We’ve had two small - think dorm-size - refrigerators, one outside in the aft cockpit for beverages and one in the galley for food since we bought Vida Dulce. I love the separation of beverages from food as it keeps the food at a steady temp while everyone can get their own water, soda, beer, etc. at will. The inside fridge has been pretty reliable, just need to defrost it regularly to keep the veggies from freezing, or if we’re on passage, it defrosts itself because this is the worst possible time for fresh and pre-cooked food to perish, LOL. Likewise, the outside one has been reliable, just a power-hog as it never seems to cycle (turn off when at temperature) despite replacing the thermostat a year or two ago.

The (one) freezer has been more problematic. It has had a slow gas ((R-134a) leak for several years but so far Jerry has gotten it running, then kept it operational each year; that said we’ve not turned it on yet so are unsure of its current status.

So, we get back and buy the usual beer and water and food to stock the fridges. All is good for a couple of weeks. Then the outside fridge fails. We know this when our Noon beer is warm. We call the refrigeration guy, Chris, who’d helped us with that fridge and the freezer previously. He shows up a few days later. In the interim we’ve cleaned out the outside locker / cabinet, dismantled pretty much everything in there in order to unbolt that fridge from the deck to lift & slide it out of the cabinet. Massive cleanup, which was well and truly needed. Chris arrives and it’s a quick test or two to determine that it’s not lightening damage - the electronics test out fine - and after excluding other possible issues, while there is no clear gas leak, the addition of gas makes the fridge starts to work again. We put everything back together, transfer beverages back, make ice in the little freezer at the top and all is good.

Until a few more days go by. Once again all of the ice has melted and the beer is warm. Argh. A fridge that requires constant gas refills is not a working fridge. We decide to turn it off. For now we can get daily happy hour ice at the marina restaurant, and keep a minimum amount of beverages with the food - there really is not much room in the food fridge - until we come up with a more permanent cold beverages solution.

Whether to replace it or not largely depends on the freezer. If the freezer works, we may replace the fridge. If the freezer does not work, we will replace the freezer and do without a second fridge for this cruising season.

Until yesterday afternoon, Jerry has been focused on other projects. With a super quick trip back to the States for another reason later this week, Jerry carves out time to look at the freezer in case he needs to bring back parts. At first it does not look good. The temperature sensors are dead. This morning he checks the gas (R-134a) level and, not unexpectedly, the gauges read very low. He adds gas. We cross our fingers. He fiddles with his freezer monitor. It’s a several hour process yet slowly the freezer gets cold. Yea! At 2:30pm I put ice trays in. If we have ice cubes tomorrow, and it remains cold for days with a frosty frost-plate, we are likely freezer-enabled. However we are not going to get all excited and order a new external fridge. Waiting and watching the freezer for quite a while is the more prudent approach.