12 volt freezer

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Egregious

Egregious

Guru
Joined
Feb 5, 2010
Messages
555
Location
USA
Vessel Name
Polly P.
Vessel Make
Monk 36
I'm planning on a 2 month cruise in August.* About the only thing lacking in our boat is the freezer capacity which is fine for a weekend, but nowhere near enough for an extended cruise.* We have a 120V icemaker on the flybridge, but it can only be used when connected to shore power for long periods of time, plus it isn't that big.

Is there such a thing as a 12V freezer?* I know there are cig lighter coolers that heat and cool, but I don't think they freeze.* I can make do with a portable unit but eventually I'd like to tear out the icemaker and replace it with a plain old freezer to store food in.* I think on a regular cruising schedule our batts will be able to keep it running as long as we don't open it often.

Thanks in advance for the ideas.

Woody
 
never seen a 12V freezer? Get an inverter and you can power the 110V icemaker.
 
Woody, I doubt this is a practical way to go for you, but I built a refer/freezer for Delfin because the space I had to work with made that the best option for someone with high pain tolerance, like me.* I used vacuum panels and polyurethane to get around R50.* It's a built in upright, with the top 8 cu ft section a refer and the bottom 8 cu ft section the freezer.* It seems to work well, keeping things frozen just fine.

If you're not interested in a 3 month project allowing you to store hamburger, Boat Electric sells a 12 v unit that might work for you:

http://boatelectric.com/GM_Deck_Freezer.htm
 
Egregious wrote:


...Is there such a thing as a 12V freezer?*
*
Woody:* Our primary freezer is made by SeaFreeze, Bellingham, WA.* It's a stand alone 12 VDC system but not cheap.* I would also look at Engels.* We see more of these than any one manufacturer of 12 volt freezers and have heard no complaints.* http://www.engel-usa.com/
Click to expand...
 
we use a Waeco version in the cockpit. It is pretty big at 80 quarts. It seems to use around 60-80 12v amp hours per 24hours.

http://www.americanrvcompany.com/Do...ge-Freezer-AC-DC-Trailer-RV-Camper_p_482.html

We pack it full before we leave the USA for the summer and don't have to buy meat etc for the duration of the trip. It can also be set to run as a fridge if necessary.



-- Edited by bshanafelt on Wednesday 9th of March 2011 09:31:00 PM
 
Delfin wrote:

Woody, I doubt this is a practical way to go for you, but I built a refer/freezer for Delfin because the space I had to work with made that the best option for someone with high pain tolerance, like me.* I used vacuum panels and polyurethane to get around R50.* It's a built in upright, with the top 8 cu ft section a refer and the bottom 8 cu ft section the freezer.* It seems to work well, keeping things frozen just fine.

If you're not interested in a 3 month project allowing you to store hamburger, Boat Electric sells a 12 v unit that might work for you:

http://boatelectric.com/GM_Deck_Freezer.htm
Click to expand...
Delfin,

my boat is 27 years old!* I've already lived through more pain than most lake boaters see in a life time.* But, I am not interested in another project at this time.* That link you attached is *exactly* what I'm looking for.* I have a 120v outlet where the current icemaker is now, and 12V will be easy to get to that same location which I will be glad to wire myself.* It can run high on 120 and stay cold while cruising and I think the thing pulls something like 3 amps.*

I remember a long and argumentative thread about refrigeration a while back -- think I'll search for it for more wisdom.

you seem to be helping me out lots lately, so thanks.

Woody

*
 
The high quality portable units Engle and others made for the 3rd world (medical supplies) work great.

Perhaps a full Craig's list search?

In the RE world it is common to consider a 4-1 ratio as worth while.

The cost of needing LESS energy vs the coat of producing that energy.

There seems to be no higher cause of dead , unrepairable batts than refrigeration.

An E meter or similar will keep you out of 12v trouble.

A second choice is a Honda 1000 noisemaker and a used freezer box on the aft deck. Glue 4 inches of foam on the box surfaces and paint it WHITE!!
 
Engle, and other 12 volt frig /freezers are very common here in Aus.
Mostly in the RV market but still popular in boats from trailer fishing boats to live aboards.
I have a 240 Volt frige and a freezer in the wheelhouse/galley and on the back deck a couple of 12 volt Eva Kool combo frig/freezers.
These are 110 lts (I think a lt is approx 1 qt) 1/2 frig and 1/2 freezer.
these have been on my back deck for 6 years and work a lot of the time and still going strong.

A really good way to go, get fiberglass units if possible as opposed to Al clad .

Benn
 
bshanafelt wrote:

we use a Waeco version in the cockpit. It is pretty big at 80 quarts. It seems to use around 60-80 12v amp hours per 24hours.



That is a lot of power.* The smaller marine refrigerators use about 3 AH.
Click to expand...

*
 
That is a lot of power. The smaller marine refrigerators use about 3 AH.

Here is a link to a 12 volt freezer:

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|406|10789|322423&id=1478277

Power Consumption Average / Max @ 12 Volts: 1.5 / 5 Amps




The reality vs the advertised load is always somewhat of a surprise.


My unit has the same compressor and electronics of the linked freezer you are showing.

here is a good article for comparison of various brands / types:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/equipment/equipment_reviews/fridge/Research/
 
I can't believe that cruising trawlers are not into engine driven refrigeration.

I had a Sea Frost system on my old sailboat I could freeze my ice box or make blocks of ice.

The holding plate held over night easy till the next engine running time.

Wish I had it now.* The Sea Frost system that is,


JohnP
 
JohnP wrote:

I can't believe that cruising trawlers are not into engine driven refrigeration.

I had a Sea Frost system on my old sailboat I could freeze my ice box or make blocks of ice.

The holding plate held over night easy till the next engine running time.

Wish I had it now.* The Sea Frost system that is,


JohnP
Click to expand...
*JohnP:* If you don't have a generator that would work.* But it sure becomes an expensive refrigerator/freezer sytem.* We have a generator we run less than 2 hours a day and that takes care of all our charging.* We have a separate 12 DC refrigerator and freezer.
 
Cold plates are great , but do take room in the box.

We have over 9000BTU of eutetic plates in a custom 6inch of insulation top opening box in our 90/90..

Most folks will not give up the room required to have TRUE 3 day holdover .

A big AC gense to spin a big (1hp+) compressor could probably do it for the daily 2 hour folks.
 
Don't know if you have room for one of these:

36.8W x 26.2D x 34.5H in

Sundanzer 12 volt freezer

<a href="http://www.sundanzer.com/Chests.htm">Other models
</a>
Ted

-- Edited by O C Diver on Thursday 10th of March 2011 08:06:29 PM
 
I have used cold plates that were extremely effective.* One hour in the AM and one hour in the PM kept everything frozen.

Problem is that we needed to manually kick it on and off.* Keep in on too long and the plate froze too solid and stopped working.* If we were cruising 100% of the time that would be no problem, but right now the boat sits for weeks at a time.* Now, does that mean I need to empty the contents of the freeze when I leave the boat in the slip?

I love a cold plate, but if you must leave it for a while it doesn't work.*So instead we have a regular unit but the freezer is too small.

woody
 
"Keep in on too long and the plate froze too solid and stopped working."

HUNH?

The plate is supposed to freeze solid !!!

The "latent heat of crystalization" is what causes a eutetic plate to function.

It takes lots of heat to melt the water in the plate , that's what happens (it freezes SOLID ) when you run the engine.

The Adler Barbour eutetic plates are "dual circuit" , a big loop for the engine , a smaller one for the undercabinet 120V unit.

The simplest control (we use it ) is a simple wind up timer , but most can onlt switch a few amps , so a relay in needed.

We run 2 hours every 3rd or 4th day, mostly depending on the OAT.(Outside Air Temp)
 
Egregious wrote:

*

.....does that mean I need to empty the contents of the freeze when I leave the boat in the slip?
Click to expand...
We had a cold plate system for 10 years.* We had 2 plates in the freezer and*1 plate in the refrigerator.* It ran off of a 1/2 hp DC motor.* It had a thermostat control same as a home unit.* Based on the ambient temperature it would cycle on and off once every 10 to 14 hours.**The only time we would shut it off was when we defrosted the freezer.

Read Calder's book.* Because of the gained efficiencies on evaporative systems, cold plates are not as highly rated as they once were.*

-- Edited by Larry M on Friday 11th of March 2011 07:28:57 AM
 
FF and Larry M, good replies.

Just the only experience I've had with cold plates has been on charter boats.* But on them they worked great and I still wonder why they aren't used more often.

When I used them, if you left the compressor running for too long, the coils would freeze.** The plate does need to be frozen, and I mis-spoke.* Once the coils froze then they cease to cool the plates.* However, a thermostat would take care of that, just never seen that setup.

Tell me more, because I'm curious.

Woody
 
Getting ahold of Seafrost is easier said than done. I've called twice in the last 2 weeks and have yet to get a return call. Guess they have all the business they need. In any case, their lack of responsiveness sends a message re: expected service after the sale.
 
We shopped all over the place for a 12v fridge and in the end decided to give the ice box in the boat a chance. It's a top loader installed on/in the galley counter. The ice water drains out the bottom where the ice is and into the bilge. We can get 3 to 4 gallons of ice in the bottom of the chest and it lasts up to 4 days. Even though it's a top loader we open and close the lid quickly.Since we are'nt usually away from port more than 3 or 4 days the ice box works fine for us. The power we save in the batteries can be used for other things and that's important to us. If we had a bigger boat and stayed away from port longer we may consider electrical refrigeration but on Willy the ice box works well. So here's one case where the "keep it simple" was a better solution. Less stuff to maintain or smaller batteries or genset. In the pic the ice chest is under the cutting board on the galley counter. The cutting board is the lid.
 

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We bought a Yeti cooler last year. It kept food frozen for 5 days. Good enough for the type of cruising we do. Expensive but less than a powered freezer, even with the cost of ice.
 
If someone is contemplating adding a cooling unit to an ice box , here is a good test drill.

Install a couple of big hunks of ice , let it sit at least overnight and then remove it and weigh it.

The first day was simply to pre cool the box. A net and fish scale is fine.

Give at least 24 , tho 48 hours is better, then remove and weigh the remaining ice..

IF you loose under 5lbs of ice a day , the box will be OK to live with, when electrified.

Over 5 lbs a day will need either a rebuild with better insulation or loads more engine time to keep the batteries up.

Over 10lbs a day , forgetaboutit.

A good box can live with 2x85W dedicated solar panels, in most conditions.More is better.

Fridges use less power than freezers because of a lower Delta T.
 
Where did spcoolin's post go?
 
So they did show ?...Yesterday when I posted them they wouldn't show for me even though I was shown as the last poster in this thread...

I'll post the links again in my next post to see if it's a link thing...If this one stays but the other dosen't...


Steve~
 
Ok...Guess it won't allow me to post links because that post won't show for me.

Anyway...You can go to my forum (link in my sig) and scroal down to hold over refrigeration & read from there...


If you are interested in Dometic's 12/24 volt portable top loading refrigerator/freezer (they will do either but are not combo boxes) models just ask over there & I will post a link to the available models...There are 7 sizes available up to 110 quart...


Steve~


-- Edited by spcoolin on Friday 18th of March 2011 07:52:17 AM
 
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