took place when we went into the Sea of Cortez. We installed our reefer and solar panels in the San Francisco Bay area. It was a well balanced system and worked great with no engine run or dock power required. I normally drink room temp water, so that was not a problem

On arrival in the Sea, we were way, Way WAY underpowered during the summer! I just could NOT drink 95 to 100 deg F water, so we had to cycle a gallon or more in and out of the reefer, couple that with the higher temp and we NEEDED more power...

As a note, we did an experiment and did not open the reefer (top loading) for 3 days. The solar panels almost kept up. So, it was that water cycling the was eating our power big time. So I would think a couple of full jugs, once cooled, would help.

I never got a chance to try the foam block idea. Jill keeps our (small Engel) VERY full all the time. I did try the thermal blanket in the reefer when it was not full. It seemed to help, but my test was to small to consider valid.

Greg