www.iFourWinns.com

I have 1998 258 Vista and the refrigerator seems to be a real battery hog. I am considering adding extra insulation on the sides and top, leaving the back open so as not to affect the coils. I will probably use a semi-rigid insulation (a sturdy styrofoam). What are your thoughts on this idea?

Thanks,

They are all battery hogs. I use the cooler for drinks and place the food in the refrigerator with many ice packs. At night when I am on the hook, I either turn it off or at it's lowest setting. Works for me.

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2003 268 Four Winns Vista
F-350 King Ranch Diesel (Tow)
1990 Four Winns Fredom 180

The refrigerator slides in from the front and is a pretty snug fit. I think you will be hard pressed to add any meaningful insulation and still get the unit back in place. You may want to consider replacing your house battery with a pair of Group 27 deep cycle batteries in parallel. That way your power consumption is less of a concern.

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Martin
04 268 Vista - Knot Again
08 Boston Whaler 130 Sport - Double Good
Previous Boat:
97 278 Vista - Buoy Howdy

Thanks for the responses - I should have mentioned that I already have group 27 batteries from Walmart that are supposed to be a combination of starting and deep cycle - I forgot what they call them. I removed the counter top two years ago and installed a two-burner Origo alcohol electric stove so I my plan is to remove the stove and access the sides of the refer from the top.

Have fun on the water.

Is that two batteries total, or two for the house? If its two total, you have one for the engine, and one for all of the ships system. Give the ships system an extra battery and you'll be set.

I have two Group 24s, and have no issues, although we run the gen almost all night long to keep the AC flowing.

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2007 358 T-5.7GXi IB
Previous Boats
'08 H240, '08 V318, '04 268, '04 225

Added 2 6-Volt golf cart deep cycle batteries for my house and have a group 31 for the start. I have been out 4 nights with no power problems, watching TV, keeping the fridge cold, and listening to the radio all day. I love those 6 volt batteries.

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2000 268 Vista "Reely Nauti"
http://www.facebook.com/#!/rivercruiser

We chose to use our little honda EU2000 gen set to charge batteries, run a/c, run fridge on cold setting without worry about draining a battery.

The fridge is a huge battery drain, if I didn't have a gen set, I would go 2 6volt golf cart batteries.

I have been changing lights out to LED to conserve battery power and new HDTV (70 watt)

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2000 248 5.7L DP
'92, '94 SXI 750, '08 STX 15F, '12 Ultra LX 300
Videos

What also helps is making sure the coils are getting fresh enough air to work efficiently. I added a 12v muffin fan to the bracket on the back of the fridge. Our fridge had a specific connection for one on the back. This moves more air across the coils. It actually resulted in the fridge running a bit less. So make sure you're getting good air circulation back there.

As for insulating the box, eh, I don't know that it's going to make a huge difference. All you might succeed in doing is making the fridge work less efficiently. You'd probably be better off working out how to get cooler air back there first.

The fridge is a HUGE drain on the batteries. The best course of action is, honestly, to not open it when it's not on AC power. Do not treat it like a house fridge that you can be opening all the time. For drinks we use a cooler up in the cockpit. That also keeps people from traipsing down below all the time.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista