aunights
New Member
I have a 1991 420 Sea Ray Sundancer. I am looking to replace the refrigerator. Has anyone put a Nova-Kool refrigerator in their boat? I know most boats us Norcold, but I leaning towards the Nova-Kool. Any thoughts?
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Thanks for the advice. Definitely going with a 110/12V system. I thought the nova-kool looked good due to more storage space for the same size fridge. I will check out the other brands recommended. Already pulled my fridge out to inspect cut out size. A lot simpler than the newer boats!!
We just went through the whole fridge replacement and went with the Nova Kool and couldn't be happier! I replaced my 3.1 cubic ft. Norcold with a 5.8 cubic ft. Nova Kool, using basically the same cut out except for 1/2 inch I cut out on the top of my cabinet. The unit is completely silent and uses a fraction of the power of the old Norcold, it is all stainless steel trim with a stainless front panel and it cost me about $1200 with shipping... And it even has a light in it!
3.1 to 5.8 in almost the same space??!!?? That's a hell of a jump. How did they do it? Any problem getting it in the cabin?
I researched replacing my Norcold and came down to the Vitrifrigo, Novakool and Isotherm. After talking to people in the business (including a supplier who carried all three) and looking at specs, etc. I ultimately went with the Isotherm (the Cruise 195). It has two compressors instead of the one used in my original Norcold and because of how they are positioned it also has more space (even though it is billed as a near direct replacement in terms of dimensions). Turns out by the way it is not an exact direct replacement, the Isotherm was a bit thinner and we had to do some wood working (I brought in a master carpenter) to be able to mount it. The connections were easy, unplug and replug (although with the Isotherm you will need two AC plugs, the Norcold was just one as only one compressor) - but the wood work took quite a bit of time/effort. And then we had to make a custom wood frame to go around it. Now that it's in, my wife is much, much happier. It seems to hold ar more, it's perfectly quiet (my Norcold was noisy by comparison), the door latches every time you swing it shut (the Norcold door was frequently left open because you had to push it to get it to really latch) and there seems to be no frost/freezing over like my Norcold did all the time in the freezer. We couldn't be happier. Here's a post-install shot:
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