Best Refrigeration?

[worldsurfsail]

Hey all,

My husband and I are thinking of ripping out our current refrigeration system and updating it with a new one. Our current system is a spillover with roughly 6.5 cf on each side. The freezer is not freezing, won't go below 36 degrees although the fridge stays at a nice temp, around 38-40. It is a cold plate with a remote, 24 volt compressor and we are in hot Florida Keys waters (for now) so I know the system is challenged to begin with.

I'm writing the board to 'troll' for recommendations; what is the best system out there nowadays if we do refit? Any suggestions on reviving the system we have? We've cleaned and defrosted religiously. Also, we have a steel hull so I would rather not cut another hole in her to accommodate some of the new keel cooled systems... Love to hear your feedback. Thanks,

Carol and Rich

S/Y Sienna Belle

52' Natascha steel staysail schooner

[Gallivanters]

It ALL has to do with insulation.

And 13 cu ft seems like a large volume to keep cool / frozen with a single syatem.

I'd consider using two seperate systems - one for each box.

Look at Richard Kollerman's (sp?) book.

Good luck,

Kirk

[Swagman]

You might want to get your gas checked before anything else. On a static refrigeration system (ie home) leaks are rare - but on moving thingies like boats / cars / campers its not uncommon for a tiny leak to open up. Obviously, that degrade efficiency over a period.

Good luck

JOHN

You did not say what system you have, how old it, how much insulation, or where is was used before (up north?).Sounds to me like a combination of to big a system and not enough insulation for where you are using it now. A good place to start is Kollman' website and buy his book. www.kollman-marine.com. I changed my system after

reading his book.

Good luck

John

[worldsurfsail]

Thanks for the replies, we appreciate it very much! I have actually been in contact with Mr. Kollmann directly and he has pretty much confirmed that our Adler Barbour Power Plate (with optional water cooling) is simply undersized. We have plenty of insulation, with 4+ inches around the boxes and 6 on the lids along with weatherstrip. The system is appx. 6 years old and in excellent shape (other than not doing what it's supposed to!) Mr. Kollman has made a couple of suggestions to try before we take drastic measures, which I am trying out now. First was to install a small fan in the box blowing on the plate as well as to place a fan blowing on the condensing unit after shutting off the water pump. Started today, we are to see how things look after 24 hours. To be continued...

What a gem Mr. Kollmann is. I will be buying his books for sure and recommending him at any opportunity. Thanks again for the replies from the board and for 'introducing' me to Mr. Kollmann.

Carol and Rich

[worldsurfsail]

Hello again!

A quick update. The fan on the condenser didn't do much good, it's just plain HOT in the Keys right now. BUT, the small, battery powered fan on the cold plate struck gold! In 30 minutes, we have dropped from 39.5 degrees in the upper half of the compartment to 30.5! Not bad! Won't make the ice cream rock hard in summer but mission pretty much accomplished. We'll hard wire a 24v fan this week. Mr. Kollermann is a God, he's been extremely helpful and is still sending fine tuning information for my taxed system. Keep his name and website handy, folks. And thanks again.

Carol

Carol and Rich, thanks for the update--mentioning what sytem you have, what you have tried and how it worked out. Most of us are always looking for ways to improve our systems.

John

[clay1diver]

Just as an FYI. The website listed above is slightly incorrect. It should be www.kollmann-marine.com

He also has a forum at this site http://kollmann-marine.com/phpBB/index.php