Fridges

[rwakeham]

I have decided to take the plunge and put some form of refrigeration on the boat over the winter. I do not have the space really for a permanent set up. More research is required yet but Force4 are selling a Euroengel fridge freezer for £449. It has the correct dimentions and is just in budget. If bought direct from Italy they are the same number of pounds in euros.

This is not the ideal solution - but I think this could provide the happy middle ground. Does anyone have experience of them ? What alternatives have the forum stamp of approval ?

 

[Shanta]

Were do you intend to use the boat most ?
What sort of power can you afford ?
/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
If you are staying around the UK/Northern Europe you don't need to go mad on the best. We had an Electrolux 3way job which worked brilliantly in the UK. We got it cheap as an ex caravan fitting.
If you intend to go somewhere warmer, think again.
We are currently based in spain and have had an Engle for two years it has worked very well.
If you intend long periods without shore power look at Waiko for example. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Swagman]

Have used an Engle as a car frindge in Australia and provided items loaded were already pre-chilled it worked well despite the hot weather.

Not too sure how well it could cope with med type weather if the goods were not already cold tho................

 

[rwakeham]

Mainly for use under shore power.

We tend to Marina hop at the moment - we only have the weekends so can't get that far !

Probably year after next when we feel more confident then it will be away to the med - then power becomes more of an issue.

 

[rwakeham]

One supplemental question - given that I know that it is much cheaper in Euros what is ti stop me ordering it directly from Italy ?

 

[VicMallows]

Nothing, IMHO, other than carriage charges and any bank/creditcard loading. Even guarantee should be pan-EU.

Vic

 

[kandoma]

there are three different kinds of fridges:

absorber: the newer types do work in a a boat. They usually offer 12Volt, 230 Volt and gas. They can have a freezing compartment (* or ** ). Caravans are using them, very quiet.

peltier: electronic gadget, unable to cool down your beer, just keeps the food cold. Not worth the 12 Volt consumption.

compressor: works very good on a boat, two types available: Engel and Danfoss. The Engel system is using some electronics to actuate a magnet and has some sort of piston compressor. The Danfoss system has a 12Volt "electronicly commutated (sp?)" dc motor. Both systems use a completly enclosed compressor system. Temperatur can go from +10°C down to -18°C. I used an Engel compressor driven icebox in the med and a Danfoss one in the tropics. Both worked perfect. Aaahhh, the powerconsumtion is a wee bit higher then the specs.
Both are noisy.

Large boats use an open compressor and have to top up the refrigeration gas.

Peter

 

[William_H]

Yes Engel are great and are very popular in Oz for car camping. I used one for one trip in car as a freezer. Frozen food and drinks were removed in the morning to cool an insulated ice box for food needing only cooling. That was an early model Engel using 4.5 amps running at about 33% dulty cycle (depending on conditions) although I believe later models use less current. Yes they have a lot of freezing power I would disagree with Swagman to a degree. regards will

 

[tsmyth]

I would think that anything that works in Australia will work in the Med. It does get rather warm here at times.

I am thinking of buying a small Engel. However, I have been told that Waeco are very good and draw less current. Anyone know?

Ray

 

[FlyingDutchman]

I am also planning to install a fridge in the spring, and people recommend Isotherm as they are supposed to have the lowest power consumption. Also they are a little less expensive than Engel (here in the Netherlands).