Hello,
We have a 90's vintage Adler Barbour Super Cold Machine on our boat. It works great at keeping our food cold and seems to be a solid device. Everything works as expected when on shore power--the compressor kicks on and the fan runs/cools the ice box. According to my OEM amperage gauge (analog meter, came with the boat), it draws about 5 or 6 amps (more than I'd like, but the cost of refrigeration).
But, it seems to have an issue with the compressor starting when we are on battery power. We have a 2 year old single 4D lead acid house battery. When at anchor the compressor tries to turn on, I see the meter spike to about 7 amps, then the compressor stops. It will cycle like this almost indefinitely. Maybe once every 20 times the compressor will stay on and it will cool.
This feels hard on the compressor, so I shut the unit off when we're not under power.
That said, it feels like this should work properly.
We have a fifteen foot wiring run from the electric panel to the fridge, it's wired with 8AWG wire, which I think should be able to handle that amperage with out issue. The house battery wiring is about 7 foot length run with 2/0 cable.
I'd assume that we're not overdrawing anywhere. If the fridge wiring were under sized I would assume that it would pump even when the charger is running. The battery is in good condition (and exhibited this problem even when new), so I don't think it's a battery problem.
I'm open to suggestions as to next troubleshooting steps.
Thanks!
We have a 90's vintage Adler Barbour Super Cold Machine on our boat. It works great at keeping our food cold and seems to be a solid device. Everything works as expected when on shore power--the compressor kicks on and the fan runs/cools the ice box. According to my OEM amperage gauge (analog meter, came with the boat), it draws about 5 or 6 amps (more than I'd like, but the cost of refrigeration).
But, it seems to have an issue with the compressor starting when we are on battery power. We have a 2 year old single 4D lead acid house battery. When at anchor the compressor tries to turn on, I see the meter spike to about 7 amps, then the compressor stops. It will cycle like this almost indefinitely. Maybe once every 20 times the compressor will stay on and it will cool.
This feels hard on the compressor, so I shut the unit off when we're not under power.
That said, it feels like this should work properly.
We have a fifteen foot wiring run from the electric panel to the fridge, it's wired with 8AWG wire, which I think should be able to handle that amperage with out issue. The house battery wiring is about 7 foot length run with 2/0 cable.
I'd assume that we're not overdrawing anywhere. If the fridge wiring were under sized I would assume that it would pump even when the charger is running. The battery is in good condition (and exhibited this problem even when new), so I don't think it's a battery problem.
I'm open to suggestions as to next troubleshooting steps.
Thanks!