refrigerator and battery drain

[ebs001]

Hellosailor,sadly you are probably right... but probably because the average sailor doesn't rely on a battery bank to run his refer, he's nicely plugged into 120 volt shore power and therefore it doesn't really matter.

[MattGardner]

...since I am always concerned about battery drain while sailing. I have two group 27 deepcycles in addition to a separate starting battery, but I find the engine starts much faster when I use the battery selector in the "all" position...so I don't like to tax my deep cycles if I can avoid it. To that end, knowing my fridge is my highest amperage user, I always dump a bag or block of ice into my fridge before heading out on any sail trip that will consist of overnighters. I have found my alder barbour refridge cycles on 1/2 as often or so, and some of that ice remains in the fridge for about a week...plus it helps keep the beer extra frosty...always a good thing .

[ericroline]

On my cal 9.2, the box has 2.5" insulation on this sides and 1.5" foam insert on the lid. I converted it with a Sawafuji compressor out of a Norcold portable unit. It draws 6 amps at start and reduces to 3 amps as the box cools. With a bag of ice it will drop to 40F and the ice will last for the drinks of choice for the weekend. Without the refrigeration conversion it would take 2 bags of ice (total 16lbs) to cool over the weekend and have little ice for drinks. Dual battery setup, 100AH for the engine and 200AH deep cycle for the house. The 2GM20 hs a 70 amp alternator. It is a good setup for extended cruising.

[camaraderie]

Eric...check dates...this thread has been dead for over a year.

[sailingdog]

Eric-

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