To Fridge or not to Fridge - that is the question

thataway":2414co1n said:
The factory option has been abut a 2.7 cu foot Norcold
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Thanks! Do you know which of the Norcold's it would be? I've spent hours online trying to figure out which fridges would fit! I would love to fit a 2.7 in there!
 
kaelc":1lvjfm57 said:
thataway":1lvjfm57 said:
The factory option has been abut a 2.7 cu foot Norcold
Click to expand...

Thanks! Do you know which of the Norcold's it would be? I've spent hours online trying to figure out which fridges would fit! I would love to fit a 2.7 in there!
Click to expand...

The one which was in my 2003 25 and I believe in the Tom Cat 255 was the Norcold DE-0051/DC-0051. That is currently discontinued, but the specs of all of the various under the seat refrigerators are on line. The boats may have varied from time to time, and when the molded interior came along, the specs may be different.

The current replacement for that is the Norcold NR751BB: 21 x 20.5 x 18.5 inches It has the Danfoss DB 35 compressor.

The NovaKool 2600 is 20 1/4in x 20 in x 18" (several other sizes)

If you wanted the max size refer for the space, then get a Frigoboat, Air Cooled Capri 35F, and remotely mount it, which would give you the entire space under the pilot seat, and you could build your own foam insulation/inside box and door. I have done this in a few boats in the past, and you get really great custom unit...with adequate insulation.

Another drawler option I have not seen used is in the C Dory : There are several drawer types by Dometic, Isotherm, and Vitrifrigo.
 
I removed my frig late last year. The unit started blowing fuses when on DC. I put in an Engel MT27F-U1 in its place. I was able to find a rail that could handle the weight. I tried to load pictures into the post but not working. It is in my photo album under winter projects.
We are going to use it like Greg and Cindy and freeze bottles for the cooler. It will be nice not to worry about ice anymore.
 
Figured out how to post pictures.


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Fred it looks great.

Susan and I went round and round about did we need a fridge or not, how to manage water and ice in the ice chest. I wanted a fridge and was tired of 1) wet food 2) hauling ice 3) having multiply ice chest because some how a dead salmon is going to jump up in the middle of the night and contaminate all the food thats in a basket above the ice ???? 4) there was a four but 3 brought back to many memories of arguments between a fisherman and a over cautious bio-chemistry major and now I forgot what it was. Susan did not want the fridge because of ?? I dont remember and i am afraid to ask.

Any how I end up ignoring the expert and got a fridge at a low price. Used fridge out of another brats boat. We love it. It works great, hold a lot of food and does not run down the battery at all. We run the boat a lot and are not on anchor for long periods of time so that is not a problem for us. Susan had even admitted what a great idea it is. We still keep a ice chest for crab salmon and shrimp but that is a lot easier to handle and does not require as much ice as we do not open that chest as much without the food in it.

Oh 4) was having to finish closing the ice chest every two minutes because you cant teach that to some unnamed people.

If I was doing it today I would op for one of the flush mounted top loading fridges with a separate freezer section. fridge
 
If I was doing it today I would op for one of the flush mounted top loading fridges with a separate freezer section. fridge
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Tom,
I think that Isotherm system is great--but my major concern with it, is the amount of "cold" it looses when you open the drawer. It is easier to access the different shelves, than a true top loader, but because of the baskets, it may not hold as much as a true top loader also.

The Whytner 62 dual zone is about half the cost of that Isotherm, and is a true top loader. I would love to find a way to install that under one of the cabin seats--they are too big to roll out into the isle, but could be adopted to a hinged cushion top.

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I have been using this in the cockpit of my 22 for the last several years, and it uses about the same amount of power (60 amp hrs day, @ 12 volts).
 
I’m not as talented as Fred, looks good Fred, we put a new fridge in
and it is much quieter than the old one and it works. West Marine matched
the price of competition and we have cold food and sleep thru the night.
 
You know we had planned to buy a cooler and then maybe a portable ice maker but you guys about have me talked into something like that Whytner 62.
 
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