Fitting a fridge compressor to Beta 20

[nicko]

I am in the process of repowering my 28' yacht with a Beta 20 ( my Yanmar SB12 has died!).
Has anyone had a compressor fitted to the front pulley of the Beta 20 (I am having an extra drive pulley fitted to the new engine for the compressor)?

I would really appreciate some photos, or instructions, of how the compressor can be attached to the front of the motor ie below the drive pulley.

 

[mawm]

I have just done it. I fitted a remote oil filter, Beta have the necessary parts, to create space for the compressor on the port side and had a bracket fabricated to mount the compressor on. With double belts I needed two pulleys attached to the engine which took up a bit of space.

I'm not able to get to my boat for a couple of days but will send you photos when I do - that's if you still need them.

 

[vyv_cox]

I suppose that the idea of having 'free' power to run your fridge is attractive, but will the need to run your engine to power the fridge suit your cruising style? Our fridge runs 24/7 for half the year, electrically powered by solar panels. We are often at anchor for a week or more and have no need to run the engine at all. Engine powered fridges suit charter boats well, as they typically move every day and running the engine is usually called for. Liveaboards have very different requirements and I have met owners of ex-charter boats who intended removing engine driven compressors for this reason.

 

[macd]

My experience, and I'm sure that of others in similar positions, concurs with Vyv's. Even when the Med is windless, as it often is, and motoring sometimes the norm, engine use would not be a practical means of running a fridge compressor. (It would, of course, be fine for a watermaker, but then water doesn't go off as quickly as meat. :ambivalence Of course the OP's expected usage may be totally different.

 

[William_H]

Interesting questions re engine powered fridge compressor. Certainly a well insulated deep freeze powered from the engine driven compressor would be an excellent way "store" the energy needed for refigeration. Cheaper and more efficient than charging a lot of batteries then running a12v compressor to get days of "cold" between engine runs. I would imagine a car aircon compressor would take a lot of power from a small engine but have a lot of cooling power so not need such long engine runs. Would need an electric clutch so it could be disconnected.
It would mean having another cool box cooled by frozen water or drinks so that the freezer could be taken down to really cold for long period between engine runs.
The advantage of 12v fridge is that it can be run easily from shore power. So no engine running needed at all.
So I would imagine much depends your actual cruising style. Shore power availability etc.
Perhaps OP would like to have a 12v fridge kit installed in the same icebox as the cold plate from engine driven compressor. Expensive perhaps but flexible on powering it.
I would like to try or see results from a 12v fridge running directly off a solar panel. No battery. So cools during the day sleeps over night. Would of course need reliable sunshine so perhaps limited value in UK. My little CF25 Waeco will run off 12v or 24v so should run nicely on about18v from a panel but unfortunately has low battery cut out system which would stop it working on 18v. It would need about a 70w panel to power it. Just coggitating olewill

 

[nicko]

I am refitting (to the new motor - Beta 20) the compressor I already have, which has been very reliable and I am more than happy with it.
I was just hoping someone had already done this, to give me some hints for brackets, attachment points to the motor etc.

I sail in New Zealand which I presume is quite different to the Med.

 

[mawm]

Did you get the pictures I emailed you?

 

[rob2]

You don't say what type of compressor you have, so it is unlikely that anyone will respond. A lot of charter boats , particularly in places like the Virgin Islands were fitted with systems using Sanden compressors. These are basically cylindrical in shape with a magnetic clutch and pulley on the end. Bracketry is similar to that used for an alternator. They are used to cool a Eutectic plate, it stays cold for up to 24 hours and takes around half an hour to achieve minimum temperature, so a short engine run each day maintains the fridge freezer and the batteries. I believe, though not certain, that they were intentionally given a less than optimal charge of refrigerant and possibly excess oil to reduce their power as otherwise they tended to be underloaded and could freeze up the connecting hoses!

Rob.