I believe that the gas used in ac units contains a bit of oil that lubs the moving parts. If you have a leak that drained the system over a two month period you may be able to detect this oil at the siite of the leak. If you swabbed all connections with a very clean white cloth you may find traces of the oil. Usually leaks are at a joint or a location where there is vibration.
Go at it slowly. When not messing with my boat I mess with a 30+ year old Briish car. I have fixed more on that car with patience than with my vast collection of tools…
Joe V can confirm if my oil idea has any merit. I do not have refrigeration so can not comment on the practical aspects.
You can by the MP-134 refrigerant at Wal-Mart for $6.00 a can. The recharge fitting kit may cost you another $25. The whole system will only hold 2 cans. If it is an older unit that holds R-12 refrigerant, you can get a conversion kit from Sea frost cheaply. You can also, buy refrigerant with a leak fix similar to the Fixaflat for a tire. The leak fix is controversial but there is at least an 80% chance it will fix or slow the leak down.
The Seafrost system really has to be corroded and nasty to have it condemned. It should be repairable. Check out Youtube and the Seafrost manual. I hate to see you spend the money for a new unit. Sail on down for the Spring Chesapeake Rendezvous and I’ll fix it for you.
Hello, I just bought a 1984 Ultra 30 with one of these Sea Frost motor driven units which is not working. I also want to switch to a 12 volt system. My question is can I use the existing cold plate and can I install it in the same spot so that I can use the existing plumbing? I am wondering if it is more efficient to have it closer?
Best Regards,
Neil, Halifax Nova Scotia
Neil:
I have an Ultra that had a Seafrost unit. I replaced it with a Nova Kool system and have been very pleased. If you want to contact me offline so we can chat, please email at jwstanley24@gmail.com.
I just bought a 1987 30U, it has a Nova Kool unit, seems to work well. Keeps food frozen inside the white box, I can make ice too. The components are installed on a hidden shelf behind the stove, except of course the white cooling box. See photos attached. The first photo is my actual unit, the others are a display unit at local marine store.
This is a revisit from your post back in August 2020. I’m getting ready to purchase a Nova Kool system for my 30U and wonder if you would be kind enough to answer a few questions.
Which evaporator did you go with? My current plan is to use a LT4 but am considering a LT6.
Did you mount the evaporator horizontally with the door opening like a home refrigerator or vertically? Do you have any pictures of the evaporator after installation?
How is the noise level of the compressor when mounted behind the stove? My first instinct is to mount it on the shelf in the port side lazarette but the mounting behind the stove simplifies the installation somewhat.
Thank you,
Greg Doyal
30U #516 Challenge
Grosse Pointe, MI
Greg: My 30U came with the unit on a shelf behind the stove. I don’t remember what kind it is but it’s been there for over 30 years and still working. About 8 years ago, I replaced the stove/oven with a cooktop and installed A/C where the oven was. I’ve enclosed photos.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
I removed my oven with the intension to replace it with a new one. My girl will absolutely kill me if I’d suggest to get rid of her favorite toy in the galley.
Mark H,
I am confused. Is the oven or the refrigerator the favoured toy with the penalty of death attached?
The pictures in the previous email are interesting and confusing as well. I can’t tell who posted them but there appears to be two different refrigeration units, one a Nova Cool LT201, manufactured in September 2018 and another of indeterminate make and age. Both seem to be installed on shelves. At least one under the stove top. Is there an explanation?
My brother has the fridge compressor mounted on a shelf behind the stove so could answer yo question on noise levels. We have a Norcold unit mounted under the galley sink. During the day you can barely hear it. Sometimes at night it is very quiet but at others times it is loud enough that we put ear plugs in. I have a decibel metre app on my iPad so will have to try to remember to to take a reading some time. The Norcold uses a swing type compressor (same as the Engel units)made by Fujisawa. They are suppose to be more efficient and quieter than the Dan Boss rotary compressors. according to a source (I think Practical Sailor) rotary compressors can safely operate at a greater angle of heel than the swing compressors.
You could have guessed this one, drinkebroeder. The fridge is my favourite piece of equipment but the oven is hers. Removing it will be the end of us as a couple, I’m pretty sure about this one.
To add anything to this thread, I will try to make some sense for a change:
I also removed the Seafrost engine driven system together with an 80 to 100lb worth of weight, the blue 12v compressor device. I didn’t recognize the brand but reading this thread it was probably an Adler. I have no idea if it worked or not but just for the weight of it, I discarded it.
So… yet to be installed (prep work is done) and yet to be tested in daily use, I chose a Waeco (Domestic) CU95 Coldmachine. It’s based on a BD50 compressor. It will be cooling a WAECO VD-16 Circulating Air Evaporator.
The compressor unit will be placed under the Quarter berth.
I bought mine from Craig’s list. A fellow bought it but never installed it.
Mark H
I could not guess. The refrigerator is the First Sea Lord’s favourite galley toy, not because she likes beer (she doesn’t except in the occasional shandy) but because there is no ice water sitting in the bottom of the ice box with lettuce floating around in it. Her second favourite galley toy is the barbecue because I do the cooking when we use it. I was persuaded refrigeration would be a good idea after a long walk down the dock on a hot August day converted 20 pounds of ice into 10 pounds of ice and 10 pounds of water.
I have explained that cold beer acts just like blocks of ice so I have claimed the space that used to be taken up with blocks of ice. Of course it is at the bottom so I have to do the dumpster diving when I want a cold beer.
Where I’m from, a “passive fridge”, aka icebox is very rarely used. No gas station sells ice like they do in the US. No ice cube vending machines available, like in Florida or the Carib. The supermarket will sell ice but it’ll be just as expensive as beer, believe it or not. So most yachts do have an actual fridge or no cooling capability at all.
Saying all this to say that I have no experience with ice boxes. I do wonder… aren’t you supposed to put the ice on top of the food? Shouldn’t your beers be in that location in stead of at the bottom of the box?
The would be put at the bottom so you did not have to pull it out each time you wanted to get something out of the ice box. The ice box master wants the items she is interested in at the top of the box. Stuff she has no interest in is only allowed limited space at the bottom. If I don’t want it at the bottom of the ice box it is up to me to find another location on the boat. When the water is clear and cold, hanging the beer over the side in a mesh bag at about 15 ft below the surface is a reasonable option but you have to keep an eye out for diver air bubbles.
I believe that the photos in question are of the installation that Joe did on his boat, retiring his stove and filling in the space with both a refrigeration unit and an A/C. So, they are two different machines (I think).
They’re not. A few of the pictures are Don Crossley’s pictures that were tagging along when Joe Valinoti replied to Don’s post. You can tell by the serial number (298187). Joe’s pictures follow that, but it ends up looking like one big group from one person. Joe’s unit looks very much like the Adler Barbour Cold Machine that I have, although mine is not mounted behind the stove.
Dave Easley
1987 NS30U BIG EASY
Port Charlotte, FL
One option, at least in the US, is dry ice. It’s available in the larger supermarkets and when I used it many years ago on my 1st cruising boat, it would last almost a week and enabled you to keep ice cream. In regards to my current set up,
I have a cooktop, reefer (came with the boat & at least 30 years old, and the A/C unit all in one space after discarding the oven and installing a cooktop.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
