ac/dc mini freezer

[dogdoc]

Anyone ever put one of these on their boat. Thinking of it to keep ballyhoo frozen while fishing. That way do not thaw out bait I might not use and have to refreeze. Refreezing seems to diminish the bait and cause washout or mushy bait. I could pull some out of this and thaw in a bucket of saltwater and be ready to go in 10 min, only pulling out what we need.

https://www.amazon.com/EUHOMY-Refrigerator-Portable-refrigerator-Compressor/dp/B0BBT4QDTS/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

[Fishtales]

Unfortunately no. I'm a KISS fisherman. Cooler and ice.

 

[Hookup1]

That is more of a refrigerator. Friend of mine had one and liked it - not sure what brand. There are other single zone units that can cool down to zero degrees.

 

[dogdoc]

no it is a freezer as well. setting thermostat determines temp reached and advertises below 0 deg temp. ad says 45-60 watts or 1kwh/day. that would be about 4-5 amps/hr run time. since i now have 2 alternators putting out 55 amps, and 220 amp/hrs of new house bats that should not be a problem. now my raymarine autopilot pump which draws less current than garmin would also be a plus. i would be loading it with frozen stuff rather than trying to freeze stuff, helps again. only thing i cannot figure is what watt inverter would be needed to run the unit. the current draw at compressor start is what i cannot figure. not sure if the inverter plug (400 watt) in the bed of my pickup would be able to handle it. my guess not. would be nice to keep things frozen on long road trips.

 

[dogdoc]

just read it is12/24v dc, which would make it work at the deer camp which is 24v dc solar/battery bank to 4000 watt inverter. so could power right from batteries and not have to have inverter running at all times, another plus

 

[SkunkBoat]

I hear you and feel your pain with the ballyhoo. I try to repackage the still frozen dozen into 4s and vacuum seal. That way I thaw one and keep the others frozen in cooler.
Of course it doesn't always happen that I buy it ahead of time. Then the open dozen becomes a soggy bloody mess in the bottom of the fish box.
Same goes for squid and clam.

I can't get behind the plug-in cooler/fridge/freezer. Its one of those things we THINK should work but doesn't pan out in the real world.
Let us know if it works

 

[Sardinia306Bimini]

I have a Dometic Coolfreeze 72 cooler and freezer and it works great in my car and it can freeze.
However, to make her reaching freezing temp you would need about 24 hours before to connect her to A/C and when freezing cold load the Ballyhoo to keep them frozen.
The box should switch off when battery is low, however I had once the cars battery drained, so I suggest to run the box from a generator or if 12V is needed then put a power measuring device in between to avoid draining your batteries.

Chris

 

[glacierbaze]

A good cooler, and dry ice, just like they ship Omaha steaks. They are rock solid when they arrive.

 

[dogdoc]

So delivery time for 12v freezer was not jiving with our spring trip up north, maybe when I get back. So decided to try the dry ice in my yeti clone cooler. Follow up tomorrow. Dry ice was 14 bucks at Publix

 

[SkunkBoat]

So delivery time for 12v freezer was not jiving with our spring trip up north, maybe when I get back. So decided to try the dry ice in my yeti clone cooler. Follow up tomorrow. Dry ice was 14 bucks at Publix

Just be safe. Dry ice is CO2 and in a closed space it will kill you.

 

[dogdoc]

So dry ice test was a success. Put dry ice in cooler night before, placed frozen packs of bally in next morning at 0630. Thawed 3 packs on the way out. Used 2 packs immediately but conditions were horrible and no fish. Had not opened the third pack and since looked like it was going to be a short trip decided to put it back in cooler with dry ice. An hour later seas calmed down a bit, and got a fish. Needed more bally so thought use the one we thawed. No go that pack was frozen solid again, so used and artificial. Bottom line dry ice worked well, only need a bout half what I bought at Publix so need to shop around.

 

[SkunkBoat]

$14 for dry ice. You don't have a freezer that will keep it.

$15 for a dozen medium ballyhoo...probably $10 in FL

Not seeing the ROI on this one

 

[glacierbaze]

Not to save one pack, but he did not say how many that he started with, only that he thawed out three.
If he only uses half the amount next time, and saves two or three packs, then there is an ROI.
I am just spit balling ideas, I have never used it myself, so take it for what it’s worth, lol.

 

[dogdoc]

I have been getting lazy lately and not rigging my own. So now it is 3 for 15$ from Baitmaster, hate to waste any. If I can keep them frozen I can also bring a larger variety, wire leader, double hook, larger, etc and again not worry about waste (which I did and all unused came back solid frozen, never would happen with ice). The other day we had 9 bite offs on 14 hits. I was wishing I had some double hooks, but left them in the freezer at home. Fished with a guy on a really nice boat awhile back who had a bait freezer in the cockpit. Seemed like a nice addition. Now if you want to talk ROI, lets look at boat gas, ugh!!

 

[SkunkBoat]

thread morphing into ballyhoo discussion

I guess you deal with toothies like kingfish, spanish, wahoo. Are you targeting sails or dolphin?

Here in NJ I'll only put 'hoos on the long riggers and the way way back down the middle when trolling for tuna(yellowfin/bluefin)
If we get mauled by bluefish we run...
We'll pull them for dolphin but if there is a good bite we will switch to strip baits right away. I never bring more than a dozen ballyhoo, split into packs of 4.

Picked up a couple of these on amazon. Used to use them in Florida 20 years ago.
Puts the hook at the butthole. You can rig pretty fast. Cut leader off beadchain/pull bead chain thru with needle til hook is positioned/retie leader to beadchain /snap on plastic head

 

[dogdoc]

Ordered an assortment from Capt Harry's. Been meaning to try them for awhile.

 

[dogdoc]

Avoid the kingfish, I am not a fan of wire and hate to lose 20$ Ilanders. Target Sails, Mahi, and Blackfin

 

[Hookup1]

Picked up a couple of these on amazon. Used to use them in Florida 20 years ago.
Puts the hook at the butthole. You can rig pretty fast. Cut leader off beadchain/pull bead chain thru with needle til hook is positioned/retie leader to beadchain /snap on plastic head
View attachment 33211

It's all about the bait! Morphing is OK.

Seems like more work than just rigging them the old fashion way. Plus with weeds around I rig long shank j-hooks turned into the belly - sometime naked and sometimes with octopus skirts.

Florida fishing I don't have a freezer. Most days I wish I did. I'll rig in advance but the bait is wasted by the time I return. Even just bringing them along for the ride they thaw. I may try to put the drink cooler next to the live well to use this Winter. Insulate better. I'll try dry ice but it's expensive and won't last more than a day.

In NJ the big boat has plenty of refrigeration and freezer space. Every day we rig 6 dozen small ballyhoo on o-rings or floss for circle hooks. A few select ballyhoo for a larger presentation. Also 8 horse ballyhoo for teasers and blue marlin pitch. 30 split-tail mullet for dredge. We re-pack some of the small ballyhoo, vacuum pack and re-freeze. Too difficult to rig that many baits while out of the water.

One possible solution is to get a small styrofoam cooler the ideally fits in a soft bag. Thaw, rig, re-vacuum pack in 4's and re-freeze. Bigger baits do as singles. Dry ice. Pull out and use only what you need. Doesn't take long to thaw. This should keep the bait frozen but the dry ice probably won't make it to the next day. The dry ice may cost more than the bait!