Glacier Bay Refrigeration System (2007)

Question: We’re thinking of installing the Glacier Bay MicroHPS unit on our 45-foot sailboat; air cooled, using a 390Ah AGM battery bank. I noticed you have installed a Glacier Bay system and have had good luck with it. Can you enumerate further? Any complaints or problems? Did you use the Vacuum Insulated Panels (VIPs)? I’ve read a bunch of negative stuff on Glacier Bay being temperamental, but yet they still seem to have a good reputation overall.

Answer: I have no experience with the MicroHPS system. What I can say is that we fitted the Glacier Bay, 12volt DC, water cooled system in 1996 and it has been great. The only problems we have had are:

1. We had to get a professional refrigeration technician to find a small leak and tune the system up after two years. The problem was caused by a leaking compression fitting. We also had the same type of fitting leak at one of the plates a few years later. We were able to fix that one by tightening a half turn. Since then we have soldered all the connections and removed all the compression fittings.

2. In 2000 we had a vibration isolator rupture and lost the whole charge. Since we were in a remote place, Glacier Bay walked us through a temporary repair and recharge. They were very responsive.

We did not use the VIPs, since we already had a fairly well insulated box. If I were building a box from scratch I would look at using the VIPs, although the substantial cost would make me look at other alternatives too.

So in summary, our Glacier Bay system has run just about daily for ten years (with a few gaps for lay-ups) with relatively few problems. (Note that refrigeration systems are notorious for reliability problems.) Also, when we bought it, it was far and away the most efficient system on the market. Finally, whenever we have had a question or a problem, Glacier Bay have been responsive and helpful.

Propane System (2007)

Question: I am presently rebuilding the propane system on my 36' sailboat. The 20lb tank, regulator and shutoff valve are located in a sealed box (vented overboard) inside the starboard cockpit locker. Some suppliers recommend that a high pressure solenoid shutoff be installed on the high pressure side of the regulator, i.e. between the tank and the regulator. Others recommend that a low pressure solenoid be installed on the outlet of the regulator, i.e. between the regulator and the discharge hose. Which is the correct way and why? Or can it be done either way? I only want to do this job once so want to do it right the first time!

Answer: I’m not an expert in propane systems. What I can tell you is:

1. I have never seen a solenoid on the high pressure side. This does not make it wrong, it just means that I have no experience of it. My boats have always had the solenoid on the low side of the regulator.

2. Whichever side it is on, however,  you need to have one in the locker.

3. I would avoid two bottle regulators (read our post on the Trident Two-stage Regulator for more on this).

You may wish to get hold of a West Marine catalog; they have a section on how to hook up a gas system.

Which Alternator and Regulator (2007)

Question: We are trying to decide between an Ample Power and Balmar alternator and regulator. Do you have any thoughts on this?
 

Answer: We have a Balmar alternator. In our case the large frame one. Even though we de-rate it by about 25% from its full output and have an actively (two blowers) ventilated engine room that stays very cool, it only seems to last about 1000 to 2000 hours before it needs rebuilding. For this reason we carry a complete spare alternator. We have no experience with the Ample Power alternators but suspect they may not be much different.

I think the ultimate alternator solution is from Electrodyne, see www.electrodyne.com. I have heard that these go 10,000 hours or better. They are brushless and can be supplied with external diodes; a very good idea, since it gets a lot of heat generation out of the alternator itself and makes replacing the diodes a snap. Unfortunately, we can't fit one on our engine without some major reengineering.

We don't have any experience with the Balmar regulators since we have a Link 2000, which has worked well for ten years. However, because the Link does not have battery temperature sensors (a must for the Glass Mat batteries we now have) we are going to try a Balmar ARS-5-H. We went with this regulator based on a recommendation from Peter James of Jack Rabbit Marine. Since we never trust any of this stuff, we have an older Balmar regulator all wired in with a change-over switch to act as a spare.