Hi Everyone, I wanted to thanks everyone that sent me suggestions regarding my refrigeration dilemma. I received many e-mails from people that are coping with similar problems so I am summarizing what I found in the hopes that it will help answer some questions. I am leaving many of the names of those that gave me a lot of information - you know who you are and my thanks again. My Norcold DE-560 refrigerator needed a new compressor. Estimated repair costs were about $650 plus labor. The repairman suggested that I replace the unit. I received many disappointing stories about Norcold that further convinced me not to repair the unit. Replacing the Norcold compressor with a Norcold compressor is expensive because the evaporator and condenser come with the compressor and the whole assembly is pre-charged with refrigerant. Norcold does not warranty this replacement. The new Norcold replacement refrigerator is a DE-461 (6.3 cu ft), best price I could get was about $1,000 plus tax and shipping - final cost about $1150. Two door panels are an extra $35.00 I considered rebuilding my DE-560, but after reading the Winter 1998 PassageMaker magazine, "The Big Chill - Refrigeration System" article, I decided it was beyond my ability. The article provides a good explanation of how the different systems work. I received good suggestions from Mark Richter, Winnie the Pooh; however, Mark was in Schenectady, NY and I was in Florida - too far for his help in the rebuilding project. HNick&Sherri, Small Wonder (Camano Troll), HYY, Galesville, MD suggested that I look at the Nova Kool RFU8000, 6.8 cu ft. 2 dr. Fridge/Freezer. He has one on his Camino and he indicated that it works well. I found the unit at <http://www.novakool.com/>. Nova Kool uses a Danfoss 12vdc compressor that is highly recommended the refrigeration people that I spoke to. The refrigerator has a number of protection circuits; one that I liked was the low voltage battery protection. If the battery voltage drops too low the unit shuts off preventing a complete discharge of the battery. See other protection circuits on the Technical web page. Many on the list have installed home refrigerators. If you have the room and the battery capacity, this appears to be a good choice. Two popular home refrigerators are the GE TDX9SNY, 9.5 cu ft, and the Sanyo SR-952. Dimensions (WxHxD) -- the GE measures 23 " x 54 " x 24 " , and the Sanyo 21 3/8" x 53 3/8" x 25 3/8". These dimensions are very close to the Norcold refrigerator. The price for each of the refrigerators was in the low $300 range. Both have 1 door with a separate ice/small freezer compartment. None of the sales people I spoke with said or gave me the impression that the warranty would be voided if the refrigerator were installed on a boat. A couple mentioned that it might be hard to get a service tech to visit a boat. Worst case you would just have to bring the refrigerator to a repair center. My thinking was the cost was so cheap that you could replace the unit just as easy. My power calculations are as follows - I am not an engineer so others on the list more qualified might want to check my calculations. The home refrigerators draw about 2 AC amps - then 2X120vac = 240 watts. 240 watts divided by 12 volts (240/12) = 20 amps = DC amps from the battery/inverter. Boat US has a Heart Freedom Jazz Inverter 1000 for $299.99. Given the efficiency rating for the inverter and the starting and continuous power requirements of these two refrigerators, the Heart inverter should work well. Battery Power -- I have 3 AGM 8D house batteries, which are rated at 245 amp hours. Total capacity for the 3 batteries is 245 X 3 = 735 amp hours. If I use the 50% rule then I have 735(.5) = 367.5 amp hours. If I just had to power the refrigerator I would have (367.5)/20=18 hours of power available. Not knowing my total boat DC power requirements and whether the batteries would provide the necessary power (given their age), I decided to go with the Nova Kool, which uses about the DC amps required by a home refrigerator. I also avoided some necessary carpentry work. Of course this decision cost me considerably more money. Many of those that are using home refrigerators have increased their battery capacity using Golf Cart batteries. Short runs with high output alternators keep the batteries charged. The key here is to plan for the added power needs. As I was working my problem, Ray (Tortuga 48' DeFever) in Panama City, Fl. was installing a new GE complete with golf cart batteries and inverter -- he said it worked great. For those that would like to build their own refrigerators or even rebuild their old Norcold refrigerators using a Danfoss compressor, a good web site to visit is <http://www.411web.com/R/REFRIGERATIONPARTSSOLUTION/> The site has a lot of good information and a technician named Allen has helped people rebuild Norcold refrigerators. He sent me the following e-mail: --------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- From: <mailto:Allen@rparts.com>Allen Robison To: <mailto:almiller@n-jcenter.com>Al Miller Sent: Monday, August 28, 2000 12:46 PM Subject: Re: Refrigerator Al, Customers have used the Danfoss compressor with the Norcold refrigerators using the Norcold evaporator and hooking a remote air-cooled condensing unit to it. You would then bypass the Norcold condenser and be able to install the condensing unit in a ventilated locker nearby. You would have to do some wiring changes, as the Danfoss is DC current only. The Danfoss and module is about $324, an air-cooled condenser, shroud and fan would run about $125. The cost is getting up there but you would then have a reliable condensing unit. Allen Robison Rparts --------------------------------------------------------- Finally, I installed the Nova Kool RFU8000 - it has a light inside and the freezer is on the bottom - less bending down. I think the saying that a cold drink will make a warm heart is true. Cheers, Al Miller M/V 37' Pacific Trawler "Pleasant Moment" Palm Coast, FL