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posted to rec.boats.building,rec.boats.cruising
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On Thu, 08 Feb 2007 09:00:57 -0600, Rick Morel
wrote: Al, I agree 100% with Larry's response. We cruised for 2-1/2 years with an Adler-Barbour Cold Machine conversion. Everything Larry said, including the Amp-Hours is absolutely correct. Also about the radio interference. That has changed some. Adler-Barbour sent a newer version of the controller that was a lot better, but still not cleared up. We had to switch it off when using HF Ham radio for email, but no more problem on the VHF. There is another option worth considering on a 26 footer: http://www.bigfrogmountain.com/engel_products.htm I have not personally owned one of these Engels but have heard good things about them. They should not be confused with the smaller, cheaper chests which use a solid state cooling device. The Engels have a real compressor in them, and power draw is supposedly reasonable. |
#3
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posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Everyone I know with an Engel raves about them. Not one has a complaint.
Their claims on power usage seems unreal, but they all insist it is really as low as they say. There is another option worth considering on a 26 footer: http://www.bigfrogmountain.com/engel_products.htm I have not personally owned one of these Engels but have heard good things about them. They should not be confused with the smaller, cheaper chests which use a solid state cooling device. The Engels have a real compressor in them, and power draw is supposedly reasonable. |
#4
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posted to rec.boats.building,rec.boats.cruising
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Rick Morel wrote in
: Al, I agree 100% with Larry's response. Thanks. I have another solution for that small boat that might make sense if you can find one..... I have a little 2.2 cuft "dorm fridge" that's quite old, but I wouldn't trade it for a brand new one. It, too, is a Norcold, but I'm sure many were sold under different names like this one. What's different about this neat little fridge is IT ONLY DRAWS 40 WATTS and has NO STARTING CURRENT, unlike other compressors. Its compressor doesn't "rotate". It's a linear vibrator. They're not made, or at least not sent to the USA, any more because it uses the much-more-economical- to-operate, forbidden R-12 refridgerant. R-12 uses lots lower pressures which are easier to pump...with vibrator compressors, I'd guess. To identify these units is quite easy. Instead of the compressor being a fat little low-profile, almost spherical unit, these vibrator units are a long cylinder approximately 3-4" in diameter and about 8-10" long. They have only ONE wire coming out of them for power. The case of the compressor is the other conductor for the coil inside. Mine runs on 40VAC. Each fridge has a little transformer that converts what ever country's power line voltage it's to run on into 40VAC on the secondary to run the compressor. Just follow the wire. It's easy to find. This made world distribution easy. 240V country, 240V transformer....115V country, 115V transformer. The transformer is about the size of a door bell transformer, maybe a little larger...only 40 watts, remember. This would be ideal for a small boat fridge running off the smallest inverter you can find. When I go on a car trip, I run it off a little Vector inverter thats nothing but a large cigarette lighter plug with a 115VAC outlet on the back of the plug. My cars are diesel so have a battery that can easily provide overnight power to the tiny inverter without going dead. In a boat, that's not an issue, of course. Be on the lookout for one of these little vibrator compressor fridges. All the ones I've seen have an EXTERNAL condensor sticking out the back for better cooling and lower head pressure. You can hardly hear it running. It makes just a very low hum. It freezes ice cubes as fast as my other small fridges that have heavy starting current and draw lots more power driving rotary compressors on R-134a or R-22. It doesn't run a lot, either, saving AHs. The Norcold box is nicely insulated. I swapped the broken door off it with a Korean 2.2 cuft fridge because the door that was on it was rusted nearly off it. It's really worth the restoration. I've even run it at ham radio events off a 12V gelcell all day with the same little inverter. No, you can't have mine....(c; Larry -- Democracy is when two wolves and a sheep vote on who's for dinner. Liberty is when the sheep has his own gun. |
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