Refrigerator

[aboatman]

I have an 18 year old Nova Kool AC/DC refrigerator/freezer on my boat. It's a 3.5CF or close. I believe the model is R 3800 (again, close). It may or may not be kaput. It has served me well. I have until April to repair or replace it.

Nova Kool is far from the most widely distributed refrigerator, especially in the US east coast.

What are people's thoughts on replacements (not including an AC only dorm refrigerator and inverter because that's not going to happen)?

 

[FlyWright]

Last year I replaced my ~3CF Norcold with a 5.8CF NovaKool 5810 ...same footprint, almost twice the capacity, half the power needs. I had it shipped from San Diego but there may be better sources for you there on the east coast.

Vitrifrigo is another good source.

 

[OldDan1943]

On my N46 I had a 120vt fridge/freezer. I'd leave the boat for 2 months and "someone" would unplug the boat. My AT34 has a 12vt fridge/freezer, NovaKool 2 door, freezer on the bottom. The 12vt fridge is a bit smaller and it has to be hand defrosted but, running it off 12vt for me is an advantage. Came back after 2 months again boat was unplugged for the house side. I sent the boat to the boat yard for a minor refit, came back, food was still good. I had 2 solar panels install on the pilot house roof, charging the batteries. I was not pleased because the boat's house side was unplugged again but laughed, because the food in the fridge/freezer had not rotted as in the past.
Plus, if out to sea and I lose my generator, the main engine will keep the 12vt system going. My 500gpd water maker is also 12vt. I have a 1500 watt inverter than will keep the microwave OR the coffee maker workable if I lose 120vt.
I think, in this case, I have planned well.

 

[aboatman]

On my N46 I had a 120vt fridge/freezer. I'd leave the boat for 2 months and "someone" would unplug the boat. My AT34 has a 12vt fridge/freezer, NovaKool 2 door, freezer on the bottom. The 12vt fridge is a bit smaller and it has to be hand defrosted but, running it off 12vt for me is an advantage. Came back after 2 months again boat was unplugged for the house side. I sent the boat to the boat yard for a minor refit, came back, food was still good. I had 2 solar panels install on the pilot house roof, charging the batteries. I was not pleased because the boat's house side was unplugged again but laughed, because the food in the fridge/freezer had not rotted as in the past.
Plus, if out to sea and I lose my generator, the main engine will keep the 12vt system going. My 500gpd water maker is also 12vt. I have a 1500 watt inverter than will keep the microwave OR the coffee maker workable if I lose 120vt.
I think, in this case, I have planned well.

I would either be finding out who was unplugging my shorepower and have a serious talk with them of find some way yo lock the plug in place so it couldn't be unplugged. Some dock pedestals are set up to where the covers can be locked with a small padlock.

 

[aboatman]

Last year I replaced my ~3CF Norcold with a 5.8CF NovaKool 5810 ...same footprint, almost twice the capacity, half the power needs. I had it shipped from San Diego but there may be better sources for you there on the east coast.

Vitrifrigo is another good source.

Thanks. I am happy with the Nova Kool and at 18 years it doesn't owe me anything, it's just that I can't just walk into a local store and walk out with one. The vitrifrigo looks promising but it seems like it uses more power than the Nova Kool. Actually though, it's very difficult to compare one to the next because it won't run 24/7 so the power used depends on the percentage of time it runs and that depends on the ambient temperature and the insulation.

I have to get back down to the boat and see what the refrigerator is doing before I decide what to do.

 

[john61ct]

Regular evaporator or holding plate?

Is electrical efficiency critical to you, worth spending lots more?

 

[aboatman]

Regular evaporator or holding plate?

Is electrical efficiency critical to you, worth spending lots more?

No, not "lots". I know there are super efficient units available but for a lot more money. This refrigerator is in the $1K range and as I said, it has done well for me up to this point.

Believe it or not, we went to the boat for the weekend and found the boat refrigerator kaput. We came home Sunday afternoon and found the home refrigerator the same way. Well, it took two tries but the repair guy has it going (for about $600). Put in a control board and left. Came back and put in a thermostat and now it's working. He claims they both fail at the same time.

Well, that's BS. He put in a part, that didn't fix it so he put in another part. In my opinion the second part was the problem all along.

You can't get good help these days.

Maybe I should just "throw parts" at my boat refrigerator until it works.

 

[ranger58sb]

Out two AC/DC NovaKool units are 15 years old now, still going strong. If I had to replace one, I think my first choice would be a new NK of the same model, assuming they still make it... mostly because fit probably wouldn't be an issue.

Wish the had self-defrost AC/DC models, though. I'd probably shop on self-defrost models to see if one might exist, and if one might fit... but I don't think there actually are any AC/DC self-defrost models on the market. Doesn't seem like it would be rocket science to make one that does self-defrost only while on AC...

-Chris

 

[FF]

"Doesn't seem like it would be rocket science to make one that does self-defrost only while on AC..."

RV and boat stuff usually attempt to use the least amount of electric power, with thicker insulation so drying insulation with hot wires and door seal heaters are not required.

 

[aboatman]

Well, I'm back at the boat and the refrigerator is doing fine, The only thing I did other than bumping it around removing it and putting it back was to remove the 4 amp glass fuse, check it and replace it. Poor connection at the fuse holder perhaps?

I did turn the thermostat a few times so I suppose that's another possibility,

 

[FlyWright]

A fridge optimizer can solve the defrost problem. Here's a link to an earlier discussion.

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s31/fridge-optimizer-25330.html

 

[bgillroy]

Just installed vitrifugo very happy with it ....take look at their product

 

[ranger58sb]

"Doesn't seem like it would be rocket science to make one that does self-defrost only while on AC..."

RV and boat stuff usually attempt to use the least amount of electric power, with thicker insulation so drying insulation with hot wires and door seal heaters are not required.

Sure, but I suspect for many, shorepower (AC) consumption would be trivial for a self-defrost feature.

Of course manually defrosting isn't difficult; for us it's more of a problem to do the scheduling (i.e., when can we empty the unit so we can defrost).

-Chris

 

[OldDan1943]

Sure, but I suspect for many, shorepower (AC) consumption would be trivial for a self-defrost feature.

Of course manually defrosting isn't difficult; for us it's more of a problem to do the scheduling (i.e., when can we empty the unit so we can defrost).

-Chris

Defrosting my Nova Kool 2 door takes less 30 minutes and a hair dryer to defrost the fridge side and putting everything back in.

 

[ranger58sb]

Defrosting my Nova Kool 2 door takes less 30 minutes and a hair dryer to defrost the fridge side and putting everything back in.

Yeah, we use a heat gun, and it's relatively fast but... I still don't like to take 10-20 lbs of meat and whatever out of the freezer side for even an hour or so if we can help it.

We could carry a cooler on board for temp transfer, but I don't like fooling with those things and it'd be in the way the rest of the time anyway...

-Chris