Nova Kool CHAPTER 10 User Manual

American Tug 34 Owner Experiences

Chapter 10 Galley

Refrigerator

Manufacturer

Nova Kool Manufacturing Inc.
Website http://www.novakool.com/
Phone [phone] (This is an International call from the US).
FAX [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

[e-mail]
[e-mail]

Address 1578 Hartley Avenue

Coquitlam, BC
Canada V3K 7A1

The model and serial number is located on a silver sticker on the inside of the refrigerator
on the left hand side.

We have a model RFU8000 which is a 6.8 cubic foot fridge/freezer combo with the
refrigerator on top and the freezer on the bottom.

Defrosting

The refrigerator needs to be defrosted when ¼ inch of ice forms on the cold plate which
is located in the top of the refrigerator compartment. This ice tends to insulate the
components, and prevent efficient cooling. In really warm weather we do this every
week.

If the fridge needs defrosting often, check the door seal and the latch. If the bottom corner
has a small gap, adjust the latch receiver on the frame.

Remove heavy objects from the door – it tends to distort this seal.

Venting

Tomco seem to have a blind spot about refrigerator venting: I guess it must be a Seattle
cold-weather thing, as in hot climates the refrigerator on our boat was not been able to
maintain the ideal 38-40deg F temperature. It was running closer to 50 deg, which was
turning much of our food into science experiments….

When we called the helpful people at NovaKool, and told them it was an American Tug,
they right away said “It needs more venting”. They’ve seen this issue before (both with
American and Nordic Tugs !). NovaKool specifies a total of 120 square inches of
ventilation for the type of fridge that we have (60 square inches at the top for venting out
the hot air and 60 square inches at the bottom for letting in the cooler air). This is actually
specified in the user’s manual on page 4. On my boat (hull #48) there is a narrow grill
above and below the fridge for ventilation. This provides about 80 square inches in total

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American Tug 34 Owner Experiences

ventilation – 40 at the top and 40 at the bottom. To make matters worse, if you subtract
the restriction from the grills (as the manual suggests), the actually ventilation is about
half that. In addition, they recommended that the ventilation be towards the back rather
than at the front, as it is in our installation.

Tomco added now added more ventilation on more recent boats. I found that “HeartTug”
hull#95 has narrow slots routed into the cabinetry below the microwave as well as a vent
above the microwave. Later boats have a rectangular grill installed on the side of the
refrigerator cabinet, by the steps.

NovaKool suggested that we perform the following test to see if venting was the cause of
our poor performance.

• Get a fridge thermometer so that you can see exactly how it’s doing. (We keep
one in the fridge as well as the freezer.)

• Make sure the fridge has been recently defrosted so that there is no heavy frost
build-up on the cold plate at the top of the fridge. (We defrost the fridge weekly in
warm weather and every 2-3 weeks in cooler weather, depending on the frost
build-up.) The NovaKool rep mentioned that if you consistently have a heavy
frost build-up, then the problem may be the seal around the door.

• Remove the fridge from the cabinet, set the thermostat to #4 and leave it out in the
salon area overnight. (It generally takes about 8-12 hours to see a noticeable
difference in internal fridge temp when you make any changes, such as changes to
ventilation, defrosting, or changes to the thermostat).

• If the fridge cools down to an appropriate temperature, then the problem is
ventilation. If not, then it’s time to start looking for a NovaKool technician.

Removal

1. Remove the quarter-round trim strip on the left hand side of the fridge - closest to
the steps. (8 long screws)

2. Remove the cabinet door closest to the freezer. This makes it easier to get the
fridge out without dinging the door in the process. (4 screws in the 2 hinges).

3. Remove the 6 short screws holding the fridge in place.

4. Pull the fridge aft a short distance, then lift it up over the short wood base trim
piece.

Additional Ventilation

Intake

We purchased a ‘Seateak’ 9in x 16 in teak vent cover from West Marine to use for a new
intake vent.

We cut a hole in the side of the cabinet sized to fit the vent over, just above the top step,
starting about one inch above the carpet and one inch back from the corner molding.

This put the intake right next to the compressor, which is in the space between the fridge
and the freezer.

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American Tug 34 Owner Experiences

Outlet

As previously noted, later AT34s have factory-installed vent slots above the fridge (i.e.
behind the microwave). They also have a grill in the middle of the countertop surface
above the microwave.

You will need to remove the microwave to see if you have this venting. The microwave
is easy to remove, lift the front edge and pull it out.

The Microwave is heavy (25lbs ++). A second person is needed to unplug it from the
outlet once you’ve pulled it out. To reinstall the microwave, reverse the procedure: the
front feet fit into ‘sockets’ in the woodwork to hold it in place.

We did not have this venting, so we
started searching around for a solution.

We came across a vent with a collection
box arrangement in West Marine. The
collection box has two 3 inch holes to
which we attached some air vent hose
and ran them down to two 3 inch holes
cut into the bottom of the microwave
cabinet.

This has the added advantage of
allowing the hot air from the fridge to

vent past the microwave and directly out
into the cabin, behind the starboard pilot house seat. We like having the vent hole on the
side rather than on top of the microwave cabinet, as we could imagine the problem of
small things falling through the vent if it is on top of the cabinet.

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