I f'ing hate our fridge! Any workarounds?

[Oscarpop]

As we reach the end of our sailing season, we were interviewed about our thoughts , likes and dislikes from our year afloat.
My biggest grumble was our fridge. I hate it. It's a top loader , about three foot deep with baskets at the bottom (which we don't use as they are such a PITA )No matter what I need , it's always at the bottom and so needs the entire fridge emptied to access anything.
We tried Tupperware as a storage solution. Didn't really work as we have a bag of ice permanently In there.

Does anyone have any workarounds for top loaders?

So far we have come to the conclusion that we probably need a stand alone second fridge.
Someone said there were some clever baskets you could buy, but as our lid is fixed and on a gas strut, we can't have a full sized basket lifting out.

Other boats with deep top loaders have access via a small door at the bottom. But we understand this is impossible to retrofit.

Anything else?

Cheers

 

[RichardS]

If you are thinking of buying another fridge could you have the top-loader taken out and replaced with a more conventional type of fridge with a door and wire shelves?

Richard

 

[Yngmar]

I may be the only person in the world preferring a top-loading fridge. Mine is fairly long, like a regular standing kitchen fridge that has fallen over backwards. It's so big I keep many things that don't strictly need refrigerating in there, just because there's room, they don't fall around and a full fridge is actually more efficient (because there's less room for warm air to displace cold air when opening it).

The lid is split in two with a hinge in the center, so either half can be opened at a time, or both. With one half open, it can also slide back and forth on its seals. I almost always use only the front half of the lid.

The rear half of the fridge has two levels, with fitted metal baskets at the top. I keep rarely used things in the rearmost basket, this includes the superglue and Sugru as well as unopened condiments and chorizo (tasty meat that lasts forever) for storage. The middle basket holds jam, butter, etc. and the front one things that spoil the fastest or have been opened, like yoghurt, sausage, cheese, etc.

Under the baskets is a deep area in which I've stacked (laying down) UHT milk packs, juices and other large items that only need accessing when the frontmost needs replenishing. There's just enough room to stick my hand in there and fish one out. The one milk bottle/pack that is in use is near the front, with the top peeking out from under the baskets, so it's easy to grab.

At the front bottom there are two "bilge baskets" (small cheap plastic baskets - I'll make a separate post about them). These hold "tall" items, such as open drinks bottles, the 1L soy sauce, and packaged items that spoil quickly, like meat, lettuce and the odd ready meal (I know). These can be easily lifted out for cleaning. When in place, they keep the rear items from sliding forward.

To finish the job, at the left top I've blu-tacked a simple analog fridge thermometer, showing me the "warmest" temperature in the fridge, which is at the top opposite the cooler. On the front is a small battery-powered PIR light I've had laying around, which switches on when you open the lid and lights up most of the fridge.

Nothing is stacked on top of anything else, and everything is accessible with one hand. Perhaps it's just a matter of organizing it better? Plus, with a top-loader, your "stack" of cold air doesn't fall out whenever you open the door like it does on a front-loader - saves you power and thus battery.

 

[coopec]

A top loader fridge would have to be custom buil. Is there any chance of converting it to a freezer and then installing a small front loader bar fridge for daytime use to cool milk, drinks etc?

 

[Pagetslady]

I have a small top loading fridge which works fine, I fill the bottom with reserve water in 2ltr bottles and everything goes into carrier bags loaded in their appropriate bags meat, salad, etc it means lifting the bag you need out but at least it's not rolling about in the bottom out of reach.
Mike