Refrigerator Replacement

[lweeks]

As a new owner of a Hunter 33, I bought an AC refigerator and an inverter. It trips the breaker. Should I return it for a DC one?

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Number ? Numbers ?

Without numbers this is strictly a guessing game.

And the people on this site who know about electrical matters don't guess.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Very true. Also didn't explain what breaker popped...

And the people on this site who know about electrical matters don't guess.

Here's an example of what does work:

Sailorchic34's New Dorm Fridge - inverter driven dorm fridge
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f115/sailorchic34s-new-fridge-180007.html

 

[Terry Cox]

Did your boat come with an icebox? If so, and it were my boat, I would go with an AB DC system. Evaporator goes inside the box, the rest (compressor, condenser) some close convenient spot. If not, ...

 

[dlochner]

Running an AC load off of DC is a very inefficient way of running a refrigerator. At best the inverter is only about 90% efficient, every time the refrigerator comes online about 10% of the energy being used is wasted, turned in to heat.

What size inverter do you have? It may not be able to handle the inrush current when the compressor kicks on, which would cause the circuit breaker to blow.

As @Ralph Johnstone said, we need to know more about the electrical setup on your boat.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Dave, you're right, however the reason i saved Sailor Chick's article was it includes her load analysis, which shows that as far as ah are concerned it's not so bad. I was surprised. That's why I saved and share it often. Might work for this skipper who already bought an AC. AC something is the question now, among others...