Water intake for ice box compressor - 12 refigeration

[sailingpeanut]

Hello,
I was planning on adding a manifold to and existing through hull so I don't have to cut anohter hole for the water intake of the compressor.
Somebody told me that the Adler Baldour system need a special through hull - sigh
Is this true ? Can I not simply connect the water intake to and existing water 'inlet'.

thanks in advance,
Olaf

[GordMay]

What you need to ensure is that neither "consumer" starves the other of adequate water, if/when both are operating concurrently.

[Pblais]

As far as other inlets go. You never should use the engine through hull and never use a gray water drain. You could probably share a salt water head supply though I prefer fresh water for a head. The other issue is the length of the line. The longer it is the harder it is to pull the water through and the more chance something is going to start a family in it. Extra junctions are extra points of failure.

Short and direct lines work best and have the least amount of trouble. Yes, extra holes is an issue but long lines are even worse. They could break or come loose and it's the same problem. If you have to run it a long way then haul out and add a proper though hull close to where you need it. The practice is often better than the theory.

[George Elliott]

There's nothing special about the thru hull for a super cold machine, in the tropics you'll save amps using seawater for the condensor. But you'll need a pretty big sea water strainer unless you like cleaning it a lot. you can also recirculate it through your fresh water tank Next time I'm coming off the comprerssor and running the liquid line through my fresh water tank, eliminate the pump entirely, of course you need to keep water in the tank. Good luck George

[sailingpeanut]

Hi,
thanks a lot for the replies. Confirmes what I thought but - hey - thought I better check since I'm still hauled out.
I can install the pump right next to the existing through hull and will add a big sea water strainer.
Beats me why a buddy of mine just bought a Alder Babour and told me he had to use the through hull that came with the package.

thanks again,
Olaf

[Talbot]

Before you chop holes or install a manifold, I would ask you to consider something.

I understand the concept that water is colder than air in order to cool the condensate, but use of sea water pumped into a cooling coil has two disadvantages -
Crustaceans like the small apertures and frequently block them
the pump will consume amps.

There are two alternatives to this:

add a pipe coil outside the boat and pass fresh water through it (as a heat exchanger) - frequently done on italian boats. However, whilst solving the crustacean problem, it is quite vulnerable, and will still require a water pump.

The other alternative is more expensive to fit, but will halve your power consumption. You fit a "Keel Cooler" - this is a bronze block that goes through the hull. It is interfaced to the existing compressor and fridge condensate circuit, and thus the condensate is pumped through the bronze block by the compressor. This acts as a heat sink and is as effective as the seawater cooling when not blocked!

Further details of a fridge fit using this system are in the September 2008 edition of Practical Boat Owner (page 58)