The scenario: Your miles away from the nearest provisions and all your food is floating in water because your ice has melted. Solution: You weigh anchor and run for ice. $2.00/bag. And gas. $4.00/gallon. Cast-off and run back to your anchorage. If it's still available. This has happened to me many times. It's expensive, time consuming, and my food gets wet. What if there was another way ? You stay where you are and make your own ice. I came across this Portable Ice-Maker at Bi-Mart yesterday. $190.00. Is this a solution or just one more expensive thing to trip over ? At 200 watts I'm thinking generator here.
My ice has melted, my food is wet...What if ???
- Thread starter Adeline
- Start date
Pete, I think its a good idea. We have one at our shack on the coast and it works great, although its a little noisy. We haven't tried it on the boat yet, we have a 700W inverter and two house batteries so it shouldn't be a problem there. We, like everyone else, are limited on space and would have to give up the microwave. The boat is new to us and we haven't had enough "sea time" to make those difficult decisions yet...we will definitely consider it for our Lake Powell cruise in September. Maybe some others can contribute more, good luck.
Big dave
Member
I can't help you with the ice melting, but Ruthi & I solved the food getting wet problem by putting the ice into a large plastic bag.
I'm not talking about the black plastic garbage style, I'm talking about a large heavy duty plastic bag, they are kind of blue in color and are very heavy mil plastic. They come in five packs at Safeway. We have been using the same bag for over a year using both block and crushed ice.
This information won't save you a trip to get more ice but at least you food will be dry !
Dave & Ruthi.
Raven Dancer.
I'm not talking about the black plastic garbage style, I'm talking about a large heavy duty plastic bag, they are kind of blue in color and are very heavy mil plastic. They come in five packs at Safeway. We have been using the same bag for over a year using both block and crushed ice.
This information won't save you a trip to get more ice but at least you food will be dry !
Dave & Ruthi.
Raven Dancer.
There are some high-end fridge/freezers out there now that will actually work off your house battery with minimal charging. Like Engel, FridgeFreeze, some others. I don't think the icemaker is the answer, and these high tech freezers are very expensive. My Igloo marine cooler has slots in the inside that allows me to put starboard dividers in and divide it up into three compartments. So I found a plastic container that I fill with water and freeze and put in the middle compartment, then cans and bottles go in one end and all foodstuffs go in tupperware in the other. No spilled water, everything is dry and cold. Just discovered this recently, after years of soggy cheese and lettuce. And if you did the same thing with frozen saltwater it would work even better. But when we graduate to a tug or larger c-dory I will probably invest in some sort of toploading frig/freezer technology. Refrigeration on a boat, for me, is a must. And it is getting more efficient all the time.
Interesting gadget. But if you run it 24 hours to get the "theoretical" 30 lbs of ice you will be using 20 amps an hour and almost 500 amps...That is a huge amount of power.
We use a Norcold chest refigerator freezer and after three days with two group 31 and about 4 hours of 20 amps generator charging our batteries were still at 75%. There are some chest types which are more effecient than the Norcold. I have used these Norcolds for at least 35 years--worn a couple out--but they work well for us.
At Powell, we use two chests--one only is opened once a day, the other is for soft drinks. The food is in sealed bags or sealed boxes. We keep wet white (turn tan) towels over the boxes and they help as evaperative coolers. Ice lasts about 5 days--when we are ready to dump and get more gas and water anyway...There are also some super effecient ice chests--a bit expensive, but do work. We have also made a freezer box of 6" closed cell, with reflective outer barrier, and plastic vapor barrier inside and out--this held ice for over 3 weeks when full and the genset was broken and we could not run the freezer plates. So there are several solutions...
We use a Norcold chest refigerator freezer and after three days with two group 31 and about 4 hours of 20 amps generator charging our batteries were still at 75%. There are some chest types which are more effecient than the Norcold. I have used these Norcolds for at least 35 years--worn a couple out--but they work well for us.
At Powell, we use two chests--one only is opened once a day, the other is for soft drinks. The food is in sealed bags or sealed boxes. We keep wet white (turn tan) towels over the boxes and they help as evaperative coolers. Ice lasts about 5 days--when we are ready to dump and get more gas and water anyway...There are also some super effecient ice chests--a bit expensive, but do work. We have also made a freezer box of 6" closed cell, with reflective outer barrier, and plastic vapor barrier inside and out--this held ice for over 3 weeks when full and the genset was broken and we could not run the freezer plates. So there are several solutions...
CatyMae n Steve
New member
We use (I think it's called) techni-ice.....sheets, soaked in water, frozen...they keep foods cold through a 3-day weekend for us and don't take up much space in the cooler.
Wandering Sagebrush
Free Range Human
Keep It Simple, Silly.
For us, a Coleman Xtreme cooler has kept food fresh and the ice frozen for over 5 days in southeast Oregon. I believe there is also a marine version, but have not seen one yet.
Steve
For us, a Coleman Xtreme cooler has kept food fresh and the ice frozen for over 5 days in southeast Oregon. I believe there is also a marine version, but have not seen one yet.
Steve
Captains Cat
New member
Lori Ann":1rg81z5a said:
Warren, go to the instruction manual link in the website. It says 12 minutes for large cubes, less for medium or small ones. This sucker weighs 46 pounds though... :shock:
charlie
Just read the specs (such as they are...). 12 minutes gets you ONE load, about 4-5 oz of ice if you figure slightly under 1.5 lbs/hour to get you the maximum of 36 lbs/24 hr period. So you're talking 6+ hrs to get 8-9 lbs of cubed ice. Like Bob said, that's a lot of generator/engine running!
Plus might be one heck of a startup current since they recommend an AC cord minimum 14AWG rated for 1875 Watts.
Looked pretty good until you run the numbers. Looks more like something to add to your afternoon tea (like their picture suggests!).
Plus might be one heck of a startup current since they recommend an AC cord minimum 14AWG rated for 1875 Watts.
Looked pretty good until you run the numbers. Looks more like something to add to your afternoon tea (like their picture suggests!).
+1 on the Norcold. Lately I have gone with just that (no ice chest at all). Saves room, and I can simply stock the Norcold as needed with drinks and make ice as well.
I stopped in a truck stop and see they are going with the Coleman portable refrigerators -- that might be an option for you too.
I stopped in a truck stop and see they are going with the Coleman portable refrigerators -- that might be an option for you too.
Pat Anderson
New member
We do pretty well with the Norcold and one ice chest with two BLOCKS of ice (not CUBES)...just be sure you have an ice pick to chip off your ice for sundowners! Of all the things Bill Fiero would laugh at (microwave or "whole head hair dryer," toaster oven, ice maker, espresso machine), I am pretty sure an ice maker is about the very last thing we would consider carrying on board...but to each his own!
El and Bill
New member
Yep, Pat, we have gone along with the KISS principal that Steve suggests -- been years on the boat and no problem. Cruising, one is 'yoked' to marinas for fuel anyway, so a bag of ice from a marina every five days or so (and food in waterproof bags, as suggested by Dave and Ruthie) has worked easily, inexpensively, and simply. And with our walk through the woods on the Appalachian Trail, we lived wonderfully with no ice for 6 1/2 months -- and my great-grandparents did it for 60 years -- as you said, Pat, its all what you can be comfortable with, or without.
