Truckfridge? Anybody tried?

[JC53]

In my search for a new, reliable,reasonably priced replacement for my dead Norcold I ran across a brand called Truckfridge. Half the price of the Italian brands, same compressor, made in Kentucky for the trucker/RV folks. I think they are affiliated with Indel. They offer D.C. And AC/DC models that seem to compare well with marine versions. Anyone had experience with this brand?

 

[Shrew]

This looks like it was posted in the sub-forum "How To Use The Forum, Site News & Account Concerns".

I assume this should be moved to an appropriate sub-forum.

As for non-marine products, I typically have two questions:

1) Is it made from 'marine-grade' materials? (i.e. non-ferrous materials)

2) Is it ignition protected?

 

[FF]

"As for non-marine products, I typically have two questions:

1) Is it made from 'marine-grade' materials? (i.e. non-ferrous materials)

2) Is it ignition protected?"

These questions for a FRIDGE?

 

[CaptTom]

I'd be interested in hearing more. I've gotten a lot of good stuff from trucking stores/sites.

In the galley of my diesel-fired boat, I'm not much worried about ignition protection or salt spray.

 

[olegreg]

Just a note on non marine rated items on boats. Many years ago, I lost a sailboat to fire. The insurance company tried to not pay blaming the truck style inverter I was using until a 3rd party investigator proved it was the kerosene oven we used to keep the cabin warm when underway.
Point is that if they find any non UL devices on board, they will point at that first.

 

[Conrad]

Not a fridge, but our Pro-Heat furnace is built for trucks and busses and works great on our NT. Less than half the price of a marine unit.

 

[Irish Rambler]

There's nothing wrong in using trucking accessories as it's just the same gear with a different badge, only the name and price are different.

 

[johnrupp]

Not a fridge, but our Pro-Heat furnace is built for trucks and busses and works great on our NT. Less than half the price of a marine unit.

Do you have the 30 or 45000 BTU model? How many heat exchangers are you using?

Thanks

 

[psneeld]

"As for non-marine products, I typically have two questions:

1) Is it made from 'marine-grade' materials? (i.e. non-ferrous materials)

2) Is it ignition protected?"

These questions for a FRIDGE?

you bet....

My last Norcold was rusting faster than I could vacuum the rust flakes...the new fridge has magnetic seals...probably steel frame too.

It isn't in the bilge so ignition protected is not relevant.

 

[Irish Rambler]

I picked up a 5 KW ex bus Eberspacher to replace the 3.5 KW and it works perfect for a quarter the price.
Think out of the box, there's not enough profit to make pure marine units that's why your engines are all truck/machine based.
Perkins 4107 or 8' power forklifts and MF 35 tractors, the 4236 is used in JCB's and MF tractors as well as plant and generators for example.
Just the same with fridges, many are used by the medico's, RV's, horseboxes etc.

 

[what_barnacles]

you bet....

My last Norcold was rusting faster than I could vacuum the rust flakes...the new fridge has magnetic seals...probably steel frame too.

It isn't in the bilge so ignition protected is not relevant.

what fridge do you have now?

 

[Irish Rambler]

Just my 2 penn'orth.
I've been around a while and tried various fridges over time, Dometic, Engel and Isotherm but the best boat fridge by far, head and shoulders above the rest is a Vitrifrigo larder fridge sold by Penguin Refrigeration.co.uk.
Excellent efficiency and I love the automatic 12/240 v changeover, it's easy on the juice so a solar panel can cope easily.
No, I've absolutely no connection whatsoever with them except as a satisfied customer.
Because they're more expensive I wouldn't buy one before because stupid me spent twice the price on cheaper versions that broke down.
When I asked for a replacement Isotherm freezer door that kept breaking they wanted to charge me 2 thirds of the price of a new fridge, for a piece of plastic 9x 4 ?
You get what you pay for I guess and because I throw money around like a man with no arms I took a long time in the learning !
The real beauty of TF is that you guys are getting years of our experience.
Don't waste what you learn of our collective experience TF is way to valuable.

 

[psneeld]

what fridge do you have now?

<H1>Vitrifrigo Sea Classic DP2600iAC Refrigerator / Freezer

<LI class=layout>Volume: 8.1 cu. ft., 3-Sided Flush Mount Flange, Door Swing: Right
<LI class=layout>Door, Front Panel and Flange Color: Black
<LI class=layout>Power: 12 / 24 Volt DC and 100 - 240 Volt AC
</H1>

 

[River Cruiser]

I replaced my 28 year old Norcold with a new model DE-0061. It is a much better unit, the freezer keeps ice cream frozen, will freeze meat rock hard. It's very quite and much more energy efficient on DC current with the Danfoss compressor. If I see a boat with a household fridge it makes me wonder what other things a owner may of done to save $$$, unless it's a houseboat.

 

[psneeld]

I almost went Norcold also....I kept checking and it seemed the models in the last few years really seemed better from (most) reports.

But I just couldn't verify enough so I chickened out...and a great sale deal came along on the Vitrifrigo,

 

[FF]

"I picked up a 5 KW ex bus Eberspacher to replace the 3.5 KW and it works perfect for a quarter the price."

The big hassle with truck stuff is when an attempt is made to use it for a liveaboard situation.

Truck items operate at 13.8 to 14.4 V underway,, a 12V batt in a charger may only show 13.3 and less when under load.

The older Espar heaters were very hard to start in winter as the glow plugs would not get hot enough.

Some truck stuff IS GREAT , some carry a risk of not functioning well.

 

[Gordon J]

Not sure what your mean

"I picked up a 5 KW ex bus Eberspacher to replace the 3.5 KW and it works perfect for a quarter the price."

The big hassle with truck stuff is when an attempt is made to use it for a liveaboard situation.

Truck items operate at 13.8 to 14.4 V underway,, a 12V batt in a charger may only show 13.3 and less when under load.

The older Espar heaters were very hard to start in winter as the glow plugs would not get hot enough.

Some truck stuff IS GREAT , some carry a risk of not functioning well.

FF,

I used to own a trucking company and am now on boat number three. I have some experience with both. I have never seen a truck refrigerator I thought would be large enough for a boat. Truck's run on the same voltages as boats. My boat's alternators also produce voltages in the 14+ range.

If you can find DC truck stuff that is appropriate in size, there is really no reason it will not work on your boat. More and more trucks on the road are coming with generators and inverters, just like boats. We had a couple of diesel generators on our trucks that ran AC and heat when the truck engines weren't running. They paid for themselves in fuel savings and driver contentment.

Gordon

 

[rwidman]

......... Truck's run on the same voltages as boats. ..........

Not exactly unless the truck is equipped with a shorepower connection.

My (marine) refrigerator runs on 120 volts AC when it is available and switches to 12 volts DC when the shore power is disconnected. This is how most marine refrigerators work.

 

[CaptTom]

I replaced my 28 year old Norcold with a new model DE-0061. It is a much better unit, the freezer keeps ice cream frozen, will freeze meat rock hard. It's very quite and much more energy efficient on DC current with the Danfoss compressor.

I also was pleasantly surprised by the newer Norcold I bought. I'd heard all the horror stories. But it fit the same opening, even the screw holes lined up. I needed to replace a cheap-o apartment sized fridge the PO had "installed" in the opening where the original Norcold was.

Mine also passes the "ice cream" test, and makes ice cubes fast. It's much quieter than the older Norcold model in the boat I'm on now. And it's a custom fit, so it looks 1000% better. I'm still glad I spent the few extra $$. And I'm usually pretty much of a cheapskate.

 

[Conrad]

Do you have the 30 or 45000 BTU model? How many heat exchangers are you using?

Thanks

We have the Proheat X45, (45,000 BTU) installed new January 2016. It replaced the same model that had been installed new in 1998.

There are 7 heater exchangers and one defrost heat exchanger.

This is on our Nordic Tug 42.

Thinking of installing one or do you have one?

 

[johnrupp]

We have the Proheat X45, (45,000 BTU) installed new January 2016. It replaced the same model that had been installed new in 1998.



There are 7 heater exchangers and one defrost heat exchanger.



This is on our Nordic Tug 42.



Thinking of installing one or do you have one?

I'm going to be installing a boiler, just exploring the different brands. Proheat is one I never heard of.

John

 

[Conrad]

I'm going to be installing a boiler, just exploring the different brands. Proheat is one I never heard of.

John

They're quite popular in trucks and busses as mentioned, but are fairly rare on boats. They're manufactured in the Vancouver BC area; I was quite impressed with their response to my queries when we were thinking about replace our old unit. Their followup support and pricing were very good.

Looking at their site though, there is no mention of marine that I can find, nor is their furnace mentioned on the Seastar site as well.

Proheat ? Welcome to Proheat

SeaStar Solutions || a global supplier of marine equipment for sports and leisure boats.

 

[Ted]

Sure Marine Service lists them for boats.

Ted

 

[Conrad]

Sure Marine Service lists them for boats.

Ted

Yes - thanks Ted! I knew I was missing someone.

 

[Ted]

When I talked to them they had a cool (cold) reception to the idea
of running it in series with the domestic hot water system to help
it supply enough hot water to the registers.
I hadn't even asked if it could operate in a 50 psi system.

Ted

 

[rwidman]

There's nothing wrong in using trucking accessories as it's just the same gear with a different badge, only the name and price are different.

That may be true in some cases but not in all cases, especially if you have a gasoline powered boat. There are some safety concerns on a boat that don't apply to trucks. You need to fully understand these concerns before substituting truck products for marine products.

 

[River Cruiser]

I also was pleasantly surprised by the newer Norcold I bought. I'd heard all the horror stories. But it fit the same opening, even the screw holes lined up. I needed to replace a cheap-o apartment sized fridge the PO had "installed" in the opening where the original Norcold was.



Mine also passes the "ice cream" test, and makes ice cubes fast. It's much quieter than the older Norcold model in the boat I'm on now. And it's a custom fit, so it looks 1000% better. I'm still glad I spent the few extra $$. And I'm usually pretty much of a cheapskate.

That is the same reason I went with Norcold, there DE/0061 fit the cut-out and I couldn't go with a fridge with a larger physical size.

 

[catalinajack]

Not exactly unless the truck is equipped with a shorepower connection.

My (marine) refrigerator runs on 120 volts AC when it is available and switches to 12 volts DC when the shore power is disconnected. This is how most marine refrigerators work.

Unless one owns a DC only fridge as we do, a Vitrifigo with which we are quite happy so far (one year).

 

[Irish Rambler]

I know our shore power voltage is slightly different here in Europe at 220 volts.
The set up we have on 'Snow Mouse' and have found it very satisfactory for our liveaboard needs.
We have an 80 litre 220 v freezer running through a small Victron 'on demand' inverter which only uses 1 amp on standby. Our fridge is 100 litre Vitrifrigo larder type fridge with automatic changeover from 220v on shore power to 12v when cruising.
After using Waeco and Isotherm fridges in the past the Vitrifrigo is dearer but the best marine fridge by far.
We have 660 amp battery capacity charged by a Bosch 100 amp alternator controlled by an Adverc alternator controller and also charged by a Perlite 285w solar panel.
We can moor up anywhere along the canal for up to 10 days without running the motor by which time we would have to think about moving anyway as we'd need fresh water for showers etc.
We also have a 4KW inverter for driving a 4kg Candy washing machine and the clothes iron which we would normally use in port but we also use it while travelling on longer cruises as we did last year on our 'Windmills and Wine' cruise.
Everyone knows we throw money around like a man with no arms and we've found that by getting to the supermarkets early as they restock their shelves many items like meat etc are reduced by 30% as they reach their 'sell by' date, my good lady snaps up those bargains to restock the freezer.

 

[rwidman]

................ and the clothes iron............

My wife and I have been together for nearly 40 years and I have never seen her iron clothes. Never. At home or on the boat.

I have one, mostly for sewing to make seams lie flat.