Kloudie. I went with the Isotherm Compact 2017 kit from West Marine. It looks like the price has gone up a little bit. It has a large flat evaporator than can be bent (very carefully) into an L shape and mounted to the back and side wall of the ice box. I mounted the compressor in the starboard lazarette just above where the batteries originally were. I mounted the thermostat inside the ice box. I will be at boat tomorrow so I will snap some pics.
Cut out Icebox, Install a Fridge? or??
- Thread starter CoastLife
- Start date
I was thinking 12v, not propane... maybe they are more rare then I considered. I do have a 2000 watt inverter I've been meaning to install
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Almost all camper fridges are absorption (ammonia) units. They are barely suitable for campers, and completely unsuitable for boats. They only work off-grid using propane to make the heat to drive the absorption cycle. There are rare ones that use 12v, but that's just a 12v heater that sucks down the amps.
I do not like absorption fridges. They take forever to get cold, rarely get cold enough, and the internet is littered with pictures that show why a propane flame is not all that smart to run your fridge:
The isotherm conversion is the way to go. If that's too pricey, use a 110v dorm unit on an inverter. The edgestar 3.1 cuf draws about 80w while it's running, likely a 30-40% duty cycle for most folks. $230 + an inverter. Has all the drawbacks of a front-opening unit, but it's cheap and reasonably efficient (Not as efficient as the isotherm)
Hi guys,
For the type of cruising you plan to use the boat for I would install a ice box conversation kit. I have a cold machine that is about 20 years old and works great for weekend trips and three week cruising. For long trips I freeze 1 gallon water jugs and water bottles to help keep things cold. The ice box conversion kit works well do to the fact that cold air falls and will stay in the box. On really long trips I also use 12 volt Coleman cooler that fits nicely under the table and plugs into a 12 volt accessory plug
For the type of cruising you plan to use the boat for I would install a ice box conversation kit. I have a cold machine that is about 20 years old and works great for weekend trips and three week cruising. For long trips I freeze 1 gallon water jugs and water bottles to help keep things cold. The ice box conversion kit works well do to the fact that cold air falls and will stay in the box. On really long trips I also use 12 volt Coleman cooler that fits nicely under the table and plugs into a 12 volt accessory plug
I've never seen a 12v compressor type fridge in any camper. They're (almost) all absorption. Any 12v absorption unit will pull north of 10-15A, and with a duty cycle of close to 100%. Some high end class A motorhomes use a 110v house fridge. My beatup old motorhome uses a 110v house fridge, but that's because I put a buttload of solar on the roof. I'll bet a earthroamer may use a 12v compressor style fridge but I doubt you'll find a quarter million dollar motorhome being parted out.
Ice, refer conversion, dorm fridge w/inverter, or a Engel. The right dorm fridge and a good PSW inverter won't draw much more than the refer conversion, but it has other drawbacks. A 34 ft boat screams refer conversion to me.
For the price of converting you might as well get an isotherm, designed for low power.
https://www.westmarine.com/buy/isot...-panel-3-sided-black-flange-ac-dc--P011020484
OK, so at 115 VAC, it DOES draw .63 amps and uses 73 watts. Now lets convert that to 12 VDC. We know that it needs 73 watts (that is consistent), so at 12 VDC that now becomes 6 AMPS. Even it you used the inverter full time (bad idea), it also contains losses to convert 12 VDC to 115 VAC. You are better off using as 12 VDC unit.
My earlier response was based on my own experiences and reading SailorChic's dorm fridge experiences (The thread Stu linked). That Edgestar has very good power consumption, making the inefficiencies in the inverter actually a significant part of the overall draw. A quickie quote: "It's using roughly 36 ah per 24 hours. Mind you this is still spring with 65-70 degree F cabin temperatures. I expect it to increase a bit with the 90-95 degree F summer cabin temperature."
My icebox conversion in my boat draws 5ish amps when it's running. It's a bit older, I'd expect a little better now. Due to poor insulation, I'll use 50Ah/Day minimum with the fridge on. (Standard C-30 icebox.. No idea what size) With only 140W of solar, I watch the boat batteries pretty closely.
Another example, In my motorhome, I've got a 10cuf residential fridge. Didn't shop for efficiency, shopped for whatever was local for $300 that would fit in the cabinet. So it's a cheap fridge with auto defrost. Rock solid ice cream. Pulls 6-7A while running via a 1000W PSW inverter. Uses around 70AH per day, socal temps in the summer. Of that, maybe 40 from the batteries due to the ~500W of solar being able to power it all day. A 110v fridge is not a bad way to go if it fits your power budget and the limitations of a front opener are acceptable.
The easiest is an Engle sitting on a settee. The cheapest is ice. Everything is a compromise.
My icebox conversion in my boat draws 5ish amps when it's running. It's a bit older, I'd expect a little better now. Due to poor insulation, I'll use 50Ah/Day minimum with the fridge on. (Standard C-30 icebox.. No idea what size) With only 140W of solar, I watch the boat batteries pretty closely.
Another example, In my motorhome, I've got a 10cuf residential fridge. Didn't shop for efficiency, shopped for whatever was local for $300 that would fit in the cabinet. So it's a cheap fridge with auto defrost. Rock solid ice cream. Pulls 6-7A while running via a 1000W PSW inverter. Uses around 70AH per day, socal temps in the summer. Of that, maybe 40 from the batteries due to the ~500W of solar being able to power it all day. A 110v fridge is not a bad way to go if it fits your power budget and the limitations of a front opener are acceptable.
The easiest is an Engle sitting on a settee. The cheapest is ice. Everything is a compromise.