weeble

We were discussing this a couple weeks back and the answer is YES you can, but I think they charge an extra £50 and you're not allowed to partake in their "included" spare parts scheme on that first call out. If you look at the T&Cs on their site it is explained there.

Not so much fridge paranoia, more like Smartguage paranoia I suspect Thanks for the reply. Although I still don't think mine would have made 5 degrees in a month of Sundays. I agree with your estimates about the daily power usage, but mine normally gets down to it's regulated temperature certainly within 4-5 hours -- especially when the freezer box is filled with already-frozen food. As suggested, I'll give it a good clean when I next visit and see if it makes any difference.

Just seen the report on the evening news, must have missed it this morning. Not good when reputable companies ignore warnings like they appeared to do.

Thanks to all for the feedback. Nick that's a good suggestion about checking the matrix on the back of the fridge as I haven't done that yet. The unit is 12 years old and the door seals are in good condition -- bear in mind that it only gets used between 8-12 weeks/year. The bottom of the freezer compartment gets pretty cold but nowhere near the point that it takes the skin off your fingers. It's a bu**er troubleshooting a system I know nothing about, so just for clarification; Regarding the loss of gas, if the system is sealed is it really possible to lose just "some" gas, but retain sufficient in the system to get some cooling affect without it all leaking away? Similarly, if the problem is with the compressor itself, would it likely to sound any different from when running normally? Everything sounded "normal" to me except for the fact that it just failed to shut down. The other thing was that it was pretty hot on Friday and the cabin temp got up to 26C, but even so the fridge would normally have caught up to its regulation point within a couple hours. I think the next step is to give the back a good clean-up and check the ventilation then give Shorepower a call if there's still a problem. You can't get away with a staement like that Come-on, spill the beans. Another general question: assuming my fridge is actually knackered, what alternative 12V models would come recommended? I think there was a similar discussion not long back, but things/opinions might have changed a bit over recent months. Thanks again.... Weeble

I've just spent a working weekend on the boat and believe I may have a fridge problem. Symptoms don't make a lot of sense but here goes: 1. Set off from marina and moored up 3.5 hours later (SG shows batteries soc 100% -- 92% when I set off). 2. 2 hours after mooring up SG show soc down to 90% (normally would expect to see hardly any drop) and I noticed that the fridge compressor was running continuously. 3. Stuck a thermometer in the fridge and it was 14deg. (fridge on setting 1 of 6). 4. Increased the fridge setting to 6 and the temperature fell to 11deg but compressor still not cutting out. 5. Left the setting on 6 for another hour or so but temperature didn't seems to fall any further. Turned the fridge off for the weekend and lived without it! So, does the fact that the compressor doesn't cut out indicate a thermostat problem, or the fact that the fridge does not get infinitely colder indicate a gas/compressor problem. I know nothing about refrigeration so at a bit of a loss. If any of you on here have a Shoreline and prepared to do some checkes, I wonder if you could tell me what temperature yours regulates at, and how long it takes to get there. I'm baffled. Cheers

I can't see it anywhere in their T&Cs. The only place where I can see anything along these lines is if you are not a member but phone up to join when you have your "first" breakdown: Quote 4.6. If you require emergency cover (we admit you to membership immediately), then you must pay an additional £50 fee and apply at the minimum for level of silver membership. This fee is non-refundable. Initial callout is not covered by our Replacement Parts Cover. I think this is fair enough. The thing that was a bit of an eye-opener is that they charge a £50 excess if you use their replacement parts facility, and as they upped the cost of membership by £45 across the board when they added the spare parts feature to the membership package, this effectively means you pay £95 the first time you uses the facility! Depends what parts need replacing as to whether this is a good deal I suppose. Still glad I'm a member, even though I dropped from Silver to Bronze this year.

Ohm's law is for wimps! Translate the battery and charger sources to their Thevenin or Norton eqvivalent circuits and you might better understand what really goes on during the dynamic charging cycle.

Welcome to the real world

Cool man....... cool

Should have got a pump-out

75-80% is the indication I get in the morning before I set off for the day (i.e. before starting the engine). I don't normally cruise for longer that 3-4 hrs/day but the SG usually gets back to 100% in half that time so I'm effectively charging for a couple hours after 100% value is reached. Obviously, this is keeping the batteries well topped up, but reading the info regularly put forward on here it would seems that it is still advisable to give a much longer charge every week or so in order to achieve genuine full charge. I don't have an ammeter fitted so can comment on charge current levels -- in fact the SG is the only meter of any description I have on my boat apart from my trusted Fluke!

At what point during this prolonged charge period would you expect the SG to indicate 100%? The reason I ask is that my batteries seldom drop below 75-80% when I'm out cruising, and it doesn't take long (<couple hours) for the SG to get back to 100%, so how far is this off being truly "fully charged"?

Me too. I thought the night shots would make superb jig-saws.

Not surprising really. I was given a weather station for my birthday on 3rd March and I'm beginning to wonder if the rain gauge is working as it's showing less than 1mm in two months! My garden is like a dust bowl and the bird bath is noticeably popular this year due to the lack of any puddles. I reckon on a hose-pipe ban in this area before the end of May if things don't change. Weee're Dooooomed, I say.... Dooomed