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Ericson 32-3 Icebox Size for refrigeration

GrandpaSteve

Sustaining Member
Trying to decide between the Isotherm 2501 or 2301 and I am not sure of the icebox size. I ripped out a rusted-out Alder Barbour unit 6 years ago and I am finally going to replace it.

Of course any advice is appreciated. The PO was very happy with the original unit setup.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Trying to decide between the Isotherm 2501 or 2301 and I am not sure of the icebox size. I ripped out a rusted-out Alder Barbour unit 6 years ago and I am finally going to replace it.

Of course any advice is appreciated. The PO was very happy with the original unit setup.

When I was preparing for our fridge install, I measured the inside of our ice box. Since it consists of a wider upper part and narrower rectangular lower part, I could diagram it as two 'boxes' and just add up the cubic inches of both for a total.
Convert those to cubic feet (not very darned many cubic feet...) and you are ready for choosing the size evaporator that will do the job.
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I would put in the larger one if the evaporator will fit--price seems about the same.

My old Dometic, very similar, runs continuously 12 months a year in the slip. I had previously been an ice man. By the gods, refrigeration is great!
 

GrandpaSteve

Sustaining Member
I would put in the larger one if the evaporator will fit--price seems about the same.

My old Dometic, very similar, runs continuously 12 months a year in the slip. I had previously been an ice man. By the gods, refrigeration is great!
I’m sure the larger evaporator will fit, so I guess in this case there are no drawbacks in going bigger? Also, I did a week long cruise with a good friend last year on his Catalina 380 with refrigeration and it was great to not have one of the tasks in each port being “how’s the ice doing, where do we get ice?”. That left an impression on me.
 

Geoff W.

Makes Up For It With Enthusiasm
Blogs Author
My only complaint about my fridge in my 32-3 is that it freezes (and explodes) canned beverages within close proximity of the cooling plate. Not sure what's to be done about that, but perhaps a bigger fridge may exacerbate that issue.
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Geoff,

Same deal. Inside the evaporator ring things freeze, even on the lowest setting. Of course, that's good for ice trays.

I am using a drop-bag idea based on small white cotton drawstring bags that may have once held women's shoes, or gifts or something. I put a half-dozen drinks in each--Diet Coke in one, water in another, beer in a third.

They lower down into the refrigerator on a line. If you want a water, pull the water string up. This has relieved the irritation of bending over double to reach to the bottom of the fridge for a beverage you can't see. Sounds silly but it works. And I know easily when only one Coke's left.
 
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llenrow

Member II
I use an external refrigeration system here in Gig Harbor —-Alaska? that requires little maintenance.
 

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markvone

Sustaining Member
Some Insulation Ideas

I have an Adler Barbour Super Cold Machine from the PO. It has large cold plate along the edge of the box that will freeze anything near it or anything on the bottom of the box, below the mid-level shelf, even though I run the unit on '1' out of '10'. My box has an extra one inch of insulation on the inside and I believe this reefer unit could run the whole box as a freezer on the higher settings. I added a one inch thick pink insulation barrier with a 3 inch hole in it to isolate the cold plate from the box. This keeps the lower box above freezing. A piece of insulation strategically placed can probably solve your freezing issues. You can get a 2x2 foot piece of this insulation from Home Depot.

I've experimented with moving the barrier away from the cold plate to gain more "freezer" space for ice. You can see the blue ice cube tray below the cold plate and behind the pink barrier in the second picture. In the third picture, I removed the barrier and sealed the lower level of the box with a thin piece of removable plywood to make the lower section of the box a freezer.

Mark
 

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GrandpaSteve

Sustaining Member
The reason I picked the Isotherm 2501 over the 2301 is because the E32-3 color sales brochure claims the icebox is 6 cubic feet. I won’t be visiting the boat for a few weeks and I wanted to order the refrigeration while it was on sale at Defender.
 
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