Converting an ice box to refridgerator

[Charlie98117]

I'm thinking of converting that huge ice box to a refrigerator. I haven't found much in the archives for doing this on a H34. Anyone able to offer any advice? What products work well? Are the old Hunter ice boxes well insulated? It looks like it would be a fairly simple conversion, i was thinking to locate the compressor just aft of the ice box in the basement. Would it get too warm down there without adding ventilation?

 

[markwbird]

West Marine sells a variety of kits for doing this. I would not put the compressor in the aft berth. It would get hot. Maybe in the starboard lazarette or where the trash can is.

 

[Stu Jackson]

There is generally NO insulation on ice boxes from production boat builders. NONE.

Most fridge units come with 16 feet of hose between the compressor and the evaporator plate (in the fridge). Find a place with lots of air around it. They also sell an add-on ventilation kit, which for some is just a duct with a grille, others with fans. Try to not need to do this.

Our compressor is in our aft lazarette and has been working fine for the past 28 years, even up in the hot California Delta (100F days).

One thing to consider: if you like anchoring out instead of marina hopping, you MUST have a good sized house bank, usually 400 ah. The fridges use up to 100 ah a day. Record of Daily Energy Use of 100 ah per day:

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,6353.msg41471.html#msg41471

 

[kito]

I am going to install my icebox conversion compressor under the lazerette. I will also install an inline blower for circulation and to help eliminate any diesel fumes. I found a new-old-stock Norcold unit. Not the most highly regarded units but it was cheap plus I like the fact that it is both ac/dc and automatically switches to ac when plugged to shorepower. It is rated at 4.5 amp dc. Stu is right, my icebox insulation doesn't exist .....yet.

 

[kloudie1]

The ice box in the old 34's was very well insulated .. I think the bottom is the only place where there can be a problem and it is not in all of the boats.. Sharing a wall panel with the engine box is a negative, but if your sound insulation is good on the stbd wall, it'll be fine. One look at the 3" thick lid says that Hunter was paying attention when they did the icebox..The insulation on the back and front walls is over an inch thick. My refrigerator unit had a water cooled condenser on it and it worked really well until the ice tray wore a hole into the evaporator tubes. The compressor and condenser were mounted on the wall over the fuel tank but like I said, it was water cooled so it could cope with 100 F air.. I removed all the parts to fix it maybe one day.. it holds block ice for 6 days or so if careful.

 

[Charlie98117]

Thanks for the responses. The starboard lazerette does seem the best spot for the compressor, it doesn't have fresh air but there is a lot of air volume. If I got a unit with long enough refrigerant lines I could build a hang down shelf below the stern locker that would be out of the way.

I have 420 AH of house bank so I should be able to run off grid for a couple days. I guess I should also think about getting a battery monitor to keep tabs on the power situation.

I'm going to poke around this weekend to measure up my ice box volume and see if I can determine the existence of any insulation.

 

[Charlie98117]

The ice box in the old 34's was very well insulated .. I think the bottom is the only place where there can be a problem and it is not in all of the boats.. Sharing a wall panel with the engine box is a negative, but if your sound insulation is good on the stbd wall, it'll be fine. One look at the 3" thick lid says that Hunter was paying attention when they did the icebox..The insulation on the back and front walls is over an inch thick. My refrigerator unit had a water cooled condenser on it and it worked really well until the ice tray wore a hole into the evaporator tubes. The compressor and condenser were mounted on the wall over the fuel tank but like I said, it was water cooled so it could cope with 100 F air.. I removed all the parts to fix it maybe one day.. it holds block ice for 6 days or so if careful.

Claude, I thought the same thing - with that much insulation on the lid I'd be surprised if they didn't put any in the walls! I'm thinking I could add some foam and a floor over the bottom to improve the heat loss thru the hull. You mention insulation at the front and back walls, did they not put any on the sides?

 

[Stu Jackson]

The ice box in the old 34's was very well insulated .

Glad I was wrong! Wouldn't be the first time or the last! :dance:

 

[woodster]

you may want to look into the Indel refer units they are very good and efficient as it comes

not cheap but you can shop around and find a good price

 

[kloudie1]

Charlie, I am pretty sure the insulation on the sides is fine too....
Stu, I was amazed when I found how good the factory insulation is on the 34's. I have been on a bunch of friend's boats that literally had little to no insulation on the box.. the worst is a buddy's O'Day 290.. You can look under the cabinet and see the inner walls of the icebox.. no insulation. Have been on a couple of Pearson
's of the same vintage and found no insulation.. In this part of the world, ice in those boxes results in immense amounts of condensation drooling down inside the cabinets..

 

[PGIJon]

I'm actually thinking about getting a portable 12v/120v cooler that will fit under the table. This should save some serious battery consumption. Here is an example... http://www.my12voltstore.com/Engel_MT27F_U1_Portable_AC_DC_12_Volt_Fridge_p/mt27f-u1.htm

 

[Don Crowther]

PGI
At 22 cubic feet how does that compare to your installed cooler? Could you replace the existing cooler with it?

 

[Charlie98117]

Don. the cooler Jon is looking at is actually 22 quarts, my conversion says that is 0.735 cubic feet. I actually have a 44 quart version of that type cooler. We have it sitting on the floor in the forward cabin. It works fine but takes up too much precious floor space IMO, that's why I'm looking at converting the ice box. They do use much less power than a condensing type refrigeration unit but you're getting much less capacity too.

 

[PGIJon]

I was thinking about supplementing the ice box, not getting rid of it. If I were to get one of the freezer/cooler combos that run both on AC and DC and then before I went cruising I could freeze some items while at the dock running on 120. Then once we set off the unit would only require minimum amps under DC power, since everything is already frozen solid. As I needed items I would transfer the frozen items to the ice box to thaw. This would also extend the life of the perishables that are in the ice box.

 

[splax]

cheap refrigeration conversion

I disassembled a dorm fridge, cut a hole to pass the evaporator through the STBD icebox wall from the trash bin space, mounted the compressor and condenser in the space with the evaporator in the icebox, but I had messed up the equipment with the install and need another "donor" fridge.

 

[Charlie98117]

If I were to get one of the freezer/cooler combos that run both on AC and DC and then before I went cruising I could freeze some items while at the dock running on 120. Then once we set off the unit would only require minimum amps under DC power, since everything is already frozen solid. As I needed items I would transfer the frozen items to the ice box to thaw.

That is a great idea, we were talking about something like that as an alternative to doing the refrigeration system. You could also use a bunch of the blue reusable ice packs when you have shore power to keep the ice box cool while cruising.

That said however I put a lot of value on convenience especially for something I will hopefully be using for years. Having a way to cool the box by simply flipping a switch is very attractive to me. It's a pretty expensive project but I've decided it is worth it for the simplicity and convenience.

Looking at Isotherm kit http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|2276204|2276226|2530801&id=60929 They seem to have a pretty good reputation. I like the O evaporator just for the ability to have ice cubes. I'll have to figure a way to lash down the trays so they don't wear through the tubes!

 

[seadaddler]

water cooled

When I had a 2001 Hunter 290 the dealer added a cold plate
with a water cooling type zinc mounted to the Hull and it worked really good.
Nick

 

[Benny17441]

Don't forget to fit a plug for the drain hole; you do not want the cold air to escape but might want to clean the refrigerator every once in a while.

 

[heart of gold]

This is what I installed and it works great.

http://ca.binnacle.com/Portable-Fre...CONVERSION-KIT-LT201RT6-12V/product_info.html