Fridges

[CompairHolman]

Interesting document regarding fridges on boats, which puts into perspective the inefficiency of the standard off the shelf front loading fridge with 25 mm or less of insulation stuck in the galley and forgotten about. Compared to this below  with 125mm insulation .

 

 

 

The possibility of using water cooling via the hull is also interesting ( to me ) possibly a heat sink bonded to the internal hull ?  whether canal water is cold enough I don't know.

 

According to the graph below the standard fridge could be loosing up to 250 btu / hr while 150 mm insulation would reduce this to 80 btu / hr. That's a lot of space needed for insulation but would you rather lose some space or have to charge your batteries less often ?  

 

There is now available vacuum panel insulation which would solve the space issue, but its expensive, a 30 mm panel would equal around 150. - 200 mm of polyurethane foam. 

 

 

 

https://www.outbackmarine.com.au/assets/files/RefrigerationSystemsEbook.pdf

[ditchcrawler]

Lots of lumpy water boats use water cooled condensers, some with a coil in the sink drain. You would be hard pushed to put that fridge under a worktop

[Onewheeler]

BTU / h? Is this a nineteenth century document?

[Alan de Enfield]

10 hours ago, CompairHolman said:

Interesting document regarding fridges on boats, which puts into perspective the inefficiency of the standard off the shelf front loading fridge with 25 mm or less of insulation stuck in the galley and forgotten about. Compared to this below  with 125mm insulation .

One of the major differences (in my mind) is you (they) are comparing a chest fridge, with a front-opening fridge.

 

Cold air 'sinks' to the bottom of the fridge, open the door on a 'front-loader' and all the cold air 'falls out' and then the warm air has to be cooled (which is why, generally, when you have opened the fridge door the compressor kicks in)

With a chest fridge the cold air remains inside the 'box' and you don't need to cool it when the lid closes.

 

If you are worried about having to recharge your batteries - get a chest fridge, plenty available at good chandlers.

[David Mack]

1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

If you are worried about having to recharge your batteries - get a chest fridge, plenty available at good chandlers.

Or google for how to convert an ordinary chest freezer to a fridge.

[CompairHolman]

The poor insulation thickness on fridge cabinets is more of a concern than the door.