- Andrew Johns #103 Ecola III Rockland, MA
- We also installed an Isotherm air cooled kit in our icebox earlier this year, model 2301. We also leave it on 24-7. Uses 2 amps on average, which is easily replenished by the battery charger or alternator.
- Mike Lehman #550 Arnold, MD
- Installed an Isotherm ASU cooling unit in 2015 The fan and DC compressor are mounted in the port sail locker as far back as possible. There used to be a shore power connection in that spot which I never used, so i removed the connection which left a big hole, i bought a clamshell cover and put that over the hole on the cockpit. Inside the locker I used a piece of shopvac hose to connect the fan to the hole on the inside.
- Richard Hazlegrove #433 Quest Mobjack Bay, VA.
- I wrestled with the exact same set of issues but knew it didn't make sense without first rebuilding the icebox (liner boat). Thanks to the Chesapeake gang's winter maintenances seminar I completed that this spring. Like you I was planning to keep a fair amount of ice in the box for drinks and cold(er) beer and in fact built part of the box with a divider for the ice that didn't allow water to flow to the dry side. I purchased an Isotherm holding plate system that uses a two speed compressor and a smart controller that detects shore power or alternator voltage (over 13.3 volts). At the higher voltage it draws about 5 amps and freezes the plate to around 7 degrees F. It doesn't pull from the batteries (alone) until the plate is in the low 20's and then only at 2 amps. It takes about an hour + with the engine running to deep freeze the plate back to 7 degrees. One other nice option to all the Isotherm systems is a replacement sink drain throughull that acts as a heat exchanger and el iminates any cooling fans or condenser fins on the compressor. This allows you to mount the tiny compressor in any small space without the need for ventilation. This makes the compressor more efficient in hot weather, keeps heat out of the cabin or locker and makes the already quiet compressor almost silent. That may not be as useful in Canada but made sense to me for summer in the lower Chesapeake.
- Justin Riddle #498 Hireath Sassafrass River, FL
- Daniel Swords Solitude #523 Mandeville, LA
These are some things I find useful on my Alberg 30: