Refrigerator search and questions.

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They have a real freezer also.
Make sure you get multi-volt (12v-240v) option.
 
" Our old Subzero units exhausted out front right into the galley where the Admiral works. Since we boat in weather usually in the 80s she was never happy with the additional heat."

I feel the air reefer blown into the cabin is a big advantage.

No need to chop an internal cooling vent and waste more electric ventilating the reefer locker.

A modern computer controlled DC unit will operate long hours at very reduced speed , and power consumption , so little heat is dumped into the galley , in comparison with a house AC powered reefer.
 
Thanks, Donna... Great to have a good review of the exact model!

Bob
 
Our 8.1 cu ft $500 Summit with self defrost replaced a failed Norcold some 10 years ago. My, how quickly time seems to pass. This dream fridge is no longer manufactured and I am not sure if there are any non-marine replacements with similar mechanical dimensions out there in the great beyond. But this fridge fit almost exactly into the space where the failed fridge sat.

My purpose for posting a performance review of sorts for our Summit is mainly to emphasize there are choices other than so called, limited function marine fridges. And of course ours does not operate on 12vdc. But just why should that matter today when decent true sine wave inverters can be purchased at almost trivial cost?

I wired ours using a quality surplus relay...purchased on Ebay for $10.... that allows the fridge to get powered from our genny or dock AC and when not, automatically switches over to our inverter which is powered 24/7. I just don't understand why folks insist on spending big bucks for marine fridges that lack the basic amenity of a frost free freezer.
 
Did I hear "Refrigerator Search"?

Inspector FlyWright reporting for duty, sir!

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foggysail said:
I gave up on so called marine refrigerators. I went with an 8.3 cuft apartment size that even features self defrost and interior light. Better still, I could have purchased 3 of them for the same cost as an, expensive marine fridge. It is powered by a true sine wave inverter when dock or gen your power is absent.
Click to expand...


Hi,
I just bought an apartment sized refrigerator. Do you leave it plugged in to the inverter when on shore power or generator power? I am going to install a dedicated inverter for the frige but am not sure if I should leave it plugged in while on shore power.
Thanks
 
Gordon B said:
Hi,
I just bought an apartment sized refrigerator. Do you leave it plugged in to the inverter when on shore power or generator power? I am going to install a dedicated inverter for the frige but am not sure if I should leave it plugged in while on shore power.
Thanks
Click to expand...

Well.......I made things complicated when I should not. I switch power from genny/dock when not available to the inverter via relay. But, my inverter runs 24/7. The easiest way is to plug the fridge into an inverter and leave it there.

And for sure recognize that if you intend to spend time on moorings or anchor a fridge is going to require power, power provided by your battery bank. So if you have available real estate for solar, consider adding a minimum of 400 watts or so along with an MPPT controller.

Gosh, it is sooooo nice to have a cone of ice cream on anchor, actually frozen yogurt in our case. :thumb:
 
We have a apartment style frost free refrigerator/freezer. We use dockside power and our generator when cruising/anchoring. We have a dedicated inverter but only use it as a backup to the generator if we don't want air conditioning, etc.
 
HiDHo said:
We have a apartment style frost free refrigerator/freezer. We use dockside power and our generator when cruising/anchoring. We have a dedicated inverter but only use it as a backup to the generator if we don't want air conditioning, etc.
Click to expand...


Same here except for AC which we never use away from the dock. Possible differences is that our inverter is always on and the fridge gets connected automatically via relay when genny or dock power is absent.

IMHO the easiest way is to power the fridge from an inverter 24/7. Minimizes complications.

OH--- I know you must enjoy the frost free features :D
 
Last edited:
Thank you everyone. This clears up a lot.

Gordo
 
I replaced my Norcold with a Magic Chef from home depot. I was gonna put an inverter in anyway so got a Kisae 2kw at West Marine and wired it up. I do not have automatic switching but I just make it a part of my leaving the dock checklist. Takes about an extra 5 seconds maybe. Works well for us. I also put a little walmart fan in the enclosure to move air around. We sat on anchor last weekend and this setup actually uses less energy than my old Norcold did. The newer ones are better I'm sure but I did the whole install, inverter and all for less than half the price.

Kevin
 
"The newer ones are better I'm sure but I did the whole install, inverter and all for less than half the price. "

The house batts will last even longer if you install a switch to cut out the door gasket heater and the usual insulation defrost heaters.
 
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