The unit you most likely wanted is TropiKool 40. It was an oil free sterling cycle unit with a very high efficiency. The company went out of business but Im sure the technology will be back.
Conventional refrigeration is very power hungry. Typically boats even boats with large solar system (600 watts) cant stay up with the drain when it gets warm. The one that will undoubtedly come up is a thermoelectric-pile cooler. Quite simply put a thermocouple puts out a voltage based on how hot or cold it is at the junction. It turns out if you force the voltage back into it the junction gets hot or cold. A thermoelectric pile is an array of thermocouples piled on top of each other between ceramic plates. This technology is useful but pretty power hungry for what you get. When the system around the thermoelectric pile is well designed it can cool around 35-40 °f below the surrounding ambient. That limits its usefulness for food safety to an 80 °f temp inside the boat or the boats cabinetry if it gets built in. They have a constant 4 -4.5 amp draw which is at the very limit of a 60 watt o/b alternator. If you have an inboard you can manage it but you must be mindful not to over drain the house battery. The thermoelectric-pile cooler can work great but if you live in Florida dont take the word of an Alaskan without giving it some thought. Phil Agur <http://www.catalina27.org/public_pages/profile270.htm> s/v Wing Tip C270 LE #184 MMSI 366901790 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Friday, February 19, 2010 10:37 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [IC27A] Refrig Has anyone added a AC/DC refrigerator to their vessel either portable or permanent? I would like to know the details of what you added and where you added it. Ted Pinelli [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
