Fridges / Cold Boxes ?? Waeco

[Refueler]

OK ... Guys ....

I see various sizes of units quoted and used ... lets stay with the Portable units and not the built in ...

I am trying to decide what volume (litres) fridge box to go for.

15L although handy - seems a bit small.
20L better ... still a bit small ?
......
I was looking at the 40L ... but maybe that's a bit big to get into my space ....

What do I want it for ?

I like Milk ... Cream .... Meat ..... Veg ..... (beer etc - I can cool overside or whatever). My Baltic trips can be from 4 to 10days with limited shop facilities .. maybe 2 or 3x in that 10days ..... I cruise the Swedish Islands that many have no shops etc ...

Can you guys with the portable units please post what you do with yours and what size ??

 

[Chiara’s slave]

40l for us, use similar to yours, 2 on board plus G&T guests

 

[Refueler]

40l for us, use similar to yours, 2 on board plus G&T guests

Tks ... must measure my old box as that was max I could get in that space.

 

[Refueler]

My old cool-box is L 23.5" x W 16.5" x D 17.0" external ... with internal L 18.0" x W 9.5" x D 11"

This gives ~31L internal less a small bit for the vent section ...

Interesting that Vevor units show slightly smaller measurements for similar volume .... I expect more. I can replace with a 36L in similar size.

 

[FairweatherDave]

20l internal vol might be OK for one person for your 4 to 10 day trips with limited top ups. Ours is 31 internal vol, and we start a longer trip using the old cold box too with ice or cold blocks.... but there are usually 3 of us. It is quite bulky although sits nicely in the open infront of the quarter berth, and is easier to get past than the chart table.

 

[Refueler]

Prev owner - Brian used to have the Cool-Box up fwd ... but it made use the bunks only for midgets !! So I moved it to just inside companionway to stbd next to the cooker bulkhead .... just where you see the rolled ensign laying

Yes that is a BIG engine box ..... Perkins 4-99 under there .... later replaced with 4-107.

 

[Refueler]

Here I was testing the coolbox and workshop was 24 deg ..... took a few hours but box went down to 16 deg ... as you see here ...

Amps draw was average 8A at 12v ..... (regulated PSU). On board with batterys and alternator higher voltage - amps drops of a touch to about 6.5 - 7A .... still too much really for the lack of cooling achieved.

 

[Tranona]

This is the one I have bought. amazon.co.uk/Alpicool-Refrigerator-Portable-Electric-20℃-20℃/dp/B08BXR7BWP/ref=sr_1_3?crid=348CYE04W90BY&keywords=alpicool&qid=1673544791&sprefix=alpicool%2Caps%2C171&sr=8-3&th=1

The 20l one is essentially the same but does not have the ice cube tray . The choice of size is limited by the space for storage and the 25l is too big although would of course be better for storage. I only have to cater most of the time for one for 2 or 3 days at the most so I think enough room for the essential - bottle of wine, milk, butter, fresh food plus ice to go in the evening scotch.

 

[Refueler]

Love the way they show the 4 Beer bottles standing upright - how do they close the lid ????

My Coolbox cannot take a 2L Coke bottle stood up ....

 

[Tranona]

Yes, artistic licence. It will however take 25cl bottles of cheap 2% French Lager OK.

 

[Refueler]

Yes, artistic licence. It will however take 25cl bottles of cheap 2% French Lager OK.

I called that 'Helming Beer' when I was in UK ..... I used to buy a boxful of it ....

 

[geem]

We have an Indel B portable 42 litres compressor fridge. We use, it as our warm fridge for fruit and veg. I think they are owned by Dometic with the same Secop compressors but just cheaper. It's pretty small. I can't imagine having a smaller one if that's all you had

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Can you guys with the portable units please post what you do with yours and what size ??

18 litres provided enough space for just me for 10 days. Some food had to be removed from packaging and put in plastic bags. No alcohol, and items that don't need refrigerating not put in, like tomatoes and lettuce. There was enough space for all meat and dairy. It's difficult to get fresh food that has a life beyond 10 days, so that was enough space.

 

[Tranona]

We have an Indel B portable 42 litres compressor fridge. We use, it as our warm fridge for fruit and veg. I think they are owned by Dometic with the same Secop compressors but just cheaper. It's pretty small. I can't imagine having a smaller one if that's all you had

Depends on what your needs are and the space you have available. My needs and space are very different from yours and while you cannot imagine having such a small fridge when you have nothing, not even a cool box you value 20l and learn to work within that. I looked at installing a standard 50l front opening fridge, but not only would it cost over 5 times as much but I would lose 2 valuable galley lockers. Making these choices is part of the fun as most choices are a compromise, but you only have to justify it to yourself.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Here I was testing the coolbox and workshop was 24 deg ..... took a few hours but box went down to 16 deg ... as you see here ...

Amps draw was average 8A at 12v ..... (regulated PSU). On board with batterys and alternator higher voltage - amps drops of a touch to about 6.5 - 7A .... still too much really for the lack of cooling achieved.

You’ll find a Vevor fridge a massive improvement on that in every way, no doubt the expensive ones too. Ours doesn’t do 8A even at startup, average is less than 1/4 of that, and at 24c it has no trouble in maintaining 4-5 c inside with that current draw. I’d guess fro memory that, empty, it will do that in 20 mins. We load ours with ready chilled at the start of a trip of course.

 

[Pete7]

OK ... Guys ....

I see various sizes of units quoted and used ... lets stay with the Portable units and not the built in ...

I am trying to decide what volume (litres) fridge box to go for.

15L although handy - seems a bit small.
20L better ... still a bit small ?

Our Alpicool photo'd earlier is 20L. Its the same unit as the C15 but with a different lid that takes the volume up to 20L. The image Tranona linked to looks like a they have changed the design slightly. We managed to get a full Christmas dinner including a Turkey crown and all the trimmings in 20L. Ideally you want to keep the fridge full rather than have lots of space, even going to the point of just putting water bottles in it, if you're short of beer.

Make a cardboard box the size of 20L and see what you can put in it. Our fridge is perhaps 2 cu ft and we fill that pretty quickly, so perhaps 22 or 25L ?

 

[Tranona]

The 20l version like yours is still available and about £12 cheaper (after discount). The only difference seems to be the ice cube making section. The main compartment and controls all seem the same.

 

[Refueler]

One of the factors I have to take care on ... is the lid and which way it opens. My coolbox has a full size lid and its a pain as it hits the undersidedeck ... so I would prefer the type with a partial lid - where one end of box has the control etc. That way I can open lid better.

Ice section ? Not bothered about that - as surely a bag of ice can be bought and placed in with box acting as freezer ? I also note that some boxes have removable small ice containers so you can place in for ice or leave out for the extra bit of volume ..

 

[Porthandbuoy]

One day I’ll get round to converting the top loading cool box on my Neptunian into a fridge. The existing insulation around the coolbox appears to be cork. It’s inaccessible as I’d have to dismantle the entire galley are to get at it. There is an air gap around the coolbox and I was thinking of filling that with expanding foam. Sound reasonable?

 

[Tranona]

One of the factors I have to take care on ... is the lid and which way it opens. My coolbox has a full size lid and its a pain as it hits the undersidedeck ... so I would prefer the type with a partial lid - where one end of box has the control etc. That way I can open lid better.

Ice section ? Not bothered about that - as surely a bag of ice can be bought and placed in with box acting as freezer ? I also note that some boxes have removable small ice containers so you can place in for ice or leave out for the extra bit of volume ..

The 20l is just like that.