CD25D Ice Box Drain Hose

[Dick Kobayashi]

The ice box does not drain because the right below the point where the hose is attached to the box the hose needs to make an almost 90 degree turn and is effectively pinched shut. This is at a very hard to get at location as any 25D owner can attest.

Question: has anyone found a permanent or temporary solution to this. The only problem caused is that the box becomes foul after a while.

[M. R. Bober]

You might try a plumber's plunger. Sometimes bits of debris can make a bad situation worse.

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster, (Where the Typhoon Nationals are underway.) VA

[David Morton]

Dick, I have exactly the same problem as any 25D owner will tell you. Fortunately mine is still draining. I'm thinking a nice 90 degree elbow might be the solution. It's on my ToDo list as soon as I find a ten year old willing to stick their hands in there!

David

[frank3]

Dick, I installed a 90 elbow as someone else suggested, it works fine. While you're in there you might want to grind some of the fiberglass and foam directly behind the barrel of the cockpit drain so you can service it.

[Dick Kobayashi]

Well, I am still working on this - tired of sponging out the ice box.

I am thinking of simply cutting the hose and letting melt water drain into the bilge with out a hose. also the 90 degree elbow. I anyone knows the inside diameter maybe I can take this approach?

The bend is so sharp as to really close the flow it is close to zero.

Thanks.

[Jim Walsh]

Before I let my icebox drain into the bilge I'd try water pressure from a garden hose directed down the drain. Next I'd try using seizing wire to clear the obstruction. That stuff is annealed and it will generally follow any path. Personally I've never had a blockage there but I give it the garden hose treatment annually. It doesn't take much to reduce or eliminate flow....doesn't matter if you have a CD25 or a CD31. Good luck.

[Dick Kobayashi]

Well, you are FC for a reason. Knowledge!!!!

A few short successive blasts of water from a power washer (very short) openned it enough so that it drains. Not fast, but visibly.

Thanks for the simple solution - will have to be repeated, I know, but...

[Steve Laume]

I believe the drain on Raven still works but it never needs to. I keep it in place as the hose acts as a trap to keep the cold from flowing out. I also have a closed cell foam plug in the drain for extra insulation and to be sure the cold can't drain away if there is no water in the hose. The reason I can get away with this is that I never allow any melt water to accumulate in the ice box. When starting from home, I bring frozen water jugs for ice. These do not leak and I can use the water for drinking when they start to melt. When I need to buy more ice on a longer trip, it goes into a dry bag. This contains all of the melt water which can then be dumped overboard. Fish and meat products are always stored in a Tupperware container so there is no nasty juice leaking into the box. By taking these simple measures I only ever have a slight bit of condensation to deal with and that can be easily wiped out to keep the box clean and dry. You just don't want a bunch of water sloshing around in there and mixing with your food, then draining into the bilge.

I learned that lesson about 40 years ago when a bunch of buddies and I went on a fishing trip and kept all of our food in the same, ice filled, cooler with the mullet we were using for bait, Steve.

[Neil Gordon]

I do what Steve does, i.e., I freeze water in various sorts of containers... bladders from boxed wine, when refilled and frozen, give you a long lasting block... two liter bottles are easy to stow, last quite a while, and are easy to use for drinking water. I cover over the ice box drain, so the cold isn't lost, either.