Fridge to freezer ratio

[GILow]

Hi all,

I am going well with my new fridge box construction. I was able to easily fit a box 1200 mm long, 420 mm deep and 420 mm front to back, giving me 210 litres of space (7.4 cubic feet for those not using metric.)

My chosen refrigeration system will cope with this volume fine, but during discussion with the vendor, I realised I am making some assumptions about the relative volumes of the fridge and freezer components.

I will be using the spill-over approach, with a thermostat controlled fan, and the divider wall will be moveable, so the ratio of freezer to fridge will be adjustable within reason.

But I have some choices to make about the evaporator plate sizes and when making those choices I am ASSUMING that I would want about 25% of the volume to be a freezer compartment and 75% fridge, with the option to make the freezer bigger when required.

Then I realised, this is based on living in a house on dry land with a supermarket only minutes away.

I will plan to live on the hook, mainly coastal cruising, but as far from civilisation as I can achieve, plus the odd long haul of a week or two away from land.

What do those of you who live aboard and away from supermarkets and fresh produce think is a reasonable assumption about the freezer to fridge volume ratio?

This is for a single sailor who is expecting to live and eat very simply and as economically as practical.

Matt

[Paul L]

For us the 25/75 split is probably about right. In reality our spillover system has 3 zones. The lower freezer (below the tray) hard freezes and is most difficult to get at. The upper freezer makes ice cubes and is sitting around or above freezing. It has stuff we will use soon, cheeses, cooled drinking water when really hot out.
The refrigerator has beer, fresh veggies, eggs, etc.

How much true freezer space you need is a pretty personal decision. I know meat crazy cruisers who seem to stock up on what would be lifetime supply for me of beef and pork.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Paul L

How much true freezer space you need is a pretty personal decision. I know meat crazy cruisers who seem to stock up on what would be lifetime supply for me of beef and pork.

It sounds like you have similar needs to those I anticipate.

I don’t eat much meat now, and I assume the only meat I’d eat on the boat will be fish.

I wondered about freezing fish I have caught (with due regard to the dangers of eating too much of the big fish, I’d be hoping to catch and freeze smaller sizes. )

[a64pilot]

Mine is 14 cu ft and 50 50 and we find that is not enough freezer and have a 40 gt Engel for a deep freeze. The Engel we can run colder which according to the USDA is necessary for prolonged safe storage.
We don’t carry frozen produce, we carry that in cans, we mostly carry meat and seafood in the freezers.
We tried freezing cheese and onions etc and won’t likely do that again. The onions turn to much and they cheese dries out and is crumbly, but it does keep.
My issue was the very poor quality of meat available in the Bahamas, to say nothing of the cost.
I didn’t go to Nassau or Freeport, perhaps there is good meat there?
So we stock up months worth of good high quality meat at a low price and don’t worry about where you can get more, many people’s cruises are constrained by they have to go to a place to resupply.

I’d say your initial plan is good, but don’t discount the possibility of an Engel or similar portable to greatly increase your freezer capacity if needed. An issue of course is you have to have the power to run it, they aren’t as stingy as people say they are, not if used as a deep freeze anyway.

[tomlisasail]

Hello 64, We are going to buy the 40 qt. Engel (they're currently out of stock) . This will supplement out 12 V refrig which will not keep beer cold enough unless ice is place in refrig and beer placed on ice. We have not been able to find a vendor that carries
engels so we have not seen it or been able to get any practical information. We understand that the unit can only be used as a refrig or freezer, not both simultaneously. In the refrig mode will the unit sufficiently cool beer. In the freezer mode we plan to use half for food and half to make block ice. Is that possible ? I couldn't figure out how to attach to your blog. Oh yeah are you Delta ?

[GILow]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Mine is 14 cu ft and 50 50 and we find that is not enough freezer and have a 40 gt Engel for a deep freeze. The Engel we can run colder which according to the USDA is necessary for prolonged safe storage.
We don’t carry frozen produce, we carry that in cans, we mostly carry meat and seafood in the freezers.
We tried freezing cheese and onions etc and won’t likely do that again. The onions turn to much and they cheese dries out and is crumbly, but it does keep.
My issue was the very poor quality of meat available in the Bahamas, to say nothing of the cost.
I didn’t go to Nassau or Freeport, perhaps there is good meat there?
So we stock up months worth of good high quality meat at a low price and don’t worry about where you can get more, many people’s cruises are constrained by they have to go to a place to resupply.

I’d say your initial plan is good, but don’t discount the possibility of an Engel or similar portable to greatly increase your freezer capacity if needed. An issue of course is you have to have the power to run it, they aren’t as stingy as people say they are, not if used as a deep freeze anyway.

Thanks A64, that’s an interesting data point.. How much of that freezer volume do you think you use for fish you’ve caught from the boat?

I seem to remember a little book titled “Will it freeze?”. Given your onion and cheese experiences, I think it might make a useful addition to my boat’s library.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by tomlisasail

Hello 64, We are going to buy the 40 qt. Engel (they're currently out of stock) . This will supplement out 12 V refrig which will not keep beer cold enough unless ice is place in refrig and beer placed on ice. We have not been able to find a vendor that carries
engels so we have not seen it or been able to get any practical information. We understand that the unit can only be used as a refrig or freezer, not both simultaneously. In the refrig mode will the unit sufficiently cool beer. In the freezer mode we plan to use half for food and half to make block ice. Is that possible ? I couldn't figure out how to attach to your blog. Oh yeah are you Delta ?

Engel sells direct in Jupiter Fl.
https://www.engelcoolers.com
That is who I bought from, and I believe every year they have a good sale, and I think that time has past.
There is a model of Engel I think that will be both a fridge and a freezer
https://www.engelcoolers.com/mt45f-u...e-freezer.html

However I’m not sure an Engel is worth the price, there are much cheaper alternatives,this one which is much larger, but much less expensive for example
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Whynter-...-203569129-_-N

Mine is just the 40 qt Engel, all of these fridge / freezers are freezers that if you won’t to use as a fridge you just turn the thermostat down is all, crank it up and it’s a freezer, so of course you can freeze water, food or whatever. Mine will easily get to about -5f, and I assume that is average.
My opinion for the price of an Engel you ought to get both a digital temp display and a digital thermostat, but you don’t, all you get is a knob with numbers that don’t correspond to anything.
I heavily recommend you pop for the insulated cover sold for one, it’s more money but it quietens it down and does insulate it, mine would sweat constantly without the cover.

I don’t have a blog.

By delta, did you mean the D model AH-64? Then yes before Retirement I flew the Longbow for a couple of years, and the A model for I guess about 12 years prior to that.

On edit, we don’t fish often and how much fish we have frozen depends largely on when and how large a fish we have caught.
Every now and again, we get lucky, but not often.

We spent 6+ months in the Bahamas last year and didn’t land a single fish, I didn’t bother trying to fish on the banks, so we only fished on deep water passages off of the bank.
We don’t consider fish a food source, if we get lucky, we get a fish, but we’d starve if we counted on fishing for food.

[Dan Mosby]

Originally Posted by Paul L

...I know meat crazy cruisers who seem to stock up on what would be lifetime supply for me of beef and pork.

Guilty as charged. Have me met, sir?

My penchant for bovine slaughter and consumption has, no doubt, earned me a spot on the most wanted list of every cow pasture west of the big blue line.

What are you going do, though, right? I love the big furry bastards. They're delicious.

Regardless....after having crewed on a couple boats for friends, I think the right ratio is pretty much the opposite of a standard household freezer. 75/25 freeze to fridge is what I would shoot for, as it works for our "freeze most everything / fridge leftovers" approach.

[coopec43]

Matt


Where are planning to cruise?



If it is around Hobart, up the coast to Burnie and the Bass Strait Islands I'd say you need very little freezer space.



But on the other hand if you plan to "go around the top" from Cooktown to Darwin, Darwin to the Seychelles you are going to need a lot more!

[SV THIRD DAY]

Having been in the Marine Refrigeration Business since 1968....Technautics had a lot of real life cruisers data on this question from the thousands of Boxes we have helped design.
The typical Box ratio is 1/3 Freezer to 2/3 Refrigerator.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by coopec43

Matt


Where are planning to cruise?



If it is around Hobart, up the coast to Burnie and the Bass Strait Islands I'd say you need very little freezer space.



But on the other hand if you plan to "go around the top" from Cooktown to Darwin, Darwin to the Seychelles you are going to need a lot more!

South Pacific for a start. Unless they’ve started shooting Australians on sight. (For which I wouldn’t blame them, given the behaviour of our PM and Deputy PM.)

[GILow]

Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY

Having been in the Marine Refrigeration Business since 1968....Technautics had a lot of real life cruisers data on this question from the thousands of Boxes we have helped design.
The typical Box ratio is 1/3 Freezer to 2/3 Refrigerator.

That’s good because my current design gives me a lower bound of 28% freezer up to 100% freezer OR %100 fridge. Can’t go less than 28% freezer due to the evaporator plate sizes.

[TassieBloke]

Hi Matt,

Just to throw in further confusion. Our fridge is huge, 300l and to be quite frank, it's way too large for the both of us. Our freezer is about a 1/3 of the fridge, and simply way too small. We buy judiciously, are not large consumers of meats, but when we see foodstuffs at 50% or more off (quite frequently at IGA), then we buy and in the freezer it goes.

I think 50/50 would be a good start, and having a moveable seperation could be practical. Just remember in your calcs for the evaporator size (I won't start an argument between Rich & Pete here), for the worst case.

Just my 2c
YMMV

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Dan Mosby

What are you going do, though, right? I love the big furry bastards. They're delicious.

So tru, but I’ve weaned myself off red meat over the last ten years and now it’s the chickens and the fish that will be lining up to get me.

[coopec43]

Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY

Having been in the Marine Refrigeration Business since 1968....Technautics had a lot of real life cruisers data on this question from the thousands of Boxes we have helped design.
The typical Box ratio is 1/3 Freezer to 2/3 Refrigerator.

So if I ask you what sort of car I should buy you would tell me most cars sold these days are 2WD, 4 cyl and 1500cc?