Replacing our refrigerator/freezer on our Gemini 105Mc. Need help and advice, please

[Lesliesailsaway]

Hi everyone,

My boyfriend and I are new in this cruising lifestyle. We bought the Gemini in February 2018 and moved aboard her March 11th. We are now having issues with our refrigerator/freezer which is original 2004. We know it is about to die and we are faced with the dilemma of how to get the old 24" fridge out of a 21" fiberglass doorway. Then of course, getting the new fridge in. Any ideas or suggestions wouod ne greatly appreciated. Tell is what you did. Thank you. Leslie.

[OzePete]

Originally Posted by Lesliesailsaway

Hi everyone,

My boyfriend and I are new in this cruising lifestyle. We bought the Gemini in February 2018 and moved aboard her March 11th. We are now having issues with our refrigerator/freezer which is original 2004. We know it is about to die and we are faced with the dilemma of how to get the old 24" fridge out of a 21" fiberglass doorway. Then of course, getting the new fridge in. Any ideas or suggestions wouod ne greatly appreciated. Tell is what you did. Thank you. Leslie.

Try measuring your fridge front to back without the door. Normally it is easy to remove the door.

Cheers, OzePete

[Lesliesailsaway]

Thank you for your response. The door is flush mounted to the frame of the boat.

[Bill O]

Possibly take a pic of the unit so people can see specifically what you are dealing with in you boat.

On another Gemini of similar vintage, it appears it is a slide in unit with a flange around cabinet face. The unit is most likely fastened/secured by screws into the cabinet. Once the screws are removed it should just slide out after removing the power to the unit.

On the other Gemini it was an ammonia absorption type refrigeration, so it may have both a propane and electric hook ups for the heating element. If this is what you have, there should be a side access panel to disconnect the propane and electric before you try to slide out the unit.


Once its slid out, you'll most likely find the unit isn't as wide as you originally thought.

Bill O.

[alansmith]

Refridges come and go. They had to get it down there. I guarantee you that you will not have to take a sawzall to your companionway.

Get on your hands and knees and start looking for screws on the area around the refridge door. Get your electric drill and back them out. Be careful not to strip out the screw head. Take the flanges off all the way around the door. Now see if their are brackets holding the refridge in place. Undo those and slide her out. You might have to poo the door off the refridge. Ain’t no big deal.

Get used to the idea that boats always have things going wonkers. In time it will teach you many new skill sets. You will see many posts in CF on how to fix things.

[valhalla360]

Depends on the model year but usually, they go out thru the drop down window above the fridge. You may have to take the fridge door off or even the cooling unit off the back (easier than it sounds).

Another alternative is you can simply replace the cooling unit and not take the entire fridge off the boat. Check out the yahoo gemini group, we never had to replace it so it but I recall there are cooling units you can buy after market.

[JMitchell]

Originally Posted by Lesliesailsaway

Thank you for your response. The door is flush mounted to the frame of the boat.

Remove the door of the fridge, not the door of the boat. Everything on a hing can be removed. If its junk anyway you could always cut it off if needed to remove.

[Deuce of Hearts]

I just did this job on my 2001 105MC. I replaced the propane/electric Dometic with an Isotherm Cruise Elegance 130. The Dometic fit out the cabin door once I removed the door but it was a tight squeeze. If absolutely necessary You could cut the box with a Sawzall but don’t cut any of the cooling coils. The ammonia in them is much more concentrated than what you find in household cleaner. A lungful will send you to the ER.

The Isotherm fit through the cabin door with no problem with its door off. Fitting the new unit required some minor carpentry but nothing too radical. You might also have to rig a 12v line if your fridge didn’t have one. Mine didn’t, just propane and 110v AC.

The Isotherm is running well so far. Nice upgrade. Mark

[Dougtiff]

Look at replacing with a new generation of PULL OUT drawer type, very convenient, beats getting down on you knees every time you want something, and more efficient.

[grahamb]

HI.....if it is indeed an absorbtion fridge (runs on LPG/12v and usually mains power too) it may be worthwhile to remove fridge and turn upside down for a few hours and then stand up again....often works.....and worth a try.....

[Kita]

[QUOTE=Bill O;2667510]Possibly take a pic of the unit so people can see specifically what you are dealing with in you boat.

On another Gemini of similar vintage, it appears it is a slide in unit with a flange around cabinet face. The unit is most likely fastened/secured by screws into the cabinet. Once the screws are removed it should just slide out after removing the power to the unit.

On the other Gemini it was an ammonia absorption type refrigeration, so it may have both a propane and electric hook ups for the heating element. If this is what you have, there should be a side access panel to disconnect the propane and electric before you try to slide out the unit.


Once its slid out, you'll most likely find the unit isn't as wide as you originally thought.

Bill O.[/QUOTE.......Whoa,hold on a second. ..I just had to do this job on a 2005 Gemini 105mc. That fridge runs on propane & electric & the marina order a direct replacement for that unit. That unit comes out of the cabinet very easily that was not our problem. The problem is the unit is installed and then they put the cap of the boat on. There is no way to get it outside of the cabin without taking a Sawzall to it. Even with the door removed and that thing stripped down.. the folks at the marina were just shocked that it was assembled in such a manner. What we did was take a Sawzall to it and cut the Box so that it would fit through the door. There is no way in hell that thing is going to fit through any window on that boat. We measured everything. It's just not going to happen. So we cut the Box after we remove the door very carefully so we wouldn't cut into any of the coils then we were removed that unit and sent the original replacement back because it was about $700. Then went to Walmart bought a regular small refrigerator and did a little cabinet work. That small refrigerator fits right through the door and is not a problem. You do lose the propane capability which as I have been doing my research is not really that bad of a thing. You just have to make the adjustment to make sure you produce enough electricity. The guys that are saying that you can disassemble it and fit it through the door, well maybe the old one on the way out you might get away with that. But disassemble your brand new one! It's not going to fit guys! I had professional installers on this particular job.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Dougtiff

Look at replacing with a new generation of PULL OUT drawer type, very convenient, beats getting down on you knees every time you want something, and more efficient.

Why would you get down on your knees?

If we were at the dinette we would sit on the end of that.
If we were in the galley, the bottom is about waist high and the top is about head high.

[Bill O]

[/QUOTE The problem is the unit is installed and then they put the cap of the boat on. There is no way to get it outside of the cabin without taking a Sawzall to it. Even with the door removed and that thing stripped down.. the folks at the marina were just shocked that it was assembled in such a manner. What we did was take a Sawzall to it and cut the Box so that it would fit through the door. There is no way in hell that thing is going to fit through any window on that boat. We measured everything. It's just not going to happen..... [/QUOTE]


Always love manufacturers/builders with no forethought about fitting replacement items, especially something as simple as a fridge.

Typically the ammonia absorption fridges are rugged due to in their simple design with no moving parts. Usually the units rust out (causing loss of the ammonia) or the heater element/flame in the exhaust stack goes south. They do take a bit more power (electric or propane) in the form of heat to keep the ammonia system cycling but if you have solar using the electric element no big deal if you have a 12V unit (3 way using either 110V/12V or propane)

After you extract the unit from the cabinet, would check to see if the element is working as these can be replaced. If it rusted out and the ammonia has leaked out, then it time to think of a replacement unit.

Bill O.

[Mr B]

All the coils, Etc, on the back of the fridge will come off, Then it will fit thru the door,
2002, 105 MC, I may have to do it myself yet if I cant get it working again,
My fridge is currently sitting on the Salon table, Im doing repairs to my Gem,