U Line ice maker

[cosmo]

I am away from the boat but wanted to bounce this question out of curiousity;

Our 1988 boat has a U Line ice maker. Wondering about using it specifically as an additional freezer as we plan for the summer. We have a full size refer on this boat and our past boats have had additional cheap, big box store chest freezers (in addition to full size refers) which were perfect for our vacations. Current boat doesn’t have the space to accommodate a chest freezer. Can I anticipate the 1988 U Line to be a power hog if simply used as a freezer?

We haven’t ruled out a small upright freezer and shoe horning it somewhere but if the U Line will work and I don’t need to run the generator twice a day to keep it cold….

House bank are 4 Victron Telecom batteries (200ah each/800ah total) galley refer is Nova-kool.

 

[av8r]

We removed a U-line ice maker and use an Engle freezer when we want the extra space. The freezer is a little longer than the ice- maker but fits nicely otherwise, it draws 2.8A on 12v DC or 41 watts on AC. I don’t remember what the draw on the U-line was but it was the power consumption that drove the choice on the Engle.

 

[Dennis C]

We have the Uline and it works fine either as a freezer or ice maker.

 

[READY]

I have a Uline. Never had a need to just use it as a freezer but see no reason that would not work. The cube maker assembly takes up a fair amount of space. I would shut off or disconnect that water supply. Probably as you point out not so efficient but if it works for your use case that would be a lot easier than swapping out.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

We have the Uline and it works fine either as a freezer or ice maker.

Same here

 

[Insequent]

It should work fine as freezer, but the usable space (due to cube making assembly) is quite small.

Some measurements that I made years ago had my Uline and my old 40 litre Engel each using +/- 100Ah per day at freezer temps. The Engel has much more usable freezer volume. I believe the modern portable units. such as Waeco/Dometic or newer brands, have better insulation and would give much better performance for power consumption and storage volume.

 

[Comodave]

I have used one as a freezer and it worked fine.

 

[cosmo]

Thank you for the replies. We are still weighing our options. I like keeping things in place for resale, but the other hand, if we aren’t using it and it’s a power hog, can we use the space better? Right now, it may serve as a temp freezer until we can figure out a larger freezer solution without carving up the boat.

First world problems…..

 

[SteveK]

The past few days I have removed the Uline, taken out the ice tray, rewired, disconnected water and relocated the 1 cubic foot freezer into the guest closet where either ice or frozen food can be kept to supplement the fridge freezer for the longer trips.
In the original space I will install a counter ice maker on a shelf with drawer below.

 

[SIBERNUT]

If used as an ice maker & the maker mechanism craps out, stand by for the price. I tried every way to make a regular replacement cheaper mechanism work. They gotcha $$$$$$.

 

[SteveK]

If used as an ice maker & the maker mechanism craps out, stand by for the price. I tried every way to make a regular replacement cheaper mechanism work. They gotcha $$$$$$.

If replying to me then I already have a counter top unit for $200 being fitted into the space where Uline lived. Will create a tap for direct water fill too. Put on a slide out shelf. That is my solution. Meanwhile we have an extra 1 cubic foot freezer.

 

[NoRain]

Are you going to use your extra 1 cf freezer to store the ice cubes?

 

[SteveK]

Are you going to use your extra 1 cf freezer to store the ice cubes?

Maybe. Or extra frozen foods.

 

[NoRain]

Well I’m just saying, you need to store them somewhere. Unless your countertop unit is unique, my understanding is that they don’t keep ice, they’re not freezers.

 

[SteveK]

Well I’m just saying, you need to store them somewhere. Unless your countertop unit is unique, my understanding is that they don’t keep ice, they’re not freezers.

I could store in fridge freezer where it is at hand and deducate the urline to long term kept frozen meats.