Fridge Failure

When we arrived in San Diego the refrigerator was working so well that it would freeze beer at half thermostat setting.

During our first few days here we went on a shopping spree that included several packages of frozen meat which included plenty of those sausages that we like for breakfast.

Then the beer was not as cold as before. I attributed it to the warmer weather of San Diego but did not turn up the thermostat because it is so difficult to get to in its position below the starboard quarter berth. Then the meat went off freezing. We threw out the chicken and I cleaned up the bottom of the fridge and hoped for the best. Things got worse and three days ago we were forced to throw out all of the meat and I had to once again clean out the fridge compartment.

The day before yesterday we got into the compressor/thermostat section and could see that although the compressor and exhaust fan were working normally the tubing of the heat exchanger was cool, at room temperature. We concluded that the system was not extracting heat because once again the gas had leaked out.

After at least 10 visits by Doug in Port Townsend to repair the unit and a total replacement of the evaporator and expenditure of hundreds of dollars by me, my reaction was to give up and totally replace the system in Australia with a more powerful unit that is much more efficient because its heat exchanger is a box outside of the hull in the water, mounted with a simple thru-hull fitting.

However, after a few days of reflection I have cooled down even if the fridge hasn't and will have somebody look at it in Mexico if the opportunity arises because it could be a leak that can be easily fixed. The amount of gas required for the system is minimal.

In the meantime Arnold has suggested that we cool the beer by immersing it in sea water in a net bag. We don't see a big problem with the food because of modern dehydration and vacuum packing techniques. Besides, we'll have plenty of fresh fish to eat, right?