Gas fridges and petrol boats

[Captain Coochie]

On the fuel pontoon the other week i was told not to get a gas fridge as the person telling the tale had blown up thier boat while fueling up /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif All thier hair burnt off , thrown from the boat and the boat gutted with all windows blown out .
But ......A gas fridge keeps beer cold ! After this weekend of heat i think a reminder on the fuel cap to turn off the fridge would do the job .
This weekend im told gas fridges are now banned on petrol boats on the Thames . Yeah yeah i think so ive just looked at the boat saftey thingy and it seems you need a shut off fuel thingymejig if the pilot light goes out on the fridge . I run on an outboard so does this mean i cant have a gas fridge and have to drink warm beer and eat sweaty cheese and smelly salad sarnies ?Or is there another rule for outboards im missing ?

 

[oldsaltoz]

We run 2 fridge freezers on board, both running 24 hrs a day off 3 solar panel mounted on the cockpit canopy. never problem as long as the sun gets up in the morning and no gas bottles to re fill.

The shower on board has a gas hot water system that is fitted with a pilot light monitor that shuts the gas off if / when the pilot light goes out. never had problem with that either.

Petrol on a boat is a higher risk than diesel, adding a naked flame would be best avoided if at all possible. You know they say...

ONE FLASH AND YOUR ASH.

Avagoodweekend......

 

[alb40]

Gas fridges are allowed on petrol boats, but a 12v electric compressor fridge such as my Waeco cools much better and faster and doesnt use use much power at it.

Ignore people who say 'this that and the other isnt allowed in the BSS'. They are wrong. Anything and any combination of anything is allowed, so long as its fitted and operating safely and in accordance with their advice.

Always read the BSS guide for yourself. Sometimes it needs reading a couple of times to understand the bulls!tty way it explains things.

 

[SimonA]

I just replaced my gas fridge with a 12v electric one. I have a diesel engine but prefer to have as few gas appliances as possible.

The 12v fridge seems to cool down a lot quicker than a gas fridge.

 

[trouville]

Gas fridges do work well!Ive had many a cold drink from them!Where as my super cool never got the fridge below 15/18 degrees.

The waeco is a great fridge quite small and costs 800 euros i think?

While i was in the med the "best" that is found every where expensive but for a boat item not to expensive,super reliable cooling really well(4/5 degrees all day)was an isotherm with 85w solar panel.Run at maximum cool down all day and turned off when the sun starts to go down.

In the morning it would still be 5 degrees!

There are new friges comeing on to the market useing the old but very efficent sterling engine.Unfortunatly they all like the waeco cost a fortune!Where as isotherems have been produced for years work really well,and only demand 5/6amps or more which today can be provided by solar energy thus makeing them again very practical and priced at a level even i can think of paying!!

I looked longingly at many a gas fridge in summer!They cost about a half to two thrids the price of an isotherm but the pilot light wouldent cool when healed and at anchor was less effective im told becouse of the swell? Most gas fridges did have 12v at 6/8amps though!

 

[Gordonmc]

I have a gas/12v fridge on board but only ever power it on electrickery because of problems with exhaust venting.
The gas set up was designed for caravan installation, but to properly vent on a boat would involve either another above waterline through-hull or a deck vent.
C01 poisoning doesn't bear thinking about.

 

[Guest]

By the time you pay out for solar cells, fridge / cold-plates etc. etc. ......

you may as well go and get a cold-box all in one job.

Malcb brought a Waeco with him to my boat on the Yarmouth BBQ ... and it was certainly a very good piece of kit. Tom on a previous trip with me had the next one up in Waeco box's ... they both did a grand job without too many amps as well. In fact Tom turned his up and froze my beer !

OK price is not cheap - but as I see it - I have a large cool-box that is probably about 100 quids worth - but it's a) heavy drain on battery, b) doesn't get near to the Waeco's these guys have !!

If you set it up right ... you can also link it to a mains supply as well ... so benefitting from power when tied up.

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

Jason.

I have an electric Shoreline RR14 on All Gold. You are welcome to have a looksee next time I am at the boat. May even be cold beer in it

I kept the fridge from my previous outboard powered boat, the fridge would happily make ice, provide cold beer and wine for a week when driven by a 110Ah battery laughably "recharged" by the measly 4A off a Johnson 35s charging coil. Pricey and indeed the last boaty thing funded by previous SWMBO, but worth every penny. Needs good thick wires to prevent voltdrop and in weather like last weekend an auxilliary fan would have been good, must get off my backsied and fit same, which will, naturally, cause the end of summer. The BSS ventilation requirements for a gas powered fridge in living space are onerous in the extreme.

 

[Captain Coochie]

Thanks for the link Andrew its got me thinking ..... Compressed air , hmmmm . I can make a fridge like that i think /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Thanks for all the replies but solor panels and battery power are not for me as it would all get in the way and im on tick over all the time so never give the battery a good charge .
Saying that the cool box i have did kick in very well untill this heat happened .

 

[Boathook]

I have a gas fridge on board and it works very well. A bit slow to get going but then it just carries on chilling food and producing ice. It vents in the cabin which is now not allowed but 20 years it was ok; and people still cook on board with a gas cooker !! A 4.5 kg calor bottle lasts a week of runiing the fridge and all the cooking/hotwater. If and when it needs replacing will be a pain as the model is not now produced.