Hunter 34 Replacing original refrigerator

[Hunter345]

I have the 1983 Hunter 34.

I have been living aboard since June 2012 and it has been an incredible journey since my first night.

I wanted to ask other Hunter owners about replacing the original fridge that you has the top mounted lid. This fridge has lots of room but good luck organizing it in a manner that makes for easy living.

Has anyone replaced this with a fridge that has a door and shelves? If so, what model of fridge did they use and where is the best place to find a suitable fridge?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Happy Sailing!

 

[splax]

If you have a refrigerator system already, I am interested in seeing how it is arranged. My 87 only has an ice box. If you look in the owner's mods section of this site there are refrigeration posts. In other discussions people have done what you are thinking.

 

[Richard Bryer]

My refrig has the compressor- an old Adler-Barbour- in the starboard corner of the aft lazzartte. The lines run along inside the locker where the batteries are. I suspect the box is the same as yours- top opening and immediately to the portside of the companionway

 

[Dan Johnson]

Hunter345...

Here's a couple of pix of an extreme example of what was done for a "fridge" for a live-aboard.

 

[Hunter345]

My refrig has the compressor- an old Adler-Barbour- in the starboard corner of the aft lazzartte. The lines run along inside the locker where the batteries are. I suspect the box is the same as yours- top opening and immediately to the portside of the companionway

Yes Richard I have the same setup. There is limited room for a door instead of the top hatch. I was just curious if there are solutions that would involve having a door instead. It has been manageable but would make my life so much better having easier access.

 

[Hunter345]

Dan,

Was there supposed to be attachements?

Thanks for your time

 

[Guillaume C.]

I was recently looking at refrigeration system and choose not to buy a front-opening fridge mainly because of their thin insulation. My ideal plan would be a custom-made 2-doors(so that you don't loose all the cold air at every opening) front-opening that has a minimum 3-4" of insulation. A problem on the H34 is the closeness of the engine box and stove on either side of the fridge, my solution would probably have been horizontal hinged doors.

But anyway because of lack of time I choose not to do it for now and will just keep the original icebox. My girlfriend is a bit too short and hate to bend over to reach the bottom, so I will raise the bottom by about 5 inchs... Some comments on the forum mentioned that this part (between bottom of icebox and hull) is lacking in insulation, so that will solve both problems at the same time.

 

[Hunter345]

Thanks for your input. I do agree that the only solution does seem a custom made unit which would be costly and extremely time consuming. The space is limited that was my concern as well.

I guess it's time to do teak restoration instead.

Thanks everyone!

 

[heart of gold]

I really like these by isotherm, if I had the money...http://www.webasto.com/int/markets-...es/comfort-solutions/refrigeration-solutions/

 

[Dan Johnson]

Hunter345...

Evidently the BMP's I attached won't open so here's the same pix as JPEGS.

 

[Hunter345]

Thats a great setup you have! How much power does the fridge and freezer draw?

 

[Hunter345]

What Is the make and model?

 

[Dan Johnson]

345...

These pix are not from my boat, just what another H34 owner has done.

Take the dimensions on your boat of the equivalent space and go to a big box store and find a fridge the measures up.

 

[splax]

cheap refigeration

Well, I took the components from an old dorm fridge and installed them on my boat like the Ray Keenan cheap refrigeration owner mod. Unfortunately, I have to remove the components and replace them with some that work. The fridge starts and runs for a minute and cuts off. I thought it was the thermostat and went ahead with the install. My step-dad did a great job of finalizing the installation making it neat and tidy. Oh well.