replacement for the minus 40 freezer

[doug vibbert]

At long last our dependable Minus40 115L freezer has stopped working.      It's 18 years old, so I'm inclined to replace rather than tack on new parts onto a 18 year old unit.  

That said, do you know if Minus40 has a US distributor?   Or if they ship to the USA?   

I've sent them a couple emails a couple of different ways but haven't heard anything back.   Since the part fits the hole, anything we get as a replacement would almost certainly be smaller, and our first attempt at an Isotherm B1-92 looks ridiculously small in that compartment.   

[David Reeves]

I had the same thought when I first purchased ZING...in fact I had pulled it out of the boat and was temporarily using it to mix epoxy on...then discussed a replacement with refrigeration tech who suggested that minus 40 was probably fine and I should check it out more thoroughly.  Turns out it only needed a new thermostat which I replaced myself and has been running just fine for 12 years running constantly.  Later, the lid had started to rust so I removed and coated with epoxy and then spray painted.  Looks fine now.  Even if it's the compressor or electronics for compressor those would be much less expensive to have replaced by frig tech than an entire unit if you can find an acceptable unit that will fit.  Even if it needs to be re-charged and does not have freon ports those can be soldered on by a frig tech for very little especially if you remove the unit and take it to them.

Probably the best replacement option if you are able would be to custom build super insulated box from fiberglass and then install compressor etc unit from indel or equivalent but what a project.  The worst part would be the top and gasket so I would definitely save and reuse the current minus 40 and just replace the guts if necessary.  You should check out r-parts.com or similar for sourcing parts.  You can never have too much insulation and a digital thermostat is great too.  I have used foam sheets from home depot for insulation.  I also have replaced compressor fan with computer fans.

I was concerned with how much electricity the freezer and frig used...we are constantly making ice, cooling drinks, etc and have an additional upright fridge in addition to the minus 40 freezer...anyway thought about replacing fridge or freezer or both etc. but finally realized that for much less money I could install complete solar system and ignore the power used...which is what I did.  I now have an approx 1500 watt solar system and almost never am concerned with power use and even run 12v watermaker from solar.  Now if I could just run A/C from solar... 

Dave

"ZING"

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Saint Francis Owners Group" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to saintfrancis+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to saintf...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/saintfrancis.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[crashm...@yahoo.com]

I contacted Robyn Hawkins at Minus Forty ( Ro...@minus40.co.za) and she could send the exact model as originally supplied with all the St Francis modifications.  She quoted $22,050 Rand ($1634) to include shipping...  That is a steal especially since you cannot make nor buy a fridge that is soo power miserly 2 amp or less per hour.  I looked into building my own fridge again, but there is no way I would go through the pain, agrivation and cost when I could order the unit straight from SA.

Tom

[Royce Reid]

You could always just take it off and go for a sail and see for yourself... but windy days I see it as necessary.

---

From: crashman1520 via Saint Francis Owners Group <saintf...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2017 8:20:40 PM
To: Saint Francis Owners Group
Subject: [Saint Francis OG] Re: replacement for the minus 40 freezer

 

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Saint Francis Owners Group" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to saintfrancis...@googlegroups.com.

[Tom Dall]

Thank you for your answers, lols like I’ll route the reefing lines away from the vang.


Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "Saint Francis Owners Group" group.
To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/saintfrancis/hjNtq6pwvU8/unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to saintfrancis...@googlegroups.com.

[crashm...@yahoo.com]

Dave,

I built a fridge on my last boat and was not satisfied.  I used 9+ inches of foam and a material commercial shipyards use on the bottom and 6+ inches on the sides and 4+inches on the roof, and used a cool blue compressor and holding plate.  My amp use was high, and in order to freeze the small freezer compartment and still have cold air spill into the fridge the unit ran constantly.  There are two companies who have a solution that is comparable or close to St Francis factory installed fridge; Minus 40 115L and the Evakool 110 (Australia).  With the exchange rates what they are, I could buy a whole replacement fridge from Minus 40 for $1,500 less than just buying the cool blue compressor...  On a side note, my first mate requires more fridge space so I'm buying a Evakool 110L fridge/freezer to run where the port aft bunk is.

Tom

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to saintfrancis...@googlegroups.com.

[crashm...@yahoo.com]

Doug,

I did not find a US distributor, however, my price quote with shipping... for the same fridge as came with the boat was: 22,050 Rand or in today's market $1853.74.

Tom

On Tuesday, November 7, 2017 at 1:00:11 PM UTC-5, doug vibbert wrote: