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Dreaded Fridge Replacement

SereneWarrior

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 7, 2007
Messages
222
Status
  1. OWNER - I own a Hatteras Yacht
Hatteras Model
53' MOTOR YACHT (1969 - 1988)
It seems you aren't really a bonafide hatteras 53 owner until you have to replace the fridge. Well, I'm joining that club as the 43 year old FrigidAire finally crapped itself to bed. removed the doors/hnges/coils and it went up the stairs OK with maybe an inch of space to spare. Found a replacement of the same size and it will be delivered t the marina on Tuesday. Hoping for an uneventful installation..., but we all know how that goes! :)
 
Yeah that's not likely. Take the stainless railings off, and the light switch. Then remove corner trim and cut about 1 inch off of the inside corner (as you face the stairs fro galley) to make fridge "barely" fit with the door OFF. When done make a new corner trim piece out of mahogany to cover the cut out and you are good to go. When placing it you will need to push it ALL the way back as one of the drawers will likely be 3/4 of an inch behind the new fridges door (if located in aft galley) This may require some moving of wires or water lines-it's been a while so I forget what was in the way but it's movable. I found a trick to "mount it"-I small piece of wood in front of the legs (must remove the fridge bottom plastic panel to do this), then a block of wood all the way across the top with 1/8 inch of clearance. Then JACK THE LEGS UP. The compression holds it in place, the bar on the bottom is for "back up". I've been through several hurricanes and it's never moved. To cover the side i laminated afromosia on to 1 inch marine plywood and did same for edges, then clear alwgripped the piece. I added some curve at the top (where it meets the cabinets) to make it look factory. Cost of installation around $300 and what a difference it makes. BTW did you try to solder valves onto the Freon lines? If your compressor is not whining or grinding or frozen but instead makes sort of a putt-putt noise, you could probably just recharge system. Hire an HVAC or restaurant freezer specialist to solder the non existent valves AND to find the leak. That should cost $2-300 max and is a lot less work.
 
Managed to do the replacement without too many issues. As you pointed out, I did have to remove the handrail and the corner trim. However, the new GE fridge slid down the steps into the galley with 1/8" to spare on all sides. With 3 people doing the work, it was surprisingly easy and the new fridge wasn't that heavy once I'd removed the doors, drawers and shelves. Sometimes, life just works out...nice that this time it was on the boat!! :)
 
I bet the new refrigerator was significantly lighter than the old one! easier on the house battery banks too with energy star rating etc.
 

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