Fridges

[ktbc]

I have a very small river cruiser and my coolbox which works off the battery cuts out as soon as the battery is less than optimally charged.
I have considered a gas fridge but don't know much about them.
Any suggestions? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[BrendanS]

If your trips are 3 days or less, forget gas fridges. Just freeze beer cans along with freezer packs (high alcohol, not soft drink cans, they will explode in the freezer). Put these in cooler with other stuff. 8 or so frozen cans will freeze the other beer in there, so take them out well before you want to drink them, and keep everything cold for at least 3 days. If a big cooler, just add more frozen cans. Frozen cans at bottom, freezer packs on top

 

[Dave_Snelson]

Brendans suggestions are good, but if you are looking for something like a cool box that continues to work, then get a Nikkai Cool Box from either Maplin Electronics or the same item from ebay. At about £30 they are great value and really work well, and they don't sap the juice either. They work on mains and 12V ciggy lighter power. Also, they can keep hot food hot to 60C.

 

[mikejames]

I have a £40 Peltier coolbox (Waeco brand) that could flatten the 75AH battery on my GK24 in less than one day.
I had the fortune to buy a repairable secondhand EuroEngel compressor based coolbox for £40 sold as seen at Beaulieu. This is a bit larger than the standard ? 20 litre coolbox style but smaller inside ? 16 litres, as the compressor uses up the space.

Once I cleaned up a corroded switch, it worked.
The control switch is put in a plastic bag sealed with a cable tie it would seem, to try and keep damp out. Naturally it keeps damp in as well.

This box uses a quarter of the power on average (about the same 4 amps when running but on for less than 25% of the time) and cools food better. It will even become a freezer if you turn it up..
Similar coolboxes were on sale for £150 new at Beaulieu this year. and £250 at Aladdins Cave last year.
Newer models are extremely expensive, heading towards the £300-400 level.
I like it and recommend somebody consider it for an efficient coolbox but I would never contemplate paying the full price.

 

[CaptainThames]

Lots of good ideas but regarding gas, they are very good. I do most of my boating on the Thames and have an electrolux frdge that works off 240 v, 12 v and gas. On the river I run on gas all the time with minimal consumption, no more than a pilot light. It takes a little while to chill right down, but once there it stays very cold, makes ice etc. The down sides are that it is another gas fitting in a boat, where in the ideal world I wouldn'y have gas at all and they are expensive. They must be vented overboard, mine uses a very neat vent on the side of the hull. Of note it has never let in water even in rough seas so all works well. Not sure of current costs but guess that will be a significant factor in the decision. Electrolux are well known in this field, but there are some cheaper portable models but I know little about them. Look here: http://www.mobilegas.co.uk/mobilecoolbox/gasfridgefreezerunit/index.htm

How it works here: http://www.cam.net.uk/home/StKilda/electrolux.html

Fixed fridges here: http://www.obrienscamping.co.uk/FridgeRange.htm

 

[boatone]

Tell us more about your 'very small river cruiser'. What is it?engine?where?how long do you run engine for on average day?battery capacity?alternator?

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

Look into the options around purchasing the compressor equipment and building your own fridge. I can be usefully cheaper and use a bit of otherwise unused space. Shoreline can supply the bits but no doubt there are many other suppliers. The 12V setting on your otherwise gas powered fridge does not use the themostat and eats electricity to an alarming degree: a cheap gas fridge just running off 12V is a mistake (been there!)

I stow beer cans/bottles in a dry bilge locker which keeps them quite cool enough for most purposes.

 

[ktbc]

Thanks for the replies, I like the frozen beer idea as long as it thaws quick enough for our drinking pace, /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif but I think I will go with the electrolux fridge which I have just seen on ebay.

 

[Boathook]

I have got the Electrolux fridge that can run on gas, 12 volt & mains electric. Must be around 18 years old and still working well. Start on mains to cool it & then change to gas before setting sail. A 4.5Kg gas bottle last about a week which includes the cooking, hot water etc. Also provides plenty of ice for the G&T ...!!!