[Sentoa] Norcold vs. Novakool

[Perlick]

Our tug came from the factory with a Novakool (2001).  Since we bought her
nearly three years ago, we struggled with inadequate cooling.  I added
insulation, fans, and changed the compressor speed control resistor so it
ran at full speed.  Nothing made a significant improvement.

This June we replaced it with a Dometic double door (formerly Tundra)
knowing there were two major differences: both have Danfoss compressors
(probably the best around), but the Novakool has a BD35 while the Tundra has
a BD50--the next size up.  Second the Novakool had a condenser like a home
frig while the Tundra has a more efficient design.

We could not be more pleased.  The freezer stays at -1 to +5 (usually around
zero) and the frig maxed out at 40 while the boat was docked and inside
cabin temps hit 100+.  While we're using the boat the frig has no problem
staying in the mid-thirties even after loading it with food.  This is as
close to residential refrigerator performance that I can imagine.  I have
Radio Shack remote thermometers in both the frig and freezer and an external
display for continuous readout.  It also records min/max values over time.  

Also, battery draw is not noticeably higher even with the bigger compressor,
although I know current draw is a bit greater (about 5.9 amps while running
based on Link 10 data).

Mark Perlick
Steadfast NT37-050