refrigeration

[paulsilva]

Hi All

Just purchased an Morgan 43cc and need to replace 110 volt refrigeration system. Would like a 12 volt system that will keep drinks very very cold and food. I also plan on adding a wind generator in the future to help run refrigeration. Does anyone have any idea on what type to purchase, sea frost etc?
Thanks

[JohnRPollard]

We ar every happy with our 12V, keel-cooled Frigoboat unit. It seems to be very energy efficient but I can't quote specs. One thing to consider is if you are living aboard and need to do any extended haul-outs, the keel-cooled and water cooled untis will be inoperable. An air cooled unit would still work fine.

There are some hybrid engine/12V systems with holding plates that deserve consideration. Do a search here at Sailnet as there have been extensive threads on this very topic in the recent past.

[camaraderie]

Paul...part of the equation is where you will be cruising, will you be full time cruising, what size battery banks you have, how big and how well insulated is your icebox etc. ...budget limits might come into play as well and you may need a bigger battery bank and charging system so there is a lot to consider.
Can't really give you a more specific recommendation without more into from you. Let me suggest that you visit Richard Kollmans site as he is the Nigel Calder of refrigeration and you can get a lot better idea of what you need and what choices are available to you on his site by reading all the FAQ's. http://www.kollmann-marine.com/
Happy to help here as well when you have more specifics.

[sailingdog]

It depends...how large a refrigerator are we talking about. Engel, which has some very good units, and positive reviews from Practical Sailor magazine, has units up to about 96 qts in size.

[RickLaPaz]

See if you can track down Rich on Third Day, the Pearson 36.5 that we just did the Baja Ha Ha on. (He's on SSCA and Lats and Fats). He has a great 12 volt system cooling a very good sized compartment. And I'm very jealous, mostly because I'm in your same predicament. I know he'd love to discuss his set-up with you 'cuz it worked beautifully while I was aboard for 12 days. If you need his personal e-mail addy, just let me know...........

Rick

[dohenyboy]

I installed the Glacier Bay micro hps system (glacierbay.com) that runs on 12V and I am really happy with it. I have a freezer and a refrigerator on a Hunter 54 and the plates freeze quickly and maintain coldness. It was easy to install and the compressor looks beautiful. I think its on the expensive side though.

[RickLaPaz]

Originally Posted by dohenyboy

I installed the Glacier Bay micro hps system (glacierbay.com) that runs on 12V and I am really happy with it. I have a freezer and a refrigerator on a Hunter 54 and the plates freeze quickly and maintain coldness. It was easy to install and the compressor looks beautiful. I think its on the expensive side though.

Can you please define expensive?..........

[eryka]

Originally Posted by JohnRPollard

We ar every happy with our 12V, keel-cooled Frigoboat unit. It seems to be very energy efficient but I can't quote specs. One thing to consider is if you are living aboard and need to do any extended haul-outs, the keel-cooled and water cooled untis will be inoperable. An air cooled unit would still work fine.

Another vote for the keel-cooled Frigoboat. Love it! Quiet, reliable, power miser. Their website will help you calculate how much power it will draw, given the size of your box, amount of insulation, and water temp. IIRC, it was pretty accurate, we ended up using slightly less than they predicted, a mind-bogglingly tiny 18 amp-hours per day in 75-degree water.

[erps]

Check with: http://kollmann-marine.com/

Website can answer about any question you have on small boat refrigeration. He also has an opinion on using a keel cooler with the small sealed compressors used on many of the 12 volt systems.

[RandyonR3]

Two years ago, I installed a "cool blue" from Technautics. And We love it.
Our first choice was a Keel cooler but I didn't want to start cutting up the hull and as an X-racer, I've got this thing about hanging something on the side of the keel.
It kicks on about twice a day and runs for about an hour each time and I watch the amp draw drop from 4 amps to 3 amps and then shut down..
When Installing it, I removed ALL the interior of the top-loader from the cabinet inside to the hull. then I started laying up high density foam board until I reached the size of the box I wanted.. I then finished the inside of the box with acrylic. My cold plate is in the frezzer side with holes with baffles to the reffer side..
You also mentioned a wind generator.. I've also installed one of the "Four Winds" units. we checked the output of the four winds and in a 24 hour period, I logged just over 300 amps.. Just recently I've added a "Tri Star" controler that deverts the over-use of amps to the waterheater.
The Four Winds normally comes with a large heat sink to take the excess amperage...
My refrigeration is controled through a "Pro Star" solar controlar so I can read the load of the unit and see when it is running...