Fridge Freezer 220v or 12v?

[Tangarua]

Hi guys

I'm after some advise on whether to kit my boat out with a 60L 12v Engel fridge/freezer which comes in at a whopping 12K South African Rands versus a normal little 220v domestic equivalent at 3K. Huge difference in price!! Should I not take the savings and beef up solar and the battery banks and inverter?Please advise.

Many thanks
PS. I should add I'm a live on board saddling up heading outta Dodge.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Tangarua

Hi guys

I'm after some advise on whether to kit my boat out with a 60L 12v Engel fridge/freezer which comes in at a whopping 12K South African Rands versus a normal little 220v domestic equivalent at 3K. Huge difference in price!! Should I not take the savings and beef up solar and the battery banks and inverter?Please advise.

Many thanks
PS. I should add I'm a live on board saddling up heading outta Dodge.

Hi, given the price of the Engel I would suggest that a good quality power upgrade and and small domestic fridge would be a no brainer.

[Craig Cape Town]

Hi.
Google Sailorchic34 12v fridge on cruisers forum. She uses a US 110v fridge powered from 12v through an pure sine inverter. Interesting stuff.

[noelex 77]

It may be worth costing some of the South African brands of portable fridge / freezers. National Luna make some great products that are a step up in quality from Engel. As they are a local company they may be better value.

AC (110-240 v) fridge freezers vary significantly in power consumption. The better units are excellent, but many of the cheaper products have very high power consumption.

A final consideration is that most front opening fridges designed for home use do not work well on a monohull when mounted facing port or starboard. On one tack everything falls out when the door is opened.

[Bill O]

We looked at the Engel for a quick drop in freezer, but couldn't get myself to pull the trigger due to the expense and being not super efficient.

We had a portable fridge (similar to the Engel) and thought it was a power hog. The high power draw IMO was mainly due to the poor insulation on these units. Then to try to make the same cooler design into a freezer, I could only imagine the power draw and high heat influx into such a box.

We did look at an Isotherm box (or other brands of similar design from Australia) that had a remote compressor and a pre-made box that one could add extra insulation that would be appropriate for a freezer (6"). For us the slightly larger size wouldn't fit in our space, but was high up in the considerate pile.

[Pete7]

Worth checking it will fit through the companion way hatch. Don't ask why I think this is important

[Bill O]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Worth checking it will fit through the companion way hatch. Don't ask why I think this is important

Good point! This is where too large sometimes, isn't a good thing.

[noelex 77]

When purchasing a portable fridge it is important to understand that there are different technologies for achieving the cooling. The only one worth considering for marine units are the compressor fridges.

Peltier Element, multi way 12v fridges, and compressor fridges look very much the same from the outside. All these units will cool from 12v but unfortunately only the compressor fridges are efficient.

The portable compressor fridges normally do not consume much power although the internal volume is not high, which is part of the secret. There is considerable variation from brand to brand so it is worth doing some homework before purchasing. You can usefully add some more insulation and fan extraction of the expelled hot air, especially if you are using these units as a freezer.

The big advantage, and the primary reason I chose this solution for our new boat is if there is a breakdown than the whole unit can be replaced in a few minutes for not a great deal of cost. The relatively small size means multiple independent units can be used for redundancy and they can be switched from fridge to freezer depending on the need.

They are designed for 4 wheel driving jostled over rough roads and are expected to be kept in a hot car while still keeping the beer icy cold. In a marine application they have a reasonably easy life. Fridge repairs and waiting for fridge spare parts, or technicians are one of the most common reasons for delayed cruising plans so the ability to replace the entire fridge system in a few minutes relatively cheaply is a valuable quality.

Originally Posted by Pete7

Worth checking it will fit through the companion way hatch. Don't ask why I think this is important

[Bill O]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

When purchasing a portable fridge it is important to understand that there are different technologies for achieving the cooling. The only one worth considering for marine units are the compressor fridges.

Peltier Element, multi way 12v fridges, and compressor fridges look very much the same from the outside. All these units will cool from 12v but unfortunately only the compressor fridges are efficient.

Can't disagree with your comments above and our "test" portable fridge was a compressor driven model.

I wasn't impressed by its performance and even w/the small internal volume it had difficulty freezing 1 gallon of water in the "fast freeze" mode (this was our test check). Similar to your thinking we wanted the fridge to possibly be a freezer if needed to quickly cool down large amounts of fish that we typically catch. Don't remember the ah draw at this time, but the little compressor ran for long periods of time and had difficulty pulling the box temp down.

[jewt]

I would suggest you at least look into Cool Blue 12 volt system. I current have a 115 volt, water cooled freezer/ reefer system on my '89 Morgan 44 that is very power hungry and am seriously considering going that route. My current system is powered by shore power in a marina but at anchor I must relay on the inverter. Even with 400 watts of solar and a 400+ AH battery bank I have to run the engine

Cost coming in around $ 3K and should work well as a spill-over from the freezer to the reefer.

The owner of Cool Blue is very responsive and helpful and normally answers e-mail daily.

Well worth looking into.

jewt S/V Bifrost 8
New Bern NC

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by Bill O

Can't disagree with your comments above and our "test" portable fridge was a compressor driven model.

I wasn't impressed by its performance and even w/the small internal volume it had difficulty freezing 1 gallon of water in the "fast freeze" mode (this was our test check). Similar to your thinking we wanted the fridge to possibly be a freezer if needed to quickly cool down large amounts of fish that we typically catch. Don't remember the ah draw at this time, but the little compressor ran for long periods of time and had difficulty pulling the box temp down.

Sorry for your bad experience. What brand and model was this?

It depends on the quality of the unit. My National Luna model guarantees that the unit will cool to -18° C (-1° F ) at an ambient temperature of 43° C (110° F). Every unit is individualy tested at the factory to meet these specifications. There are other quality brands that will achieve this type of performance.

4WD is one of the few environments that is tougher than a boat. Car internal temperatures in the Australian outback or the South African desert can be very high, and despite vibration and shock associated with 4WD cars the models are expected to perform.

[peter loveridge]

I've had an Engel fridge'freezer for 12 years including living on board for a year. I really like it. Draws 2.2 amps at 12 volts, but only when the compressor running. Zero maintenance during that period. Paid $800 can when I bought it, if it goes belly up, be glad to buy another. I'd go one size bigger than the one I've got which is 40 quart, I think

[facciatosta]

What are the power ratings for 12V and 220V fridges/freezers?

[PineyWoodsPete]

It was the stand-up euro-flat sized 110/220V fridge-freezer in our Greenline 33 Hybrid that sold my wife on the boat - though well-smittened by it otherwise! It's a Gorenje unit, made in Slovenia as is the boat.

On the boat in the marina yesterday morning I clocked three cycles - on a setting of 2 of 8 - where it will freeze ice and keep frozen goods solid. It cycled on only every 45 minutes, running for about 7.5 min. of this in an ambient temp of 74 deg., though the nights fall to about 50 deg. After years in the past of cruising with grossly inefficient 12V systems, this was a revelation!

I knew that we have been able to hang on the hook without re-charging as long as three days with only 450W solar and the 48V 12kWh LiPo bank, using microwave and induction cooktop, with resting battery not falling below 48V (full 54.4V). But with a wall thickness of only about 1" in the reefer, and 2" around the freezer - how does it do it??

[Bill O]

It's been several years, but it may have been an Edgestar (?). It was a compressor driven model.

Many of the Australian brands aren't (or at that time) available in the US market.
We've had our built in 6cu.ft. built in fridge and it works well. Maintains ~36F w/>90F air temp and ~80-85F water temp. using 30ah/day.

We just purchased our freezer system to build a ~ 3.5 cu ft. box and it was cheaper than the Isotherm system of similar size. Shooting for ~40-50ah/day for the freezer.