Refridgerator temp

[Mike Brown]

We just ran into an issue with the temps in the fridge on our B43. We had loaded the fridge with food for a trip and assumed all would be fine. Come the next morning temps in the unit were apx 55F degrees, which is too warm to consider safe for food. What we didn't realize was the coils for the compressors were dirty. With the extra load on the unit it couldn't get cold enough and we had to throw out some of the food. There's a wood covered air duct in front of each unit which are glued unto place and they made it impossible to get to the coils to clean them. I gently pried the grills off, cleaned the coils with a vacume and reset the fridge temp control. I also drilled a 2 1/2" hole above each compressor and covered them with stainless grilles. Even though there was an opening in the rear of the cabinet the new grilles allow much more warm air to escape resulting in improved cooling. After doing all of this we were seeing temps in the low 30F range and were able to turn the temp control back up. It explains why the compressors were running so often. I plan on making the wood grille covers such as they can be easily removed or even hinged.

[sam]

I just vacuumed off a thick layer from my coils also. The wooden covers came off easily. Good idea on drilling the extra ventilation holes. I may do that.
By the way, did you experience the sweating / moisture in the botttle cabinet directly behind the fridge? I still have that item yet to fix.

[Mike Brown]

I forgot all about the sweating issue. The wife has all sorts of items stored on top of the cabinet so I don't go in there very often. Think I'll check on it this weekend and let you know.

[James Taylor]

Sam
Have you checked the wood cabinet door to ensure it is not allowing the refrigerator door to properly seal? Excessive moisture in your refrig and excessive battery useage sounds like a improperly sealed refrig door. We had the same prblem with our B43 so I removed the clamps holding the wood panel to the refrig door and guess what. No more moisture problem and battery useage decreased to a very normal range. Took the boat to Annapolis Yacht Sales and they put it all back together properly.
Hope this helps

James

[Mike Brown]

Yes I checked that right after you told me about it. Our door fits snug and there's no apparent leakage around it's perimeter. Once I cleaned the coils the units effiency went up dramatically. We have the fridge set to 30 degrees which is colder than necessary but it does help cool things down quicker when we load fresh drinks and food. I checked the amp usage on a power meter I installed and it seems well within reason at this point.

[Mike Brown]

Here's what I did to the cover over the refridgerator cabinet.