To Fridge or not to Fridge - that is the question

H

helm

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We bought or CD-25 with no fridge, just the ice box under the helm seat. Adding a fridge is a simple install as all AC and DC wiring are in place.
So for those of you with fridges do you love them or hate them. Would you buy Norcold or Dometic. Do we forget the fridge and use a cooler and have the extra space for more storage. We are setting the boat up for a great loop cruise.
Thanks
Eric
 
We love the fridge. Lets us use the cooler for fish and shrimp.
We have the Norcold and it draws very little amps. Would not leave home without it.
 
Although I don't have a larger C-Dory, yet, I have considered the possibilities of some other type of fridge. The Norcolds and Dometics aren't as efficient as some of the holding plate types available. And I certainly question anything with a front opening that sweeps the floor and takes up space plus empties out the cold everytime you open the door. My personal opinion would be to go toward something that loads from the top. I have seen pictures on this site somewhere where they were using an Engel. Those units are way more efficient. And there are some others that top load and use half the amps of a Norcold. I had Norcold on one of my sailboats, only because I bought the boat used and it was on there. It didn't come close to comparing to the Adler-Barbur I had before. Guess they are called Waeco or some such now.
 
I have had the norcold in my boat since I bought it. I get 4-5 days of operation with no charging of the batteries in the summer (it's not that warm here most summer days). The door opening into the aisle is no more nor less bothersome than the cabinet doors. The little freezer compartment is adequate for a 3-4 trays of frozen herring or a few Popsicles (not at the same time).

Personally, I wouldn't have the boat without it. The best thing about it for me is that I leave the fridge stocked with soda, lemonade, mustard, mayo etc. for most of the summer. That way, I can launch on short notice and with some bread and lunch meat I'm ready to go for the day. I take a cooler too, but only to put fish in.
 
Hi Eric,

Not that I am opinionated (insert guffah here), but if it were me, I would not put a refrigerator on the boat. As an alternative, I would invest in an extremely good ice chest. Diana and I use a Coleman Xtreme, and usually get at least a week out of a 10lb block of ice, even on camping trips into the Oregon desert (Steens, etc.). I would also consider not using the built in icebox for anything other than casual storage or perhaps beverages.

I would be curious to hear what El and Bill have to say about this topic. They are probably the experts...

Regards,

Steve
 
Hi Eric,
This question is best answered as to how you intend to use the CD25 AND congrats on the purchase.

I chose to include the frig in Sea Angel. I appreciate having cold drinks when I'm on the work rack or underway. When we do an extended cruise up the Ches. Bay we have an 'extreme cooler' that we loadup and place in the cockpit to supplement our capacity.

We like having the ice cubes from the frig without carrying the 'ice box', especially in the warm Virginia summer days.

There are several pixs in the Sea Angel Album as to the layout. Hope this helps and happy & safe cruising..
 
We have just about completed the loop, and started out with an "extreme cooler" in the cockpit to supplement our Norcold fridge. We soon stopped using the cooler for keeping things cold, and have relied on the fridge for the entire trip. We never got anywhere near 5-day performance even with block ice. I have come to the conclusion that "5-day" cooler performance means they sculpt a big block of ice the exact shape of the inside of the cooler and measure how long it take until the last flake of ice melts. It has almost no meaning in terms of actual use, especially if you cannot obtain block ice. We love the refrigerator, and it has met all our needs on the loop. We anchor out frequently and have never had battery problems or had to use our generator (we've lugged a 2000 watt Honda generator with us the entire trip and used it only once). About our only complaint is that it can sometimes be a little noisy at night, so we often turn it down a bit before retiring.
 
Sorry, Wayne, I can't remember. It was installed at the factory. The Cosmic C is currently in storage at Cutter Marine on the Chesapeake so I can't go and look either.
 
I like our Norcold refer but I would put it somewhere else other than beneath the helm seat.. I am likely going to move it so I can do some mods and install some sort of air ride seat in the near future. Otherwise, it works great for the small stuff you don't want to leave the cabin for. Space becomes an issue fairly quickly on longer trips so one still needs an ice chest out back.
 
Love the fridge. We have been out for months at a time and rarely use a cooler. We won a very nice 125 qt cooler that is a great two-person seat and storage compartment in our cockpit. 8)

The fridge that the factory puts in the 25 will hold about 10 days of food for us, carefully packed. We put drinks in on an as-needed basis. The small freezer compartment will make enough ice for daily sundowners. We have done the cooler thing in the past on our boats, and I really enjoy not having to dig through cold water to find the soggy stuff in there.

Any time we are cruising away from home, our fridge is on. :thup :thup Truly, it is one of the things that makes the boat more of a home for us. There is no doubt that you will get plenty of opinions both ways... and it really depends on how you will use the boat.

HTH

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Bill is no expert on refrigerators - he is an expert on buying ice! Wild Blue Jim recently calculated out Bill's ice bill, and clearly demonstrated Bill would be FAR better off with a fridge! We love ours and plan to actually use it again just as soon as we get the battery / wiring issues all sorted out...


Wandering Sagebrush":t5yj7309 said:
I would be curious to hear what El and Bill have to say about this topic. They are probably the experts...
Click to expand...
 
Actually we wouldn't cruise without a refridg. The norcold is decent, made in China. . When it's hot outside has about a 50% duty cycle. It has its own inverter (converter?), so when there's no AC, it uses DC. It never is turned off from when we leave home to when we return. It's not auto defrost, so we defrost it every couple of weeks

And it's noisy. Especially when you're trying to sleep. I took it out and ran it outside of the cabinet, trying to find all the vibrating parts. The radiator vibrates and I wrapped a couple pieces of neoprene around it and wired it down. Also did the same for some of the feed pipes. Put rubber between the mounting panel and the cabinet. Worked well, though sometimes it still makes noise.

If you've got the wiring in, I'd certainly put one in. Judy allows me to have 3 cans of cold beer in at any given time. Just cycle it through both the refridg and then me.

Boris
 
Ok I have a question about the fridge. 1) how much can you get in it? 2) is it a fridge or a freezer or both? 3) if it runs off the batteries at night when not at a dock how long can you sit with it on 1 day or 4 days. I hardle every sit for more then 1/2 a day, but I might. 3)Will it keep meat frozen and can i get one on a 22?
 
Eric-
The factory refrig supplied in 2005 was:

(Sea Angel) Cd25 Refrig.
NORCOLD Model: DE0051
120vac OR 12vdc@10amps (fused)
This is shown in the last frame of my 'Factory...' subfolder.

Boy, I really have to learn how to attach pixs!
 
You can get a lot in it, enough to keep your significant other happy. It's both a freezer and fridge.

When running, it takes about 5 amps. With a 50% duty cycle, that's about 2.5 amp-hrs/hr. Just divide that into 1/2 of your battery amp-hr capacity and you have the hours you can run. Keep a Honda 1000 handy and recharge every morn, if you have a good battery charger.


Boris
 
Art-

Here's your photo and caption:

CD25_Refrig.jpg


(Sea Angel) Cd25 Refrig.
NORCOLD Model: DE0051
120vac OR 12vdc@10amps(fused)
 
For Tom: there isn't much of a freezer, but you can make a couple little trays of ice each day (and that's enough for drinks at night). You might get a steak in there, but that's about it. If you are running everyday, you won't have a problem with flattening the batteries (we do have two Grp 27 house batteries on Wild Blue). We can go about 2 days and then we're going to need to run, fire up the generator, or plug into shore power. We are rarely in one place at anchor more than a couple days (the exception was last winter in the Keys when it was one norther after another).

I like the fridge for the same reason I like hot water on the boat: it feels more like home. It's easier to stay out longer. Some folks like to go simple and rough it... as you know, we are not those folks. I like a memory foam pad on the v-berth, satellite radio, a good stove, heat, AND my fridge, water heater, and enclosed head. I also look for places to anchor based on comfort.

That old saying about "the difference between adventure and ordeal is attitude" may be true... but if we're enjoying ourselves, it's just easier to stay out there... no reason adventure can't be comfortable! 8)

Best wishes,
Jim
 
We are landlocked, so we trailer our 25 when ever we go boating. We have the factory installed Norcold, I love it, beverages are closer in the boat, than they are at the house. Several days prior to a trip, I plug in the boat and precool the refrigerator load it up and leave with it on the battery, one group 27. Most trip's 2 or 3 hrs. but on two longer trips it's run as long as eleven hrs on one battery without any problem but I keep an eye on it. Whatever your choice enjoy! Larry
 
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