Cold plate or thermoelectric?

[Steve Cook]

I am researching refergeration for my H310. I am looking at the Coolerator sea water cooled thermoelectric or standard cold plate.Having read most of the spec's on the Norco and the Askeland products. I think the thermoelectric would be best for me.I sail in Wisconsin and the water never gets warmmer than about 74 F.which will get the coolerator down to about 27 F. (so they say)...Has anybody had any luck with a marine grade thermoelectric refreg. for their boat?Thanks.Steves/v Obsession...

 

[Michael Cohn]

You will need ...

You will need an extremely LONG extension cord if you intend to get the thermoelectric unit. Those things eat batteries for breakfast. They are terribly inefficient.I highly recommend the Adler/Barbour cold plate systems, having used one for nearly 15 years now.Don't forget that you will, in all probability, need to upgrade your house batteries and charging system to accomodate the increased load. Also, consider improving the insulation on your box as well.MCMC

 

[Jerry Olivero]

Insulate, Insulate

Steve,I would agree with Michael that you will probably need to upgrade you battery storage capacity and charger to support the demands of a refrigeration system. I have an Adler/Barbour super cold machine on my 310 and it would easily drain 1 of the standard Type 24 Marine deep cycle (160 amp hours) batteries in about 36 hours (4-5 amps/hr. average current draw). I have improved the length of time by 25% by re-insulating the ice box but it is still a significant energy drain and until I added 2 more Type 27 to the house bank, I would be running the engine every 6-8 hours to recharge a battery. I also found that the shore powered battery charger that was standard with the 310 could not maintain battery charge with the refrigerator running. After 3-4 days the original Type 24 battery would be so discharged that it would not start the engine or run the refrigerator. I still generally like the convenience of the refrigerator over the ice box but then again there are days when I wonder if simpler isn't better. Jerry Oliveros/v Almost There

 

[Don]

How did you insulate?

I have an older 31' and am also looking to add refrigeration (simpler is never better in my case.) How did you add insulation to your box? I want to do this and am looking for creative idea.Thanks.

 

[Michael Cohn]

Don -

I insulated by drilling holes in the furniture around the box, spraying in 2 part foam, and then plugging the holes with teak plugs. It isn't as bad as it sounds, but it isn't the ideal method either. Careful trimming and varnishing of the teak plugs makes them almost invisible, but the insulation is not as effective as I wish it was.The best way to do it is to remove the counter top, but at least on my boat this is a major job that involves tearing up a lot of stuff. If you do decide to do this you can do a great job of insulating, perhaps even using vacuum panels.A third way is to try to insulate the inside of the box, but in doing this, you lose space in the box, and it is still unclear what sort of material will hold up well on the inside.If the factory had done this right in the first place none of this would be necessary, but I'm afraid that since they didn't you just have to pick your method and live with the results.MC