I have a 60L give or take ice box built in to our Seaway 25, it's really well insulated and does a fantastic job, usually I freeze 1.2L plastic bottles and they will last till a week if the lid is judiciously opened and closed with some frozen milk and meats. We've just had a few weeks onboard interstate and have been buying ice which is a pain dealing with the water, it gets in everything no matter how well it's sealed. So I'm after an upgrade.

The solution is to get one of the plug n play 12v compressor systems. Like this
bla.com.au/index.php?_route_=products/refrigeration/refrigeration-comp-plate-kit

The alternative which is much cheaper is to completely cut n shunt the interior to fit in a normal rectangle Engel or whatever.

Has anyone done the conversion themselves?
There doesn't seem to be anywhere that actually stocks the kits? Resellers seem to be the norm or online Arnold's and a couple of dodgy looking sites.

Any heads up or recommendations would be much appreciated.

Cheers Sam.

The Ozefridge units seem to have a good reputation.

My mate did a cut n shut on his Adams 31 and put an Evacool in. He is really happy with it after fitting it 2 years ago.

www.evakool.com.au/60-litre-evakool-fibreglass-fridge-freezer-new

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My mate did a cut n shut on his Adams 31 and put an Evacool in. He is really happy with it after fitting it 2 years ago.

www.evakool.com.au/60-litre-evakool-fibreglass-fridge-freezer-new

Yep, if you are going to go the cut and shunt method, EvaKool would be my suggestion. I have one that has been running continuously for over four years now. The insulation in them is way better than the rest. I'd be interested in hearing if you go the other way though.

Hi Slammin

Engel do a conversion kit
www.engelaustralia.com.au/engel/products/conversion-kits/ice-box-conversion-kit/

Regards Don

Hey Sam, Waeco (now called Dometic) also do them.

www.dometic.com/en-au/au/search?q=cold+machine

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slammin said..
I have a 60L give or take ice box built in to our Seaway 25, it's really well insulated and does a fantastic job, usually I freeze 1.2L plastic bottles and they will last till a week if the lid is judiciously opened and closed with some frozen milk and meats. We've just had a few weeks onboard interstate and have been buying ice which is a pain dealing with the water, it gets in everything no matter how well it's sealed. So I'm after an upgrade.

The solution is to get one of the plug n play 12v compressor systems. Like this
bla.com.au/index.php?_route_=products/refrigeration/refrigeration-comp-plate-kit

The alternative which is much cheaper is to completely cut n shunt the interior to fit in a normal rectangle Engel or whatever.

Has anyone done the conversion themselves?
There doesn't seem to be anywhere that actually stocks the kits? Resellers seem to be the norm or online Arnold's and a couple of dodgy looking sites.

Any heads up or recommendations would be much appreciated.

Cheers Sam.

Will you need to supply continuous power to the new unit?
How will this effect your current house battery situation?

I watched these guys install a keco cooler which lasted a while here:



then in a seperate video here they upgrade it to a fridge:


They are some of the better YouTube sailors who actually sail and do a nice instructional, spend a lot of time researching and over engineering every project, if you haven't watched these guys before.

I put an Isotherm in very recently and used it over the xmas break. My fridge is about 200L and I put in a compressor and condenser for 240L. It works great. Keeps the beer and food ice cold. It was easy to install and connect, took me longer to pull a new cable through then installing the rest.
However, I got it from a different place though, was cheaper then BLA and they had free delivery. Will get the link later and post or PM.

Bundeeaboy I've got a 100ah lipo and good solar that I can add to if needed.

I'm really leaning away for the cut n shunt. The kitchenette while small is really nicely done and I can't see anyway to remove the ice box and not ruining it. Plus the icebox fits into the space so well.

The isotherm seems to be the pick of the bunch. The Dometic and Engel solutions are good but I haven't found an actual dealer who has sold them.

I removed the eutectic unit add replaced with an Engel which works fine
fair drain on battery but

G'day Slammin,
I have no experience with a retro fit, but I've got a top loading 60l Isotherm and the power draw i find is really good. Running tests on it, the 400ah house batteries lasts 7 days, that's fridge only, not being opened and nothing else on.
Cheers!
sB

Hi Slammin
If your icebox will keep ice for a week it would be a lot better insulated than most fridges on the market so I would be fitting a refrigeration unit to it rather than cutting it out and fitting a fridge in its place

Regards Don

+1 Good advice from Don.
The PO of my boat installed a plate into the existing (well insulated) icebox, along with a good quality compressor etc in a well ventilated cupboard. I only have to run it on the lowest of settings, and it's still super cold. I can, and have, run it for weeks non-stop and the solar will readily take care of it.

Yep. Donk is on the money with this one.
All you have to do now is settle on a unit.

gary

I think that the problem that fridge manufacturers have is trying to have the maximum inside space with the minimum outside dimensions so the amount of insulation they can use is a compromise whereas the built in icebox on a yacht can fill all of the irregular and unused space of the hull with insulation and still have a decent size fridge space

On the icebox on my boat the lift out lid is probably around 2 inches thick

Regards Don

I seem to remember Whitworths selling pre- gassed refrig units to do ice box conversions.....but can't say I've seen them lately.

Can only suggest Ozefridge, I believe they may be a little dearer but the system is very high quality. I would go eutectic if I was doing it again.

Most I know around here have the ozfridge eutectic units and make a 5 inch insulated box. Oz fridge provide design specs for the box. A good solar panel set up of about 80 watts will keep the beer cold and batteries barged all summer