Oceanis Freezer

[Maddox]

I am interested in other experiences with freezers on Beneteau boats.

I recently acquired a 2011 Oceanis 58 - hurray!  I plan to visit tropical waters and have a question about the freezer.  The owner's manual and marketing brochure both list the freezer as a "Two Star" freezer, which is supposedly rated at -12 degrees C (10 degrees F).  First thing to note, with thermostat turned to max (lowest temperature), the temperature in the box is -5 degrees C (22 degrees F), so not achieving stated two star status.  The refrigeration is a Vitrifrigo GD30FDC, which is a cubigel compressor, and has an S3 boxed evaporator.

If I detach the thermostat from the evaporator and just let it hang in the middle of the compartment, which is 84 liters (3 cubic feet) in volume, the temperature in the box falls to -14 degrees C (7 degrees F), but the compressor runs 100%.  And this is at 15 degrees C (60 degrees F) ambient/cabin temperature.  Power usage is 1.8 amps at startup and lowers to 1.2 amps (all at 27 vdc).

The real goal is to get the freezer to -18 degrees C (0 degrees F) and have a 50% duty cycle on the compressor.  A keel cooler is probably required, but the biggest job might be to install adequate insulation to the freezer box, which would require major surgery on the countertop.

Anyone else getting "good" freezer temperatures on their Beneteau boat (without major surgery)?

[Jeff Taylor]

The Beneteau Freezer system is a complete piece of shit.    There are many Beneteau 50s on the Chesapeake Bay that all last freezers in the problem is in the Cuba gel module.    There temperature reaches well over 100° and that type of heat will cause the Cuba Joe module to shut the refreeze her box down and then it does not want to restart itself. You'll need to install a 12 V cooling fan somewhere around the Cuba Joe module in addition you need to cut open the fins in the piece of plywood the covers up the compressor area so that it gets more outside air.  If you're going cruising make sure you have a spare

Sent from my iPhone.  

Jeff Taylor

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[davidcfletcher]

One question 

Is the freezer empty or full? It will work far better full

Sent from my Samsung device

[Maddox]

All my tests to date have been empty.  I have heard that filling up with Styrofoam shipping "peanuts" might be a good filler.

[Mark Stillwell]

We place a block and a bag of ice in the bottom of our freezer. We put bottled water around the ice to fill space.This helps keeps the freezer cold when away from the dock, reduces compressor run time and reduces space so Suz can easily reach items on the bottom.

We have Adler-Barber on our B393.

Mark & Suzanne Stillwell
S/V Dragonfly II

Beneteau 393

573.819.0436

[Bricolanto]

It is impossible to test an empty freezer.  A freezers job is to remove heat. (no such thing as cold).  If there is nothing in the freezer all that is needed is a small change in heat to drop the temperature.  The only thing that needs to be heated from the external heat (air around the freezer) is that little amount of air in the freezer. So how much heat needs to be absorbed to change the temperature a few degrees... not much. Therefore it will be harder to drop the temperature and it will need to cycle almost constantly.  If the freezer is full or partial filled now the freezer needs to absorb enough heat to heat all the stuff in the freezer to bring up the temperature.  It would be the same as putting a pot on the stove and trying to heat the air in it.. (10 seconds) vs. trying to boil water. 

Once you load up a fridge and it has had time to cool everything in it, then you will get an idea of how cold it will go and how often it cycles.

[dbg...@mindspring.com]

CORRECT  !!!!

the term for stored frig items is known as    HEAT SINK    the amount of heat stored will vary the food item.... the standard for measurement is to use water... jugs etc filled to the capacity of the freezer or frig, then bring the entire store to desired temperature....once temp has stabilized... only then measure the number of cycles the compressor kicks in per time observed, while recording the ambient temp in the area around the freezer...  there are many primers   with formula on this topic which will allow you to determine the efficiency of the frig / freezer,,,  most frig manufacturers suggest that the frig be kept with stores or a couple water jugs. to prevent excessive running ....   a heat sink ( food items ) stores energy which it gives off at a specific rate until out of spec with the thermostat and call for more cooling....  cooling down a freezer or frig takes a long time....   different things chill at different rates... if you put a case of beer in your frig it will be at least a day before it has chilled...  a boat  is npt any different...   consumable liquids ( beer etc) take a lot of compressor run time,  I always try to restock the boat drinks before going home,  the drinks also serve as a heat sink to help cool any items just brought to the boat... it will dramatically cut the run time once away from the dock 

[Captain Guy]

Forgot the exact physics, but items in the fridge have molecular/atomic cycles that generate heat, so the more in the fridge, the more you’re trying to slow down molecular activity.  A full fridge takes more energy than an empty one.

 

Different items have more activity than others.

 

Again, at 75, I don’t recall exact formulae.

 

Guy

[Captain Guy]

And too many variables... opening the fridge allows warm air to enter, adding new items in the fridge may cool quicker than with other items in contact as the heat is removed via convection AND conduction (with the other items and the walls).  The real question is tho, energy needed to maintain a given temp... air is easier to keep cool than solids... it’s the opening and adding-removing items that makes it an exercise in word play

 

Guy.

[Bruce Toal]

Thanks for the replies several suggested populating the freezer with items (ice, water, and/or food) and let it stabilize. Captain Guy seems to advocate differently.

My very first observation of the freezer temp did have "some" contents, probably 1/3 full, including ice cream, which after 2 days remained in a liquid state.  This is what prompted me to seek colder temperature...after all, no frozen ice cream, no happy wife :-)

easy enough to add bags of ice to test...so that will be the next round of experiments.

Seeking zero degrees,

Maddox

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[dbg...@mindspring.com]

heat ( in chemistry )  is stored energy   ( not to be confused with perception that we feel ) Can be expressed in various ranges as positive or negative values

things can either give off heat or absorb heat

specific heat is the amount of heat it takes to move that  item 's temperature 1 degree

check the specs of your compressor and coil,   also check the temperature of the coil or holding plate ( do you have holding plate ) 

most kitchen thermometers  ( go to zero F) should get to your desired level, place the thermometer on the coil ....the coil should get to and below  freezing level quickly,  if the coil does not get to the specified level in a short time, then the fault is in the compressor since the coil / holding plate are not working properly or compressor has failed.    Check with compressor mfg to verify if it can be recharged with Freon....and verify the correct type  needed  

I doubt there is a lack of insulation or the unit is undersized,  always good to verify,  

since you already know there is not enough cooling ,  call a specialist....   be aware that  some small compressors are not able to be serviced

I have  an  20+ year old Beneteau Frigiboat,   if I turn my thermostat to max cold it turns my box into a freezer over night Freezing 2 cases of beer and everything else

back to argument...

reason to have items in fridge

they keep the compressor from cycling too much as when empty...   basic physics...  air does not store much energy, as such it takes very little to move its' temp, while a block of ice stores a lot of energy taking days to melt in the same box...   the items in a fridge slow down the loss of temp allowing for longer periods between the compressor cycles...  yes the compressor needs to run enough to replace the lost heat, when working properly everything is returned to temp much quicker than the rate it is lost at...