Freezers

[JanB]

Dear All. We are buying boat with fridge but not freezer. Have 3Kw pure sine wave converter. Plan to cruise a fair bit (so engine will be on most days we are there) and will close down boat for periods when not cruising (ie when we go home). I've heard of small freezers (eg 2 cu ft) which have been fitted in eg drawer under dinette. We don't have room for it in galley. Any advice as to i) adviseability ii) models iii) location on boat for it and iv) ability to fit ourselves (husband reasonable re DIY). I'm guessing it will need to be vented space. Thanks (in anticipation).

[Ally]

Best to go 12v imo, a wide range available but shoreline are one example. The old pull out ones were discontinued, but they still do a chest freezer that will go under a dinette, though the lid is too big to pull out and lift up into the corridor by a Pullman style dinette, it would work that way on the end of an 'L' shaped one. Otherwise you will need to go into it from where the cushions are.

Other companies may make smaller ones.

I would advise you not to go down the 230v route, even though the prices are more appealing, they will hugely increase your power useage, remember your inverter will use power, even just on standby.

oh, & yes, ventilation will be needed. You can even put a 12v computer type fan to the shorelines, fit to the floor, that will come on with the motor & help cool quicker.

Edited July 10, 2013 by Ally

[bowten]

If you have an inverter make use of it and go 230 volt the prices are much lower.I have to disagree with the "greatly increases power useage".A report done by a canal magazine and Which magazine blew this myth some years ago.Sorry I don't have more supportive evidence as it was a while since I read the document.

[grahame r]

I'd also recommend 230v, although I'm not sure if they are available in the very small sizes you want. We have a Zanussi side by side under-counter fridge/freezer which is on 24/7 365 days. They were discontinued some years ago and we live in fear of it breaking down. They seem to bring about £200.00 second hand on ebay so there's clearly a market for this format but I can't find anyone manufacturing them now.

[sueb]

I have a freezer box in the top of my fridge otherwise the shops store my frozen food.

[snigsnig]

Some of the 230v table top freezers, even with the extra power from using an inverter, use far less juice than 12v freezers. Some fridges too. And they are a fraction of the price, 12v appliances are scandalously expensive.

 

Neil

[Pykebird]

My under counter 12 volt freezer is worth its weight in gold and although they are not cheap to buy new, can be run on just batteries. You have to decide which way is best for you, I will only buy equipment that I am able to run on the boat "off grid"

Mine will also take 20 kilos of chicken for the "kids", although I now have no room for any food for me! Never mind.

[Pykebird]

Just found a 12 volt freezer on ebay for £144. I would bid myself but have spent tooo much this week already! Hurry up as finishes in under an hour

[Paul C]

I have a freezer box in the top of my fridge otherwise the shops store my frozen food.

 

How often do you need to go to the shops?

[Phil Ambrose]

I have said it many times, go 12volt and cut out the inverter, it makes no sense to take perfectly good 12volt electricity and pass it through an inverter which itself uses power to work. Also if the inverter dies on you so does your fridge and your freezer.

 

I recall seeing some freezers in Plastimo catalogue which fit awkward places, they even have kits which you can use to fit a freezer in any sort odd space you can imagine, intended for Blue Water yachts where space is limited, much like a N.B.

 

Phil

 

Oh and yes 12volt stuff is dearer but when you consider that they have to take a regular 240volt fridge or freezer, rip its guts out and rebuild with 12v compressor and remember that volume of sales for 240v stuff is probably in the thousands each week while 12v stuff is down to a few hundred a year and this has to reflect on the price.

Edited July 10, 2013 by Phil Ambrose

[ditchcrawler]

Do you plan to go home and leave the freezer running, if so unless you have shore supply, solar panels or an awful lot of batteries you will have problems after a couple of days.

I won't go into the 12 250 volt argument because I cant find the data for 12 volt fridges/freezers, I can for 240 volt

[sueb]

 

How often do you need to go to the shops?

Once a week food shopping. Most of our food is fresh not frozen.

[Ally]

Well said Phil Ambrose! Having gone completely 12v ourselves, no hook up,, no inverter in use, and switched from 230 to 12v on the fridge, our power use has been cut dramatically. We don't bother with a freezer, but if we did, it would be 12v.

If you are constantly hooked up it matters not of course, but I prefer to be out, untied, & looking after the battery bank.

Edited July 10, 2013 by Ally

[Kwacker]

Shoreline do a small 12v fridge freezer FF2022 @ £549.00

http://www.shoreline-marine.co.uk/fridge-freezers/fridge-freezers---small/fridge-freezer-ff2022

The 230v Iceking IK2022AP @ £159 is virtually identical. (if they are not off the same Chinese production line, I'll eat my hair)

http://www.ice-king.co.uk/ProductList.aspx?p=12

If you already have a suitable inverter, the remaining £390 will go a long way in paying for any additional running costs.

I know where my money is at.

Edited July 11, 2013 by Kwacker

[peterboat]

Hi I have 12 v fridge freezer it has just run for 10 days on my batteries ok my battery bank is large 1440 amp hour but my old 230 volt using the inverter would not have done it I know because I tried it when my solar panels were not on line. So for me 12 v is best

 

peter

[Alanji]

While I greatly miss having a freezer, I have an Andrew James vacuum sealer which helps a great deal. Hugely extends life of raw food and good for multi portion cooking - eg chile. Now I just need a bigger fridge!

[STIG]

we have a table top freezer bought from argos, ours was £99, at the moment they are £79 - item number 481/0430. We charge it up on the shoreline when we arrive and run it all day whilst the engine is running. Once we have stopped and switched the engine off we switch the freezer off until the next day . So we are only running it during the time the engine is on, just done the 4 counties and everything was fine.

We have put it inside one of the cupboards in the kitchen, hope this helps.

Damn sight cheaper than paying £550 or more for a shoreline from swindlers ( sorry midland chandlers ) lol

[smileypete]

Helps if a mains fridge is A+ or better still A++ efficiency, and the inverter has 'load-hunting' standby.

 

That'll way power consumption would start to be in the same ballpark as a 12V fridge. No need to get a fridge with all singing dancing controls either, a simple non electronic one would play better with a load hunting inverter.

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

Edited July 14, 2013 by smileypete

[blackrose]

As a liveaboard I don't bother with a freezer on my boat. I guess it's ok if you're moored up on shore power, but then it would make sense to run down the freezer and eat all the contents before going out on a cruise, which kind of takes the spontaneity out of it. When I'm off shore power I keep my electrical power demands low. Most of my lights are leds, I have a gas fridge and I switch TVs to a small 12v flatscreen that draws just 1amp in 12v. Apart from that it's just the pumps and perhaps laptop.

 

Fortunately I prefer fresh food rather than eating frozen ready meals, so for me, the benefits of a freezer onboard when off shore power would be far outweighed by the problems of trying to keep a container full of frozen food at the correct temperature without killing the batteries. After all, it's not like we have a shortage of food retail outlets in this country.

Edited July 14, 2013 by blackrose

[blackrose]

we have a table top freezer bought from argos, ours was £99, at the moment they are £79 - item number 481/0430. We charge it up on the shoreline when we arrive and run it all day whilst the engine is running. Once we have stopped and switched the engine off we switch the freezer off until the next day . So we are only running it during the time the engine is on, just done the 4 counties and everything was fine.

We have put it inside one of the cupboards in the kitchen, hope this helps.

Damn sight cheaper than paying £550 or more for a shoreline from swindlers ( sorry midland chandlers ) lol

 

While I can see that works electrically, how does it keep the food frozen? It was 30C inside my boat yesterday with all windows and doors open and a desk fan going. I can't see the insulation in a freezer preventing frozen food from thawing fairly quickly in these temperatures.

 

I work for a food research institute and in terms of food safety, I'm sure the idea of switching a freezer on and off to save energy would cause some of my colleagues concerns.

 

When I cruise I like to spend a few days at a particular mooring before moving on, so starting the engine or genset and running it for hours just to keep some food frozen isn't something that would suit my lifestyle. I'd rather just not have the thing.

Edited July 14, 2013 by blackrose

[bizzard]

Folk with freezers are generally greedy pigs and love gloating over and stocking up masses of food, they pay very dearly for they're obsession though in power costs.

Most folk shop every two or three days and if nice fresh food is bought and stored in a cool place there's no need real for a fridge never mind a freezer. Ice lollies and ice cream could be a problem, though lovely cool Yogurt is a much healthier substitute.

[mrsmelly]

Hi

 

Absolutely personal choice. We do not have a freezer to us they are a waste of space we NEVER buy or freeze food, in this day and age fresh produce is available daily and if in the middle of nowhere its still no big deal. We dont even have a freezer box I sold the 12volt fridge with freezer compartment and bought a proper mains fridge. MYTH ALERT............mains fridges do NOT consume massive amounts of lectric. The only need for a freezer compt is for ice for the G and T but I find our local pubs all stock it

 

Tim

[smileypete]

we have a table top freezer bought from argos, ours was £99, at the moment they are £79 - item number 481/0430. We charge it up on the shoreline when we arrive and run it all day whilst the engine is running. Once we have stopped and switched the engine off we switch the freezer off until the next day . So we are only running it during the time the engine is on, just done the 4 counties and everything was fine.

We have put it inside one of the cupboards in the kitchen, hope this helps.

Damn sight cheaper than paying £550 or more for a shoreline from swindlers ( sorry midland chandlers ) lol

 

Something that would help with that method is have a load of ice packs filled with 23% solution of sodium choride, ie normal table salt.

 

The salt solution ice packs would freeze below -21°C and thaw again at that temperature, and so help keep the other stuff frozen as ice needs a fair bit of 'latent heat' to thaw.

 

If it's just a normal icebox and can't get down to -21°C easily, then potassium chloride (not too pricy on Ebay) could be used, that freezes and thaws at -11°C instead.

 

ETA bit of an explanation linky: http://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/phaseeqia/saltsoln.html

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

Edited July 14, 2013 by smileypete

[bizzard]

Or stick good quality 4'' insulation all over the cabinet and door. Never mind the width or the looks feel the quality.

[i love my narrowboat]

We have bought a small table top freezer from Currys. it is very small but ideal for ice cream, frozen raspberries,ice cubes and for the Huge amount of Bramley cooking apples we buy, cook and freeze for our daily porridge additive and for apple turnovers/pies we like to make, :-) , we have put it under the table in the dinette and it is not in the way. We did not have one for 3 years and on the spur of the moment decided to get it, however if we got rid of it tomorrow we would not miss it, it is just handy for the above .