I have the original AB refrigerator in my boat. Does it work on AC & DC or is straight DC?
Thanks!
It's ONLY dc. I have a scanned copy of the original owner's manual (1986 era) which I'd be glad to send to you.
That'd be great! Thanks Stu
Lance : It kind of fools you, in that you'll hear owners talk about plugging in shore power.
Shore power (AC) to the battery charger which charges (DC) to the batteries, then runs the (DC) fridge !!
Ah, but Ron is only telling half the story. Do you want it to run on AC? Because, if you do, it's quite possible and not that difficult to achieve (even I did it). John Nixon described how to make your fridge automatically switch between AC and DC depending on the situation (e.g., at a dock or out to sea). The instructions are buried in John's charger review that's currently a sticky topic, but there's another place to find his write-up. We're starting to develop a "wiki" (kind of like wikipedia, in fact based on the same software) and convert all of the project articles along with interesting posts (currently called "FAQs") into one easy-to-navigate structure. It started with the "knowledgebase," a spreadsheet of all such articles, but that's a little unwieldy because you have to go between a spreadsheet and the site. This new way, all of the articles will be in one place, and -best of all- you'll be able to comment on and add to the articles real time as well as pretty easily add your own articles. Not all of the content is there yet (in fact, most of the article titles still point back to the current site), but I've turned the relevant piece of John's post into a mini project in the wiki. And this wiki article includes a hand-drawn schematic that John sent me.
You can find John's instructions for installing AC power on your 12V fridge in the wiki here: http://www.c34.org/wiki/index.php?title=Galley and click on the article called "Running your 12 VDC fridge on 120 VAC shore power at the dock."
Feel free to click on the left side navigation for the "knowledgebase" to bring you back to the top level of the Knowledge Wiki and browse to your heart's content. BTW, if anyone would like to help port the current content into the wiki, please raise your hand by emailing me at jonschn@gmail.com
Happy knowledgebasing.
Jon,
I'm just home from playing hockey (we do that up here) and must have taken a shot to the head as I can't see how to click on to Wiki from the c34 site home page. Have I missed it?
Thanks , HAwk
Nope, you're fine. You have to click on the link I supplied. The Knowledgebase Wiki is under development and not ready for prime time yet. And only you, me, and the thousands of C34 owners who are on this board now know about it ;) It won't be part of the public navigational architecture of the site until we get more content into it (which is why we've been asking for volunteers in the past few Mainsheets... and still need them!)
OK but why would you want to run it on shore power when you have a charger and it is plugged in to the shore power?
The theory is to avoid having to run the fridge through the house bank, thereby potentially deteriorating the batteries. John Nixon's strategy (as included in his Battery Charger evaluation as well as the wiki) and Ray Irvine's relay system through a secondary dedicated-to-the-fridge smaller battery (not the house OR reserve bank) are two different ways to perform this concept.
Quote from: Stu Jackson on January 09, 2009, 09:09:46 AM
The theory is to avoid having to run the fridge through the house bank, thereby potentially deteriorating the batteries.
And just to build on Stu's response, constantly draining your batteries to run the fridge causes sulfation and shortens their life. What's really happens when you run the fridge while charging the batteries is that the batteries are supplying some of the power (i.e., a chemical reaction is occurring) even though (probably) some of the power is coming directly as a pass-through from the charger. There's also another reason to do this. If your shore power goes, your fridge will run your batteries down, which might also jeopardize other mission-critical components (e.g., alarms, bilge pumps, etc.) If you've rigged the fridge to run off of shore power, the only thing you'll end up with after a shore power outage is melted ice cream and warm beer, while your batteries will have been left unharmed.
Do any of you leave the frige on when you're away from the boat? Also, I can't see my thermostat that well -- easier to just feel for it. Which way do you turn it to make it colder?
Thanks so much for all your help. This has been a great week for info about a GREAT boat.
Lance, I keep my fridge on all the time (well, not when the boat's on the hard :cry4`) and run it off 120 VAC. I can't tell you which way to turn the thermostat because a) my thermostat is 19 years old and bound to be different than yours; and b) I don't remember!
Can't say for certain, but generally clockwise is colder.
Thanks! What did they do before they had clocks? Turn it sundial-wise? Wouldn't that be different in the Southen Hemisphere?
Lance, here's what you do: take a flashlight and shine it on the thermostat, and look at the numbers. 7 is coldest. Turn it that way.
The "do I leave my fridge on all the time" is as much fun a discussion as "what's the best anchor." Many do for various reasons. Do a search on "fridge" and you'll find all sorts of very good information about that and other related issues.
I keep mine on all the time. I figured like my frig at home, it is designed for continuous operation and keep the seals and machinery in running condition. It has worked for me for 6 years
Stu/Ron/Jon,
When I'm out for a couple weeks without shore power I tend to throw a half block of ice on the bottom and then turn on the refer switch on the panel when we need to motor (therefore while charging). Typically with the fridge full, once everything is chilled I hit the switch on for an hour or two then off. I have actually had drinks start to freeze when I left it on too long. I do have an indicator light when the refer switch is on (very helpful).
Back at my dock when off the boat but on shore power I just leave the refer panel switch off. I don't think I see a need to change the set up? Do I?
Of course I recognize that where we are my "canadian" beers are very often "ice cold" due to natural ambient air temperature! So having a cold fridge immediately on boarding is not crucial.
As you say, the 7/11 cold 6-pac does the job to get out of home port.
HAwk
HAwk : When we cruise we always keep one or 2 ice cube trays in the freezer and the fridge stays on 24/7. We frequently make more cubes to cool the drinks that are kept outside the fridge(keep the lid close). I've been doing that for the past 18+ years.
I've found that ice in the bottom allows the water(MOISTURE) from the melted ice to form more frost on the freezer portion of the fridge. This means you have to defrost the fridge more often (during a 6 weeks cruise) than not having ice in the bottom. Defrosting gains the efficiency/true temp. of the fridge back. The whole idea is to keep cold dry air in and warm moist air out.
We do turn down the fridge thermoatate to #3 when the engine is not running and #6 when the engine is running. With the extra insulation I added, the fridge has no problem of holding 40F (in 90+ OAT).
I don't stay plugged in when I'm not on the boat. That's always been my choice and lucky that it was when our marina power line was hit by lightening and BIG power surge fry-ed boats that were plugged in.
As Jon pointed out, there is a way to convert your AB 12V fridge to run directly off 110VAC shore power. I wouldn't consider doing that to my C34, as we stay at the dock and marines a minimum amount of time (less than 5%). I personally would much rather be sailing or at anchor and therefore need a 12V fridge.
Hope these thoughts help. :D
Good thoughts Ron.
Thanks
I believe the fuse is blown. Stu has been a great help by providing photo's of his ref. unit. However, it is different enough that the fuse is not in the same location. I've attached a photo of what I could see. Is there a cover over the electrical module? If so, or not, where is the fuse and how do I get to it. YES, I'm an electrical idiot!
Thanks!
The picture is too blurry to be sure, but the line under 12 volt DC looks like it says "Fuse 15A". I do not have this unit, but I would start by turning the refrig off at the electrical panel, then remove the cover and have a look see. If you want to be extra careful, turn the battery switch off also.
The diagram it the left corner of the cover I would interpret to be an over pressure switch. They sometimes pop on their own accord. While you have the panel off, give it a good push, if it clicks and resets, then it may be the source of the problem. If the switch isn't under the cover, follow the electrical lines till you find it. I'd run the fridge again to see if it is really a problem or just an occurrence.
To add to Ken's comment, I'd recommend tracing in both directions the larger gauge red wire to search for fusing. Then, break out the multimeter to check if power is getting from the panel to the compressor. You might also want to see if that black ground wire is working as expected. It's a circuit, it needs a viable round trip path. As Stu has commented more than once, in different threads, check all the connections! I made the mistake of replacing my salon stereo speakers prematurely. When I was hooking them up, I found the wiring crossing the bilge to the starboard bulkhead speaker had separated at a splice.
Craig
So that IS a panel I need to take off to see inside?
Lance : In my 1988 the factory (AB or Catalina??) had installed the wrong size fuse. I'll have to check, but I believe that mine should have been a 10 Amp rather than a 15 amp fuse. (I wrote a Mainsheet Tech article on this topic)
In the literature it talked about a fuse, but I could never find it until I stood on my head and found it at the compressor unit like yours (auto stab in type). I have never been able to find another fuse and the AB tech told me that that was the only one for the unit.
Thanks Ron. I felt something like that when I checked; but, I was looking for the tube type fuse.
Cheers!
Lance, another thing to check is all of the connections to fan. One of my wires had pulled out of its terminal, though it wasn't obvious until I looked really closely and saw it lying right beside where it should have been in the terminal. According to my documentation (1990 AB cold Machine), if the fan does not work (for any reason; e.g., the fan itself could have died), the compressor will not turn on as a safety precaution. So, if it's not the fuse, and it's not the connections, be sure to test to see if the fan works.
Thanks for that additional tidbit! Man, a plethora of knowledge here :thumb:. Sorry to beat a topic to death.
Cheers!
Don't know if I mentioned this to Lance during our offline emails (contents of which have been well-covered here, so no one else missed anything :D) but as John Nixon has reminded us many times, the wiring inside the electrical panel is ALWAYS something to check. Many have completely replaced their panels (see Projects), but since we're keeping our "traditional" copper colored 1921 vintage lettering fused panel until the Confederate $$ comes back again, the wiring itself and the connections especially on the jumpers, is something that should be, if not simply checked, just replaced. As Ron has noted, the older stiff probably non-tinned wiring, and the factory connections, sure leave a lot to be desired. Since the fridge (and everything else for that matter) is dependent on those jumpers, they are important. Oh, and we're still workin' on ours... 8)