Fridge compressor location.

[Neeves]

The 'norm' is to push the warm air out and let the partial vacuum draw the cool air in.
If I have read you right, your thinking of pushing cool air in, which isn't as efficient, as it mixes with the warm air before doing any cooling of the equipment.

You can't see the 2nd fan, but it is at the top left of the picture pushing the warm air up and out.

View attachment 165239

Depends where the cool air comes from. We duct ours from the anchor/chain locker using a fan but use another fan to simultaneously remove the warm air - we effectively have fresh air in at the bow and warm air ducted into an engine bay and exiting at the transom through a vent. If we just sucked the warm air out the 'partial' vacuum would simply draw warm air, or warmer than fresh air, from inside the yacht The fans use little power and are supplemented as at anchor the bow is to windward.

Jonathan

 

[KAM]

My compressor is in a locker under the sink. There is no ventilation at all. I actually made a ventilation grid but never fitted it as I couldn't bring myself to cut the holes. It has worked well for many years now. The locker only gets slightly warm. Bottom of the locker is the hull surface in contact with the sea. Had to top the gas up in the 2nd year after installation but strangely it's been good for the last 8 years. There's usually ice inside the cool box and I have to be carefull things don't get too cold.

 

[MontyMariner]

We duct ours from the anchor/chain locker using a fan but use another fan to simultaneously remove the warm air

Best of both worlds

 

[Neeves]

Best of both worlds

Nothing clever - we anchor preferentially and often there is no choice - but anchor. The locker is to windward and it was not difficult, just time consuming, to fit ducting from the aft bulkhead of the anchor/chain locker to the compressor. Once we had that system up and running we had a warm draft being forced round the walls, top and bottom of the fridge - into the galley. I immediately thought of colder climes and this might actually be beneficial (warm air) - so we do think of you - but in Australia the need for warm air is not normal. We thus thought of how to capture the warm air and explored adding ducting through the cabin sole to one of the engine bays. Once completed we added a second fan.

If we were commissioning another yacht we have found the system so successful we would plan from the base up. Its maybe not for everyone - much depends on the design of your bow locker (and keeping it clean) and how the bow locker connects, or can be made to connect, to the 'compressor' or galley.

We used to have scheduled household (garbage) collections (separate to weekly garbage etc). We anticipated the need and as people tossed out old computers we would scavage the fans. Those days are over, no-one has a monster computer now - laptops are de rigour and have tiny fans. Also now the scheduled collections have been replaced by 2 per household per year - at a time convenient to the owner, so scavenging is less successful (though does not stop people cruising in white panel vans looking for motors from which to strip the copper).

Jonathan