J/111 - Adding refrigeration

[George Dewey 52]

I'm considering adding refrigeration to a J/111,  but I don't have access to the boat to measure the ice box. I have photos but no measurements. From looking at the cans inside it looks to be between 2 to 4 cubic feet. Is that right?

If so I think an Isotherm SP2057 (up to 3.5 cubic feet) or maybe the smaller SP2055 (up to 2.1 cubic feet) would do it. These are the "self pumping" water cooled units. I'm considering these because they are more efficient than the air cooled units and don't require venting. The disadvantage is that the sink drain seacock has to be replaced in the cored hull.

Has anyone tried adding refrigeration?

 

[longy 546]

I added a lot of AdlerBarbour units while commissioning J boats. Go with the larger plate, it will reduce run time/power used as it can suck heat from a larger area.  I really like the self pumping concept, gets rid of the heat to a very conductive fluid rather than tryin to heat air.

[George Dewey 52]

Thanks @longy I'll look into that. I emailed CCFC and asked what the OEM would be, and they replied promptly and said that it's an AdlerBarbour CS-NC-15 Cooling Kit. Defender has it for $776 and there is a used one on Ebay for about $520 (delivered).  I see it can cool up to 8.8 cubic feet or freeze 2.12 cubic feet. Is the ice box really that big? Or perhaps they use an overrated unit because its not well ventilated ot the ice box is not well insulated? Or maybe it can work as a freezer?

I see from the manual that this thing measures about 14.2 inches by 10.1 inches square, but the depth is not listed. It looks big. How much space does it take up inside the ice box? If you know that I can get a good idea of the actual size of the icebox, although I'll be able to measure it in a few weeks.

It seems the advantage of the OEM choice is very easy installation with no seacock to worry about, while the disadvantages are its big and needs to be ventilated.  

It seems the disadvantages of the Isotherm self pumping model is primarily that I would have to change a seacock in a cored hull, and I need to find space for the compressor.  

 

[longy 546]

If I understand that you're asking about the installs I did - it was a long time ago, I can't remember what unit we used. One big problem is the boxes had quite a bit of space under the countertop, but if you mounted the 'breadbox' right at the lid, it was hard to access the rest of the box. The flat panel condensers do not take much volume, they are stood off the wall by 1/2" nylon spacers. But with enuff surface area you don't have to be concerned with air circulation as much

 

 

[George Dewey 52]

Okay thanks very much! I'll get the dimensions and check out the insulation and see what I can figure out. Cheers!

[sailman 204]

Having done the retrofit, you can save yourself a lot of headaches by taking the countertop off.  It gives you full access and exposes any insulation shortcomings.

[George Dewey 52]

1 hour ago, sailman said:

Having done the retrofit, you can save yourself a lot of headaches by taking the countertop off.  It gives you full access and exposes any insulation shortcomings.

Excellent, I'll do that thanks! Do you recall what you used?

[Roleur 302]

Curious which side of the ice box the Dometic installs?  It's not obvious to me where there is space around the ice box for the compressor.  

I was thinking to install an Isotherm with one of those wrap around plates.  That's what we had in our J/120.  The first unit worked great for 20 years, replaced it with the identical version 2 years ago and it worked great.  For this type the compressor would go under the port settee with vents added to the settee wall into the cabin.  FWIW it appears the OEM version for the new J/99's are similar to this.

[Blur 108]

8 hours ago, Roleur said:

Curious which side of the ice box the Dometic installs?  It's not obvious to me where there is space around the ice box for the compressor.  

I was thinking to install an Isotherm with one of those wrap around plates.  That's what we had in our J/120.  The first unit worked great for 20 years, replaced it with the identical version 2 years ago and it worked great.  For this type the compressor would go under the port settee with vents added to the settee wall into the cabin.  FWIW it appears the OEM version for the new J/99's are similar to this.

Aft under port settee, just in front of pentry module. 

Show here aft of new watermaker 

[George Dewey 52]

Interesting, so the ice box must be much deeper than I thought. I only have pics of it, and it's full of water bottles and beer. @Blur is this the OEM solution, installed by whoever build your boat? I see the vent hole into the cabin. Does it work well on very hot days? Do you even get very hot days up there?? ;-)

What's that other thing, the "pentry module"?

[Blur 108]

16 hours ago, George Dewey said:

Interesting, so the ice box must be much deeper than I thought. I only have pics of it, and it's full of water bottles and beer. @Blur is this the OEM solution, installed by whoever build your boat? I see the vent hole into the cabin. Does it work well on very hot days? Do you even get very hot days up there?? ;-)

What's that other thing, the "pentry module"?

This is what you get standard on the Euro boats built in France. Icebox Is deep, I can just touch the bottom, so my guess is there's not much room to add anything under/behind.

Work well on hot days. The boat is now in the Med.

By "pentry module" I mean the wood structure containing sink, icebox, stove and cupboard. Opposite of the "nav module" :-)

[George Dewey 52]

5 hours ago, Blur said:

This is what you get standard on the Euro boats built in France. Icebox Is deep, I can just touch the bottom, so my guess is there's not much room to add anything under/behind.

Work well on hot days. The boat is now in the Med.

By "pentry module" I mean the wood structure containing sink, icebox, stove and cupboard. Opposite of the "nav module" :-)

Okay thanks again, very much. I'll be able to get on the boat in a few weeks, and I'll inspect everything. Based on your comments the OEM solution may be the easiest, and it may even be the least expensive. Cheers!

[Varan 1,982]

What would Rodney Dangerfield say? Need refrigeration? Here, take my wife.

[George Dewey 52]

In case anyone is interested, the ice box is approximately 3.69 cubic feet. That's an exaggeration, because it assumes the sides are square, but the outside curves in a bit as it follows the hull. But now we know ;-)