Refrigeration, on or off

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J

John J

We have owned our C-310 since 2000 and generally leave the refrigerator, and battery charger on while away. If you shut everything down, it takes a number of hours before the fridge is re-cooled, and don't we all like that nice cool beveridge when we get settled in. Some dock mates have warned about leaving everythng on, as a C-320 owner had his boat burn to the water line due to an electrical problem. What do you do, and do you think there is any concern? Thanks John J
 
Feb 26, 2004
23,319
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Try 7 - 11

You could get a cold beer there on the way to your boat, avoid keeping your boat plugged in all the time, extend the life our your fridge and miss having your boat burn down. Five bucks for a cold six pack sure beats $ egads thousands for a new boat. Stu PS This question comes up about once every few months. Try the link, too.
 

Rick D

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Jun 14, 2008
7,203
Hunter Legend 40.5 Shoreline Marina Long Beach CA
Not Bad For Fridge

I used to turn mine off all the time when I left it and also at night when on the hook. The AB tech suggested that *for betterment of the fridge unit* it was better to leave it on all the time. As for when on the hook, better to drop the temp down to conserve batteries than shut on/off. FWIW, Rick D.
 

Les

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May 8, 2004
375
Hunter 27 Bellingham, WA
Hold on now, there are two items here.

One item deals with a boat burning down because of an electrical problem. The second item is what is best for the refrigerator/freezer system of your boat. If a boat burned down because of an electrical failure, then one needs to find out what went wrong in the system. Why were there no fuses or panel switches? If you have a short, a fuse should blow. I have my freezer/refrig monitored and maintained by a local Marine Refrigeration Company (SeaFreez) who do most of their work on commerical fishers. They tell me to run my freezer/refrig all the time throughout the year. Look at the refrigerators that we have at home. They run for twenty years without a problem. I use an Xentex battery charger (20+), golf cart batteries (six years so far), a smart regulator and a combiner. Everything is fused or switched. We can spend three to four days on anchor and still run our refrigeration system. Good luck. Les
 
Jun 4, 2004
629
Sailboat - 48N x 89W
On-Line Refer' Help

Richard Kollmann offers the best on-line referrigeration forum I'cve seen. Excellent, fast (timely) answers! Goto: http://www.kollmann-marine.com/phpBB/ at http://www.kollmann-marine.com Rgards, Gord
 
Jun 4, 2004
44
- - Biloxi, Mississippi
Leave it on

I have a Hunter 320 and I generally leave the frig on when I leave, there are amble breaker switches if there is a problem. I once had an electrical problem, it didn't have anything to di with the refrigerator, I got it fixed and everything checked out by an electrician. The electrical system is one thing I would not do myself, because it's too easy to have a fire. When I'm away from the slip I generally just fill the frig with ice and turn off the electric refrigeration system untill all the ice melts (it drains into the bilge). ajp
 
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