110 volt fridge operation

Willhound

Not sure if my Vitrifrigo fridge is operating on 110v or not. No problem on 12v with battery switch on, but if I turn battery switch off, no light in fridge even with shore power panel switch to on.  Maybe only a 12v model? Or not plugged in? Don't see a switch anywhere or breaker labeled refrigerator. 

zaverin1

My boat has a breaker labeled fridge
normally all fridges are 12 volt with 110 automatic converter. It's all automatic and switches on its own when senses 12 or 110
you should have a plug behind the fridge 
I know my boat does 

reneechris14

Take out the trash can and see if you can see.why do want to turn your battery off?

randy56

@Willhound, you have a 270 correct? to see if it has 110, you will have to remove screws that hold fridge in pull it out far enough to see the 110 wire. update your profile to add the model boat you have.

zaverin1

Or it could be just the 12 volt
which is fine if you run your battery chargers at the marina 

zaverin1

My fridge for example has 2 leads for 12 volt and regular plug for shore power 

Willhound

Thanks guys. Checked again tonight and definitely not running on 110v. Only breaker labeled fridge is the little 12v one at the helm. Will pull it out and see if any 110v plug attached. Or a spot for one and I'll run a wire. 2000 FV270. Not leaving batteries on because I'm pretty sure the on-board charger isn't working. No lights as per pic and I pulled the leads off one of the batteries tonight and put a voltage meter on them and Nada. New to me boat and a few glitches.  Mechanic from the dealer is meeting me at the boat tomorrow morning to check a few things. Will add the charger to the list.

randy56

I don't see any lights on your charger. 

Willhound

randy56 said:

I don't see any lights on your charger. 

Yep. That's the point of the pic. Why I'm not running fridge off battery when not on the boat. And why I want to find out if operable on 110 until I get charger replaced or fixed. My beers getting warm!

randy56

On my 03, its auto 12v/110. if the fridge is turned on. its running. You may have to buy some ice. lol 

Willhound

May have figured it out. Pulled out the fridge this morning and although labeled for AC-DC, it appears from the instructions I found that or whatever reason it looks like  my compressor and controller is for DC only. Opinions?
http://www.vitrifrigofridges.co.uk/installation.htm

Stodge

I have the same brand fridge.  It has 2 separate power connections.  Previous boat/fridge was DC only.  Wasn't really a problem since the battery charger was on when shore power was on.

Cableguy Greg

The AC breaker for the fridge will be in the cabin. The DC breaker will be where your battery switch is at, or at the helm. Your fridge runs on DC only. There should be an external AC to DC converter. On my Waeco fridge, I have a Mobitronic MPS-35 switching power supply that plugs into the outlet behind the fridge.

Willhound

Thanks @Stodge and @Cableguy Greg.
Definitely no breaker on the panel in the cabin.
12v breaker at the helm. Based upon the diagram on the website link above, and the pic
of my controller, looks like DC only?

Cableguy Greg

If you pull up the model number, it shows AC/DC. Hmm...

Handymans342

Should have a power cord connected to the power supply box for 110

Handymans342

Does the refrigerator have another power supply box on the other side of the compressor?

Handymans342

That pic is a 12v supply only

Willhound

Nope.  No other power supply box. That's what was confusing me, so I thought I'd call in the experts. 
Fridge is Cleary labeled for AC but looks like compressor is not. Was maybe switched out at some point?
Mechanic from dealer currently on board with me going over the snags we identified during trial. One if them us it appears the on-board charger isn't working.  If we get that going, then I guess it doesn't matter. I can run it on battery/shore power. 

Handymans342

No, the compressor is always 12 volts on the dual voltage models. Its the other power supply that yours does not have that changes it over from 110 to 12V. You could add it. 

Willhound

Ahhh.  OK. Makes sense. Thanks Handy.
Just back from spending 5 hours on board with mechanic from the dealer.  Small miss in the engine cleared up by changing water separator and cleaning up the distributor cap and rotor, although I'll probably do the plugs , wires and distributor soon. Shower sump fixed. Freshwater pump working. On board charger was toast and electric head conversion not working, so a return visit with parts needed, but overall coming along. The hospital of buying a 17 years old boat that's sat for over a year.

Cableguy Greg

Good to hear that they are fixing the issues.

The Mobiltronic unit that I listed above does the switching. You could pick one of those up. If not, when your charger is fixed, it will keep the batteries up, which run the fridge.

Handymans342

I bet this module would work on your fridge if you can put an outlet behind the fridge

Willhound

Cableguy Greg said:

Good to hear that they are fixing the issues.

The Mobiltronic unit that I listed above does the switching. You could pick one of those up. If not, when your charger is fixed, it will keep the batteries up, which run the fridge.

I think that's the plan guys. Get a new on-board charger and then I can just leave the fridge on 12v with shore power and leave a battery switch on. No extra cost or work for me. New charger will be coming from the dealer. Although I might suggest to them that for a few more $$ which I would be happy to contribute that we go from a two bank to a three bank because I'm thinking I'd like to run two house batteries.

Stodge

IMO If you have 2 house batteries you'll want to put them in parallel versus having another switch.  By doing that you have the equivalent of one really big house.  

Willhound

Stodge said:

IMO If you have 2 house batteries you'll want to put them in parallel versus having another switch.  By doing that you have the equivalent of one really big house.  

Yep, that's the plan, which now that I think about it means I only need a two bank charger. I guess even with the new smart chargers you can't have three charge feeds if two of the batteries are connected parallel.

reneechris14

Yup 2 banks,one small and strong,other big and long.