Two years ago, we replaced the original Dometic propane refrigerator that Barefoot Gal came with. After looking at all the various options, we went with an Isotherm Cruise 130 Classic (12-volt only) for the reasons in this post.
So, two years in, what do we think of it?
I’d give it a B. It is an immense improvement over the propane refrigerator we had (and which was rusting into oblivion) and I still don’t know of one that would have been better for us, but no, it’s not perfect.
UPDATE: In the summer of 2018, we swapped out the Cruise 130 Classic for a Cruise 130 Elegance. Same size, but many improvements. Read my review of the Cruise 130 Elegance here — I give it an A.
THE GOOD
The Isotherm Cruise 130 is energy efficient, using 5 amps when the compressor is running. Overall average (amount of time compressor runs and doesn’t) results in it using about 50 amp-hours a day in summer; less in winter.
It keeps food cold and the freezer will freeze anything I’ve ever put in it (unlike some boat freezers that will keep items frozen only if they are already frozen but won’t freeze from room temp). At the risk of stating the obvious, this is the basic function of a refrigerator and unfortunately one that not every boat fridge manages to do, particularly in the heat and humidity of a Florida Keys summer.
A big benefit for us was that it fit almost exactly into the cutout for our old refrigerator (we had to cut back about 1/4″ on one side of the opening). It was extremely easy to install as it is all one unit. One wire pair to connect.
THE BAD
Four items could be better on the Isotherm 130:
- The freezer is small. I make it work, but it’s the one thing that was better on the Dometic. It’s 0.3 cubic feet or 3-3/4″ x 8-1/4″ x 14″.
- The seals aren’t great. They fail the dollar-bill test (read about that here) and that means that I have to defrost more often than I might otherwise. In the Florida Keys in the summer (high heat and humidity), I defrost every two weeks.
- The door latch is flimsy and may be part of why the seals aren’t really tight. A small plastic wedge simply catches under a thin metal lip. About every six months the door will start refusing to latch and we have to gently bend the metal lip down 1/8″ so that it will.
- The freezer door hinge is a design failure. This is my biggest grumble on a thousand-dollar piece of equipment. The door has two plastic prongs that fit into plastic tabs on the freezer with tiny plastic knuckles that fit over a metal pin. The problem is that the tiniest bit of ice buildup will break the plastic knuckles when you open the freezer door.
Isotherm did replace the first freezer door that broke and admonished me to defrost more frequently so that frost and ice wouldn’t break the second one. I have always defrosted when there’s a quarter inch of frost and ice, which is about two weeks with the high temps and humidity here.
I vowed to do even better with the second one. I defrosted the refrigerator, then installed the new door (installation is literally a snap and virtually impossible to do incorrectly). It broke two days later.
I didn’t bother to ask for another replacement that would simply break again. Seeing what the problem was, I knew that I could create a better hinge with a roll of Gorilla Tape (extra-tough duct tape). A bit of Reflectix (foil-faced bubble wrap) both insulated the freezer and made it seal much better. It does not look pretty but it works well.
BOTTOM LINE
The Isotherm Cruise 130 isn’t perfect but it is the best thing for our application. We wanted something that we could easily install — it was more important to us to have “something good” that was actually installed than “something perfect that took months and $$ to install (neither one of us is a carpenter to build a new surround).
It does what it is supposed to — keep food cold and frozen items frozen — with a minimum of energy. The design flaws have been things that we could correct in the field. Maybe not elegantly, but workably.
It gets a B.
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james young says
I’m a fan of your cookbook, as soon as my boat is built, will buy one.
Carolyn Shearlock says
Thank you!
Iain Fraser says
We have the exact same fridge and exact same issues…I’ve had mine about 6 years now, had one new freezer door already and have learnt not to force the new one against the ice build up. I use hot water bottles (designed for warming your bed) to speed up the defrost process…you probably don’t need to speed it up in Florida! Thanks for the gorilla tape idea…that will definitely be put to use when the next door breaks…
David Saywell says
ian same same have put up with no freezer door for three years and defective door catch my new waeco fridge should arrive this week😂😂
Heather Kolankowski says
Hot water bottles! Brilliant! I live year round on our Bayliner 4550 in Haida Gwaii (near the Alaska Border) and we have 85-96% humidity year round. I was defrosting by putting a hot bowl of water in the fridge, but that creates even more unwanted humidity in the boat. This is perfect, thank you!
Judith Nelson Cruzan says
What is your process for defrosting? Do you have a tip for collecting the water as the ice melts?
The Boat Galley says
It’s pretty easy with this refrigerator. I put the produce drawer under the freezer and it drips in there with very few splashes going elsewhere. And the Florida heat makes it quick. For more tips, including using Pam to make the ice dislodge far more quickly — see this article: https://theboatgalley.com/defrosting-boat-refrigerator/
Judith Nelson Cruzan says
We have a dorm fridge at work so I’m always looking for tips. So far we’ve found that if we leave the thin drip pan under the freezer unit with a Shamwow cloth half hanging out forming a wick to the crisper on the next shelf we don’t even get splashes.
Jeremy Sutton says
Looks the same as ours, 1 1/2 years and no problems yet. We leave it permanently on.
Dave Lerbs says
Carolyn,
Sometimes, simple things can fix recurring problems. The enclosure in which you have the Isotherm was custom built for another fridge so some additional adjustments may solve the negative issues you cite such as adding ventilation at the top and at the bottom – this will create a natural convection for warm air to rise up and out and cool air to enter at the bottom.
The description that the guide pin at the bottom is poking into the door and possibly holding it open a millimeter or two could explain the frosting and that the seals not being tight against the body. All four feet of the fridge should sit on a flat surface or the fridge will pull back when full and cause the symptoms you describe. Check to see if that is the case and add a plywood deck level with the opening so the fridge is sitting flat and square.
If the door needs adjustment to be square on the body again: pull the fridge from the enclosure and lay it on its back, loosening the screws on the hinges, square up the door, and re-tighten the screws. The combination of these suggestions should reduce frosting which is caused by moist air getting into the fridge and operating in cooler air within the enclosure which will reduce run time, save power, and reduce frosting.
The new generation Isotherm fridges have re-designed freezers and doors and I’m sure you will like the changes! We appreciate your support for Isotherm and wish you smooth sailing and fair weather!
Bruce Toal says
We have found that using a renewable silica gel dehumidifier placed in the refrigerator eliminates the need to defrost, provided you renew the sillica gel when the color indicates. We use the Eva-dry E-333 available on amazon. http://amzn.to/2g7pHR7
Carolyn Shearlock says
Neat idea! I’m going to try that.
Orlando says
You can recycle silica gel by putting it in the oven in an open jar when you bake, then seal the jar until you need to use it.
Florian Wolf says
We went the opposite way & bought a cheapo no-name 200 $ camper fridge off EBay. Looks didn’t bother us, but size / dimensions did, as the fridge sits invisible in the former TV cabinet. We run it since a year or so, and it works great.
We also converted our ice box into an efficient chest freezer by installing an Engel fridge-freezer kit – works like a treat & freezes everything rock solid, even in the hot & humid conditions of Northern Australia. I am convinced that by separating functions & by having either a dedicated fridge, or a dedicated freezer many of the pitfalls of fridge-freezer combos can be avoided.
Wes Wells says
I’m trying to install the 130 cruise elegance but how do u plug it in 12v with the included 2 prong wire
Carolyn Shearlock says
It is designed for you to hard-wire into your boat’s electrical system rather than “plug it in” as you would do with a house refrigerator. You will have to splice the two wires from the refrigerator to wires coming from your batteries or DC power panel. Make sure to splice the positive to positive and negative to negative. If you wire the refrigerator directly to the batteries, the positive wire MUST have a fuse; if it is wired to a breaker in the DC panel, make sure that the breaker is the correct amperage for it.