Well, not air conditioning...

In reefers and freezers, I've been fonder, by far, of cold plates. OTOH, in
my most recent trip, a broker who sells new boats asserted that nothing
comes out of factories that way any more due to greatly increased
efficiencies in current equipment, making 12V on-off, thermostatically
controlled, refrigeration and freezing more appropriate, not having to run
the engine or genny, etc. In an unrelated, other than efficiency,
matter, in the second most recent trip, I was also aboard a boat with 12V AC
which was in the dehumidify mode, and was quietly purring away in the stern
lazarette, seemingly not using much power, which might support the position.

So, back to refrigeration. Anybody know that to be gospel or hooey? That
is, is there hard (vs scuttlebutt) info which supports or refutes his
position?

Glenn? Richard? Others in the trade?

And, assuming tired stuff where/whatever it is, how expensive is it,
relatively, to refit one or the other (replacing what's there)?

Thanks.

L8R

Skip and Lydia, rounding third, post on that to follow

--
"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

Richard may have a different view but IMHO, (and you know what that is
like because everybody has one) it really depends on how you plan to use
the refrigerator. Holding plates take a lot of energy for a short time
and evaporators take a little energy for a long time.

Many blue water passage makers still prefer holding plates because they
fit into the daily energy routine. Coastal, island hoppers and marina
queens prefer evaporators. Production boat builders much prefer
evaporators because they cost a lot less, the box can be made a lot
smaller and lest we forget, they are always selling to the first mate,
not the skipper.

With the introduction of the higher efficiency Danfoss compressors and
especially that new Glacier Bay unit, I think that holding plates
require more total energy per day but it can be made to run when the
engine is running and energy is cheap. Holding plate systems seem to be
a lot more ruggedly constructed and can be configured to fit a wider
variety of boxes and usage patterns. They use fairly standard parts so
they can be serviced by most refrigeration techs. Evaporator systems
are more unitized so service is a bit more difficult.

Holding plates have a couple of down sides. First they take up more
room in the box than evaporators and you will have a wider variation in
box temperature with holding plates which is not good for long term food
storage. Evaporators can maintain a more even temperature but you have
to invest in more batteries to store the required energy. Evaporators
can also maintain the temperatures during longer absences from the boat
if you have alternative charging sources like a wind generator or solar
panels.

Evaporators are a lot simpler than holding plate systems. Most have
capillary tubes rather than expansion valves and often come pre-charged
so installation is a lot easier. They also have to disburse heat at a
slower rate than holding plates that have to remove a whole day's worth
of BTUs in an hour or so. That means the smaller ones can be air
cooled and the larger ones require smaller cooling water circuits.
Evaporator plates are almost totally machine made while holding plates
take a considerable amount of skilled labor.

Skip Gundlach wrote:

Well, not air conditioning...

In reefers and freezers, I've been fonder, by far, of cold plates. OTOH, in
my most recent trip, a broker who sells new boats asserted that nothing
comes out of factories that way any more due to greatly increased
efficiencies in current equipment, making 12V on-off, thermostatically
controlled, refrigeration and freezing more appropriate, not having to run
the engine or genny, etc. In an unrelated, other than efficiency,
matter, in the second most recent trip, I was also aboard a boat with 12V AC
which was in the dehumidify mode, and was quietly purring away in the stern
lazarette, seemingly not using much power, which might support the position.

So, back to refrigeration. Anybody know that to be gospel or hooey? That
is, is there hard (vs scuttlebutt) info which supports or refutes his
position?

Glenn? Richard? Others in the trade?

And, assuming tired stuff where/whatever it is, how expensive is it,
relatively, to refit one or the other (replacing what's there)?

Thanks.

L8R

Skip and Lydia, rounding third, post on that to follow


--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

Richard may have a different view but IMHO, (and you know what that is
like because everybody has one) it really depends on how you plan to use
the refrigerator. Holding plates take a lot of energy for a short time
and evaporators take a little energy for a long time.

Many blue water passage makers still prefer holding plates because they
fit into the daily energy routine. Coastal, island hoppers and marina
queens prefer evaporators. Production boat builders much prefer
evaporators because they cost a lot less, the box can be made a lot
smaller and lest we forget, they are always selling to the first mate,
not the skipper.

With the introduction of the higher efficiency Danfoss compressors and
especially that new Glacier Bay unit, I think that holding plates
require more total energy per day but it can be made to run when the
engine is running and energy is cheap. Holding plate systems seem to be
a lot more ruggedly constructed and can be configured to fit a wider
variety of boxes and usage patterns. They use fairly standard parts so
they can be serviced by most refrigeration techs. Evaporator systems
are more unitized so service is a bit more difficult.

Holding plates have a couple of down sides. First they take up more
room in the box than evaporators and you will have a wider variation in
box temperature with holding plates which is not good for long term food
storage. Evaporators can maintain a more even temperature but you have
to invest in more batteries to store the required energy. Evaporators
can also maintain the temperatures during longer absences from the boat
if you have alternative charging sources like a wind generator or solar
panels.

Evaporators are a lot simpler than holding plate systems. Most have
capillary tubes rather than expansion valves and often come pre-charged
so installation is a lot easier. They also have to disburse heat at a
slower rate than holding plates that have to remove a whole day's worth
of BTUs in an hour or so. That means the smaller ones can be air
cooled and the larger ones require smaller cooling water circuits.
Evaporator plates are almost totally machine made while holding plates
take a considerable amount of skilled labor.

Skip Gundlach wrote:

Well, not air conditioning...

In reefers and freezers, I've been fonder, by far, of cold plates. OTOH, in
my most recent trip, a broker who sells new boats asserted that nothing
comes out of factories that way any more due to greatly increased
efficiencies in current equipment, making 12V on-off, thermostatically
controlled, refrigeration and freezing more appropriate, not having to run
the engine or genny, etc. In an unrelated, other than efficiency,
matter, in the second most recent trip, I was also aboard a boat with 12V AC
which was in the dehumidify mode, and was quietly purring away in the stern
lazarette, seemingly not using much power, which might support the position.

So, back to refrigeration. Anybody know that to be gospel or hooey? That
is, is there hard (vs scuttlebutt) info which supports or refutes his
position?

Glenn? Richard? Others in the trade?

And, assuming tired stuff where/whatever it is, how expensive is it,
relatively, to refit one or the other (replacing what's there)?

Thanks.

L8R

Skip and Lydia, rounding third, post on that to follow


--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

Hi, Glenn, and thanks for the response.

My expected pattern will be on the hook for extended periods of time,
particularly in the high season, when I/we expect to be working, perhaps 7
days a week, long hours. Since part of the reason for going offshore for
the rest of my life is peace and quiet, running engines or generators isn't
very appealing, and so I expect to have substantial solar and wind
generation to minimize that. Of course, once under way, there will be
enough instances of running the engine, I expect, that it won't be of issue
very often.

So, I'm anticipating doing something using 12V, if for no other reason than
greater efficiency than having to turn it into 120V, when I'm not running
some IC power source. I'm currently open on the subject of (IC[diesel - I
don't think I'd consider gas]) generators, but nearly certainly would not
buy one if it didn't come with the boat we buy. But, if we had one, likely
I'd like a combo ability (12V/120V), perhaps even with a tie-in to an
engine-driven compressor if it's cold plates we use.

Have you done any calculations on the load required to run cold plates
(daily amp hours) vs evaporators for the ability to keep a given volume to a
given temperature? One of the boat types we've considered has an example of
a refit set of evaporators, so it has me thinking... (They wrapped it
around the previous freezer section, entirely, at the top, and had a box/lid
topmounted in the previous reefer space, each having their own knob
temperature adjusters. I don't recall the brand, but there were two
compressors in the engine room, backed up against the reefer/frig space.)

Thanks.

L8R

Skip (and Lydia)
--
"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
"Glenn Ashmore" wrote in message
news:UFoDb.5096$JD6.3998@lakeread04...
Richard may have a different view but IMHO, (and you know what that is
like because everybody has one) it really depends on how you plan to use
the refrigerator. Holding plates take a lot of energy for a short time
and evaporators take a little energy for a long time.

Many blue water passage makers still prefer holding plates because they
fit into the daily energy routine. Coastal, island hoppers and marina
queens prefer evaporators. Production boat builders much prefer
evaporators because they cost a lot less, the box can be made a lot
smaller and lest we forget, they are always selling to the first mate,
not the skipper.

With the introduction of the higher efficiency Danfoss compressors and
especially that new Glacier Bay unit, I think that holding plates
require more total energy per day but it can be made to run when the
engine is running and energy is cheap. Holding plate systems seem to be
a lot more ruggedly constructed and can be configured to fit a wider
variety of boxes and usage patterns. They use fairly standard parts so
they can be serviced by most refrigeration techs. Evaporator systems
are more unitized so service is a bit more difficult.

Holding plates have a couple of down sides. First they take up more
room in the box than evaporators and you will have a wider variation in
box temperature with holding plates which is not good for long term food
storage. Evaporators can maintain a more even temperature but you have
to invest in more batteries to store the required energy. Evaporators
can also maintain the temperatures during longer absences from the boat
if you have alternative charging sources like a wind generator or solar
panels.

Evaporators are a lot simpler than holding plate systems. Most have
capillary tubes rather than expansion valves and often come pre-charged
so installation is a lot easier. They also have to disburse heat at a
slower rate than holding plates that have to remove a whole day's worth
of BTUs in an hour or so. That means the smaller ones can be air
cooled and the larger ones require smaller cooling water circuits.
Evaporator plates are almost totally machine made while holding plates
take a considerable amount of skilled labor.

Skip Gundlach wrote:

Well, not air conditioning...

In reefers and freezers, I've been fonder, by far, of cold plates.
OTOH, in
my most recent trip, a broker who sells new boats asserted that nothing
comes out of factories that way any more due to greatly increased
efficiencies in current equipment, making 12V on-off, thermostatically
controlled, refrigeration and freezing more appropriate, not having to
run
the engine or genny, etc. In an unrelated, other than efficiency,
matter, in the second most recent trip, I was also aboard a boat with
12V AC
which was in the dehumidify mode, and was quietly purring away in the
stern
lazarette, seemingly not using much power, which might support the
position.

So, back to refrigeration. Anybody know that to be gospel or hooey?
That
is, is there hard (vs scuttlebutt) info which supports or refutes his
position?

Glenn? Richard? Others in the trade?

And, assuming tired stuff where/whatever it is, how expensive is it,
relatively, to refit one or the other (replacing what's there)?

Thanks.

L8R

Skip and Lydia, rounding third, post on that to follow


--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

Hi, Glenn, and thanks for the response.

My expected pattern will be on the hook for extended periods of time,
particularly in the high season, when I/we expect to be working, perhaps 7
days a week, long hours. Since part of the reason for going offshore for
the rest of my life is peace and quiet, running engines or generators isn't
very appealing, and so I expect to have substantial solar and wind
generation to minimize that. Of course, once under way, there will be
enough instances of running the engine, I expect, that it won't be of issue
very often.

So, I'm anticipating doing something using 12V, if for no other reason than
greater efficiency than having to turn it into 120V, when I'm not running
some IC power source. I'm currently open on the subject of (IC[diesel - I
don't think I'd consider gas]) generators, but nearly certainly would not
buy one if it didn't come with the boat we buy. But, if we had one, likely
I'd like a combo ability (12V/120V), perhaps even with a tie-in to an
engine-driven compressor if it's cold plates we use.

Have you done any calculations on the load required to run cold plates
(daily amp hours) vs evaporators for the ability to keep a given volume to a
given temperature? One of the boat types we've considered has an example of
a refit set of evaporators, so it has me thinking... (They wrapped it
around the previous freezer section, entirely, at the top, and had a box/lid
topmounted in the previous reefer space, each having their own knob
temperature adjusters. I don't recall the brand, but there were two
compressors in the engine room, backed up against the reefer/frig space.)

Thanks.

L8R

Skip (and Lydia)
--
"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
"Glenn Ashmore" wrote in message
news:UFoDb.5096$JD6.3998@lakeread04...
Richard may have a different view but IMHO, (and you know what that is
like because everybody has one) it really depends on how you plan to use
the refrigerator. Holding plates take a lot of energy for a short time
and evaporators take a little energy for a long time.

Many blue water passage makers still prefer holding plates because they
fit into the daily energy routine. Coastal, island hoppers and marina
queens prefer evaporators. Production boat builders much prefer
evaporators because they cost a lot less, the box can be made a lot
smaller and lest we forget, they are always selling to the first mate,
not the skipper.

With the introduction of the higher efficiency Danfoss compressors and
especially that new Glacier Bay unit, I think that holding plates
require more total energy per day but it can be made to run when the
engine is running and energy is cheap. Holding plate systems seem to be
a lot more ruggedly constructed and can be configured to fit a wider
variety of boxes and usage patterns. They use fairly standard parts so
they can be serviced by most refrigeration techs. Evaporator systems
are more unitized so service is a bit more difficult.

Holding plates have a couple of down sides. First they take up more
room in the box than evaporators and you will have a wider variation in
box temperature with holding plates which is not good for long term food
storage. Evaporators can maintain a more even temperature but you have
to invest in more batteries to store the required energy. Evaporators
can also maintain the temperatures during longer absences from the boat
if you have alternative charging sources like a wind generator or solar
panels.

Evaporators are a lot simpler than holding plate systems. Most have
capillary tubes rather than expansion valves and often come pre-charged
so installation is a lot easier. They also have to disburse heat at a
slower rate than holding plates that have to remove a whole day's worth
of BTUs in an hour or so. That means the smaller ones can be air
cooled and the larger ones require smaller cooling water circuits.
Evaporator plates are almost totally machine made while holding plates
take a considerable amount of skilled labor.

Skip Gundlach wrote:

Well, not air conditioning...

In reefers and freezers, I've been fonder, by far, of cold plates.
OTOH, in
my most recent trip, a broker who sells new boats asserted that nothing
comes out of factories that way any more due to greatly increased
efficiencies in current equipment, making 12V on-off, thermostatically
controlled, refrigeration and freezing more appropriate, not having to
run
the engine or genny, etc. In an unrelated, other than efficiency,
matter, in the second most recent trip, I was also aboard a boat with
12V AC
which was in the dehumidify mode, and was quietly purring away in the
stern
lazarette, seemingly not using much power, which might support the
position.

So, back to refrigeration. Anybody know that to be gospel or hooey?
That
is, is there hard (vs scuttlebutt) info which supports or refutes his
position?

Glenn? Richard? Others in the trade?

And, assuming tired stuff where/whatever it is, how expensive is it,
relatively, to refit one or the other (replacing what's there)?

Thanks.

L8R

Skip and Lydia, rounding third, post on that to follow


--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

As always there are to many options. If you have a separate genset a
120VAC holding plate might make sense. 120VAC refrigeration on an
inverter makes no sense at all to me. 12VDC or engine driven holding
plates means running the engine at least once a day and often twice.
THere are several 12VDC alternator geenset/watermakers out there but I
don't recall one with a compressor. I suppose you could add one in
place of or in addition to the watermaker pump.

This is just my theory but it seems to have worked out on the boats I
have either chartered or delivered. If you are shopping regularly and
loading the box with warm stuff expecting the box to chill it down the
evaporators work better because they can pull out a lot of BTUs fairly
quickly if allowed to run flat out. Holding plates will pull out BTUs
at a more regular rate. OTOH, if the box is stocked for a long passage
and you are not constantly adding new stuff the holding plate is more
efficient once everything is chilled down.

I am going with a pair of evaporator systems. One for the refrigerator
and one for the freezer. Here is how I arrived at this choice. First I
have plenty of power. 250 amp alternator and two 120 watt solar panels
charging 780 amp hours of L16HC batteries. Second, I want a copious
amount of ice for my sun downers. Third RUTU is designed for the
occasional run to Bermuda and Western Caribbean but primarily coastal
sailing and a lot of island hopping but definitely not for the South
Pacific. I expect weekly if not daily restocking. I expect my crew to
consist mostly of under 30 males which means a constant flow of beer and
soft drinks passing through the fridge. Forth Rutu will spend several
months a year in a slip 4 hours away. I want to keep the fridge stocked
and ready when I get to the boat on Friday afternoon. And finally I
wanted a system that was easy to install because I will be doing it
myself.

Everyone should develop their own criteria but those are mine.

Skip Gundlach wrote:

Hi, Glenn, and thanks for the response.

My expected pattern will be on the hook for extended periods of time,
particularly in the high season, when I/we expect to be working, perhaps 7
days a week, long hours. Since part of the reason for going offshore for
the rest of my life is peace and quiet, running engines or generators isn't
very appealing, and so I expect to have substantial solar and wind
generation to minimize that. Of course, once under way, there will be
enough instances of running the engine, I expect, that it won't be of issue
very often.

So, I'm anticipating doing something using 12V, if for no other reason than
greater efficiency than having to turn it into 120V, when I'm not running
some IC power source. I'm currently open on the subject of (IC[diesel - I
don't think I'd consider gas]) generators, but nearly certainly would not
buy one if it didn't come with the boat we buy. But, if we had one, likely
I'd like a combo ability (12V/120V), perhaps even with a tie-in to an
engine-driven compressor if it's cold plates we use.

Have you done any calculations on the load required to run cold plates
(daily amp hours) vs evaporators for the ability to keep a given volume to a
given temperature? One of the boat types we've considered has an example of
a refit set of evaporators, so it has me thinking... (They wrapped it
around the previous freezer section, entirely, at the top, and had a box/lid
topmounted in the previous reefer space, each having their own knob
temperature adjusters. I don't recall the brand, but there were two
compressors in the engine room, backed up against the reefer/frig space.)

Thanks.

L8R

Skip (and Lydia)

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

As always there are to many options. If you have a separate genset a
120VAC holding plate might make sense. 120VAC refrigeration on an
inverter makes no sense at all to me. 12VDC or engine driven holding
plates means running the engine at least once a day and often twice.
THere are several 12VDC alternator geenset/watermakers out there but I
don't recall one with a compressor. I suppose you could add one in
place of or in addition to the watermaker pump.

This is just my theory but it seems to have worked out on the boats I
have either chartered or delivered. If you are shopping regularly and
loading the box with warm stuff expecting the box to chill it down the
evaporators work better because they can pull out a lot of BTUs fairly
quickly if allowed to run flat out. Holding plates will pull out BTUs
at a more regular rate. OTOH, if the box is stocked for a long passage
and you are not constantly adding new stuff the holding plate is more
efficient once everything is chilled down.

I am going with a pair of evaporator systems. One for the refrigerator
and one for the freezer. Here is how I arrived at this choice. First I
have plenty of power. 250 amp alternator and two 120 watt solar panels
charging 780 amp hours of L16HC batteries. Second, I want a copious
amount of ice for my sun downers. Third RUTU is designed for the
occasional run to Bermuda and Western Caribbean but primarily coastal
sailing and a lot of island hopping but definitely not for the South
Pacific. I expect weekly if not daily restocking. I expect my crew to
consist mostly of under 30 males which means a constant flow of beer and
soft drinks passing through the fridge. Forth Rutu will spend several
months a year in a slip 4 hours away. I want to keep the fridge stocked
and ready when I get to the boat on Friday afternoon. And finally I
wanted a system that was easy to install because I will be doing it
myself.

Everyone should develop their own criteria but those are mine.

Skip Gundlach wrote:

Hi, Glenn, and thanks for the response.

My expected pattern will be on the hook for extended periods of time,
particularly in the high season, when I/we expect to be working, perhaps 7
days a week, long hours. Since part of the reason for going offshore for
the rest of my life is peace and quiet, running engines or generators isn't
very appealing, and so I expect to have substantial solar and wind
generation to minimize that. Of course, once under way, there will be
enough instances of running the engine, I expect, that it won't be of issue
very often.

So, I'm anticipating doing something using 12V, if for no other reason than
greater efficiency than having to turn it into 120V, when I'm not running
some IC power source. I'm currently open on the subject of (IC[diesel - I
don't think I'd consider gas]) generators, but nearly certainly would not
buy one if it didn't come with the boat we buy. But, if we had one, likely
I'd like a combo ability (12V/120V), perhaps even with a tie-in to an
engine-driven compressor if it's cold plates we use.

Have you done any calculations on the load required to run cold plates
(daily amp hours) vs evaporators for the ability to keep a given volume to a
given temperature? One of the boat types we've considered has an example of
a refit set of evaporators, so it has me thinking... (They wrapped it
around the previous freezer section, entirely, at the top, and had a box/lid
topmounted in the previous reefer space, each having their own knob
temperature adjusters. I don't recall the brand, but there were two
compressors in the engine room, backed up against the reefer/frig space.)

Thanks.

L8R

Skip (and Lydia)

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

This past July I replaced my 120V Grunert holding plate system with a 12
V system that I built from parts from RParts.com. My major reasons for
doing this were (not necessarily in any order):

1) I could generate 12V from a large number of sources:

a) Solar panels
b) A KISS wind generator
c) The Heart Inverter/Charger that runs off the generator or shore AC
d) The alternator

2) My Fischer Panda generator was completely unreliable. As a result I
was trying to move away from relying on 120V. The Fischer Panda was
replaced by a NextGen generator which I hope will be much more reliable.

3) I am virtually never at a dock. I spend 6-8 months a year cruising
and am headed to the South Pacific this year. When I am at dock I can
use the shore power through the charger.

4) My holding plates do a great job of of maintaining temperature in the
compartments. I personally know of very few cruisers who use evaporator
style systems, other than those who have very small systems. Then
again, I know some cruisers who don't have *any* refrigeration, but I
can't imagine living that way!

5) After researching my various options I decided upon a 1/2 HP Glacier
Bay motor direct coupled to a Bitzer IIY compressor. For all intents
and purposes, this is a Glacier Bay system except that I use Grunert
holding plates rather than Glacier Bay holding plates. The Glacier Bay
holding plates are more efficient due to their use of spider capilary
tubes, but I couldn't justify the cost relative to the performance gain.
I switched from R404A to R134A.

6) I wanted to build the entire system myself as I need to maintain the
system while out cruising. Before doing this refrigeration was a bit of
a mystery. Now I've got a good handle on it as well as having the tools
(pumps, sniffers, etc) necessary to maintain it.

7) The system is running just great. It runs for about 2 to 2.5 hours
per day in daily day time temps in the low 90s and night time temps in
to low 80s. It cycles on demand. I redid the circuitry so that only
one zone runs at a time. This is MUCH more efficient than allowing both
zones to run simultaneously.

I don't know if this helps at all, but it's just one more data point.

-- Geoff

This past July I replaced my 120V Grunert holding plate system with a 12
V system that I built from parts from RParts.com. My major reasons for
doing this were (not necessarily in any order):

1) I could generate 12V from a large number of sources:

a) Solar panels
b) A KISS wind generator
c) The Heart Inverter/Charger that runs off the generator or shore AC
d) The alternator

2) My Fischer Panda generator was completely unreliable. As a result I
was trying to move away from relying on 120V. The Fischer Panda was
replaced by a NextGen generator which I hope will be much more reliable.

3) I am virtually never at a dock. I spend 6-8 months a year cruising
and am headed to the South Pacific this year. When I am at dock I can
use the shore power through the charger.

4) My holding plates do a great job of of maintaining temperature in the
compartments. I personally know of very few cruisers who use evaporator
style systems, other than those who have very small systems. Then
again, I know some cruisers who don't have *any* refrigeration, but I
can't imagine living that way!

5) After researching my various options I decided upon a 1/2 HP Glacier
Bay motor direct coupled to a Bitzer IIY compressor. For all intents
and purposes, this is a Glacier Bay system except that I use Grunert
holding plates rather than Glacier Bay holding plates. The Glacier Bay
holding plates are more efficient due to their use of spider capilary
tubes, but I couldn't justify the cost relative to the performance gain.
I switched from R404A to R134A.

6) I wanted to build the entire system myself as I need to maintain the
system while out cruising. Before doing this refrigeration was a bit of
a mystery. Now I've got a good handle on it as well as having the tools
(pumps, sniffers, etc) necessary to maintain it.

7) The system is running just great. It runs for about 2 to 2.5 hours
per day in daily day time temps in the low 90s and night time temps in
to low 80s. It cycles on demand. I redid the circuitry so that only
one zone runs at a time. This is MUCH more efficient than allowing both
zones to run simultaneously.

I don't know if this helps at all, but it's just one more data point.

-- Geoff

P.S. If you want to see pictures of the components and the assembled
system, you can find them at

http://www.geoffschultz.org/2003_Sai...ork/index.html

-- Geoff