Should I restore refrigerator water cooling

Nov 24, 2018
27
Hunter 376 Medora, ND
The Hunter 376 that we have owned for a few months now has its water cooling system disconnected. This is understandable as it pretty much sat in the marina for the last few years and my understanding is that water cooling is mostly valuable for reducing power consumption and heat dumped inside, which in turn are mostly valuable if you are anchored/moored and living on board (both of which we are).

The input hose to the refrigerator raw water pump disappears into a stringer towards the raw water filter for the air conditioner system. Presumably it used to tee in there? There is no evidence of that now. And the refrigerator raw water output is capped off, but I suppose that used to tee in to the air conditioner raw water output? I should look at the boat's owner's manual I guess...

But assuming that is how it is supposed to work...is it worth doing or is there some perpetual hassle that lurks in these systems that would have lead any prior owner to disable this for good reason?
 
Nov 6, 2006
9,884
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Maybe it was decomissioned for winterizing? The water cooling decreases the power draw of the compressor so if ya on the hook a lot, might be worth looking into.. I wouldn't think the small amount of heat in the cabin would be a problem in your neck of the woods..
 
Nov 24, 2018
27
Hunter 376 Medora, ND
It has hoses for water in two places, and most people say they came with air and water cooling. So I am fairly certain yes. Oh and there is the switch to the left of the nav station for turning on the refrigation water pump.
 
Jan 12, 2011
930
Hunter 410 full time cruiser
My 2001 410 has an air cooled unit, the manual says it has a water cooled unit but it never did. There was a running change because too many people were having issues with the water cooled units. I'm surprised if you have a water cooled unit that it even has air cooling. If it does I bet the owner changed it and that there was a reason

personally I believe the water cooling thing being better has proven to be a myth, if the the system is working fine without it I wouldn't bother with hooking it up
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,759
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
personally I believe the water cooling thing being better has proven to be a myth, if the the system is working fine without it I wouldn't bother with hooking it up
Don's right. This has been the consensus of cruisers even in the tropics. Richard Kollmann http://www.kollmann-marine.com/Refrigeration/ the guru of boat refrigeration systems also doesn't feel it's worth the extra complications and potential points of failure.
You'd get a much better ROI by insulating your box.
 
  • Like
Likes: jssailem

viper

.
Jul 31, 2016
131
Hunter 380 Cape Coral, Fl
I have a 2000 H380. The fridge is water cooled. Uses a 1 amp March pump. The Fridge would do OK w/o the water pump running in cool conditions... not so in warm waters and with air temps over 85 unless you have an air cooled fridge compressor.

When the filter would get growth in it and the stream came to a stop , then it would overheat and of course as the flow reduced, it was eat your ice cream quickly.... The problem with water cooled.

The guys working on my boat said they disconnected the cooling lines on their boats. Did not work for me in the summer heat.

It needs to have some water passing thru even if a trickle not to overheat under most conditions unless they replaced the compressor with the air cooled version (many did).

So, yes you need the pump to run if the Compressor for the fridge is water cooled. Blow out the lines regularly. Clean the filter. In some areas such as Charleston, growth of small shell creatures occurs quickly( again a reason why air cooled is better).
I had a 12 Volt March Pabst submersible, 0893-0030-0206. 1 amp. However its installed in the bilge under sink in areas of no water and appeared in S. Florida to overheat w/o being submersed when air Temp reached over 85 degrees in cabin. Some say the submersible must be in water... others say it will work in the air w/o being submersed.

Switched to the air cooled version of the same March Papst motor. It is not sealed, which the submersible is so air can cool the motor of non submerisable. I mounted on rubber shocks. It sends a larger stream of water and has not over heated.

Make sure you get the March pumps that are rated for 40,000 hours and not a few hundred hours.

The pumps are very expensive $300...
If you burn out your Fridge compressor, then however you are talking much bigger bucks and your unit is no longer made.

The Fridge unit is however really good when it's working and water is being pumped. My fridge water output lines do not merge with my AC cooling lines, although they do go into the same department with the A/C cooling lines ( make sure you flush them out with a hose frequently and clean the air filter)… With the dog on board and living onboard with continual use, I consider cleaning filters and flushing out a monthly task for both Fridge a A/C systems. if you have the newer air cooled fridge compressor, then you have one less maintenance task.

Regards,
Viper
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Likes: aaronaxvig
Dec 14, 2018
48
Ericson/ Hunter Ericson 29 / Hunter 376 Pensacola, FL
On our 97 376 the fridge has air cooling and also has a water cooling loop in the refrigerant line before the air cooled condenser coil, the water intake is on starboard across from AC water intake and discharge is separate but by AC discharge starboard hull, the pump is under the dinette.

Looking on line the new Alden Barbour come with water cooling loop but the pump and hardware kit for water cooling is opional, states air or water cooled, water is an option for warmer areas.
 
Apr 1, 2019
14
Hunter 376 Niantic
I just installed a new Isotherm on my 376. This unit has a cooling loop in a through hull for the sink drain and fit under the sink with little space lost. The old water cooled unit never worked well for me, I had to clean the filter weekly because of growth in the filters, the best I could get out of that system was a slow trickle. Still yet to be fully tested but overall I think this system will be a great improvment over the old one and I gain a bit of storage back.
 
Jan 5, 2018
187
Hunter H34 0828 New Orleans
I installed an 2551 also this week. Been very impressed. I keep the setting on 1.5 and it keeps the box at about 38F.

Overall, it’s a quiet booger. Very pleased... Shannon