Refrigeration A25

[WillieC]

Very Cool! Give my regards to Sunsetrider, Steve! We are in the process of looking at good coolers. Getting closer to pulling the trigger. Sounds like SR is running his off of solar pretty much alone. Very nice.

[kerrye]

Sunsetrider, is there any chance you could do me a favor and given me some exact dimensions of the pieces of your frig setup? The width, length and thickness of the wood on which you installed the sliders and the width, length and thickness of the plywood tray on which the frig sits? I'm currently in Denver and my boat is in NY. I'm going back to NY in a couple of weeks to take care of my aging mother for a few weeks and hope to get some work done on the boat when I'm back there. If I can make up the plywood tray and slider pieces before I leave I can take them with me and it will give me a head start on adding the frig. How did you finish the top of the plywood tray? I'm thinking of putting formica on it. I'm making an additional table for the bow cabin and I'm putting formica on that so I'm thinking doing both at the same time would be efficient.

[Sunsetrider]

Kerrye - I think my notes/sketches are in my notebook on the boat. Going down there today. I used 1/2 in. fir plywood for the base and simply slapped on some preservative stain that I had on hand. For the measurement of the tray I simply took the dimensions of the base of the fridge and made the tray a little larger all round. One benefit of putting the sliders on the bottom instead of the sides: you don't have to create a tray with sides, something beyond my pay grade.

The slats for the sliders were made of hardwood - whatever I could pick up in the right thickness and size. Mine are about 1/2 in. thick, but your choice will determine the exact thickness. Similarly, the sliders you choose will have a thickness, and the dimensions are spelled out at the Lee Valley online store. I made the slats just slightly wider than the sliders (sliders lying on their sides, obviously).

Once you choose your model of fridge and measure your icebox opening you can finalize the detailed dimensions of everything. For pre-design purchases, you can pick up 4x4 plywood and seek out a small plank of 1/2 in (or thereabouts) hardwood, like oak for example (I bought an 8 ft. length of oak at Home Depot, you can cut it down for transporting in the car). I think it was about 4 in. wide.

I put that rubbery tray liner mat on the tray but it caused the tray to slide. Once I removed it the tray sticks fine on it own. Since you can only see a small border around the edge of the fridge I wasn't concerned about the aesthetics of the surface material. The stained wood looks fine.

[kerrye]

Thanks. I'm going to use the same frig as you, the Unique 60l so the exact dimensions of your tray would be helpful. I decided to use it since it's roughly the same price as a Whynter/Edgestar but has a Danfos/Secor compressor, has separate controls for each compartment and the controls are on the front of the frig and not the side. I still haven't decided where to locate the batteries though.

[Sunsetrider]

I'll get the info for you later today.

[Sunsetrider]

Pic of fridge in fully extended position below. You can open the lids well before full extension.

The tray is 27.5 in. wide x 19 in. deep.
The opening in the wall is 23 in. h plus 3/4 in. notches for the slats; 29.5 in. w
I had calculated the required height as follows:
fridge 21.25
tray .5
slider slat .75 (the oak)
Slider .75
Total 23.25 (plus extra leeway, so the notches).

[kerrye]

Thank you. That will make my life easier. Not to mention the fact that all your work already made it easier.

[kerrye]

One thing I'm going to do is drill a couple of holes thru the shelf so I can run a line and secure the frig to the shelf. Even in the relatively protected waters of the North Channel a few weeks ago we were rolling enough that I wouldn't want that much unsecured weight having the option of moving around.

[Sunsetrider]

Good idea.

[kerrye]

I decided to go with a flexible 100 watt panel to maximize my mounting options. Lots of people over at Expedition Portal seem to be doing fine with 1 battery and a 100 watt panel. I'm planning on two batteries.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071L ... UTF8&psc=1

And this controller:
https://www.amazon.com/ALLPOWERS-Contro ... YJCMJB531V

[Sunsetrider]

@Kerrye - - -> some more input (escaping from the awful weather reports)
- I would go for the mppt controller, based on what I have read.
- Fridge benefit anecdote from today: we have to travel for about 6 hours to spend 2 nights next weekend at a Georgian Bay resort for my youngest son's wedding. No fridges in rooms. So today I plucked the fridge from the boat (no prob all on my own), put it in the back of the Odyssey and plugged it in to the 12V receptacle in the rear compartment. We'll bring cheese, cold cuts, beer and mix on the trip (cold all the way), and have the groom and best man haul the fridge to our room. We will be able to have the family in for snacks etc. So cool!

I took the opportunity to snap a pic of the empty space to show how I built the supports in there. Also, a pic showing my solar panel, probably the biggest panel that could reasonably be used on this boat. But I hope to rely on solar pretty much exclusively to keep my house at full charge.

When you cut into the lower edge you remove the wooden support, so you can see where I have replaced it to support the slats more solidly than the fiberglass edge alone.

[kerrye]

Thanks. More good info. Do you know how long your solar panel is? That's where I had planned to lay the flexible panel I've ordered. Is that a 265 watt panel? I too was thinking about using the frig in my truck for road trips. I've also thought, why aren't rafters using these frigs on Western rivers where the sun shines hot and long.

[Sunsetrider]

It is a 260W panel. I don't recall the exact dimensions just now, but you don't get a lot of flexibility in standard sizing. The non-flexible ones have higher efficiency for size, so I basically went for the max that would fit (and even then you can see it is kind of goofy-big) once I made the decision to sacrifice the lounge space atop the coach roof. I never get to lounge there anyway!

[kerrye]

I'll try the 100 and see if it works. Most expedition people are succeeding with 100 watts. The Landcruiser we camped in in Australia had a 100 watt panel and two batteries and it kept up with the Engel just fine. The flexible panels can be installed on the fabric of the cockpit enclosure if anyone is wondering about that. I'll probably try mine in both locations to see which is most appropriate.

[Sunsetrider]

I have no doubt the 100 will be all you need. My 260 is probably overkill, but I figure the conservation aspect earns forgiveness for the goofy look. I had intended to go for a 100 but my off-grid guy just went ahead and put together a plan based on the max. So I just went for it!