CU200 fridge bad installation for 20 years?

[Canibul]

We bought an old boat. While replacing control module on cu200 fridge dual compressor setup I found something that doesn't make sense to me. Can anyone see a reason that the brine output of a seldom used water-maker should be plumbed through the cooling coil of the little compressor?

I'd think that this means the fridge compressor only got cooling water when the water-maker was pumping warm brine through it. That would have been very seldom, and not in the past six years.

Shouldn't the compressor have its own pump? It has the output to control one. I this system was installed by rich beers in the early 90s. It was working until we got struck by lightning on the way home with it 20 years later. Am I mistaken on the plumbing error?

[SV THIRD DAY]

Holy Smokes....talk about a screwey way to plumb things!

Brine from the water maker is even more corrosive than normal sea water with it's concentrated salt content. I would get rid of that set-up Pronto!

Regarding the water maker brine.
The two common ways to plumb it overboard. Thr first is with an above the water line plastic through hull. The second and most common in the installations we do is to tie the brine discharge into a galley sink or head sink drain. This way you have one less hole in the boat.

For the CU200 water cooling.
I would run the system without the water cooling circut even hooked up and save yourself the amp draw and maintenance headache of adding water cooling to the unit.

[Canibul]

Thanks for that reply. I couldn't believe it when I first saw how it was hooked up. obviously, you're correct in that the little compressor runs just fine without the cooling water, since it's been doing so without it for so long. I have to believe it would be even more efficient if it had a small pump but you're also right in pointing out that a small pump would draw more amps meaning the low drain compressor would be somewhat self defeating.

The brine output is plumbed okay at the far end. It comes from the little PUR 35 watermaker to the compressor, and out of the compressor to a T fitting on the output side of the cooling water from the big compressor. I can easily sort that out, especially if I really don't need to pump water through the CU200.

[jannw]

it's kinda screwy but the only way I can think it would make sense is if the original setup was a engine driven refrig and an engine driven desal, in which case running both at the same time would mean that there was water on the cooling coil when it was actually being used ... but that's pretty screwy!

[Canibul]

Yes,I agree. I've tried to think of a scenario where this is the best configuration and can't. There is a platform next to the other engine that looks like it is for mounting some belt driven thing, but that's in the other hull from the refrigeration. I guess an engine driven RO. And even then, I can't see running brine over to the other hull when fresh seawater is already available. I'm thinking it must have been a mistake. Never noticed until the fourth owner.