Fridges

[70liveaboard]

Engel, perhaps. I put that in the other identical topic..

Although prices, would need to go trade.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Richard10002 said:

How much solar have you got, and which controller? How do you check that your batteries are fully charged? Are you saying that you havent had to run the engine for 7 days because solar gets them fully charged each day, or because they continue to run stuff.

 

I dont let my batteries fall below about 12.2V, and tend to find that 500W of solar via an MPPT controller keeps them full without having to run the engine, or genny. I can tell how full they are with a NASA BM2 battery monitor.

 

It definitely looks like your batteries are not good, (doesnt matter how new they are), and you definitely shouldn't be letting them get down to 11.8V. 

Hi batteries never allowed to get below 12.2 this was first time, as just posted, think i got myself in a pickle with the solar etc, have two 113 amp batteries + 110 starter, only got 100w mono solar, not mppt controller, this has always been ok for us for past four years as we don't use much power, fridge, water pumps, a couple of led lights. Will be getting another solar panel and mppt controller later, all good helpful points.

[ditchcrawler]

48 minutes ago, oats said:

Good point, not thought of that, thought solar was doing its job, ran engine for a short while tonight as it was 8 pm, checked with other boat near me first as it was late, batteries charging at 13, stopped engine rested it for a while, tested batteries 12.5, turned isolator switch off, so fridge etc off. Batteries remain at 12.5 not a lot i know will go for a good run tomorrow and see what happens, thanks for you comments, i hope this may help any other folks as well. Thats what the forum is about eh ?

At 13 volts they were no where near charged. you need them up to just over 14 volts and if you have an ammeter the current needs to be down to around 5- 10 amps assuming you have 4 X 110Ah batteries. It will probably take 4 to 6 hours engine running to get there.

[mrsmelly]

I have 4x 110 a/h  batteries. I charge most days to a steady 14.4 volts with approx 2.5 amps going in. Sometimes I stop charging at 14.3. Solar is good but doesnt whack it in like good old fossil fuelled apparatus. I have had no problems with any of my 12 volt fridges but always end up with mains as I have a good inverter running 24/7 365 anyway so its a no brainer.

[ditchcrawler]

1 minute ago, mrsmelly said:

I have 4x 110 a/h  batteries. I charge most days to a steady 14.4 volts with approx 2.5 amps going in. Sometimes I stop charging at 14.3. Solar is good but doesnt whack it in like good old fossil fuelled apparatus. I have had no problems with any of my 12 volt fridges but always end up with mains as I have a good inverter running 24/7 365 anyway so its a no brainer.

Like me

[john6767]

11 hours ago, oats said:

Thanks for the replies, Not had any problems with it for past 7 months this only started yesterday, fridge was running all evening turned down to 2 got up in night noticed fridge not working thats when saw batteries at 11.8 well vented, holes in floor beneath, batteries new mid last year, being charged by solar, door seals properly. Had this problem with last shoreline fridge, has leak inside cabinet cant be repaired. Think this maybe down to the heat?????? 

Surly if the battery voltage is 11.8 then the batteries are flat and there is not much chance the fridge will work well.  Wouldn’t the first job be to get the batteries charged up.

[Tony Brooks]

10 minutes ago, john6767 said:

Surly if the battery voltage is 11.8 then the batteries are flat and there is not much chance the fridge will work well.  Wouldn’t the first job be to get the batteries charged up.

And unless it was night that 11.8V has some solar content so the rested battery voltage would be lower so even more discharged than 11.8V suggests.

[Alan de Enfield]

2 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

And unless it was night that 11.8V has some solar content so the rested battery voltage would be lower so even more discharged than 11.8V suggests.

I think it was overnight, as he said in the Op :

 

"down to 11.8v in the morning"

 

Suggesting that :

 

1) They were not sufficiently charged the day before, or

2) They are boogered and unable to hold sufficient charge to last overnight.

Edited July 1, 2018 by Alan de Enfield

[roland elsdon]

Ive got an engel in australia guess what its on all the time not repairable .... 800 to replace.

[MtB]

15 hours ago, oats said:

Now main question what other makes do folk have, has anyone got ''inlander' fridge?

 

Yes I have an Inlander on the boat I'm on now. Curiously I just checked the current draw as it flattened my (apparently knackered) one year old 200ah battery bank overnight. It draws 5.7A when running. 

 

It is virtually identical inside and out to the 15-year-old Shoreline I have in my liveaboard, which is still working fine BTW. (Fingers crossed!) 

 

Oh forgot to say, my battery bank is being charged by a single 100W solar panel. My gut feeling is this is not big enough to power the fridge 24/7 even in summer as it only delivers 7A when the sun is overhead on a midsummer's day. The rest of the time it tends towards 2-3a. 

[OldGoat]

If there's still some ice in the fridge - then it's working, perhaps not as well as it might, but the outside temperature is hot and the unit is possibly not well vented (not unusual), then rather than replace it now, it might be a better idea to  fix the other problems first:-

• 1 more battery in the bank
• replace the other two domestics (especially if they are 'leisure' types)
• You need a controller in the solar scheme - I have little knowledge of optimising solar - so perhaps other can put me right...
• You don't need to go for a cruise to charge the batteries from the engine (unless there are other reasons why). Just run the engine at a speed above tickover - say 1100 rpm for a Kubota / BMC / w.h.y
• You won't get a lot of discount on a 12V fridge - it's a limited market, poor margins. But then I'm not convinced that the unit is shot anyway 

[OldGoat]

** This thread needs combining with t'other with the same title **

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FWIW My Batts Fridge / Freezer (separate compartment - Danfoss compressor) is now some 25 years old and still running well. The door seals are shot (cowardice stops me trying to replace them), the shelves are rusty, but otherwise it runs fine.

[MtB]

Just now, OldGoat said:

** This thread needs combining with t'other with the same title **

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Pointless posting this in the thread. Have you reported it? This is what the report facility is for.

 

I've not seen another thread the same yet...

[MtB]

Ah, seen it now! (Reference to the other thread)

[MtB]

14 hours ago, oats said:

not had any problems with batteries, not had to run engine for past 7 days as batteries all keep up, moved fridge out a bit, no difference.

 

 

OR... the other way of looking at it is after seven days of partial charging your batteries have finally run flat and now the fridge is playing up. Quelle surprise (to quote Julian Clary).

 

How have you determining the state of charge of your batteries over the last seven days running up to this?

 

 

 

 

[Gareth E]

I know they aren't popular these days but have you considered a gas fridge? Mine is 20 years old and apart from having to clean the jet once a year it just plods on. OK, it uses a bottle of gas in around 7 weeks but less than a fiver a week you can think a little less about your power issue.

[ditchcrawler]

4 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Pointless posting this in the thread. Have you reported it? This is what the report facility is for.

 

I've not seen another thread the same yet...

I have and I have

[Guest]

Fridge update. Seems to be working ok now, have taken 'onboard' the advice re battery charging, think not putting enough in: 9am batteries showing 12.5  cruised 6+hrs, volt   meeter showing 13v while running ive never had 14+ as suggested, now stopped batteries showing 12.8 . BMC 1.8 with a n original 55a alternator, should i increase the size of alternator to 75a? 

[OldGoat]

9 minutes ago, oats said:

Fridge update. Seems to be working ok now, have taken 'onboard' the advice re battery charging, think not putting enough in: 9am batteries showing 12.5  cruised 6+hrs, volt   meeter showing 13v while running ive never had 14+ as suggested, now stopped batteries showing 12.8 . BMC 1.8 with a n original 55a alternator, should i increase the size of alternator to 75a? 

Yes, or possibly more if you can get one to fit...

[cuthound]

20 hours ago, oats said:

Here we go again, fridge playing up time, think i gota look at getting new fridge: ours a shoreline, by heck, they don't last long. Question if they are suitable for long term livaboards. Running for hours temp on 2,1/2 - 3 motor only turns off if down to 2, then may start up again till i turn it off at source for a while, batteries down to 11.8 this morning. Now main question what other makes do folk have, has anyone got ''inlander' fridge? Or Vitrifrigo by Penguin they claim for their 50 ltr will run off solar panel, very low consumption? Waeco crx50? Im not looking to go down route of 240v and having inverter on. Advice guidance welcome, thanks,?

 

Sounds like it is low on refrigerant gas if the compressor runs continuously.

 

Usually an easy and relatively cheap job for a fridge engineer to fix.

 

 

[dor]

Whilst I agree that the battery status has much to do with the fridge's poor performance, the last couple of times I have been to the boat I've wondered about my fridge.  With good battery voltage, it seemed to run for 90%on/10% off rather than the normal 40on/60off in warm weather.  I watched a bit more closely this time and came to the conclusion that it is just the exceptional heat, plus filling it with a lot of stuff that wasn't at fridge temperature, that was causing it to run for a greater percentage of the time.  Once everything had got down to fridge temperature, and the boat had cooled off a bit in the evening, it seemed to be running at a more normal 30-40% on.

[MtB]

24 minutes ago, oats said:

Fridge update. Seems to be working ok now, have taken 'onboard' the advice re battery charging, think not putting enough in: 9am batteries showing 12.5  cruised 6+hrs, volt   meeter showing 13v while running ive never had 14+ as suggested, now stopped batteries showing 12.8 . BMC 1.8 with a n original 55a alternator, should i increase the size of alternator to 75a? 

 

No, I'd diagnose the fault rather than jumping to knee-jerk conclusions and randomly changing stuff.

 

For a start the battery terminal voltage should be 14.4v towards the end of alternator charging. Your cables my well be too small and dropping a volt or so during charging. Check the alternator output voltage then check again at the battery end of the wires. Any more than 0.1v or 0.2v difference between the two ends needs fixing, and a new alternator will make no difference.

 

Edited July 1, 2018 by Mike the Boilerman

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

No, I'd diagnose the fault rather than jumping to knee-jerk conclusions and randomly changing stuff.

 

For a start the battery terminal voltage should be 14.4v towards the end of alternator charging. Your cables my well be too small and dropping a volt or so during charging. Check the alternator output voltage then check again at the battery end of the wires. Any more than 0.1v or 0.2v difference between the two ends needs fixing, and a new alternator will make no difference.

 

A BMC engine with a small alternator, the regulated voltage could be below 14 volts, but as you say, you need to investigate to see what is happening,. Oats do you have a diode splitter by any chance between engine and domestic battery banks?

Edited July 1, 2018 by ditchcrawler
To point question to oars and not Mike

[Guest]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

A BMC engine with a small alternator, the regulated voltage could be below 14 volts, but as you say, you need to investigate to see what is happening,. Oats do you have a diode splitter by any chance between engine and domestic battery banks?

Hi yes, also when engine running i checked batteries with volt meter i get same reading as volt meter on engine panel, also the same when checking feed from alternator, Not sure if i should continue this here or move to 12v group. Im getting great advice & help here, so would prefer here as it's all relevant to the fridge problems let me know cheers.

[ditchcrawler]

2 minutes ago, oats said:

Hi yes, also when engine running i checked batteries with volt meter i get same reading as volt meter on engine panel, also the same when checking feed from alternator, Not sure if i should continue this here or move to 12v group. Im getting great advice & help here, so would prefer here as it's all relevant to the fridge problems let me know cheers.

I'm happy

It may be possible to change the regulator in the alternator Sirnibs would be able to tell you that if you know whats fitted