Category: Yacht Life

So the instruction leaflet that came with the 30 L CRIVIT electric cool box was quite specific. Which part of ‘This cool box is not designed for permanent use.’ did I not understand? I have been using the cool box successfully all Summer on board Sailing Yacht Danny Boy, but now that voice on my shoulder was beating me up. I’d heard the Crivit’s motor stop and turned to see the little blue ‘there is life’ ON button fade away to OFF and to hear the cool box’s friendly purr fade away to a deathly silence. OBVIOUSLY, having been left on for one day longer than its 5 day working parameter recommended in the users instruction leaflet, the motor had burnt out! However before taking it to be tipped into the electrical gadgets recycling bin I thought I would run diagnostics, and plugged in the alternative 12 volt electrical lead to my ‘cigarette lighter’ socket, if that worked then I would know it was the A/C power feed at fault… nope, she was a ‘gonner’. Clouds of doom descended, more capital outlay, and to replace something that had been working perfectly. Had I just paid attention to the 5 day alert on my phone would have perhaps carried on well into the future. The voice on my shoulder was having a field day ratcheting up my inadequacies. Then the clouds of doom parted, light and inspiration flooded the little grey cells. I remembered another electrical motor I had known, which had an overheat cut-out! Maybe if I just waited a couple of hours as per the prescribed ‘rest’ time the so solicitous instruction leaflet had advised the cool box would come back to life all on its own? AND IT DID respond to clicking it ON! For a while… for a few cycles of 5 days in fact, until one day I was sitting next to it, having my lunch, (this is a TINY boat home) and it cut out again. OH NO! I sat back stunned, but it started up again! I turned to look at it quizzically, and it stopped! So either it had taken to teasing me, or … I moved my knee to the left coming up against the tool box which supported the power strip which fed the fridge, and back to the right, with resulting ON/OFF lights and sound effects! A few minutes with my favourite ratchet screwdriver revealed a loose wire in the 3 pin 240v plug! I rebuked the voice on my shoulder, and thanked God for helping me think things through. Another few minutes had that wire screwed down tight. The Crivit lives to purr on protecting my produce, hopefully for many 5 day cycles to come!