On Mon, 02 May 2005 23:14:25 -0700, Evan Gatehouse
wrote:


No expert info here, although I have lived in vans that used gas
fridges and they work fine. They would not get the rocking that sea
would cause, but get a fair battering from road travel.

You need to look at the cost of fuel, or an extra bit on the wind
turbine/solar panel to generate electricity to run an electric fridge
as well. I don't know if you're looking at a eutectic style, but even
they draw pretty fair current to work well.

rant on...........
Mind you, that may be hard to find out. Don't ya love the following
specs and the terms? Current in amp-hours and energy in amps.
(astrerisks are mine)

http://old.cruisingworld.com/joecold/coltest5.htm

"12-VOLT COOLING SYSTEM: Time to cool refrigerator from 65°: 38 min.
**Current used: 25.5 amp-hrs**. Time to cool freezer from 65°: 1:34
min. **Current used: 52.5 amp-hrs**. Refrigerator perfomance: Time to
freeze refrigerator plate: 30 min. Current used to freeze refr. plate:
16.9 amp-hrs. Daily (24-hr.) current required: 12.2 amp-hrs. Freezer
performance: Time to freeze freezer plate: 35 min. Current used to
freeze freezer plate: 19.3 amp-hrs. Daily (24-hr.) current required:
44.9 amp-hrs."

and then the real killer.....

"DAILY **ENERGY REQ: 57.1 amps.**"

If they mean the daily energy required is 57 amp-hours, that's quite a
drain on a battery. You need about 2 amps 24 hours per day to keep up.

And then there is this, just in case you need to know how well solar
works
http://www.quirks.com.au/autofrdg.htm
"**SOLAR-PORT* Large: 2 x 50 watt solar modules in suitcase
configuration. Output from these modules would be approximately
**5.8 amps per hour** of peak sunlight (for a location such as Sydney,
the average daily output during summer months would be **~35 amps per
day** to a 12 Volt storage battery). "

rrgghhrrgh!

rant over

I am considering a propane refrigerator on my 40' catamaran.
These propane fridges don't work well with monohulls
unless gimballed but cats do quite well with them. Gemini
cats use them as standard equipment (and they seem to
require little maintenance). My priorities are lightest
weight and reliability. I kept hearing "we've had a propane
fridge for 10+ years with no problems" on the Gemini owners
list.