Adler Barbour refrigerator replacement

[scgunner]

     This is the start of what I hope will be a very short thread. After much diagnosis and attempted fixes I've finally had to concede that my 31yo Adler Barbour needs to be replaced. I bit the bullet and ordered a new(Adler Barbour CU-100, VD-150) unit. It's due to arrive within the week. I'll post updates on how it goes.

[scgunner]

    I just received the evaporator in the mail which has lines that measure out at 15'. the compressor unit should arrive on Oct 3. Does anyone know if there is any advantage to insulating the lines, and if so should they be insulated together, separately, or one or the other?

[KWKloeber]

    I just received the evaporator in the mail which has lines that measure out at 15'. the compressor unit should arrive on Oct 3. Does anyone know if there is any advantage to insulating the lines, and if so should they be insulated together, separately, or one or the other?

https://www.google.com/search?q=insulating+ac+coolant+lines&oq=insulating+ac+coolant+lines&aqs=chrome..69i57.10243j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Google can sometime be our best friend!

kk

[scgunner]

   kk,

     Thanks for the info. Looks like the big line(cold)is the one to insulate while leaving the small one(hot)bare. The compressor unit is arriving today so I'll start installation tomorrow.

[KWKloeber]

As overkill, I'd probably cover (to protect) any "exposed" line but NOT together.  That would be a counterproductive no-no.

ken

[Noah]

  I don't use propane I stuck with the original CNG for simplicity and safety, that space in the aft lazeret is where I installed my tankless water heater.

Gunner- do you use CNG for cooking and LPG for water heating? Where do you store fuel for both?

[scgunner]

     Noah,

       CNG for both. The CNG tank is in the original compartment(under the seat in the aft cabin). I teed off the supply line to feed the water heater.

[scgunner]

     I started the reefer replacement today. It took about an hour to remove the old unit. I spent another half hour cleaning and prepping the area for the new unit, you should see what was growing behind the evaporator after 31 years. I spent another hour insulating the evaporator lines followed by another hour feeding the lines thru the reefer wall behind the stove thru the aft cabin bulkhead to the CNG locker and finally under the aft cabin floor to the compressor platform. And, yes the coolant lines reach the compressor easily even though the connections are on far side of the compressor. Thermostat install came next, it was straightforward and took about 30 min.

      That's as far as I got today, so far so good. All that's left is to mount the compressor, hook up the power, and connect the coolant lines then wait for the reefer to get cold. I held off on compressor install because I've got a bit of a conflict with the cockpit drain line and the new location of the coolant lines on the new compressor. I think a bit of a twist in the drain line exit fitting should fix the problem.

[scgunner]

     I finished the reefer replacement today. Installation of the compressor unit was a breeze, it has a smaller footprint than the original so it fit in easily I even used the original bolts. Connecting the coolant lines came next, I gently bent them into alignment and connected them up, the hardest part was finding the right size wrenches to tighten the fittings, the sizes called for in the manual are incorrect. I used the existing wires for power then just plugged in the thermostat, all done. I flipped the power switch it came to life and immediately started it get cold. I have ice again!
      The whole thing cost about $1300 and if the new one performs half as well as the old one I'll be thrilled.

[Stu Jackson]

Congratulations.    Well done and thanks for the updates.   

[Jeff Tancock]

Good job!
I've been following this and other refer threads because I'm thinking that for my 20th anniversary of owning this boat I am going to install refer.
I have been looking at different units and am having a difficult time figuring out how to fit a freezer box into the icebox without making it a dysfunctional space. It seems that a plate would fit much better but then I wouldn't have the ability to make cubes.
Comments how you have made this work please......

[scgunner]

    Thanks Stu, and thanks for taking the time to walk me through the diagnosis of the old unit, at least I found out it was time for replacement.

     Jeff,

       You have a 1988 so when you say you're going to install a refer are you talking about replacing the original Adler/Barbour unit? As far as I know the Cat 34s all came stock with the Adler/Barbour Cold Machine, however I'll defer to our resident expert Stu on this topic. I'm not sure why you're having trouble figuring out where to mount the evaporator(freezer box), it looks to me like Catalina designed the refer space with the Adler/Barbour unit in mind.

[Jeff Tancock]

My 1988 never had a refer unit installed. A virgin!
I have a couple of racks in the ice box and when I measure up the space taken up by the bin type freezer box (10.5"X11"X6.5"), the space remaining looks like access to the lower half of the icebox when be very difficult.
I was just wondering how you and others placed your freezer box in your icebox.

[Noah]

Factory placement is vertical, at top of box, in the aft inboard corner. Sorry don't have a pic handy. If someone doesn't beat me to it, I will take one this weekend.

[Jeff Tancock]

Interesting
I have two nice wire racks that span the aft of the icebox, runner athwartship. They rest in notches that look like they were designed specifically for the racks.