Fridges

[cherod]

what do you all do / reccomend with fridges,, when you are not using them for a while , like now unknown period , do you just turn them off and leave the door open or do you keep them on , is there a best method , does it harm the system repeatedly turning them on and off again , does it do damage or is it ok ,, mine works on 12 v or 240 so plugged into shore power there is no battery issues ,, ideas welcome . pls

 

[superheat6k]

An extended period off should do no harm at all. The space inside is sealed with the door shut, so for this reason perhaps leave the door open, and of course remove any food stufs that are not sealed longlife.

I only have mine on when the boast is being used.

 

[Little Dorrit]

Duplicated post.

 

[Little Dorrit]

I took over an old refrigeration system in a business which had a cold room. It was switched off as the cold room was not needed. However, after 15 years I decided to get it working again and it powered up first time and other than requiring us to replace the original (now banned) refrigerant worked fine! I know there is oil in the compressor so I must admit I was surprised it had not ceased; perhaps I was lucky

 

[duncan99210]

We leave our boat in Greece over the winter, fridge switched off, lid open, as we leave. Switched back on again when we return (whenever that is this year...)

 

[vyv_cox]

We leave our boat in Greece over the winter, fridge switched off, lid open, as we leave. Switched back on again when we return (whenever that is this year...)

+1, except that our fridge is front-opening.

 

[Halo]

No issues with leaving the fridge off and no sense in leaving it on just to waste energy.
If it has been on for a long time there could be a build up of ice and so defrost it before you go. This is not an issue for 99% of boat users.

 

[johnalison]

We prop open the lid of our top-opening fridge when not aboard, to discourage mould.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

It is recommended, for domestic fridges, to leave the door propped open when switched off for an extended period, so as to prevent fungal growth. IMHO there is no reason not to do the same thing with a marine one.