[C320-list] FW: Re: A-B Cold Machine: power consumption

Wed Oct 18 15:17:23 PDT 2006

I did a check on mine earlier this year.

As I recall, the fridge was lightly loaded, I had an extra foam panel across the top as I usually do, the water and air temps were both around 75F. The compressor cycled on and off such that the duty cycle was about 33%. As a result, I figure 40 AH/day when cruising.

Has anyone tried extra insulation on the freon lines running between the compresser and the coldplate (at least the cold one)? My lines appear to be in some split loom tubing... probably provides little in the way of insulation.

It was also recently suggested that you install a fan inside the fridge to blow on the coldplate. Said to reduce the duty cycle and reduce temperature stratification within the box.

Karl Mielenhausen

2000 C320 Hull#690 "Silver Lining"

New Bern, NC

http://members.cox.net/mielen/From: Jeff Church [mailto: jjemail at comcast.net]

To: c320-list at catalina320.com

Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 16:24:02 -0500

Subject: Re: [C320-list] A-B Cold Machine: power consumption

Warren, On page 27 the manual for my 1998 ColdMachine says to figure 5 amps running and 1.8 to 2.4 amps on average. That would equate to the unit running 36 to 48 percent of the time. I measured a running draw of 5.7 amps with a Link 20 battery monitor. At 48 percent that would put the average draw at >2.7 amps. The complete Energy Inventory is posted in the Scanned Documents sub-album on the C320 site. JeffC ----- Original Message ----- From: "Warren Updike" <wupdike at hotmail.com> To: "Catalina 320 Mail List" <C320-List at catalina320.com> Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2006 3:34 PM Subject: [C320-list] A-B Cold Machine: power consumption The newer Cold Machines draw about 5A. The factory rep. at the Annapolis Boat Show said my 13 year old machine might draw more like 6-7 A. My question has to do with duty cycle: the amount of time under a particular situation that the machine might actually be running 
usually expressed as a percentage. That is to say, my machine is on 24/7 when we're on the boat, but it only actually runs and draws current for intermittent periods. Does anyone have any information on the duty cycle of the Cold Machine on the 320 under different ambient temperature conditions? The spreadsheet of Estimated Cruising Electrical Loads from the (old?) 320 website shows a usage of 10 hrs/day. That is a 40% duty cycle. I have no idea how realistic that figure is for estimating electrical load. Warren & Pattie Updike C320, #62, 1994, "Warr De Mar" Frog Mortar Creek, Middle River Chesapeake Bay

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