Can i be a refridgerator when i grow up?

[Raka Man]

I have a Bene400 that has a seperate fridge and freezer made by Fridgeboat. The fridge is a side door arrangement, while the freezer is top loading. Each has it's own thermostat, adjustment dial, and compressor. Problem is, the insulation and doors are patheticly insulated. I get lots of condensation in the fridge, around the door, on the door, and inside from the cooling unit.What I'd like is to be able to use the freezer as a fridge when i'm away from the dock; which is often. My goal is to take advantage of the top loading and (hopefully) better insulation around the freezer. From what i can gather in the printed information, the thermostat defines whether it is a fridge or freezer.Simply turning the current freezer's dial to the minimal setting only makes it cycle a bit less, but still freeze the box.My question is...Can i simply switch the thermostat/dial control from one unit to the other, then not use the 'old' fridge at all?

 

[Dan18277]

Play for the Bears

If you become a refrigerator, you might be able to play for the Bears.

 

[txsailor]

Yes

The thermostat simply senses temperature. Replace the freezer unit thermostat with a thermostat designed to operate within the range you wish to maintain. If the stat in the frig. is the same dimensions you may get by with switching them out and not using the frig unit while away, but you must be careful with the sensing probe. They are easy to damage. Hope I helped. Don

 

[Gord May]

http://www.kollmann-marine.com

This would be a good question for Richard Kollmannat:http://www.kollmann-marine.com/phpBB/

 

[Barry]

Easier than you think

I have the same arrangement in my Hunter33 - although smaller units. We use the top load as a fridge most of the time - carry a lot of fluids. Before you go changing hardware, get a simple refrig/freezer thermometer that hangs or sits on a shelf. Set your thermostat to minimum (hottest setting) and wait an hour for the box to equilabrate. My freezer set on minimum is actually 50 deg, so I dial down a little more to 40 and leave it there.Anybody with refrigeration should keep one of these $5 thermometers on board to do 2 things:1) Make sure the box is cold enough to keep your food safe.2) Make sure its not too cold and you are wasting electrical power.Good luck,BarryS/V Bear Necessity