Fridges / Cold Boxes ?? Waeco

[Refueler]

What happened to Waeco ??

It was a Brand bandied about a lot and then ????

Not cheap but worked well. Guy who used to crew my boat in UK had a small Waeco and it could freeze the milk if not set carefully ! Amp draw was less than my Cool Box ....

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Became Dometic.

ᐅ Portable Electric Coolboxes

 

[Bodach na mara]

There were great kits available for converting the ice boxes of e.g. Westerly boats to fridges. I did that in my Renown. Before I converted it I used to scrounge some ice every time I was in a fishing port, but as it melted the melt water drained into the bilges. That was OK in a boat with a deep sump like the Westerly 31s but would have been a problem on more modern boats with flat bottoms.

My fridge conversion was easy to do and worked well for the next 10 years till I sold the boat.

 

[lustyd]

would have been a problem on more modern boats with flat bottoms

Not really, my Jeanneau fridge drains into the sump for this very reason and the bilge pump takes care of the water. Sump is 6" deep and sits at the bottom of a 5" gap under the floor. Boat is a modern 36' AWB. Obviously I do have a fridge, but the boat was designed to operate with ice, being a 1999 model predating the age of "ample power".

 

[steve yates]

Im interested in these conversion kits for the westerlies, its on my list. Any links or names?

Found a couple, for anyone else interested.
Turn a boat coolbox into a fridge - Practical Boat Owner
Converting a Cool Box to a Refrigerator by Alan Rand

 

[lustyd]

Im interested in these conversion kits for the westerlies, its on my list. Any links or names?

Go for the cheapest kit you can find that fits the space. Inside they are all BD35F or BD55F compressors (although this will change with the new refridgerant R1234yf). The only other difference is the sled (metal tray it sits on) and radiator design which mostly don't matter very much. The kits come gassed up so you just connect the two hoses and power.

 

[rotrax]

The Waeco and Dometic fridge/freezers are excellent. We have a 40 litre Dometic. It has a smart switch. If 240v is available it uses that, otherwise it defaults to 12v.

These units use the miniature Danfoss compressor. The Patent for this has long expired and others are using the technology.

Here in NZ 'The Warehouse' is offering a 40 litre unit for 400 Dollars - 200 quid - and a 20 litre unit for 250 Dollars.

The one I like is called 'Brass Monkey'..............................................................

 

[Concerto]

Steve. I converted my fitted cool box on Concerto to a fridge using a a Dometic kit.
Dometic ColdMachine Kit CU-55 + VD-01 - Complete cooling system with

I would also add a 240V/12V automitic switch so as soon as you plug into mains then the 12V cut out.
Waeco CoolPower EPS100 Mains Adaptor 230V > 12/24V

You will also need to increase the insulation of the cool box. Currently that will be 25mm polystrene. Use 50mm Kingspan closed cell foam on the sides and 100mm on the bottom. You may find the 50mm too thick for the space on the sides but a cheese wire is the easiest way to cut to thickness.

Once the box has been insulated, then it is a question of fitting the cooling plate. The fitting the compressor unit, mine is in the sail locker in a purpose made ventilated box for protection. The only connections you need to make are the thermostat, the electic feed with the autoswitch and the two prefilled pipes connection the compressor to the cooling plate.

 

[coopec]

Dometic Acquires Waeco - Off Grid Camping

As far as I am concerned Dometic and Waeco have always been the same crowd.

Is Dometic the same as Waeco?

Dometic have owned Waeco for many years trading as two different brands, but in 2017 the decision was made to combine the brands to become the globally recognised brand that they are.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Dometic Acquires Waeco - Off Grid Camping

As far as I am concerned Dometic and Waeco have always been the same crowd.

Is Dometic the same as Waeco?

Dometic have owned Waeco for many years trading as two different brands, but in 2017 the decision was made to combine the brands to become the globally recognised brand that they are.

That's my understanding too. 'Acquire' was only a name change - they were always part of the same company. Waeco is probably not the best name for a company given that it sounds the same as Waco which has unhappy connotations.

 

[QBhoy]

You can occasionally find them still…but most are branded dometic now. I’ve got a waeco cf11 portable fridge for the boat. It’s just an outstanding thing. Can’t be a more efficient fridge out there. Never once bothered the battery I have. Can even freeze down to -18. That said…I paid just under £400 for mine years ago…they are now closer to £700 last I looked. Surely find one cheaper though.

 

[Refueler]

Guy brought a Waeco on my boat years back in UK .... froze the milk ......

My large Rubbermaid Coolbox struggles to cool anything - but its one of the 'picnic' style .... useless to keep anything longer than a day or so.
Its also power hungry and is why I have it on a relay that kicks in when Engine is running.

Looked at price of Dometic ..... mmmmmmm

 

[lustyd]

The compressor based coolboxes are literally the same components as a boat fridge, just in a portable package - usually a bd35F compressor, although Secop (aka Danfoss) have released some new smaller ones which will likely replace them. This is why they can freeze things, you just turn down the thermostat and it's a freezer.

The peltier style picnic coolers are not even comparable, they'll just suck your battery dry and do very little in the way of cooling. They are cheaper but even so I don't find them worth the money.

 

[FairweatherDave]

We bought a Dometic and really enjoyed using it for last summer. Yes , pricey but an excellent product. At the Southampton Boat show we spoke to the salesman for TotalCool who aim for a similar spot in the market - I can't say he was a good salesman or a pleasure to talk to but he reckoned his product was better and cheaper, surging ahead of dometic in the motorhome market. For you to research but I saw loads of them at Northney Marina chandlery. Just saying the world might have moved on a bit since Dometic was the low energy fridge to have.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Looked at price of Dometic ..... mmmmmmm

There are cheaper Chinese made compressor coolboxes...

Alpicool X30 30L Fridge - Cools to -20c - New Product

 

[Clancy Moped]

The Waeco and Dometic fridge/freezers are excellent. We have a 40 litre Dometic. It has a smart switch. If 240v is available it uses that, otherwise it defaults to 12v.

These units use the miniature Danfoss compressor. The Patent for this has long expired and others are using the technology.

Here in NZ 'The Warehouse' is offering a 40 litre unit for 400 Dollars - 200 quid - and a 20 litre unit for 250 Dollars.

The one I like is called 'Brass Monkey'..............................................................

We had one of those which we used as a freezer. It worked perfectly, unlike the previous one that caught fire in Turkey - thank god we were on board at the time! It was an Australian make, the name escapes me.

Edit: Thanks to Owen and Vyv Cox for there help at the time, it was a Engel unit.

 

[Refueler]

There are cheaper Chinese made compressor coolboxes...

Alpicool X30 30L Fridge - Cools to -20c - New Product

Was looking at various .... then saw eBays Global Shipping Program costs .................

I know various sellers were cheating eBay in the past - but this system is taking the p**** !!

My biggest problem is shipping .... if I was in UK - then not so bad ... but being in Latvia is not so good.

I looked at one as example in UK .... 150 quid ... then add 49 quid shipping and 85 quid Customs / Service charges ....

 

[MattS]

I've just replaced my old compressor with one of these kits Isotherm GE80 Fridge Kit

@Concerto As a slight tangent, does anyone know if you could use one of these Waecom automatic 12/240v switches with e.g. an Isotherm? Seems to me it probably doesn't do anything Waeco / Dometic specific - just spits out 12V? Waeco CoolPower EPS100 Mains Adaptor 230V > 12/24V

 

[lustyd]

The output voltage is 25V* so do check that your controller can use that. Your controller is a Danfoss (Secop), you can see the label on the side where the wires connect. They will provide a manual for the unit.

*although that could just be a bad web page only quoting one of the voltages.

 

[lustyd]

Just checked the manual here and yes, it specifically states it works with any BD35F. The BD35F manual here specifically states it's dual voltage. It seems the unit will pass through 12V or 24V when on battery but 25V when on mains which makes sense.

The Isotherm uses a BD35F or BD50F depending on model, both will work fine