New website address

Mexicolder has a new website where we can solve your issues in a few clicks.........
Just click here: www.mexicolder.com

Honest Refrigeration system evaluations!

Come and visit us in Mazatlan and get a COMPLIMENTARY SYSTEM EVALUATION, or 20% discount on a service call.

We will take into account your entire vessel,  batteries and energy consumption on board whilst swinging at anchor and using 35 years of real time experience and our computer generated weight averaged report you will have an accurate assessment of your existing system, box, power balance and whether it will "cut the mustard" in true tropical climes.

This program is a powerful,useful and effective tool to help those ice cubes to tinkle in the tropics while at anchor! Please note however that loads of auto pilots and navigation gear is not included in the survey as these loads differ so much due to individual vessel design and intended cruise itinerary .  

Please note too, this is just a survey and as such only deals with the static system, box and existing installation!  

If you have problems with your existing system we can help too. This is a separate issue and naturally we need to make a charge for such services. 

THE PLAIN HARD FACTS

A friend of many years who recently read this blog suggested it might be too technical and a long read.

 Here are the points you need to consider when you want to get serious about self sufficient cruising and having everything cold or frozen without burning up a fortune sourcing gas or diesel and listening to the noise of the equipment and having to maintain it too.


* The MexiColder system is 30% less expensive than any of the off the shelf bargain basement units based on the volume of freezer space.  FACT 


* The MexiColder  system uses significantly less electrical power than the off the shelf bargain basement unit.  FACT 

* Each MexiColder system is tailored and tuned to your specific needs.  FACT 

* The MexiColder system is constructed of high quality custom built stainless steel components for the base, condenser and fan shroud, not regular painted steel. I don't care what colour you paint it, it is still regular steel and it will rust in the marine environment.  FACT 

* The MexiColder system is properly wired using marine grade components it does not use cheap telephone plug in wiring that is not rated or have any business being around salt water.  FACT 

Contact me right now. Make the correct decision so as we can schedule an appointment to sort out your refrigeration woes once and for all. Please don't be one of many sailors who tell me "Oh Boy...I wish I'd spoken to you before I shelled out bucks on stuff that does not cut the heat!...... FACT 

VINNY

Study this blog and buy the MexiColder system, otherwise we gonna send Vinny around wid da blocks of Ice

A frightening/heartwarming prospective prospect depending on your point of view

If we can live on solar energy with just 500 watts of solar energy...so can anyone else and technology is advancing. So why is it that the world seems stuck in a rut when pulsed d.c. technology could cut world electrical consumption by at least 20 to 30%?
Could it possibly be that certain companies and their investors are expecting a good return on their "INVESTMENT" for the future before they destroy the planet? Naw....I didn't think so.

That would not make sense to me.

Controlling Holding Plate systems

If you have an existing holding plate system here is a simple trick that will save you amp hours. The thermostat has a built in inefficiency due to "Hysterisis" ,check it out here.

                           http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hysteresis.

Once the refrigerative load is known it makes more sense ( pun intended) to control the system with an event timer inserted in the control circuit. This allows you to also budget your amp hours and run the system when you are getting solar input. By doing so you will partially eliminate the waste of energy transfer through you battery bank. That is solar electric to chemical to electric to mechanical. You can also arrange that the compressor which might be right under your bunk not to switch itself on in the middle of the night and ruin a good nights sleep?

Beware of cheaper timers, I have recommended this brand for years and have never heard of problems.

http://www.flexcharge.com/Programmable-Timer-PRGTMR12V.html

Making proper gas tight connections

I recently worked on a system that even being silver soldered had developed leaks. The reason this occurred is that loads on the tubing was being taken by the soldered joints not the parent tubing.  
When I build a system all the joints in the tubing are sleeved to achieve a sliding fit. I even built my own special tool to roll a few 1000's of an inch off the tubing diameter. This means that the brazing or soldering is not taking the loads and vibration. It basically just seals the joint to make a gas tight connection. 

Beware of steel condensers! The Mexicolder systems use copper condensers which cost more but will save you hassle in the long term.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

Recent call outs to vessels with dual systems that are burning double amp hours brings me to to write this post. 

The BD series of Danfoss compressors used in the Mexicolder system are extremely reliable when properly installed. It irks and troubles me when I see installs where two systems are used when in reality it can be done with one well designed install. The insulation on many boxes I recently checked just won't cut it in tropical heat. Water cooled systems give no end of headaches as crustacian growth within the cooling system is a constant problem when air cooling works fine.
For sea water cooled systems I have suggested using and returning your fresh water from your tanks as long as they are metallic and of sufficient size and can dissipate the heat. In short you wont notice the heat inside the vessel. The radiant heat of the sun is 1000's of time of that produced by a constant cycling reefer system using the BD series compressor.

 So if I have met you and helped reduce your amp load, please be sure to tell your friends coming down on the next Ha Ha so as they can make the right choice and go with a Mexicolder and thus not have to buy two systems and pay for the fuel to run them for many years to come.

Box Building

The beautiful box work you see on this blog is the product of  "Construcciones de Fibra de Vidrio" here in Mazatlan .  You contract them and you compensate them directly. There are other contractors that can be found in the Mazatlan Cruisers Guide, but over the years people will confirm that these guys do the best work and actually show up, but not always on time!

Rescue Refrigeration provides consultation services for design and function so that the resulting enclosure will ensure that the MexicolderTM system will function correctly.  

80% more frozen storage!

I should make it clear that the Mexicolder system gives you 80% more frozen storage than off the shelf "bargain basement" units. Oh, and it uses less power than those guys too, why? Because it is finely tuned instead of being built from a box of off the shelf parts. So in reality when you do your math it costs no more and will soon start paying for itself quicker than a mass produced unit with leak prone quick connects.

Marine Surveying Services

Should you have the need of a Marine Surveyor whilst in Mexican waters please give me a call. I am Recognized by Lloyds of London, all U.S. Insurance Companies and all the Banks and Finance companies too. 

Contact for Rescue Refrigeration

RESCUE REFRIGERATION CAN IN MANY CASES DIAGNOSE YOUR PROBLEM ON LINE AND WE HAVE ALL THE PARTS AND BRAND NEW LOW AMP SYSTEMS READY FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY IN MEXICO ALREADY....NO HASSLES, NO CUSTOMS AGENTS, NO WAITING FOR WEEKS.. WE SHIP TO ANY MEXICAN MARINA!

 
We monitor VHF Channel 22. The cell number is 01- 669-150-1433 within Mexico and local Mazatlan you would dial 669-150-1433. From the U.S. or Canada it is 52-1-669-150-1433

Email is mexicolder@hotmail.com

Read the small print

It seems at times that trusted and proven solid engineering fact goes by the wayside to some? This past summer we had all the ice cold drinks, frozen food and the luxury that makes life so so much better and we didn't need to run a generator 99.99% of the time to do so. Please don't mistake me for some tree-hugger, I just find a certain peace when energy is flowing at it's natural rate. 

Most all the other cruisers we met had to run their main engines, find diesel and / or gasoline, listen to the noise, maintain the beast and heat up the interior of their vessels which required them to drink even more beer or sugary drinks thus increasing their waistlines and depleting their cruising funds. Figure $5 minimum a day in fuel x 365 = $ 1825.00 a year, now take a cruise for 5 years and the oil well will have sucked $ 9125. 00 out of your kitty.....just to keep the lights on....Makes Motel 6 look like the bargain it was eh?  We did have to use our Honda 650 for a couple of days when tropical storm Juliette graced us with copious rain and cloudy days. We burnt a staggering 6 litres of gasoline which cost us $6.00, that was it for the entire 5 month cruise! Having been sailing, cruising and micro managing a green type lifestyle that enables us to eventually macro manage our chosen path of living off the grid for 32 years we could  have spent $58,400.00 in fossil fuel alone just to keep the lights on and that's not including interest, depreciation, purchasing new equipment, maintaining it, hauling fuel and listening to noise.  An ever increasing entropy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropy 
The next step is chaos. 

When the present determines the future, but the approximate present does not approximately determine the future.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_theory 

No wonder the world has gone nuts and all you wanted was a cold drink?

Unless you have an efficient refrigeration system coupled with a balanced solar array you WILL fall foul and end up being a fossil fuel junkie. So paying attention to having enough insulation and installing the most power efficient refrigeration equipment such as the MexiColder will pay dividends over the years.  I didn't write this blog to steer you the wrong way. Energy aboard is at a premium and here is the hog you don't want on board....lol.

Simple, quiet and Efficient removal of heat is what we achieve with MexiColder Tropical Systems.  

MexicolderTM

TROPICAL YACHT REFRIGERATION SYSTEM

BASIC SPECIFICATIONS mexicolder@hotmail.com 

  

*Constant cycling, super efficient, 12 volt direct current, vapour compression refrigeration system. Uses “Ozone Friendly” refrigerant

 HFC 134a. and ester based P.O.E. oil.

*High quality components used thoughout.

*304 stainless steel skid, condenser end plates, fasteners and fan housing. Foot print of skid is 14.25” long x 10.25” wide x 10” high

*Double capacity high volume air cooled condenser with dual cooling fans.

*Copper-phosphorous brazed connections thoughout. Unlike other systems, there are  no mechanical connections to leak.

* Dual speed Danfoss/Secop compressor, draws less than 4.0 amps on low speed and less than 5.0 amps on high speed. Actual tests in a box of 6 cubic feet with 5” of insulation proved an average electrical consumption of less than 1.5 amps/hour with a 24 hour average ambient temperature of 75ºF (23.9ºC)

*White   20ºF (-6.7ºC) evaporator box provides more frozen storage than other popular systems on the market. Cools ice boxes to 15 cubic feet. External dimensions of evaporator are 17.5” long x 8” wide x 11” deep.

*Unique snap apart design for electrical components and thermostat.

*Designed & field tested in ambient temperatures over 100ºF (37.8ºC)

Thanks to George & Jackie aboard "SHAMROCK"
http://www.noonsite.com/Countries/Mexico/mazatlan-cruiser2019s-guide
 We now have an advert running in the Mazatlan Cruisers Guide. When you arrive in Mazatlan be sure to pick up a copy. The money goes to the Childrens Orphange here.
These folks have been helping the
kids for years. The cruising guide 
is published once or twice a year
and is a valuable tool for the sailor
and resident of Mazatlan too. The
donation is purely suggested so
think with your heart and dig deep
into your soul.

Cold Plates versus direct expansion evaporator plates

As mentioned in previous posts the days of holding plate refrigeration are numbered and have been for many years.  In certain circumstances they may well be of benefit if they are TRUE EUTECHTIC plates....Most off the shelf self install systems using holding plates are really just "cold storage plates" and occupy precious box space that could be occupied by frozen product that truly benefits in energy terms taking into account LATENT HEAT OF FUSION. The reason for this is that unlike a true hold over plate they are filled with a mixture of propylene glycol and water and this mixture will determine the plate temperature to be a 0 deg F plate or a 20 deg F plate.. There is no physical conversion from liquid to solid, rather liquid to slop or slush at best, it it were a TRUE EUTECHTEC solution then the freeze of the solution and it's expansion would blow the plate. Therefore their advantage is not justified as they do not 100% achieve the thermodynamic heat laws governing  LATENT HEAT OF FUSION. 

Silver Copper Phosphorous Brazed Joints versus "Quick connects" & Mechanical Fittings

As any fridge technician will tell you the biggest problem with a system is a gas leak. Most off the shelf self install systems use quick connects and mechanical fittings. Over time these fittings fail from a combination of vibration and the metal age hardening. 

A typical quick connect actually has 3 possible leak points and there are four of these little beasts in every system = 12 possible leak points. Add to this a thermostatic expansion valve = 3 possible leak points. Now we need a fill valve and an H.P. shut off valve = 4 more possible leak points. Grand total = 17 possible leaks!

The Mexicolder has a fill valve and that's it. It has schrader valve and a cap, just like a car tyre. The valve core is dipped in fridge oil at install and a cap is secured to this with a nitrile "O" ring

Grand total = ZERO leak points.

I rest my case........hard facts and the hard truth!

Latest update: I recently looked at a system for a sailor that had a fridge and freezer with two cold plates in the freezer and one in the fridge. It uses a huge amount of energy he informed me. We run the generator 3 hours a day to keep up with it. Or we can run the main engine to hours a day. On inspection this beast had no less than 60 mechanical joints in the pipe work, four expansion valves, two condensers, two compressors and yards of wires, four solenoid valves and multiple block connections. I explained that with so many mechanical joints even if I added gas and tuned it I WOULD GUARANTEE it would break down in a month, a day or a week or maybe even before I removed my gauges. Mmmm. he said, you are the first person to have been honest with me. Twice a year for the last 5 years I have had a fridge tech charge serious dollars to keep this working ( or not) as was the case. Honesty is the best policy because we ended up gutting the box, re-insulating and installing a new Mexicolder. Now it works silently on solar alone. And get this, we lost 150 lbs of obsolete gear and gained two huge storage lockers.

Vacuum Panels versus foam insulation

I have seen too many failures over the years to even consider them. Cruisers spent a fortune rebuilding their galleys only to have to start all over again. Once you can put a sailboat in orbit maybe I might consider them. End of story.

Building a Real Box for the Unreal Heat in Sea of Cortez and other tropical destinations

As I mentioned in previous posts it's all about insulation, insulation, insulation. That's what stops the heat leaking into the box and reduces the amount of time the refrigeration system has to run. Many production boats have totally inadequate boxes....even some new ones. So a production boat ice box may have you running the engine to keep up with electrical usage, hauling ice, looking for a marina to plug into and basically making your enjoyable cruise into a living nightmare. I know of several couples who have split up or quit cruising because of a simple comfort issue.

The following photos show a box that will yield 8.5 cubic feet of space, of this about 1.5 cubic foot will be a freezer maintained at around 10 deg. F and the rest a fridge of 7.0 cubic foot maintained at 34 to 38 deg. F. To put this in real terms, the freezer could easily hold over 30 lbs of frozen meat, fish or veg. properly packed and pre-frozen. If the fridge area was packed to its gills it would hold over 328 regular cans of beer, or over 14 cases. However there would be no room left for food..lol. The amount of poured foam was about 21 cubic feet.

The first step is to gut the original factory box, 2 to 3 inches of 30 year foam in this case just would not work in tropical conditions

The holes were for drawers that have been relocated. To the left of this shot you can see the original skimpy box lids...not enough insulation.

The next step is to make a new box liner, this is a two part process, first you have to  make a wooden "plug" from which you can make a fiberglass mold which will be the box liner. Here it is cut in two so as the liner could be popped off of it. You can see the transparent PVA film which is a mold release agent.

AND here is the new box liner dropped into place

Next it needs to be correctly positioned in the enclosure so we will have 5 inches of foam around it and over a foot on the hull side.

You will see the plug as been dropped into the liner and wooden beams screwed into place. This is needed as the expanding foam creates a huge pressure and would buckle the box and force bulkheads out of shape. So the strong backs also need to be fitted on the outside of the box too.

Now to make sure of damage control. The expanding foam produces noxious gases and sticks like shit to a blanket.

Here is the foam. It's two part, mix up a two quart batch, stir for 20 seconds with a mix master fitted with a custom spray guard and pour rapidly.......don't waste a SECOND o.k..

Here is a link to the foam used, a good time to learn a little Spanish!

http://www.maximadimension.com/PDFs/COLADO%20360-32.pdf

You will notice the foam gives of heat, so after the first 3 pours the job stopped for 20 minutes to let things cool down. If not the second level of pour will go off too quickly and make large gas bubbles instead of dense insulation.  Keep pouring foam until the void is full. Use the custom cardboard sheets to make sure it goes where you want it to go!

Note the can of Tecate beer, it is essential in the correct application of the foam!

Now the box is fully foamed all the wood is removed and excess foam trimmed off ready for the fibreglass moulded and foam cast box top to be fibre glassed to the liner. 

And the wood is gone!

It still needs detailing to accept the box top

This is the box top prior to detailing,

And the underside, all foamed and sealed with glass fibre

 It took two steps to make this, first you make the wooden plug, then you make the molding from the plug and then the same process for the box lids. As you can see here the wooden plug was broken off the molding. Each and every boat is different so it is all labour intensive custom work. Below is the plug for the top..

  The lids too are filled with foam and need to be made from a custom mold too, here it is being faired out by hand.

And the underside of the lid mold

 A tube passes through the box bottom into the bilge area. This is fully glassed into the liner and extends 9" above the box bottom, so no chance of water getting into the foam.Through this tube the pressure and suction tubes of the Mexicolder system along with thermostat wires are run. The tube is then stuffed with plastic bags and sealed on the top with aluminum duct tape and silicon caulk. Don't use polyeurethane sealants inside the box , they gas off and taint the food for weeks.

Here you can see there is 10" of foam under the box

At last the box top is fitted

No more skimpy lids, these will do the job....no sweat, pun intended!

There are sliding bases to make easy access to the bottom of the box

The evaporator will be fixed here, the under panel helps support the weight but can slide out for access and easy cleaning

The finished job

 A carpenter will secure the original fiddle rails. Foam tape rubber seals makes the whole thing air tight. The box top is joined to the box with a thick catalysed resin paste making the entire structure "monocoque". Any holes drilled into the box liner to attach the evaporator or thermostat are caulked to keep the water tight integrity of the liner. Unless the customer specifically requires a drain we don't install one. They tend to get smelly in time. Instead a hand type pump can be used to suck water from the box and any bits of food or spilled liquids. The pump is then flushed out and left in the sun to dry.....no more smelly bilged boats. I swear I can smell a boat that has an ice box drain from several boats away.

The compressor is mounted behind the aluminium grill

Note all the tubing is fully brazed up with silver copper phoshorous rod, no chance of leaks

The condenser draws air from the cabin and is sealed to the grill, warm air escapes from the louvred teak door and keeps stuff nice and dry in the locker too!

A great crusty and high density french bread recipe

This recipe makes 2 large loaves , we make the dough and bake one loaf and freeze the other half of the dough ready for a second bake.

·       

6 cups all-purpose flour

·         

2 1/2 (.25 ounce) packagesactive dry yeast

·         

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

·         

2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C.

1 tablespoon cornmeal or you can use white flour

·      

1 egg white

·         

1 tablespoon water

Directions

1.   In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast and salt. Stir in 2 cups warm water, and mix until well blended. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

2.   On a lightly floured surface, knead in enough flour to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. Knead for about 8 to 10 minutes total. Shape into a ball. Place dough in a greased bowl, and turn once. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled.

3.   Punch dough down, and divide in half. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover, and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll each half into large rectangle. Roll up, starting from a long ide. Moisten edge with water and seal. Taper ends.

4.   Grease a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with cornmeal or plain flour . Place loaves, seam side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Lightly beat the egg white with 1 tablespoon of water, and brush on. Cover with a damp cloth. Let rise until nearly doubled, 35 to 40 minutes.

5.   With a very sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch deep across top of each loaf. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven or on the 2/3rds BBQ with a heat deflector and place the baking sheet on a cake rack to get indirect heat for 20 minutes. Brush again with egg white mixture. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until bread tests done. If necessary, cover loosely with foil to prevent over browning. Remove from baking sheet, and cool on a wire rack.

·         PREP25 mins

·         COOK40 mins

Banana Bread

I'm sure there are lots of recipes out there. This has worked for us. Enjoy

TORTUE Banana Bread Recipe

·         Prep time: 5 minutes

·         Cook time: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

·         3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed they were 3 large bananas or 4 smaller

·         1/3 cup melted butter

·         3/4 cup sugar  or less

·         1 egg, beaten

·         1 teaspoon vanilla

·         1 teaspoon baking soda

·         Pinch of salt

·         1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

·          1 shot rum

·         Half cup almonds or any kind of nut  chopped coarse

·         1 tsp cinnamon

·         I cooked on the bbq  WEBER Q120  on 2/3rds heat on cake rack above heat deflector 1 hour….perfect

METHOD

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) or the BBQ on 2/3RDS heat.  With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, cinnamon, rum and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour, mix and last the nuts. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Yield: Makes one loaf.

The good life and getting better mileage out of your vegetables

During the summer months we take off to the Sea of Cortez with a freezer full of rock solid meat and a fridge full of cheeses, cold cuts and fresh veg The bilges are full of dried goods and all the canned stuff we need. Once we start catching fish our diet becomes more healthy.  We bake bread twice a week and make home made pizza on the BBQ. When making the dough we divide it in 3 for the pizzas and in 2 for the bread. We then freeze what we don't use immediately. That way we can take the frozen dough out the night before and it will have risen again ready for our bake the next day. Our over ripe bananas get made into banana bread, this goes onto the BBQ after a bread or pizza bake and thus saves on propane use.

About the only cost we have besides keeping the beer locker full is fresh fruit and fresh vegetables.
Every Sunday there is a farmers produce market in Loreto and I'm sure in other places too. Initially we would only get a few days out of the fresh stuff until we started washing EVERYTHING in a solution made of colloidal silver drops and water. You can find the stuff at any supermarket in the Fruit and Veg. area. As it kills all the bacteria on the surface of the produce it will help stop you getting Moctezumas Revenge too!

We found this at SAMS club..Bakers and Chefs brand, it comes in 1/2 litre bottles too

.

After washing in the solution we air dry everything in a breezy shaded area before bagging it in the Evert Green bags and then refrigerate all but onions and potatoes which we keep in net bags either side of the galley. Now we can go close to 3 weeks between vegetable purchasing!