Vitrifrigo BN100BT freezer temps

[brockfromwa]

Question.... How cold are you all able to keep your top loading freezer in the tropics? My "freezer" can't get colder than 20°F which essentially doesn't keep anything frozen if the compressor shuts off at night (entirely another issue that I'm still trying to figure out). System was inspected and charged here in Tahiti and we were able to get the evaporator plate to frost on all 4 sides of the upper portion of the box.

As for the Secop BD50F, it keeps shutting down due to low voltage error when there's no solar/wind/generator on. I switched the wiring to the fridge wire run with the same results. Fridge with the BD35F runs appropriately on both wire runs. The freezer wire run is 6mm or 10 gauge and about 25' in length. Pulling about 5-6 amps when running. Any ideas on what is causing the low voltage error on the BD50F and not the BD35F? I would have guessed that when the freezer hits the low voltage mark, so would the fridge and it would turn off too, but it doesn't.

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

Check your wiring. If you have a marginal connection it might not show up with a multi tester due to the low measurement current. A marginal connection will cause a voltage sag only when load is applied. What I’d suggest is to cut out and replace all crimp connections in the path and take apart to clean any screw connections to bus bars. Pay careful attention to ground. For some unknown reason I have found more connection corrosion problems in ground wires than hot wires.

 

[Hello Below]

What I’d suggest is to cut out and replace all crimp connections in the path and take apart to clean any screw connections to bus bars.

The start up current on any compressor is significant. Possibly when there is exteral power being generated it will keep that drop in voltage above the shut down threshold. The Secop BD50F specs show a shut protection voltage of 10.4V. It also requires 10AWG for a 20' run and 8 AWG for 33' so you are slighly undersized for your 25' run. As stated if there are any poor connections causing additional voltage drop then this may be causing the error.
To troublshoot and if practical, try temporarily running an appropraite gauge (or larger) wire directly from your house bank to your compressor either in parallel or by itself by safely disconnecting at the fridge.
I was unable to find a manual for the BN100BT on the Vitrifrigo website or even a mention of that model.

 

[brockfromwa]

Thank you Captain Larry and Hello Below for your insight. Much appreciated.
I've been intermittently trying to chase down the wiring for the freezer for 2 months now and have found one connection so far in between the power source (main distribution panel) and the compressor. At that connection it is a 6 wire plug below the main panel and it is seated securely. I'm unable to find where the ground leads to yet and I'm guessing that's where my problem is.

When the BD50F compressor cranks and pulls the voltage down on my system temporarily, wouldn't that trigger the low voltage shut off on the fridge BD35 compressor as well?

Once I make it to civilization, my first purchase will be a huge roll of wire to make my own run back to the main bus bars and install a relay tied back to the distribution panel switch. (That's how the fridge wire circuit is ran).

The electrical specs for the BD35 are similar to that of the BD50F, that is why I tried troubleshooting the freezer compressor using the fridge wiring, but no luck.

Attached photo is the power source for the freezer via main panel.

 

[Hello Below]

When the BD50F compressor cranks and pulls the voltage down on my system temporarily, wouldn't that trigger the low voltage shut off on the fridge BD35 compressor as well?

One would think but apparently not. What is the voltages as measured right at each of the 2 compressors when each compressor is on separately and also when on together? That may tell you why one system reports an error and the other does not.

 

[brockfromwa]

One would think but apparently not. What is the voltages as measured right at each of the 2 compressors when each compressor is on separately and also when on together? That may tell you why one system reports an error and the other does not.

Fridge BD35: 12.2v when on by itself and when both compressors are running
Freezer BD50F: 11.43-11.4v when running with both compressors on. 11.9-12v when just the freezer compressor running. With both on, runs for about 3 minutes at 11.4v then shuts off, I don't see it creep lower than 11.3 but I read that you will not likely see the voltage drop read on the multimeter.

House battery bank: 6x 210ah AGM batteries installed October 2021.

 

[Hello Below]

Thanks. So if we assume that the resting voltage for the house bank is around 12.7V when you took these measurements then you have a little over 10% voltage drop. Not great but for now I would set aside (don't discount) low voltage at the BD50 compressor.

As for the Secop BD50F, it keeps shutting down due to low voltage error

So let's take a step back and I ask the obvious but how did you determine that the BD50F error is low voltage?

 

[brockfromwa]

So let's take a step back and I ask the obvious but how did you determine that the BD50F error is low voltage?

The BD50F has the diagnostic led attached. Blinking just 1 flash. Other than that, the overall house bank voltage is taking a hit when that bad boy fires up. I do notice that the BD50F is considerably more noisy than it's little sister BD35. Almost as if the compressor is on its last leg. Based off the serial number, it was manufactured in 2013.

 

[Hello Below]

From what I am reading the BD50F should attempt to restart once the voltage at the compressor recovers to >11.7V. So if it does the BD50F would cycle on and off? I assume when you are on AC shore power you do not experience the low voltage protection cut-out?
There is no doubt you already have these but I will provide links just in case:
Vitrifrigo BD50F
Not Your Freezer but Interesting Reading
The 2nd link states on page 21 that the low voltage protection can be set to low/med/high.
"The battery monitor has three settings; HIGH, MEDIUM and LOW. When set to HIGH, the battery monitor will provide maximum protection for the battery against excessive discharging. When set to LOW, the battery monitor will allow maximum use of the energy stored in the battery." If set to LOW than the protection cut-out voltage is 10.1V and the cut-in voltage is 11.1V. If set to MED it is 11.4V/12.2 and if set to HIGH it is 11.8V/12.6.

Note: I am still unable to find any reference regarding your Vitrifrigo BN100BT Freezer; thus, I cannot search for your specific service manual.

 

[brockfromwa]

From what I am reading the BD50F should attempt to restart once the voltage at the compressor recovers to >11.7V. So if it does the BD50F would cycle on and off? I assume when you are on AC shore power you do not experience the low voltage protection cut-out?
There is no doubt you already have these but I will provide links just in case:
Vitrifrigo BD50F
Not Your Freezer but Interesting Reading
The 2nd link states on page 21 that the low voltage protection can be set to low/med/high.
"The battery monitor has three settings; HIGH, MEDIUM and LOW. When set to HIGH, the battery monitor will provide maximum protection for the battery against excessive discharging. When set to LOW, the battery monitor will allow maximum use of the energy stored in the battery." If set to LOW than the protection cut-out voltage is 10.1V and the cut-in voltage is 11.1V. If set to MED it is 11.4V/12.2 and if set to HIGH it is 11.8V/12.6.

Note: I am still unable to find any reference regarding your Vitrifrigo BN100BT Freezer; thus, I cannot search for your specific service manual.

Yes, the BD50F cycles on and off when the battery bank is not subjected to a charging source. When solar/wind/generator is charging the battery bank, I do not experience the low voltage error.

Great find on the different battery protection settings, I'll dig into it and see what I can do to change it.

BN100BT Freezer: I don't believe they ever made proper documentation for it. The manual that has the serial number sticker applied to it in the boat is the same manual for the fridge which is a more common, front door opening with a freezer drawer on top. From what I've gathered, it was a specially made freezer from Vitrifrigo for Beneteau, so they added the "BT" nomenclature to the end of the model number.

Thank you Hello Below for your time and input!

 

[brockfromwa]

Thanks to Hello Below for pointing out that you can change the battery monitor settings. In the attached image, i found that if you add a resistor between the "C" and "P" pins you can dial the battery cutoff to your liking. I'm basically in the middle of nowhere (Bora Bora), so I went with option 1: 0 ohm resistor, using a jumper wire between the two pins. Yes, my freezer compressor will now run till it reads a voltage of 9.6v, not ideal. This is just a temporary fix till I'm able to secure the appropriate gauge wire and connectors and rewire the freezer compressor from start to finish.

Night time voltage readings at the compressor with both Fridge and Freezer running:
Fridge BD35: 11.8v
Freezer BD50F: 11.3v

My guess is that Beneteau ran the appropriate wire for when everything is new and connections are flawless, but after time (9 years), wear and tear on the compressor and connections have generated an increase in resistance between the battery bank and freezer. I'm done trying to find the "loose connection" and now specifically the ground and will just plan on rewiring the system when I reach Hawaii or Washington State.

Now let's see how cold this "freezer" actually gets!! Haha

 

[brockfromwa]

Update 27FEB23: Internal temps of my freezer do not get below 25°F. Forcing the compressor to run even longer has been putting much stress on my battery bank to where I have to run the generator every other day.

I received a response from Vitrifrigo, the support said the "BT" nomenclature in the model number specifies that it is indeed a freezer and that the compressor will run continuously. He didn't say how cold the freezer is supposed to get, so I am still curious on that front.

Has anyone experienced a failing compressor that would run but not work as efficiently as it should even after being serviced and refrigerant in the system optimized?

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

Has anyone experienced a failing compressor that would run but not work as efficiently as it should even after being serviced and refrigerant in the system optimized?

Yes, I recently replaced a 6 year old Vitrifrigo 2-drawer fridge freezer similar to the one in this link. (Not sure if it’s exactly this model, but it looks like it) ALL IN ONE - Interchangeable Refrigerator or Freezer 5.3 cu. ft. (2 Drawer) - Vitrifrigo | Fisheries Supply
Three visits from an “expert” and not fixed, it barely reached freezing temps in the freezer section, and the fridge was around high 40’s to 50F. This is the standard fridge on most Leopard catamarans and there are many complaints in the Leopard owner’s groups, but to be fair -other people are happy with it. I replaced it with an Isotherm CR200.

 

[Mechone]

On a lighter note R134a is going away and is being replace with R600a compressors, the gas runs much colder although it is flamable very little is used to charge system 12v 24v R600a dc compressor
Also worth noting is that the R-600a requires a shorter time to reach -21°C (60 minutes) compared to the R-134a (135 minutes)[1].

 

[brockfromwa]

On a lighter note R134a is going away and is being replace with R600a compressors, the gas runs much colder although it is flamable very little is used to charge system 12v 24v R600a dc compressor
Also worth noting is that the R-600a requires a shorter time to reach -21°C (60 minutes) compared to the R-134a (135 minutes)[1].

I'm going to do some research on this, thank you. I'm going to try vacuuming my system out and recharge and see if it fixes my problem. If not, I'm already planning on swapping out my compressor for a new one and might as well try something new and different that apparently works better. My initial assumption is that the different gas will work fine through my system as long as it is completely vacuumed prior to charging.

 

[Mechone]

I'm going to do some research on this, thank you. I'm going to try vacuuming my system out and recharge and see if it fixes my problem. If not, I'm already planning on swapping out my compressor for a new one and might as well try something new and different that apparently works better. My initial assumption is that the different gas will work fine through my system as long as it is completely vacuumed prior to charging.

I believe to use R600a you must change compressor