Any experiance w/ Isotherm SP Water Cooling?

[Morning Light]

Does anyone have experiance w/ the Isotherm SP refridgeration cooler ?
It seems ideal if it works, both long term and initially, but it seems illogical to think it could work as well as a pump driven cooler or even an air fan.
Is good enough, enough ? Or is compressor time a direct function of cooling efficiency. Do they foul and lose effectiveness ?
I guess the design is too new for any long term evaluation, but I'd love to hear of your experiance.
Robert sv Morning Light

[Capt.Alex]

No experience with the Isotherm unit, however I just installed the frigoboat system with their keel cooler. Its the exact same concept, just a different design. That being said, I am in a marina basin in Florida with zero current and 87 degree water temps. The system works flawlessly. The beauty is, no pumps or fans using up amps. The refrigerant is circulated through the keel cooler by the compressor. The tiny Danfoss compressors take up very little space and are nearly silent and vibration free.

[Dockhead]

I have been living with two of these units for four years, one for a front-loading fridge and the other for a separate freezer.

It works great.

Naturally you have to keep them clean, but I lift & scrub every 3 or 4 months anyway.

It's hard for me to compare with other types, since my last boat was kept in Florida with much warmer water, and so a lot more work for the refrigeration. The water is cool here, so not much of a test.

But I will say that it works so well that you can run it on the hard without any dramatic loss of efficiency. I have mine in deck drains, so air circulates past the coils by natural convection, and it works.

Unlike on my last boat, there are no extra sea cocks or sea water flowing around the boat, no pump.

I am very pleased with it.

It is not the "exact same concept" as the Frigoboat system, which is a real keel cooler with a plate mounted outside the hull. Frigoboat is highly respected and is original fitment to Oyster yachts. I think it's probably more robust than Isotherm, as there are no exposed coils. But I would guess that Frigoboat is less efficient. The Isotherm system is supposedly "self pumping" (hence "SP") and supposedly uses any slight movement of the boat to create circulation around the coils. Can't say whether this is true, or hype, but the system works very well. As I said, I am very pleased with it.

[sbrin]

3'rd year on mine (holding plate) and am quite pleased. Zink has lasted 3 seasons but will probably replace next spring for "peace of mind's" sake.