skipbee wrote:
Hi Steve,
For what it's worth and knowing how good you are with mods. I pass this idea along for possible future use. It is known that top loading fridges are the most efficient. On the Ketch "Imagine" I fitted a 12 volt marine compressor fridge from Adler Barbour. The answer to improved cooling is more insulation. Were I younger, I would in place of our present Norcold ,build a well insulated, 7" or more closed cell, top load with a lid of the same dimension.
We sailed for years trouble free in the tropics, with a freezer baffle and spill over to fridge. We had some solar along with a wind bugger wind generator and almost never had to use the gas generator.
The present Norcold's propane feature is most useful to us, we use it
exclusively for highway travel as our 12 volt system is not too efficient and will kill the batteries when we forget to switch to propane or 115 volt, a common occurance. The main message is " more insulation=better cooling!
Love to all,
skip
Hi Skip,
Yes, if I were to start again I would go with a top loading fridge. I have been really impressed with the 40 litre Engel fridges. They seem less convenient but gravity works out to be a real benefit:
1) When you open the fridge the cold air stays put rather than just flowing out of the fridge.
2) You can pack the contents much more densely with little effort. In my upright fridge you can only achieve a certain packing density before stuff falls out when you open the door. In a top loader you can stuff all the cavities with cheese, chocolate and other good stuff without it falling out :B
You are also right about the insulation. I have already got extra insulation around the outside of the fridge with expanding foam insulation added top and bottom.
Steve.
