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B
o a t
W o r k s
UPGRADING YOUR ICEBOX
By Erik
Nelson
April 1995 SAIL
Ice invariably
melts in the icebox leaving only a rotten smell in the bilge and a fresh crick
in your back from having carried it. One of the new generation of low cost,
easily installed marine refrigeration systems can help you break the "ice
cycle." For about $2,500* (list: the street price was almost 20 percent
lower), Cal 36 owner Ian Duncan purchased a Technautics 12000 engine-driven
refrigeration system, which he installed in less than 5 hours. And by dividing
his icebox with foam insulation, he created a freezer/refrigeration combination.
Here's how:
1. How the
system works.
The Technautics
system utilizes a 24-inch-by-13-inch-by-2 1/2-inch stainless steel eutectic
plate that installs in the icebox and acts like a very cold block of ice. The
eutectic plate is kept cold by a small compressor (run it 1 hour/day) that uses
only 1 to 1 1/2 horsepower from the engine.
Click Image For Larger Image
2. Installing
the eutectic plate, thermostat, and divider.
Ian used two wooden
mounting channels and stainless-steel screws supplied by Technautics to mount
the eutectic plate on the port side of the icebox. To divide the icebox into
freezer and refrigerator space, he made a wall of ABS plastic-covered 0.093-inch-thick
polyurethane foam; he cut it a little big to be sure of a snug fit (no sealer
is requires). He screwed the Technautics thermostat into the top of the freezer
side with stainless-steel screws and inserted the thermometer sensing bulb into
the copper tubing on the side of the eutectic plate.
3. Installing the
compressor.
The compressor can be mounted
on the engine or a bulkhead, as long as it is parallel with the engine crankshaft.
Ian purchased an engine-griven mounting bracket from Technautics, which he installed
by removing three of his Atomic 4' cylinder-head nuts (on top of the engine),
slipping the bracket over the exposed bolts, and refastening the nuts on the
head bolts. He attached a 6-inch power take-off pulley to his crankshaft and
mounted the compressor onto the bracket with 3/8-inch through-bolts that came
with the bracket. Technautics president Randy Simpkins says that the compressor-pulley
alignment can be off by up to 1/2 inch. Ian then installed a 7/16-inch belt
(the circumference of the belt varies with each installation) between the compressor
and power pulley and used the adjuster arm on the compressor to put 10 to 15
pounds of tension on the belt.
4. Mounting the receiver
module.
The receiver module (roughly
16"x4"x2") becomes a component of the engine's raw-water intake
and must be mounted within 5 feet of the compressor. Ian mounted his receiver
module to the port engine compartment bulkhead with stainless -steel hose clamps
and through bolts.
Ian then closed the raw-water-intake seacock and removed the hose between the
intake strainer (the seacock must include a strainer) and the engine's
raw-water intake. He attachced a new wire-reinforced cooling-water hose from
the strainer to the condenser inlet on the receiver module with supplied connections
and a bronze reducing bushing. He used the same routine to connect the outlet
of the condenser to the raw-water intake on the engine. He secured all the connections
with two stainless-steel hose clamps.
5. Connection the
components.
The components are connected
with two lengths of reinforced rubber hose (5 1/2- and 12 1/2-foot) and a 12
1/2-foot length of copper tubing. The Aeropuip connectors are pre-numbered by
Technautics so that each hose or tube connector has a corresponding connector
on the compressor and receiver module with the eutectic plate, Ian cut one 2-inch
hole through the aft side of his icebox into the port lazaret and another through
the aft engine compartment bulkhead into the same port lazaret.
Ian connected one end of the copper tubing to the eutectic plate and ran the
tubing out of the hole in the icebox through the lazaret and back into the engine
compartment. He looped the excess copper tubing around a soda can, wire-tied
it together, and connected it to the receiver module.
He then ran the shorter (5 1/2-foot) rubber hose from the compressor to the
receiver module. He fitted one end of the larger (12 1/2-foot) rubber hose to
the compressor, snaked it into the icebox, and tightened it to the eutectic
plate to about 35 foot-pounds (the torque is not critical). He bundled the hoses
and copper tubing together with plastic wire ties and sealed the 2-inch holes
with spray foam from a local marine parts store.
6. Wire it up.
Ian wired the system to
a spare switch (with a 5-amp fuse) on his control panel using #14 electrical
wire. He connected twin terminals on the thermostat to the control panel and
ran a grounding wire from the compressor to the engine ground.
Since the system came precharged with environmentally friendly R-134a, Ian fired
up his Atomic 4 and flipped the new refrigerator switch on the panel. Within
10 minutes ther was frost on the eutectic plate.
List of materials
Technautics (873 West 15th
Street, Building C, Newport Beach, CA 92663; tel. 949-645-3861) includes the
compressor, eutectic plate, wooden mounting channels. The compressor mounting
bracket and foam dividing wall
are optional equipment.
You'll need to buy bushings, nipples, hole clamps, and wire-reinforced water
hose to connect the receiver module to the engine's raw-water intake, as well
as a 4-to-6-inch power take-off pulley for your crankshaft, a 7/16-inch belt
and #14 wire. Try Fawcett Boat Supplies, 110 Compromise Street, Annapolis, MD,
21401; tel. 410-267-8681.
*$2,304 Technautics
#12000
*$92 Mounting bracket
*$50 Foam divider
*$75 New hose, hose clamps nipples, and bushings
*$2,521 TOTAL
Tools: Phillips and
slothead screwdrivers
Hand drill with 2-inch hole cutter
Wrench set (torque wrench optional)
Knife
*approximate 1995 (Please call for current pricing 949-645-3861 or 800-568-8979)
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