Which Refrigerator for My Ice Box Build ?

[Ocean Roads]

Gonna re invent the galley on my boat and build a top loading refrigerator.

I like the Cool Blue from Technautics for many reasons, expect it is 2-3 times the price as the Adler Barbours from West Marine.

So what's the good, the bad, and the ugly on your refrigerator brand/model?

[easterly38]

We got one of the air cooled models from West Marine almost a year ago and converted our sail box to a refrigerated unit. It works extremely well and we keep the boat on the Gulf Coast where it gets really hot.

I was particularly impressed with it while at anchor recently. After running off a two-battery bank for a day along with a light or two when needed and a stereo playing some of the time, the batteries cranked the motor without hesitation. (We have a back-up battery in the event we run the main bank down.)

One note is that ours is installed on a side of the cold box that butts up against a bulkhead...bad idea. The outside face of the bulkhead gets cold and develops condensation, so the cold plate will have to be remounted on a different side. So be aware of that when you do your planning. I would either insulate it extremely well or keep it on a side where condensation won't matter, or both.

[Ocean Roads]

I am looking into installing the Adler Barbour CU-200 water cooled unit.

Any reason anyone can talk me out of this unit?

[djmarchand]

Ocean Roads:

Well, let me give it a try and offer an alternative:

Many years ago Practical Sailor tested air cooled versus circulating water cooled refrigeration systems. Unless you are in a tropical climate, ie Miami, the Gulf Coast or south the extra current to power the circulating pump didn't pay for itself in daily amphour usage.

Since then a pretty good alternative has been developed: Frigoboat's keel cooled system. It uses a passive bronze shoe mounted to the bottom of your hull. Freon circulates in and out and gets condensed. I had one on a previous boat and I think it cut amphour usage by 25% or more.

Some have reported corrosion induced freon leakage. Mine did not.

David

[Ocean Roads]

I live in SW FL, and will only be going further south, so I think I need water cooling.

I will look up Frigoboat.

[wingNwing]

We put in a Frigoboat keel-cooled about 5 years ago ... LOVE LOVE LOVE it! It's been almost maintenance-free, silent running. We use a miniscule 25 amp-hours per day in 70-degree water for two largish boxes plus a shoe-box-size freezer. Compresser is about the size of a football, which freed up a huge locker that housed the old technology. Yes, they're pricey, for us it was truly money well spent.

[Ocean Roads]

Just priced out a Frigoboat system. Around $2,000 plus shipping and tax. Thats only about $500 more then the complete Adler Barbour CU-200 system.

So Frigoboat just moved to the top of my list. Any other contenders?