Marine Refridgeration

Do you have a portable 12V 'fridge? (those cooler shaped ones for smaller boats) Am hoping to dig up some of your experiences with these and what might be the more reliable name brands. Engel and Norcold seem to be top names. I'm wondering about the newer Dometic brand units- the little jobs that only draw about 3 amps @ 12v when on. Are they reliable? Thanks for any input- this site has taught me alot!

also- my boat has no AC dock plug-ins and is DC only (the inverter is only for light duty use).

Rebecca & Angel

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Permalink Reply by LOLA on March 5, 2011 at 11:30am

I had my boat wired for ac..I plug in w shore line, a college refrig, inplace of range, Use outdorr grill to cook, and a ac hot plate when plugged in,

The refrige stays cold for a day or 2 when unpluged..can also use as ice box.

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Permalink Reply by CaptnRon on March 5, 2011 at 6:30pm

I think the Engel Units are one of the best around, low amp draw and can run on ac or dc. The downside, their not cheap....you kinda get what you pay for.

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Permalink Reply by Veranda on March 11, 2011 at 4:29pm

We have the Engel and use it as a dedicated freezer. It uses less than 2 1/2 amps as a freezer. It will make ice and keeps everything hard as a rock. Our 45 quart Engel can be wired as 12 or 120 volts. We have ours wired directly into the 12 volt panel.

If we had to consider an Engel again in the future we'd get one in a heartbeat. The thing does everything you can ask of it. We used it as a fridge for just a week or so before configuring it as a freezer. It did a great job as a fridge as well.

Bill

s/v Veranda

Lying in Thompson Bay, Long Island Bahamas

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Permalink Reply by Ray on March 19, 2011 at 2:13pm

I also have an Engel. I would definitley recommend it to a friend. I am thinking about buying another to use as a freezer because of its low amp draw. It's nice to have those ice cubes for the drinks.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Dougan on May 13, 2011 at 8:53pm

Yes, I have and Edge Star. Same inners as Engel at half the price. have had it on the boat for five years and has always worked well. Can also be used as a freezer if you like. it has an FF ( Fast Freeze) position and takes it down to - 8 degrees F Have a 43 quart. Here is the link. When I purchased mine was shipped from Texas and shipping was free.

http://www.edgestar.com/products/fridgefreeze/fp430.asp

hope this helps. friend of mine told me about it when I was ready to pay $825.00 for and Engel. Thank him every day.

Joe

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Permalink Reply by Veranda on May 14, 2011 at 4:12pm

The Edgestar looks like a nice unit but uses more than twice as many amps as the Engel.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Dougan on May 23, 2011 at 10:17pm

Don't think so. Have measured mine at 2.7 amps on start up . So know they are the same. The sheet in attachment might be wrong. They have exact same compressor so not sure why there would be any difference. Am sure there are some others here that have used the Edgestar will tell you the same thing.

Joe