I'm coming to this late, and I don't think I even saw the original thread,
but here's my two cents:

We - after wrestling with the nasty configuration of our reefer top for lid
orientation (OEM is to make a hinge with a smaller section which has to be
opened first in order to clear the overhang of the cockpit footwell in the
area) - went with front opening for all the positive reasons, plus the
ability to get stuff out and have meaningful shelves. Our door was
restricted to 21" due to the width of the U, but that was the only
concession. We also have to live with the 6" of insulation on the face,
which limits the access in real terms, the arc of the door being interrupted
by the stove, and not enough room to open it the other way. If we find it
onerous enough, we might revert the design, later, to a vacuum panel or two,
but for now, it's still a 6" block.

The reason we went for it was talking with a variety of others at the SSCA
meeting last fall. One of them provided a very interesting technical
detail...

A cubic foot of air takes only 14BTU to cool. So, in our not-quite 7CF
reefer, assuming an entire exchange of air (not ever gonna happen without
leaving it open for a very long time), it would take well under 100BTU to
replace the cold air.

Put another way, it would take about two thirds the energy to convert one
pint of 32 degree water to ice. Put yet another way, if our static daily
load is 4KBTU (that's the estimate for both reefer and freezer, in the
tropical environment we expect), and we open (and fully exchange the air)
the door 10 times, we've increased the load (only) 25% over leaving it
closed the entire time.

Given how long we'd have to leave the door open in order to get something
from the lower levels (which is not insignificant in our reefer - the floor
of the reefer is 30" from the lid top, requiring R&R of significant volumes
of stored stuff, whereas the back of the reefer, on shelves, is 22" from the
door front, but we can get at it easier than leaning over, as well), we
anticipate only a small difference in actual BTU-sage.

Food for thought, if you'll excuse the expression :{))

L8R

Skip, temporarily home again

--
Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig
http://tinyurl.com/384p2

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you
didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail
away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore.
Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain