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Shoreline fridge- no power connectors - advice please


Sofia

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Hello, I have just bought a Shoreline FD171 fridge freezer. It arrived and I didn't realise they need to be installed as there are no power connections. Do I really need to get someone to install it or can I connect the red wire from the fridge to the red live wire and the same with the black?  See pictures. Any advice would be appreciated please

20190719_185411.jpg

20190719_185425.jpg

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Yes, red connects to red and black to black. Hopefully you have noted Shoreline’s instructions as to cable size for the feed? And fusing? Ideally the connections should be crimped - it needs to be a really good connection. 

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7 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Yes, red connects to red and black to black. Hopefully you have noted Shoreline’s instructions as to cable size for the feed? And fusing? Ideally the connections should be crimped - it needs to be a really good connection. 

The live wires were already behind our previous fridge in which must run directly to the batteries. I did notice the cable length, they must no more than 5 metres long. 

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7 minutes ago, Sofia said:

The live wires were already behind our previous fridge in which must run directly to the batteries. I did notice the cable length, they must no more than 5 metres long. 

I tried to use the existing wires when I put a new fridge in - it didn't work.

I had to run new (bigger) wires from the Busby (Bus-Bar) to the fridge.

 

If the fridge only gets down to temperature with the engine running, thaws overnight with the engine stopped and has the compressor running for too long (probably more than 20 minutes in the hour) your wires are too thin.

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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If the wires used to run a fridge ok, the chances are that they'll be ok now because the new fridges are generally more efficient than old ones, except that as the new one is a fridge/freezer it may need more current especially at start-up.

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13 minutes ago, Keeping Up said:

If the wires used to run a fridge ok, the chances are that they'll be ok now because the new fridges are generally more efficient than old ones, except that as the new one is a fridge/freezer it may need more current especially at start-up.

The old fridge was a cheap one which did not run well in the first place, as I don't think it was meant for continuous usage. Do indeed to follow the cable back the batteries, unplug, crimp wires and the connect back up to the batteries ? 

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1 minute ago, Sofia said:

The old fridge was a cheap one which did not run well in the first place, as I don't think it was meant for continuous usage. Do indeed to follow the cable back the batteries, unplug, crimp wires and the connect back up to the batteries ? 

Not enough info re the current requirements for the old fridge. It sounds as if it might have been a Peltier cooler and if so there is every chance the cables will not be thick enough. If the fridge is 5 metres from the batteries you need 5 sq mm ccsa cable that will have an od of about 4mm .However 5mm ccsa cable is not listed in the Vehicle Wiring Produces catalogue so you may need 6 sq mm ccsa. If you did not measure the actual cable run you may need even thicker cable. 1 sq mm ccsa for each meter of run between batteries and fridge.

 

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7 minutes ago, Sofia said:

The old fridge was a cheap one which did not run well in the first place, as I don't think it was meant for continuous usage. Do indeed to follow the cable back the batteries, unplug, crimp wires and the connect back up to the batteries ? 

 

There is every possibility the old fridge didn't work well due to undersized wires.  People simply don't believe how big and fat the wires need to be so scrimp on the wiring, with predictable results. 

 

And an unrelated suggestion, pleeeeease don't do work on your boat like shifting fridges about in bare feet as per your photo. Feet are desperately easy to injure with no shoes on!

 

 

 

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I'm surprised to see tails on a brand new fridge - don't they normally just have a terminal block on the back of the fridge?

 

But assuming these wires are to be connected what is the best way join heavy cables like this?

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The previous fridge was a reggio and it was only recommend from what I can see as short term use. The boat is currently moored in a marina and the voltage from the live cable mentioned is at 13.5  and then I tried the old fridge on 240v and still no colder. 

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5 minutes ago, Sofia said:

The previous fridge was a reggio and it was only recommend from what I can see as short term use. The boat is currently moored in a marina and the voltage from the live cable mentioned is at 13.5  and then I tried the old fridge on 240v and still no colder. 

 

Are you connected to the 'mains' (shoreline) & is the battery charger switched on ?

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25 minutes ago, Sofia said:

The previous fridge was a reggio and it was only recommend from what I can see as short term use. The boat is currently moored in a marina and the voltage from the live cable mentioned is at 13.5  and then I tried the old fridge on 240v and still no colder. 

 

Alan's point is 12v batteries do not produce 13.5v so there must be some sort of battery charger running or your meter is miles out. 

 

The voltage however, drops once current is being drawn from those wires. The relevant question is, how much does that voltage drop when the new fridge is actually connected and running? If it drops from say 13.5 (with charger ON) to say 12.0v this is fine when the charger is on, but ith the charger off the batts will typically be 12.5v roughly, and the drop of 1.5v will take it down to 11.0v. This could be too low to work once off the shore power. Big fat wires reduce that drop when current is being drawn to a much more acceptable value. 

 

 

 

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36 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Are you connected to the 'mains' (shoreline) & is the battery charger switched on ?

Yes sorry, connected to shoreline and charger is on 

36 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Are you connected to the 'mains' (shoreline) & is the battery charger switched on ?

Yes sorry, connected to shoreline and charger is on 

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1 minute ago, Sofia said:

Yes sorry, connected to shoreline and charger is on 

Yes sorry, connected to shoreline and charger is on 

OK, then the battery charger will be 'masking' any inadequacies in the wiring and volt drop.

Just be prepared that when you 'cut the umbilical' you may (or may not) find that your fridge / freezer works ok during the day when the engine is running, but overnight everything defrosts.

 

I had exactly this problem so it is not just theory.

My fridge was only about 2 metres from the Bus-bar supply and I had to rewire with 8mm squared (NOT 8mm diameter) cabling to get it to work correctly.

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15 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

OK, then the battery charger will be 'masking' any inadequacies in the wiring and volt drop.

Just be prepared that when you 'cut the umbilical' you may (or may not) find that your fridge / freezer works ok during the day when the engine is running, but overnight everything defrosts.

 

I had exactly this problem so it is not just theory.

My fridge was only about 2 metres from the Bus-bar supply and I had to rewire with 8mm squared (NOT 8mm diameter) cabling to get it to work correctly.

Ok thank you. So in theory if I connect the wiring up to the previous fridge wiring then it will work when connected to shoreline but when disconnected from shoreline it might not work as the cable is not providing enough power?

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2 minutes ago, Sofia said:

Ok thank you. So in theory if I connect the wiring up to the previous fridge wiring then it will work when connected to shoreline but when disconnected from shoreline it might not work as the cable is not providing enough power?

Basically - yes.

 

It may work, it may not. It depends on the wire size and distance from the battery.

But - if it doesn't work you will have a least a starting point for investigating the fault.

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I would follow the 2 wires in your first pic, i think you will find they go onto spade connectors at the back of the fridge where the other wires are connected , if so i would pull them off there and just put spade connectors on your "new" wires and connect in the same way they were connected , rather than having an unnecessary join a foot along the wires.

 

Rick

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6 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Basically - yes.

 

It may work, it may not. It depends on the wire size and distance from the battery.

But - if it doesn't work you will have a least a starting point for investigating the fault.

So I wouldn't ruin the fridge just testing it out? 

7 minutes ago, dccruiser said:

I would follow the 2 wires in your first pic, i think you will find they go onto spade connectors at the back of the fridge where the other wires are connected , if so i would pull them off there and just put spade connectors on your "new" wires and connect in the same way they were connected , rather than having an unnecessary join a foot along the wires.

 

Rick

Thanks, that makes sense

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2 minutes ago, Sofia said:

So I wouldn't ruin the fridge just testing it out? 

No, if the voltage is too low it would just be running a high percentage of the time trying to get cold enough.

If it is running 'correctly' it should only run about 15-20 minutes in the hour (ie about 1/4 to 1/3rd of the time.

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Just now, Sofia said:

So I wouldn't ruin the fridge just testing it out? 

No.  The worst that can happen is that your fride doesn't work properly when cooling, or it runs too much, more than 20 minutes per hour after the first 24 hours.

 

Try it and see.  A good electrical connection is important,  but mine is on choc block connectors and is fine.  The experts will always insist on best practice,  but I am too lazy to always follow that, and mine works. 

 

Cross posted with Alan, but pretty much the same answer.

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