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42' Bertram marine refrigeration

Discussion in 'Bertram Yacht' started by todd, Jan 4, 2014.

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  1. todd

    todd Member

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    akl nz
    Hi,I hope this is the right place to post this question, I have a Bertram 42 and wish to replace the household type fridge/freezer with a Marine unit that doesn`t suck the life out of my batteries, does anybody have any advice for me on Brands etc,I`am in New Zealand so what ever I buy is going to be imported,so I`d like to get it right first time, thanks Todd
  2. AMG

    AMG YF Moderator

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    Hi, on our boats in this size we are using fridge and freezers from Frigonautica. Perhaps top loaded are using less power than with front doors if you can get such models in...
  3. K1W1

    K1W1 Senior Member

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    Hi,

    Was your Bert NZ New?

    If not and you want a 60HZ unit your potential suppliers are limited.

    Also, depending how old it is the power consumption of a modern domestic one could well be a lot less and cost a lot less too.
  4. HTMO9

    HTMO9 Senior Member

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    Frigonautica or Frigoboat (.it)

    I can only fully agree on that brand. They also provide fully custom cooling and deep freezing lockers and top loading boxes. The heat exchanger plates can be formed to suit the space available. To safe even more energy, the 12 Volt or 24 Volt DC compressor can be water cooled via a little heat exchanger (keel cooler). This makes the compressor very silent (plus possible remote mounting), low on power consumption and very long lasting. Great stuff, very usefull and available from little sailboats up to Megayachts. Should be available through marine shops or the web in your country. The keel cooler can also be used as ground or earth for lightning protection and as a dipole for your electronics. For Aloy or steel boats, they have different types of heat exchangers available.

    Attached Files:

  5. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    If battery life is a concern then cold plate system like mentioned above are th way to go, especially if you build it with heavy insulation.

    On the boat I run, in addition to conventional 120v sub zero drawer units, we have a cold plate freezer up in the skylounge called by a remote compressor in the ER. It s not keel cooled though, just sea water like an air con unit. Works very well and compressor runs for just a few hours a day, compared to the conventional freezer which runs most of the time.

    What works best depends on how you use the boat... For most people though, this is overkill and you may be better off just adding a house bank to run all your stuff. But if you spend a lot of time on the hook without running the genny then cold plate is a good option
  6. todd

    todd Member

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    Hi,thanks so much for the advice, I was hoping to find a fridge freezer that looked like a domestic unit but made for marine use,does such a thing exist ?,sounds like a build in water cooled is the way to go, as I would be starting from scratch would the keel cooler be best?
  7. HTMO9

    HTMO9 Senior Member

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    keel cooler compressor

    With the keel cooler you will have a close circuit, virtually maintenance free system, where no salt water is entering the boat. On a GRP boat it is the easiest way to go. A guy in our yachtclub here in Hamburg has converted his household type AC fridge to a 24 Volt DC system using the above components.

    The only external help, he needed, was the recovery of the condenser fluid in the old system by a professional mechanic. This fluid is concidered harmfull to the enviroment in Europe and by law can not be released into the air.

    This systems do not neccessarily work only as a cold plate system, they can be used as a normal fridge or as a deep freeze. The size of the compressor (and its set speed) and the condensor plate just has to reflect the size of the cooled space.

    This type of DC powered free piston type oscillating compressors last forever, if they are correctly filled with the fluid and the circuitry is properly installed.
  8. P46-Curaçao

    P46-Curaçao Senior Member

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  9. ranger58sb

    ranger58sb Senior member

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    Our onboard fridge/freezers are from NovaKool. Slide-in, simple electric installation, no additional cooling required. DC compressors, so the AC power supply capability is simply an AC-to-DC convertor.

    We recharge our two 3x Group 31 battery banks 2x day (one fridge/freezer on each bank), using the genset, while on the hook... to coincide with our morning breakfast and evening dinner... as we do our electric cooking, etc. The fridge/freezer units don't seem to cause much additional draw, once cold; the compressors don't seem to come on all that often.

    I decided to replace the door seal gaskets, so spoke with them about parts; very friendly service, including guidance on how best to do the job.

    Would expect them to be available in NZ.

    -Chris
  10. franzmerenda

    franzmerenda Senior Member

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    http://www.vitrifrigo.com/eng/nauticomfort.pdf

    I had one of these on a previous boat; very reliable.
  11. RT46

    RT46 Senior Member

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    I have an old household type fridge on the boat that im sure sucks a lot of juice.
    A single 8D runs my fridge on the inverter without problems overnight.

    I usually run the generator all day to keep the AC cool.

    I have planned on putting in one or two more 8Ds for the house/inverter but haven't gotten around to it yet. I don't really seem to need it for the overnight which only runs some LED lights and the fridge.

    BTW, I replaced all my lights with LED bulbs and that saved the most power.
  12. K1W1

    K1W1 Senior Member

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    Hi,

    Todd, Not sure where in Akl you are but there seems to be a dealer for the NovaKool stuff in E Tamaki.

    You might be able to see one in the flesh before ordering online.

    Marine Accessories - Absolute Marine

    There is another dealer that does RV's listed in Hamilton too if you are way down south.