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

[Jeff Church]

When I went cruising this summer in 95 - 99 degree temps I put 2 blocks of 
ice in the bottom of the reefer and a foil waffled insulating pad under the 
lid. I also put a small battery operated fan near the evaporator. While 
motoring I kept the thermo set to about 6.5.  As I emptied bottles of water, 
I refilled them and placed them in and around the evaporator figuring the 
more cold/frozen mass and less air space the better. When I initially loaded 
the reefer (to the brim) everything was already cold or frozen and it stayed 
that way for the entire 12 days.

On a humorous note (sort of): At one point on the trip I heard noises that 
sounded like a log or something heavy was bouncing off the hull. The noise 
was loud enough that I ran around checking the bilge for leaks or damage. 
The noise repeated a couple of times and I started to think that I had 
somehow snagged something heavy. Eventually I realized that those blocks of 
ice rolling around the bottom of the reefer sound just like something 
pounding on the hull!

JeffC


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Karl Mielenhausen _/) " <kmielen at iwon.com>
To: <C320-List at catalina320.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2006 5:17 PM
Subject: [C320-list] FW: Re: A-B Cold Machine: power consumption


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