410: Refrigeration Options

[Bliss-Schip]

hi, i'm new to the forum

we just purchased a 2003 410 charter version in st. martin. sailed it back to florida in December. she's a great sailor and the experience was awesome.

we're now in the throws of converting her to an owners version, but that for another time.

my question is has anyone converted the refrigeration. we have "hold plates" in both the top down freezer (6 cf) and the front opening refrigerator (6.7 cf). both are connected to the compressor and condenser units running off the starboard engine.

refrigeration was a constant problem on our trip, both never functioning properly. could be user error, but I don't think so.

anyway, I want to convert to a more reliable system. we're installing a generator and plan to be able to use 12v and 110v.

any help in this direction would be appreciated.

[Cotemar]

Most cruisers are using the 12 volt Compact Classic Air Cooled Refrigeration Component System with the Danfoss BD50f Compressor. They have the new DIY fittings so it can be an inexpensive install.

Isotherm 2501 Compact Classic Air Cooled Refrigeration Component System

Marine Fridge Components Systems on Sale

They are installing Drawer Refrigerators and Freezers on Most new catamarans, but you need some room for them.

Isotherm Drawer DR 160 Light Stainless Steel Refrigerator / Freezer

[Emmalina]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

Most cruisers are using the 12 volt Compact Classic Air Cooled Refrigeration Component System with the Danfoss BD50f Compressor. They have the new DIY fittings so it can be an inexpensive install.

Isotherm 2501 Compact Classic Air Cooled Refrigeration Component System

Marine Fridge Components Systems on Sale

They are installing Drawer Refrigerators and Freezers on Most new catamarans, but you need some room for them.

Isotherm Drawer DR 160 Light Stainless Steel Refrigerator / Freezer

Just converted my gas guzzling compressor unit to 2 Cold machines using the BD35 Its the way forward me thinks....

[Bliss-Schip]

thanks, I have looked at those units and frigoboat as well. definitely the bd50 compressors the way I see it. no real options for the drawer style.

I should add that I will be sailing mostly in subtropical waters. air cooled or water cooled and why?

[Emmalina]

I chose air cooled for 2 reasons. 1. No more through hulls strainers and water pumps. 2. Works fine when your hauled out . We live in the tropics and not a problem.. But we did rebuild the fridge and freezer with a lot of insulation....

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by Emmalina

I chose air cooled for 2 reasons. 1. No more through hulls strainers and water pumps. 2. Works fine when your hauled out . We live in the tropics and not a problem.. But we did rebuild the fridge and freezer with a lot of insulation....

Most Tropical cruisers say the same thing. Air cooled refrigeration systems are simple and work well.

You always have to check the factory refrigeration insulation and most likely you will have to install more.

6 inch or R30 of insulation is the holy grail, but most boats do not have the room for it, so install as much as you can.

[gspeak]

We replaced our old engine driven refrigeration with an eutectic Ozefridge system on our L380. Comes with everything, is pre-gassed etc & was an easy install. The beauty of the Ozefridge we installed is that it is both air & water cooled .... the difference being that the water cooling uses the fresh water supply of the boat. We just teed off the water supply hose that was running past the fridge unit we installed under the salon seta beside the fridge.

No through hulls, problems of electrolysis etc. It is also auto DC (12 or 24V) & AC (110-240VAC) switching & has clever electronics that make it very efficient power wise. Senses when there is an abundance of power (eg motoring) & starts a freezing cycle.

We have had it running non-stop for over 2 years now with no problems at all. We live & cruise in the tropics of North Queensland, Australia.

See this thread for some of my photos of the install.

Dave

[onestepcsy37]

Originally Posted by Emmalina

Just converted my gas guzzling compressor unit to 2 Cold machines using the BD35 Its the way forward me thinks....

The Cold Machine uses the BD50 compressor, not the BD35.

I also got rid of my engine drive system and replaced it with an adler barbour super cold machine ten years ago - no regrets. I use it only as air cooled in florida/bahamas, although it can also be rigged for water cooling.

[Emmalina]

Originally Posted by gspeak

We replaced our old engine driven refrigeration with an eutectic Ozefridge system on our L380. Comes with everything, is pre-gassed etc & was an easy install. The beauty of the Ozefridge we installed is that it is both air & water cooled .... the difference being that the water cooling uses the fresh water supply of the boat. We just teed off the water supply hose that was running past the fridge unit we installed under the salon seta beside the fridge.

No through hulls, problems of electrolysis etc. It is also auto DC (12 or 24V) & AC (110-240VAC) switching & has clever electronics that make it very efficient power wise. Senses when there is an abundance of power (eg motoring) & starts a freezing cycle.

We have had it running non-stop for over 2 years now with no problems at all. We live & cruise in the tropics of North Queensland, Australia.

See this thread for some of my photos of the install.

Dave

Tried running my old fridge unit using my fresh water tank (700l) just turned the damn thing into a big radiator.. Managed to heat up the whole boat. The heat has to go somewhere

[Emmalina]

Originally Posted by onestepcsy37

The Cold Machine uses the BD50 compressor, not the BD35.

I also got rid of my engine drive system and replaced it with an adler barbour super cold machine ten years ago - no regrets. I use it only as air cooled in florida/bahamas, although it can also be rigged for water cooling.

Waeco CU-84 Compressor Fridge - Marine Super Store
I have 2 infront of me and they have 35s

[gbanker]

There is a lot of information on thew following web site that can help you.

Kollmann Marine

I am not affiliated in any way with Mr. Kollmann.

[BambooSailor]

This is what I did on my L410: I used two Vitrifrigo BD50 compressors (from Sure Marine), one for fridge, another one for freezer. I placed them (stacked) under settee next to fridge with cooling air directed outside into the salon (using large diameter flexible tubing). I used boxed evaporator for fridge and a plate evaporator for freezer and covered it with stainless steel plates to protect it (they are made of very thin aluminum - easy to damage). I installed two digital thermostats on the side of the fridge (I got cheap ones on ebay). Entire setup works very well, although I used freezer only as high-temperature freezer. It is capable of deep freeze if I wanted/needed it, but it would take a lot of energy - it is 6 cf freezer after all! I also built my own controller that monitors and optimizes power consumption, turns on/off LEDs and air circulation fans I placed in the fridge and freezer (and on compressors) and few other things. I was also thinking about using Vitrifrigo keel cooler, but they only make version without zincs for bonded boats (Lagoons are not bonded), so I could not use it. And I could not afford Frigoboat components (3x the price of Vitrifrigo).

[onestepcsy37]

emmalina -

bit of confusion. adler barbour makes the coldmachine and supercoldmachine. the link below will show them. but adler barbour is owned by waeco, so probably the cause of confusion. on the other hand, i notice you're in the uk and i'm in the states so it's possible they're marketed differently on your side of the pond. over here your unit is called the 'coolmatic'.

the coldmachine and supercoldmachine both use the bd-50. the super coldmachine can use either/both air and water cooling, although the water cooled part is only meant to be supplementary to the air cooling. we cruise florida/bahamas and have never felt the need to add the water cooling - air cooling does just fine.


Defender.com Search Results: coldmachine: $600 - $1400

[gspeak]

Originally Posted by Emmalina

Tried running my old fridge unit using my fresh water tank (700l) just turned the damn thing into a big radiator.. Managed to heat up the whole boat. The heat has to go somewhere

The Ozefridge system uses the water cooling as an addition/supplement to the air cooling. I don't have the problem you mention at all. Guess it depends on whether you are relying solely on the water & the location of the water tank you're using.

We have it hooked up to one of our 300 litre poly vertical tanks that is forward of the main salon bulkhead (Lagoon 380 Cat).

It certainly doesn't heat up the liveable parts of the boat in any way & we haven't noticed the water getting unduly hot. Also remember that it is a eutectic system & as such usually only runs 3 hours a day to bring the eutectic tank back down to -10 celsius in our case.

Dave

[gtpinhei]

Originally Posted by Emmalina

Tried running my old fridge unit using my fresh water tank (700l) just turned the damn thing into a big radiator.. Managed to heat up the whole boat. The heat has to go somewhere

How about if you use water cooling but connect the fridge to a small boiler and use this as hot water for heads? Would it work or the heat is not enough?