WHAT WORKS! WHAT'S COOL!

Bianka had a Frigoboat 500 engine driven compressor refrigeration system when I bought her. It worked well for a few years. Then one day it died. I found out it used R12 refrigerant gas. This was bad news because the the stuff was no longer made. The reason for that is it was bad for the environment. Remember the Ozone hole?  The idea of repairing it became moot when I converted the boat to electric propulsion.   So back in the diesel days while I was debating about what to do about the Frigoboat system I came across an Engel MT25 E refrigerator/freezer.

It's a 22 liter refridgerator/freezer  that runs on 12 volts DC or 120 volts. It has actually been able to provide my needs for over 8 years now without a problem. With one 75 watt solar panel on board this little baby operated 24/7 during the whole season and never once drained the battery bank. If I'm going on an extended cruise I'll fill the on board ice box with ice and keep access to it to a minimum. Meanwhile I keep the things I'll be using most frequently in the Engel. Things like milk, cheeses, juices etc... Rather waste a lot of energy keeping a case of beer cold. I just pop a few bottles in the Engel as needed. It looks like the MT25 E has been superseded by the Engel MT-27 model. Very similar to my unit but, a little more efficient and has handles. Engel also makes other sizes both bigger and smaller depending on your space and needs. I found the MT-25 now ENGEL MT-27 a perfect secure fit next to the cockpit hatch where I do most of my dining and drinking (weather permitting). As you can see here:

This keeps the beers, beverages, bottles of wine etc... close to the cockpit and keeps the built-in on board icebox closed for most of the day. Throw a boat cushion on the top of the unit:

and you have an additional  very convenient seat that you can move around in the cabin. This Engel unit has worked flawlessly on board BIANKA for over eight years and that's why I give it my WHAT WORKS award.

BLOG UPDATE: I recently purchased a second ENGEL unit. An Engel MR04UF which has more room and functions better as an on board  refrigeration system.

Going Electric: Part 2: The engines out! Now what?

What a relief to get the motor out of the boat and gaze at all the room now that the diesel engine has been removed.

The first thing I need to do is a little cleanup. After over twenty years of oil leaks and other spills a good scrubbing is in order to get things smelling less of diesel, oil and antifreeze and more like clean. For cleaning jobs around the boat I like to use a product called Simple Green. I buy it by the gallon at Home Depot and can use it in various dilutions depending on the cleaning job at hand. I might have to use it full strength to start the cleaning process here.

Next I'll start looking around for all the items I will no longer need as I convert the boat to electric propulsion. I can start with that spare yellow diesel container in the photo above. I carried this on board when cruising because I could never really trust the fuel gauge on the boat. I would show full or nearly full for a long time then drop fast suddenly as it emptied. I carried this diesel jug as insurance knowing I had at least six hours of fuel in case the fuel gauge played tricks on me.

When you have a diesel engine you've got hoses. The hose situation on my boat was also more complicated because a previous owner had installed a Frigoboat Series 500 engine driven refrigeration system. Which I'm sure cost a pretty penny when it was installed but, has not worked in a few years and when the engine died made repair of it moot. Below is just a sample of the hoses that were no longer needed:

Also in the photo above is the Groco raw water filter which was connected to the now missing engine. This item no longer needed and cleaning it is one less maintenance chore that no longer needs to be done when going electric. It will be nice to get this mess of hoses off the boat for good. Here's another item that will no longer be needed:

The Engine Shutoff! This essential item was needed to stop the diesel engine but, could also cause a lot of cursing when I forgot to to push it back down and it then prevented the engine from starting. It also has ripped and ruined a number of shirts on it's metal bracket as I climbed down into the engine area to work on the engine. I am very happy to see it leave the boat.

To be continued.....

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Going Electric: Part 3: Before and after...

Click on the video below to see and before and after shot of the starboard side of the engine area view in the start for electrification process on BIANKA. It shows what things start to look like after removing the raw water and the Frigoboat refrigeration hoses and components.



Looks good no. But, look closer there is more stuff to be removed as I point out in this photo:

Let's not forget the raw water filter brackets mounted on the left and that Promariner electric noise/protection device (Blue labeled box) mounted above the foam installation. This device was connected to the alternator which of course went out of the boat with the engine. The hose in front of the Hydro Hush muffler once ran from the heat exchanger to to the fresh water antifreeze pump. It will soon be taken off the boat. I could leave the foil faced foam sound insulation in place but, it will not be needed with the quietness of of electric propulsion. But there are other more important reasons for removing it which I'll get to in a later post.

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Going Electric Part 5: Another milestone!

Well vacation is over so it's time to get back to work on the blog and the electrification of Bianka.

At this point I've removed the engine and the useless engine driven refrigeration components. But, I still need to remove the refrigeration piping that ran from the port side amidships all the way to the aft starboard side where the compressor and other components were located. Someone spent some time and money installing this system.

As much as I hated to remove it. It looks like some expensive tubing as show here (white hose) it is copper tubing surrounded by insulation and a durable outer cover. I had no plans to replace the refrigeration system. But, as long as I have easy access to it's location this is time to remove it. Actually, I may use it for a solar energy heating project in my home so it won't be just thrown out. But, what's that yellow canister on the right side of the photo?

Why it's the Racor fuel filter! This certainly will have no use on board once I install electric propulsion. Since I have already drained the fuel tank the photo shows me about to start draining the last few ounces of diesel on board. I consider that another milestone!

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