. I reckon even cheapest domestic shipping in US would be 50 to 100 bucks for the heavy comp/cond/ecu. Are you saying they give you a further 30% discount off of the"Our Price" when you call them?
Cheers

[b-rad]

Ended up ordering a large isotherm setup, it was on sale and it fits in my spot. Will post up the results once it's installed.

[Matt Johnson]

Originally Posted by ErikFinn

Hi Matt,

that sounds incredibly cheap. Was it a one off offer?
Cheapest comp/cond/ecu set I can see on their website is USD 490:

Sure Marine Service, Inc. | Air Cooled Cooling Units

Add the cheapest evaporator plate I can see USD 125 and the thermostat USD 54, and you get about USD 669. I reckon even cheapest domestic shipping in US would be 50 to 100 bucks for the heavy comp/cond/ecu. Are you saying they give you a further 30% discount off of the"Our Price" when you call them?
Cheers

Kind of.... my wife just reminded me that we did not purchase the thermostat from them. That was $16 from Amazon for a digital one. The $550 was for just the compressor, evaporator and shipping.

They suck at responding to email, so an old fashion phone call is necessary. We purchased our unit in oct of last year.

Matt

[ErikFinn]

Originally Posted by funjohnson

Kind of.... my wife just reminded me that we did not purchase the thermostat from them. That was $16 from Amazon for a digital one. The $550 was for just the compressor, evaporator and shipping.

They suck at responding to email, so an old fashion phone call is necessary. We purchased our unit in oct of last year.

Matt

Thanks, still good price.

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by GarthGregory

Thanks Third Day , I have been dealing with Dometic U K who have been hopeless to date .I need to size the compressor unit (s).Freezer ( top load ) is 500mm L x 400mm W x 600mm D - (front Load )Fridge is 600mm H x 400mm W x 540mm D -so both about 12 Liters. Will 1 x 12 volt unit cope with both or do I need 2x units -what about thermostat controls - I have space for 2x units - current system is water cooled . I hope this is not the wrong forum for this post - Garth

Hi Garth
We can always take this discussion offline, just send me an email at Rich@CruiseROwater.com, but I think some of the info will be useful to others, since we do 5-6 of these types of holding plate recycle projects a month.

Running the numbers your freezer is 4.21Cubic Feet and your refrigerator is 4.54 Cubic feet.

It's pretty common to have a single 12v compressor running two holding plates, but for that to work properly they are ran in series and the two plates must be the same type, meaning either two freezer or two refrigerator plates. The reason is that since a thermostat will be monitoring the plate temperature to turn on/off the compressor you can't have the two plates in series running at different temps. In the old days with large AC systems, then was done with solenoids, but that won't work with the 12v units and it over-complicates things. So in this situation, you would have a single compressor unit running each plate with a separate thermostat for each plate/box. They will be two completely independent systems with their own, copper lines, thermostat, etc.