Sea Frost refigeration system

[ztsf]

Call Cleeve or Cheri at Seafrost in Barrington, NH - Tel: (603)868-5720. They're the technicians and will certainly be able to advise you.

[savoir]

Sea Frost are one of the few who will custom build for any boat. Most importantly, they will custom build plates.

[jcdexter]

On Tribute we have a Seafrost Shore Assist III system which as I said runs on AC current. If I read the manual correctly it draws 5.5 amps when running and I run 3 hours a day powered by the Honda generator.

Before anyone spends money based on my input they should check the Seafrost web site and maybe talk to Clive at Seafrost. The system works great on Tribute. We have a 7 1/2 cubic ft fridge and a 4 1/2 cu ft freezer. The fridge is always in the mid 30's and the freezer in the high teens.

There are a couple of downsides. We have to be on the boat to start the generator so we can't leave the boat overnight. Also, the generator will run between 4 and 5 hours on a gallon of gasoline so we need a supply of gas on board. We carry two 5 gallon cans. The 4 stroke outboard uses the same fuel so the gas serves a dual purpose.

We also have an engine driven Seafrost compressor which came with the boat which we can use when underway but don't use at anchor because it's not good to run the engine with such a light load.

Hopefully someone on the forum can input how, if at all, my experience with an AC system relates to the DC system that began this tread.

[Moparots]

Wow, you folks have GREAT information. This unit was on Craigslist for $800. From all the info I read here, it appears this wont suit our needs. I am continuing to learn about the electrical systems on board. Everything else I'm good at, but electrical? Not my strong suit. Need to change that...

Thanks again everyone, for all the advice. Craig

[gts1544]

Moparots - Craig, We have a 1986 Beneteau (read not well insulated) down in the BVI (warm) whose icebox we converted to 12V refrigeration, with the understanding that we are not going to keep ice cream in there. We have a reasonable AGM house bank and an Air Breeze wind turbine. We keep a 10 lb bag of ice in the unit, run the unit on a schedule 06-09 / 12-15 / 18-21 then leave it off overnight. We are able to keep the house bank above 12 V with occasional evening engine runs of an hour at 1000 RPM using a Balmar 70 A alternator and it keeps the beer cold. A bag of ice lasts several days and helps to cool the rum drinks. Remember that a full fridge is much more efficient than an empty one. Use gallon jugs of water to fill the voids if you are low on food. Send me an e-mail address and I will send you our REGGAE Tips which address electrical use aboard. gts1544 - George gtspettigue at gmail dot com

[Moparots]

George, thanks for the info, I will email you with my address. The boat has a Adler Barbour ref. system now but it is not functioning (pile of rust actually) it was abandonded when the previous owners installed a new Norcold refrig. Id prefer an icebox style unit, just for the efficiency, all that cold air dumps out when you open the door.

Skipmac, the boat is a 1973 oi center cockpit. The first thing every one comments on, its easy to sail, and you wont win any races.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Moparots

Skipmac, the boat is a 1973 oi center cockpit. The first thing every one comments on, its easy to sail, and you wont win any races.

I did find the OI36 very easy to sail and actually not slow at all off the wind. Just doesn't point all that well. On the other hand I think it is arguably the roomiest 36' sailboat ever built.

[RDW]

I have seafrost engine driven and AC systems with chiliing plates. I recently bought thermometers for the freezer and refridge with a remote display. I think that once you get a plate to a certain point running the system is worthless. I think I tend to leave it on too long especially when we are motoring.
At what point is the process thru?
At what temperature do I turn if off?
Thanks for any help.
RDW

[Richard Kollmann]

Originally Posted by RDW

I have seafrost engine driven and AC systems with chiliing plates. I recently bought thermometers for the freezer and refridge with a remote display. I think that once you get a plate to a certain point running the system is worthless. I think I tend to leave it on too long especially when we are motoring.
At what point is the process thru?
At what temperature do I turn if off?
Thanks for any help.
RDW

SeaFrost has sold that system for over 30 years using a wind up timer to stop compressor based on time running. To prevent their system from running to long and produce inefficient results there is a low temperature shut off switch inside the sealed black control box designed to stop compressor.

Because SeaFrost has improved and upgraded their designs you should contact them for correct advice on compressor running times.

My experience with SeaFrost engine drive systems makes me believe one hour compressor running time first day and 15 minutes twice a day there after is all that is needed for a 33 to 38 degree refrigerator.

[savoir]

I have a Sea Frost engine driven compressor. In summer mine needs 30 mins every 12 hours to cool a 9 cu ft box. It might need longer in the tropics. Even so, last summer the water in my slip was 76f for weeks.

[FamilyVan]

I have a Sea Frost, engine driven/A.C. I'm happy with it. It won't run on 12v alone, I need to start the engine to run the compressor for maybe 20 minutes every 5 hours. Something like that.

I find if I keep my deep freeze packed with the likes of frozen vegetables it will keep my fridge section cold for a long time. When cruising items like frozen meat and ice cream aren't worth the hassle if I'm out for more than a few days.

Sent from my SGH-I547C using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[ramblinrod]

If you will always be connected to shore power, that will work.


If you want refrigeration away from the dock, you would be far better off with a 12Vdc refrigeration system based on a Danfoss BD35 or BD50 compressor. I sell and install Nova Kool brand. These units will operate a reasonably insulated ice box of about 4 cu/ft and provide a small freezer compartment while consuming about 50 A-hrs per day.


Assuming you have 4 x group 27, lead-acid, deep cycle batteries in good condition, you have 400 A-hrs of rated capacity or 120A-hrs of usable capacity (with a 50% to 80% SOC cycle when away from shore power).


So assuming your daily consumption total is about 100 A-hr / day, you will need to replenish this with some form of charging.


For this size system, I would recommend the following:
- 20A min shore power battery charger. (This will take about 18 hrs to fully charge batteries from down to 50% SOC.)
- 80 - 100 A alternator with smart regulator. (This will take about 2 hours to charge batteries from 50% to 80%.)
- 400W of solar. (This will keep batteries topped on sunny days.)
- 400W wind generator. (This will keep batteries topped up on windy days (15+knots).

[bluewaterbill]

I'm a few days away from replacing my Seafrost system with a Frigo. I have the DC5000 compressor and 1 holding plate in an ice box about 7 cu ft. I can make ice cubes (a real happy hour luxury) and keep things cold but not frozen. I have 4 6v batts in series (and parallel) to provide 420 Ah of juice. I usually run the engine when trying to freeze the cold plate. I can run compressor off house batteries but that means running engine more than I d like. I only carry 40 gals of diesel plus jugs, when I need them.
My system is 10 years old and has run flawlessly. I bought a spare brush for the motor, but the original is still in excellent shape. I'm replacing compressor along with some other general re-fit items. I intend to modify the ice box so I can have a freezer too for longer passages. If you want to discuss this, send me a PM.