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Fabricating a suitable platform to mount the condenser unit on.
1. I cut a piece of 1/2 in marine plywood 11.5 in. X 10.5 in. and gave it a coat of primer followed by several coats of Petit Bikini Blue EasyPoxy paint (same as Sabre used in lockers). This will serve as the mounting platform for the condenser unit.
2. To mount the compressor level with
the boat at rest, I fabricated a beveled piece from an 11 inch long piece
of 1.5 in. X 1.5 in. hardwood to fit the curvature of the hull which would
serve as the outboard most support for the mounting shelf. All paint
was sanded from the hull where this was to be mounted. A bevel
gauge was used to transfer the angles from the hull to this piece and a
good bit of trial and error hand fitting was necessary due to the compound
curvature of the hull. This piece was then bedded in thickened
epoxy and then glassed to the hull with several layers of 6 ounce cloth.
The entire area was then primed and repainted with 2 coats of EasyPoxy.
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3. Next, the hole was cut in the inboard
face of the settee berth to accept the new teak louvered insert.
I then gave the louvered insert 5 coats of Z-Spar Captains Varnish.
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4. A 14 inch long 3/4 in. X 1 in. hardwood
cleat was glued and screwed to the inner face of the settee to support
the inboard edge of the condenser shelf. The shelf was then screwed
to this cleat as well as the outboard piece that was glassed to the hull.
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5. The condenser unit was then bolted
to the plywood shelf using four 1/4 in. X 1 in. Stainless lag bolts through
the four mounting holes provided.
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Ducting to remove hot air.
1. Using a hole saw, I cut a hole in the bottom of the locker behind the forward most hinged settee back. A second hole was cut in the bottom of the bookshelf section above the settee back.
2. I cut a piece of 1/2 in. teak plywood approximately 4.5 in. x 4.5 in. and with the aid of my trusty hole saw, I cut a hole in the center of this plywood piece to accept the PCV duct. The 12 volt muffin fan was sandwiched between this teak square and the bottom of the locker.
3. A 3 inch PVC duct was run between
the bottom of the bookshelf and the bottom of the locker behind the settee
back.
4. A 3 inch hole was cut into the teak facing between the bookshelf and the forward locker door and this was covered with a stainless steel louver plate with the louvers facing upward to carry the hot air toward the deck hatch in the main salon.
5. The vertical PVC duct was then connected to the exit behind the stainless louver by cutting a 3 inch PVC elbow to fit.
6. I fabricated a cover for the PVC elbow using some scraps of 3/32 in. teak plywood with 5/8 in. x 5/8 in. hardwood stock in the corners. I also used the 5/8 in. stock for cleats to fasten the teak cover in place.
Making final connections.
1. The DC power was connected to the condenser unit with #10 AWG wiring from the terminal block.
2. The muffin fan was wired to the auxiliary fan connections on the condenser using #16 AWG.
3. The refrigeration lines were then connected to the condenser unit in accordance with the instructions supplied by Adler Barbour.
4. The last step was to plug the thermostat cable into the condenser unit jack.
The moment of truth has arrived.
I popped what I hoped would be my last beer cooled with ice (from a little 6 pack cooler) and paused to double check all electrical connections as well as the refrigeration lines.
I placed a refrigeration thermometer in the box and closed the lid for 1/2 hour. The thermometer measured 67 degrees F. Next I placed a six pack of beer in bottom of the box and placed the thermometer next to the beer. I closed the lid on the box and then followed the manufacturer's instructions for energizing the unit.
The compressor came online as it should have, the 12 volt muffin fan also came on with the compressor to exhaust the condenser heat from under the settee.
After approximately 7 min, the compressor/condenser cycled off. It stayed off for approximately 22 min and then cycled on again for about 6 min. I let the unit continue cycling for approximately two hours. The duty cycle seemed to be between 25% and 30% operating in an ambient temperature of 76 degrees F. At this point, curiousity got the best of me and I opened the box to check the temperature. The empty box (except for the six pack) at mid level was at 37 degrees F.
Seeing as there were some cold beers now sitting in the bottom of the box, I invited a fellow sailor working on his boat in the yard to help me do the only right thing......Drink the beers! :-)
All in all this project was not all that technically difficult, but a bit tedious at times. I spent a total of approximately 14 man hours on this project but in addition there was a fair amount of idle time waiting for epoxy resin to kick, paint and varnish to dry etc. In many cases this time was used to plan the little details of the next step.
I am looking forward to the coming season and not having to haul 20 pound blocks of ice to the boat every time I want to go sailing.
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