Adding Frig/ Freezer to the IceBox

Velera · **Joined:** 29 Dec 2006 09:38 **Posts:** 656

I have an ancient Adler Barbour unit (prior to 1990) in my T37. It has worked well (replaced the control unit once and the fan on the unit once in 25 years) other than that, it has worked great for all those years, including a couple years in Central America where my main issue was keeping the thing from freezing everything in the box. I have done nothing to the box except to put seal around the doors on the top. I also have the insulated door model which I understand was not done prior to 1982. One thing is that you cannot put the compressor in a hot and unventilated place and expect it to work well. Mine is in the lazarette and I left the seat hatch open a crack in the evening to allow it to have some cool air to exchange. I have the impression that Tartan did a rather good job of insulating this box and most of the refrigeration issues have been about poor sealing of doors, not closing the drains (all the cool will flow out), and putting the compressor in a hopelessly hot place. IMHO the installation details are more important than which system you use. Most of the compressors have very similar outputs and most of them are made by Danfoss.

Tortuga's Lie · **Joined:** 27 Oct 2006 10:32 **Posts:** 827

I still like the idea of running the lines under the stove by opening up a hatch on the vertical face which gives you a bit more storage down low, plus you have immediate access to the lines if you ever have to replace them...........I'll try to remember to take a picture of this when I go down to the boat next time. It's really quite easy to cut an opening and run the lines and if your not handy with tools, you can buy a pre-made hatch to easily install. This of course would keep the lines down low, so if you want to mount the compressor in the lazarette, it may not be the best solution but I mounted mine under the sink and it's been a great install so far and with the louvered door, it gets ventilation.

Here's a picture of something similar to what I built, it's not exact, but it's close enough to give you an idea:

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Down2TheC · **Posted:** 10 Apr 2015 14:56

Same placement for us. Also the panel screwed in between the under-sink area and the stbd locker has four squares cut out of it. Looks like a home job by the original owner. But that means airflow on both sides. Original A-B unit lasted 25 years without any maintenance. So I replaced it with the identical system (Except it's Waeco now so you get German instructions too).

Tortuga's Lie · **Joined:** 27 Oct 2006 10:32 **Posts:** 827

Here's the pics of my arrangement, hope it helps.

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File comment: access door

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File comment: Access view, Refer lines are far inside this where they won't get damaged by things stored inside

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File comment: Compressor unit on it's own shelf I glassed in. Protected by the shelf above. This is a keel cooler unit.

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Adding Frig/ Freezer to the IceBox

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