Refrigerators
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
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Ken E.
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Lost you on that.......are you after an ac household-type 120 volt refer, or a dc model that runs on 12 volt battery power?
RT Firefly
Enigma
Greetings,
Welcome aboard. Have you considered a domestic (from a big box store) unit with a separate dedicated inverter? Might be cheaper in the long run as compared to a dual voltage "marine" unit. Only difference I know of between the two is the marine unit has the inverter built in.
Welcome aboard. Have you considered a domestic (from a big box store) unit with a separate dedicated inverter? Might be cheaper in the long run as compared to a dual voltage "marine" unit. Only difference I know of between the two is the marine unit has the inverter built in.
Ken E.
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Norcold is the most familiar brand name, and I had one that worked fine in an earlier boat. These tend to be pricey for their size. Some will also run on propane or lpg.
A less expensive way to go, and what I have in my boat, is a household refer that runs 110/120 wall current. It gets its ac power from shorepower, genset, or from the batteries via an inverter. The caveat here is that it takes a fairly substantial battery bank to go this route. I have 1000 amp hours of house batteries that handle two refers and a freezer, all ac. Works fine for me, but dc refers use less power.
kev_rm
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I call my norcold "neither hot nor cold". 
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If you click the search link on the bottom of this post and search TF for "refrigerator", you'll get lots of good advice on replacement fridges. The most efficient 1-piece replacements come with Danfoss compressors. A couple names are Vitrifrigo and Nova Kool but there are several others.
Size is a critical dimension on selecting an easy replacement.
Size is a critical dimension on selecting an easy replacement.
Al
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Amen !! That is exactly what I did. Walmart has a line of small friges that run around $150.00 or less. (2 cu.ft?) They use minimum power although I do shut my down on anchor after the evening use. Cold holds over fine till morning when it is either the gen set operating or running the main. We are a 27 foot craft and have a 1800 watt inverter. Have found having the inverter even as small as we are, opens up several venues of use that not having or relying on 12 volt exclusively restrictive.
Al-Ketchikan
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The real question is weather you anchor out a good deal and are concerned with battery charge level.
If you run from marina to marina a house fridge and $200. inverter will work just fine.
If you anchor out with the noisemaker on or a ton of batts , the house fridge will be fine .
The modern DC Danfoss or similar 12v can use 1/2 the power for the same sized reefer.
But it co$ts more than 2x as much.
If it matters to you paying the difference will be best choice (IMO)
If you run from marina to marina a house fridge and $200. inverter will work just fine.
If you anchor out with the noisemaker on or a ton of batts , the house fridge will be fine .
The modern DC Danfoss or similar 12v can use 1/2 the power for the same sized reefer.
But it co$ts more than 2x as much.
If it matters to you paying the difference will be best choice (IMO)
sdowney717
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I replaced my stand up fridge in 2016 with a 10.7 cuft one from HDepot for $400.
Annual cost to run is $41 from yellow sticker. 120vac is just fine. And this one has an automatic Ice maker I added myself.
This fridge has a nice large layout. It cools the freezer and fridge sections well.
Doors are reversible, but it is not as easy as you think. The top freezer door hinge had no threads in the steel frame on the other side. I had to drill them bigger and use jack nuts and new socket SS cap bolts.
Whirlpool 25 in. W 10.7 cu. ft. Top Freezer Refrigerator in Black-WRT111SFDB - The Home Depot
For me I just dont see the need for a special 12vdc fridge. All fridges are going to suck down power regardless of AC or DC. And AC is easy to get onboard with an inverter or gen or shore power.
Annual cost to run is $41 from yellow sticker. 120vac is just fine. And this one has an automatic Ice maker I added myself.
This fridge has a nice large layout. It cools the freezer and fridge sections well.
Doors are reversible, but it is not as easy as you think. The top freezer door hinge had no threads in the steel frame on the other side. I had to drill them bigger and use jack nuts and new socket SS cap bolts.
Whirlpool 25 in. W 10.7 cu. ft. Top Freezer Refrigerator in Black-WRT111SFDB - The Home Depot
For me I just dont see the need for a special 12vdc fridge. All fridges are going to suck down power regardless of AC or DC. And AC is easy to get onboard with an inverter or gen or shore power.
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psneeld
Guru
Size is often the consideration for small to medium boat because room in the galley.
Plus the amount of woodwork to accomodate.
If I could have found as many cu ft to fill the void, I would have gone the way of the residential fridge. They were either way too big or small that would fit in the space.
Plus the amount of woodwork to accomodate.
If I could have found as many cu ft to fill the void, I would have gone the way of the residential fridge. They were either way too big or small that would fit in the space.
sdowney717
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I figured all trawlers had the space since they are big boats.
Surely that is a concern. I had the basic space available but did have to make a few mods, mainly the new fridge was taller. So I had to cut down a top board in the space.
and at the bottom of the space, there was this bumped out portion I had to remove.
In the 1970 37 model, Egg Harbor designed in a space for a residential type fridge. Prior to that, they had the odd boat only type fridge. This new fridge is deeper but only 1/2 inch wider.
Here's 2 pics. I did open up another back side panel and put in some metal grate in the back for better air flow. Surprisingly, that grate pattern at HDepot matched exactly what was on the other side of the cabinet.
And the door handle to the head, miraculously fit into the door handle space on the fridge, perfectly. Otherwise, I would have flipped the door over and hinged it the other way.
Attachments
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Another consideration of using a home or apt size fridge is equipment cooling. A small apartment size fridge may have an external side panel that needs to be open to circulated air for cooling. If you place a unit like this in a cabinet, it'll overheat, eat up a lot of power and never run properly.
Pay attention to the mfr's recommendations on cooling and installation restrictions.
Pay attention to the mfr's recommendations on cooling and installation restrictions.
sdowney717
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The new fridge cooled fine even in 90* cabin heat in the summer. It was a concern, but I had made allowances for that. The fridge at the back has a coil which sits about 1/2 inch from the plywood. The sides of the fridge has 3/8 on one side and 1.5 inches on the other side. At the rear there are 2 rectangular tall side grates for air about 20 by 2 inches and one large center grate low down about 1 sq ft.
Air flows up from the base passively, there is no condenser fan. The fridge is very quiet. It worked out for my situation.
Air flows up from the base passively, there is no condenser fan. The fridge is very quiet. It worked out for my situation.
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RT Firefly
Enigma
Greetings,
Mr. FW. Cooling. Good point. We're on our third residential fridge aboard. The one that was on the boat when we got her was of indeterminate age and died. We replaced that one with what I thought was a better idea-a larger fridge. WRONG. The fit was so tight, compressor overheated (I suspect) and died in about 4 years. Replacement IS smaller to allow all around circulation and thus far (3 years) seems to be doing the job. Only complaint from the Admiral is it doesn't hold enough beer. NOT for us, of course but for guests....ya, that's it, guests.
STILL cheaper even after 2 units than a purpose built marine unit. So far, just about half the $$ investment.
Mr. FW. Cooling. Good point. We're on our third residential fridge aboard. The one that was on the boat when we got her was of indeterminate age and died. We replaced that one with what I thought was a better idea-a larger fridge. WRONG. The fit was so tight, compressor overheated (I suspect) and died in about 4 years. Replacement IS smaller to allow all around circulation and thus far (3 years) seems to be doing the job. Only complaint from the Admiral is it doesn't hold enough beer. NOT for us, of course but for guests....ya, that's it, guests.
STILL cheaper even after 2 units than a purpose built marine unit. So far, just about half the $$ investment.
JC53
Veteran Member
Truckfridge Refridgerator
Not to steal the thread, but has anyone tried the refers from Truckfridge? Made in Kentucky, half the price of the Italians, AC or D.C. Or AC/DC. Look to be made for trucks and RV's. I'm looking to replace an old Norcold on a budget but want something a little more robust than a house fridge and with AC/DC. I have learned from observing that this is the place for opinions AND knowledge.
Not to steal the thread, but has anyone tried the refers from Truckfridge? Made in Kentucky, half the price of the Italians, AC or D.C. Or AC/DC. Look to be made for trucks and RV's. I'm looking to replace an old Norcold on a budget but want something a little more robust than a house fridge and with AC/DC. I have learned from observing that this is the place for opinions AND knowledge.
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