Fridge kit suggestions please

[Kelpie]

I plan to convert a locker on to a fridge, and ideally have a section of it used as a freezer.
It's a reasonably large locker, and even factoring in generous insulation (100mm in most of it) it's still going to be about 160l.
Most fridge kits seem to go up to about 125l, and much less (40l?) when used as a freezer.
I presume those figures are heavily dependent on how well insulated the box is, how you use it, and his much power consumption you're willing to put up with.

If I use a 125l kit, will that cause any problems? Even if it has to run the compressor a bit more often, fundamentally the energy required is going to be the same as buying a bigger model and running it a bit less? And I'm struggling to find a bigger model anyway.

I'd like a box shaped evaporator, to create a little ice compartment, and there are three similar kits all at or slightly under £500, from Frigoboat, Waeco, and Isotherm. Leaning towards the Isotherm because it's a bit cheaper, claims it does slightly more at 130l, and they seem to have a decent reputation.

 

[Dunx]

We undertook a similar exercise and found a chat with Penguin refrigeration at Havant a really worthwhile use of time. Friendly helpful and had all the kit for the end solution in stock. We have no connection to them just positive feedback as happy customers.

 

[iantomlinson]

Have a look at the waeco crx50. it takes 1.1amp but the freezer compartment pulls out making the whle fridge into a freezer. weve had one for 4 years and it's brill. same size as your old style boat fridge but takes next to no power. about £500 from memory.

 

[mrangry]

I had a 300 litre space to cool and contacted Penguin refrigeration and they supplied me with the custom kit at a reasonable price.

 

[LadyInBed]

I plan to convert a locker on to a fridge, and ideally have a section of it used as a freezer.
It's a reasonably large locker, and even factoring in generous insulation (100mm in most of it) it's still going to be about 160l.

Do you want a 160L fridge? If not, you could partition the locker.
The compressor could go in the partition.

 

[Neeves]

Do you want a 160L fridge? If not, you could partition the locker.
The compressor could go in the partition.

Whatever you do the compressor needs good airflow over/round it. Fresh air in , warm air out. Extra computer fans will help. I'd locate the compressor to take advantage of the possible airflow.

Jonathan.

 

[geem]

I plan to convert a locker on to a fridge, and ideally have a section of it used as a freezer.
It's a reasonably large locker, and even factoring in generous insulation (100mm in most of it) it's still going to be about 160l.
Most fridge kits seem to go up to about 125l, and much less (40l?) when used as a freezer.
I presume those figures are heavily dependent on how well insulated the box is, how you use it, and his much power consumption you're willing to put up with.

If I use a 125l kit, will that cause any problems? Even if it has to run the compressor a bit more often, fundamentally the energy required is going to be the same as buying a bigger model and running it a bit less? And I'm struggling to find a bigger model anyway.

I'd like a box shaped evaporator, to create a little ice compartment, and there are three similar kits all at or slightly under £500, from Frigoboat, Waeco, and Isotherm. Leaning towards the Isotherm because it's a bit cheaper, claims it does slightly more at 130l, and they seem to have a decent reputation.

We chose the large elliptical evaporator plate. Mounted vertically in the fridge, we use it as a freezer. It gives us 10 litres of fridge capacity. Having the freezer inside the fridge rather than being a partitioned off section of the fridge is more energy efficient.

 

[Greenheart]

June 12th

This isn't a related question but you chaps clearly understand refrigeration.

I'll be in a tent for two weeks next month. It gets hideously hot in the daytime. Keeping a fridge outside the tent is not an option.

As I understand it, nobody makes a portable fridge that works in 45°C+ inside a tent through the middle of the day.

Does anybody make a cooler with a freezer facility, which I can run from say 6pm till 8am, to make enough ice overnight to keep food chilled during the day?

The plan would be to double-insulate a box that the ice-filled cooler could occupy during the day, without running.

I realise it isn't possible to run a condenser/compressor in a sealed box; and with roasting ambient temperatures, and I'm imagining that running the cooler in the tent would only melt the ice formed overnight.

I just want to make enough ice when conditions allow, to survive the sunny period when they won't. It may not be possible. Thanks!
.

 

[Graham376]

Our box is 170L and badly insulated. I use Isotherm BD50F compressor (draws 7 amps) with large O ring evaporator, anything placed in evaporator remains frozen, no probs making ice for G & T.

 

[Kelpie]

Returning to this topic...
Penguin sell three kits all using the same compressor and all costing £500. The evaporators are different, with a small plate, a box, and a large plate. The large plate can cool a 160l fridge which is ideal for me. But the box evaporator might let me run a small freezer section, which could be handy. It's only supposed to work for a fridge up to 120l though, so I'd have to add a bit more insulation to shrink the compartment down (or would I?)
All else being equal, is a larger evaporator better, if you can fit it in?

 

[Graham376]

The large plate has the capacity for your box and it can be bent to shape if you want to divide box into two sections, a smaller one as freezer with spill over to the larger area for fridge. We sometimes have below deck temperature over 30 degrees so we went for larger compressor but suggest you talk to fridge supplier or others sailing your area.

 

[iantomlinson]

You're all missing the point. The op wants a fridge that works at +45 degrees. Thats 45 deg.?????? Not gonna work?

 

[Kelpie]

You're all missing the point. The op wants a fridge that works at +45 degrees. Thats 45 deg.?????? Not gonna work?

No I don't... ?

 

[iantomlinson]

Sorry. just got in and first post was from dancrane. ignore me and ill look tmoro at the full thread. Bloody computers and internet. I'm old scholl and i've seen crx50. we have one and theyre great. i need sleep and will join the conflab again tmoro. apologies. carry on mr manwaring!!!

 

[Kelpie]

Sorry. just got in and first post was from dancrane. ignore me and ill look tmoro at the full thread. Bloody computers and internet. I'm old scholl and i've seen crx50. we have one and theyre great. i need sleep and will join the conflab again tmoro. apologies. carry on mr manwaring!!!

Funnily enough I already have a CRX50, and yes it's pretty good. But I'm converting the boat to liveaboard and need more fridge space. I also think a 12v kit with 100mm insulation all round will knock the socks off any off-the-shelf fridge in terms of energy efficiency.

 

[Graham376]

Funnily enough I already have a CRX50, and yes it's pretty good. But I'm converting the boat to liveaboard and need more fridge space. I also think a 12v kit with 100mm insulation all round will knock the socks off any off-the-shelf fridge in terms of energy efficiency.

Are you staying UK based or, heading for warmer seas? If the latter, have a look at keel cooling.

 

[iantomlinson]

I don't know the cunsumption figures but have you looked at the kit where you could convert say a cupboard or locker?

 

[Greenheart]

Still working on my chilled food plan for camping; the issue is running a fridge in the intolerable daytime heat of a tent (over 40°C).

I've bought a 100-litre plastic box and a couple of smaller boxes that will fit inside, leaving room for thick, thick polystyrene insulation round the inner boxes.

The issue of course is still where will I get the ice? I had been thinking that with such a thickly-insulated cool box, I could run an ordinary £100 domestic ice-cube maker at night when the tent's temperature wouldn't reduce its ice-making ability...

...if between dusk and dawn I can make five or six kilos of ice-cubes and deposit them in the super-insulated coolbox, I can enjoy chilled drinks and fresh food the following day, when the tent is so hot that I doubt the ice-cube maker would function.

BUT, might it be easier instead to run a small self-contained compressor fridge/freezer inside the 'coolbox' (with ducted vents sucking in outside-temperature air and removing the compressor's heat? Instead of making a coolbox, I would be making a thermally-separate housing for a fridge, using ducted ventilation, so despite the terrible heat in the tent, the fridge would run normally in the moderate outside temperature.

I quite like the ice-cube maker idea, but I doubt it's an efficient way to create coldness.

 

[Gary Fox]

Funnily enough I already have a CRX50, and yes it's pretty good. But I'm converting the boat to liveaboard and need more fridge space. I also think a 12v kit with 100mm insulation all round will knock the socks off any off-the-shelf fridge in terms of energy efficiency.

I agree. Also, you get to choose the source and destination of the cooling air, mine sucks it out of the cool bilges.
Might as well mention my **ad in the for sale section for a fridge system** although it's not big enough for the OP.

 

[contessaman]

Hi for what it’s worth,
ive Got a Frigoboat seawater cooled refrigeration kit that works well on about 90L converted locker in the galley. It can freeze the whole space if i set the thermostat right down Although it’s running a lot then and current consumption is a lot higher than refrigerator temperatures. ( but still not bad and solar and ampair tow
fish can keep up with draw)
in my opinion a large freezer is more useful than a fridge on a long passage . Just defrost what you need.

so I run that system as a freezer at sea offshore.

for in the marina I have a cheapo table top 50 litre Mains fridge in the cockpit locker that runs 24/7
also, I have a small cheap inverter with it, so for a coastal hop or day sail I can keep it going too off the domestic battery bank. If it wears out they’re about 80 quid for a whole new fridge. It’s remarkably efficient and through the inverter takes about 6 amps when the compressoris running . Which is about a third of the time in the uk summer.