2 year old Icerette - Replace with WHAT ???

[Maybe A Dancer]

I have a 2 year old Raritan Icerette in the cockpit of my 450DA, one year out of warranty. The unit has been getting warmer and warmer over the past couple of months, and stopped making ice after a few weeks on the hard for a bottom job.

This unit makes, or used to, make ice fine, but it would stick together, then begin to melt a tiny bit, then the 5 weeks on the hard seemed to have killed it's cooling ability.

Fan works, compressor gets warm and I've bypassed the thermostat. My guess is a slow freon leak, and I am a year out of warranty.

Few companies will service this machine and I've been told it's likely a leak in the condenser - this makes the cost of repair a bad choice.

Please don't tell me to replace it with a fridge, or a countertop unit. I want to stay with a stand alone icemaker.

So, I know I ran into some bad luck with the Raritan.

Should I buy a new Icerette, I'll have numerous "spare parts" left over from the old unit . . . this is a plus.

Otherwise, can someone recommend a really good quality stand-alone icemaker that will fit the existing space in the cockpit?

BEST !

RWS

 

[b_arrington]

The Raritan units have a good reputation. That stinks.

I think I’d try to get recharges and find the leak. A new ice maker is expensive and the leak repair should be less.

My Vitrifrigio drawer freezer gradually stopped cooling. I diagnosed the Danfoss compressor and all indications were it lost refrigerant. I had a tech come to do a recharge and fixed it right up. A cockpit ice make is likely much easier to access than my freezer in a compartment under the helm. It was a couple boat bucks but way less than a new freezer.

 

[Stee6043]

Please don't tell me to replace it with a fridge, or a countertop unit. I want to stay with a stand alone icemaker.

Well...okay I guess...

 

[Maybe A Dancer]

The Raritan units have a good reputation. That stinks.

I think I’d try to get recharges and find the leak. A new ice maker is expensive and the leak repair should be less.

My Vitrifrigio drawer freezer gradually stopped cooling. I diagnosed the Danfoss compressor and all indications were it lost refrigerant. I had a tech come to do a recharge and fixed it right up. A cockpit ice make is likely much easier to access than my freezer in a compartment under the helm. It was a couple boat bucks but way less than a new freezer.

Today's labor charges of $95 (plus) per hour combined with the likelyhood of a bad condenser 3-4 hours labor cost plus the part plus freon is making this a throwing good money after bad situation.

The question now is, which unit to replace it with?

Take a chance with another Icerette and have a few known good spare parts, (ice mechanism, compressor - maybe, thermostat, relays, or go with something better?

YOUR COMMENTS ARE APPRECIATED.

BEST !

RWS

 

[b_arrington]

Today's labor charges of $95 (plus) per hour combined with the likelyhood of a bad condenser 3-4 hours labor cost plus the part plus freon is making this a throwing good money after bad situation.

The question now is, which unit to replace it with?

Take a chance with another Icerette and have a few known good spare parts, (ice mechanism, compressor - maybe, thermostat, relays, or go with something better?

YOUR COMMENTS ARE APPRECIATED.

BEST !

RWS

I dunno, my calculation might be different. My repair was about $400 or so, all in. No assurance that a new unit won't have similar issues so if you can fix what you've got you'll have a known good unit.

As for another option, some things to consider.

- Space. Ice makers are NOT universal in size. You need to see what would fit in your space. Some may be too large (possible to enlarge the opening) or to small (harder to fix).
- Type. Raritan is a white ice maker. Do you want to stick with that type or switch to a clear ice maker?

With those considerations there are not a lot of ice makers the size of the Raritan unit.
- Raritan, obviously.
- Isotherm. White or clear ice. Good reputation.
- Uline. White ice. Haven't heard anything bad about these.
- Vitrifrigo. White ice. I've heard of a lot of trouble with these. Wouldn't recommend.

Most of these units are going to be using the same Danfoss compressors and control units. It's the rest of the stuff that varies.

 

[Maybe A Dancer]

I'm not an ice snob - yeah, I do "get" the clear ice thing, it might be nice, but I don't have any Grey-Poupon in the boat fridge for Muffy to have along with her caviar and lobster

Despite the bad experience, the Raritan comes in on line at $1,179, is a perfect "fit" and I'd have numerous "spares"

Perhaps I just got a "dud"

I had a U-Line on the last boat and it saw a good deal of rust creeping under the frame. That was a really nice design of a fridge/icemaker combination overall, but I've also heard other not so nice things about that series, so not going there again.

I've looked at the Isotherm and the others which are all a bit bigger and may require some modifications to the opening for a proper fit.

I suppose there's no such thing as a 120v - 12v unit as a lot of amperage is drawn when that heat release cycle comes on.

Really leaning toward the Raritan wish it had more than a one year warranty.......

BEST !

RWS

 

[techmitch]

I'm not an ice snob - yeah, I do "get" the clear ice thing, it might be nice, but I don't have any Grey-Poupon in the boat fridge for Muffy to have along with her caviar and lobster

Despite the bad experience, the Raritan comes in on line at $1,179, is a perfect "fit" and I'd have numerous "spares"

Perhaps I just got a "dud"

I had a U-Line on the last boat and it saw a good deal of rust creeping under the frame. That was a really nice design of a fridge/icemaker combination overall, but I've also heard other not so nice things about that series, so not going there again.

I've looked at the Isotherm and the others which are all a bit bigger and may require some modifications to the opening for a proper fit.

I suppose there's no such thing as a 120v - 12v unit as a lot of amperage is drawn when that heat release cycle comes on.

Really leaning toward the Raritan wish it had more than a one year warranty.......

BEST !

RWS

Is an extended warranty available?

 

[b_arrington]

I'm not an ice snob - yeah, I do "get" the clear ice thing, it might be nice, but I don't have any Grey-Poupon in the boat fridge for Muffy to have along with her caviar and lobster

Despite the bad experience, the Raritan comes in on line at $1,179, is a perfect "fit" and I'd have numerous "spares"

Perhaps I just got a "dud"

I had a U-Line on the last boat and it saw a good deal of rust creeping under the frame. That was a really nice design of a fridge/icemaker combination overall, but I've also heard other not so nice things about that series, so not going there again.

I've looked at the Isotherm and the others which are all a bit bigger and may require some modifications to the opening for a proper fit.

I suppose there's no such thing as a 120v - 12v unit as a lot of amperage is drawn when that heat release cycle comes on.

Really leaning toward the Raritan wish it had more than a one year warranty.......

BEST !

RWS

120V/12v icemaker - nope, doesn't exist. I've looked.

Clear ice makers are really nice for good quality ice. They tend to produce the first batch within 12-20 minutes and have a higher daily production rate, sometimes double that of a quite ice maker. And the bins of white ice makers tend to hold less than their daily production so the specs are a little misleading.

All that said, clear ice makers have some downsides. The bins are not cooled so the ice is always melting. If you want ice it has to be running at all times. They consume your water supply because they are always running so the water pump has to be on. And the can be quite loud with the noise of the condenser and the water constantly spraying on the freeze plates. I've had an Isotherm clear ice maker and while it worked well I would not choose a clear ice maker.


Given your comments above another Raritan might be the best option. I might talk to Raritan about your concerns thought.

 

[White Shadow]

Some credit/debit cards will double the warranty on some purchases. When you first bought this unit did you use a credit or debit card? Check with your bank/card issuer if they offer this coverage. Maybe you will get lucky and still have coverage? And/or maybe your new purchase will have longer warranty coverage? It’s worth looking into!

 

[Maybe A Dancer]

Circumstances did not allow for any warranty beyond the factory 1 year warranty. The plastic latch broke last summer $65 and they would not warrant that, so I did not waste my time with the 23 month question, knowing the answer.

My buddy's son is an HVAC technician who looked the unit over yesterday. Definitely low on freon, and like most small units, this one has no ports to recharge or service.

He noted that there was no visible oil trace to be seen and none on the condenser, meaning the leak is likely in the evaporator - well inside the unit, rendering a repair unlikely, plus the compressor may have been stressed.

The Raritan is a perfect fit, makes ice nicely and other than the "warming trend" seen over the last few months has been doing fine.

Seems like others have had better luck than I.

Ordered an identical replacement on the DEFENDER website $1,344 plus tax.

I'll now have a known good ice tray, water valve, solenoids and possibly a good compressor as spares.

I used my AMEX card which gives me an additional one year warranty.

Funny thing is, when I bought the boat, the 27 year old (at the time) Raritan Icerette was cold, but needed the icemaker component replaced, and I didn't want (at the time) to put a new icemaker into a 27 year old unit whose replacement was budgeted into the after survey price of the boat.

Hope I have better luck this time.

BEST !

RWS

 

[Maybe A Dancer]

Well, the new ICERETTE arrived.

Big warning label on the box (wish I had taken a photo) regarding the flammability of the new refrigerant - freon gas now in the unit to comply with environmental regulations.

Additionally, while the unit appears to be the same size, and has the same appearance, clearly the guts are different, as can be seen through the front vent.

Wonder how efficient this new style will be and what will be it's lifespan?

BEST !

RWS