"Jeff" wrote
So you chose air cooled. How come?


Smaller cheaper unit, plus my confidence in my ability to post-engineer
a seawater assisted cooling unit from either of the two already existing
seawater systems on board.

One of the little ironies is that in cold water, the air in the bilge may
be much cooler than on deck or in the engine room. I never bothered to
measure, but I wonder if that's also true in the tropics.

I'm sure it is. There would be at least a little cooling effect on air
flowing into the bilge and then up thru the condensor... and presumably,
thence overboard. It would help ventilate an area that prob'ly needs it,
too.


As for savings - the cost difference between the BD50 and BD35 is pretty
small - certainly much less than a through hull, pump, and condenser.
However, once you get larger its clear that water cooling has advantages.

Actually the difference in price between the two Waeco units... the one
I bought, and the next size bigger... is about $450, almost 50% more.
That more than paid for the vacuum insulation panels.


BTW, my father-in-law, an HVAC engineer and inventor, rigged up his home
A/C to heat the swimming pool water with the waste heat. It worked great
for a number of years, but now that he's 84 and his war injuries have
caught up to him, he has trouble maintaining it. With the extra plumbing,
its possible to loose the pool water, and then be without both pool and
A/C.


Excellent idea, but by late summer I bet the pool was quite warm. This
would be a great system to use on a spring-fed pond!


Doug Dotson wrote:
I've gotten great service out of my spillover system. Cold plates in the
freezer only.
Thermostacally controlled vent into the fridge side. Large boxes. Probably 3
cuft
in the freezer and 12 cuft in the fridge.


Spillover systems can be very efficient if the access isn't terrible.
For many, to get into the freezer you go thru the fridge, and leave the
door open while you rummage around.

My experience with fridge/freezers in one box is that if you set them
cold enough to keep ice cream, they freeze the milk. Others may have
better design.

Most boat fridge installations commit at least one of the following
cardinal sins: air cooled unit with insufficient air flow, wiring sized
and/or connected improperly so unit sees low voltage, poor insulation,
leaky door. The owners usually gripe about the last tech to service it
and want the refrigerant loop recharged.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King