Ice box in 25D

[Joe Staples]

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to better insulate the ice box on our 25D. Reply as though price was no object. We can't install electric refridgeration.
Thanks for your help.



jssfly@cs.com

[Gary L.]

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to better insulate the ice box on our 25D. Reply as though price was no object. We can't install electric refridgeration.
Thanks for your help.

Joe,

Prior to coming to this board, I followed the Pearson Triton message board, where they discussed this very issue. One of their suggestions was to fill the spaces around the icebox with spray foam. It was cheap, effective and filled the voids. I don't know if this helps or not, as I have not explored the areas around my own icebox yet.

Good luck.

Gary Lapine
Red Witch III
CD30C, #339



dory26@attbi.com

[Bill]

Good Morning Joe

Gary is correct about adding the spray foam insulation to fill the voids. BUT a word of catuion. That stuff expands and if shot into an area without an "escape" hole it CAN do damage to the boat.

Aboard Rhapsody, I sprayed foam into the void between the ice box and the hull (outboard), and lined the forward and inboard (engine compartment) external surfaces with home insulation (the shinny silver air bubble stuff). Also, I use that same stuff on the interior of the ice box, just sitting on top of the tray and the eniter area. Lastly, I glued a piece of insulation (the stuff they use on the exterior of houses prior to bricking) to teh interior side of the lid.

Here is how I do things: We re-cycle the "bladders" that box wine comes in (gallon milk jugs work) rinse/clean, fill with water and freeze. When I head for the boat I take two or three bladders and place them in the ice box, then typically add two bags of crushed ice for mixing drinks and a quicker cool down of the crog etc....over a two day weekend (Friday PM - Sun afternoon) that is it....I will remove the wine bladders on sunday and they are still frozen (partially). Take'em home and refreeze. Side Bar - Gallon milk jugs would be more durable (sp) but the wine bladders (3 of them) lay flat and fit under the wire basket neatly. I dont think the milk jugs would fit as well.

You would not believe the differance....Over the 4th of july weekend (Thrus AM-Sun) I place 3 bladders in the ice box, and over teh course of the weekend added 3 bags of crushed (again mostly for mixed drinks (no I am not a drunk, but the crushed melts quicker) and when I left the boat on Sunday PM the all of the bladders were still partially frozen....The temps that weekend in Oklahoma were brutal...95 degrees and 90% humidity.

Side bar #2- this gives you the added convience of having COLD drinking water as the bladders/jugs thaw...

Adding a loop in the drain hose or a valve will also prevent the cold air from "draining" into the bilge with the melt. I have done nothing to the aft wall in the port locker.

Hope this helps

Fair Winds

Bill
Captain Commanding
S/V Rhapsody (the Original)
CD25D #148
Oklahoma Contingent of the NE Fleet, CDSOA, Inc.
Galley Wench S/V Evening Light
<B><FONT COLOR="#ff0000" SIZE="+1">Gunnery Officer S/V Evening Light</FONT></B>
<A HREF="http://www.applegatemarina.com">Kerr Lake, OK (Oklahoma's Outlet to the Sea)</A>

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to better insulate the ice box on our 25D. Reply as though price was no object. We can't install electric refridgeration.
Thanks for your help.

cd25d@rhapsodysails.com

[Larry DeMers]

Sure,use the same trick we did, when switching to refrigeration..Insulate the box with spray in place foam. I used the Urethane spray foam put out by Dow Corning (I believe that is correct)..it comes in a pink can!!

I drilled several 1 in. holes in the refrigerators liner and thru the insulation that Cape Dory did put into place, to get at the bottom and sides of the box. In total, there are 9 holes scattered around the bottom and sides of our box. This then gives you access to the entire area to be insulated. As you finish off the area with the foam, bring the foam hose out of the hole slowly and let the foam come up to the opening. As it cures over the next hour or so, you can cut this foam off cleanly with a knife. Then we used the left over cutouts that the hole saw made when making these holes. They were epoxied into place, and then epoxy mixed with a white coloration would be put over the hole, smoothing it into the surrounding surfaces. When done, it is hard to see where this invasion was done. It is inside the cooler anyway, so big deal, right?
Doing this insulation is messy and takes a bit of prep work to get it right. But it does work well.

N.B. All of this was done to the cooler found on our CD30, not the 25D, so there may be significant differences that make this idea less or more appealing to your situation. Go thru it all mentally first, and see where the hangups are at.

Good Luck,

Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30 Lake Superior

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to better insulate the ice box on our 25D. Reply as though price was no object. We can't install electric refridgeration.
Thanks for your help.

demers@sgi.com

[Bill]

GM Larry

Please expound on your process.....assuming that Cape Dory used the same process on the 30 & 25D. Once you cut your access holes, you are saying that you can add insulation? Is that correct? or are you removing the old insulation? Are you cutting through the inner liner and the insulation, but not the outer skin????

More info please.

Bill
Captain Commanding
S/V Rhapsody (the Original)
CD25D #148
Oklahoma Contingent of the NE Fleet, CDSOA, Inc.
Galley Wench S/V Evening Light
<B><FONT COLOR="#ff0000" SIZE="+1">Gunnery Officer S/V Evening Light</FONT></B>
<A HREF="http://www.applegatemarina.com">Kerr Lake, OK (Oklahoma's Outlet to the Sea)</A>

Sure,use the same trick we did, when switching to refrigeration..Insulate the box with spray in place foam. I used the Urethane spray foam put out by Dow Corning (I believe that is correct)..it comes in a pink can!!

I drilled several 1 in. holes in the refrigerators liner and thru the insulation that Cape Dory did put into place, to get at the bottom and sides of the box. In total, there are 9 holes scattered around the bottom and sides of our box. This then gives you access to the entire area to be insulated. As you finish off the area with the foam, bring the foam hose out of the hole slowly and let the foam come up to the opening. As it cures over the next hour or so, you can cut this foam off cleanly with a knife. Then we used the left over cutouts that the hole saw made when making these holes. They were epoxied into place, and then epoxy mixed with a white coloration would be put over the hole, smoothing it into the surrounding surfaces. When done, it is hard to see where this invasion was done. It is inside the cooler anyway, so big deal, right?
Doing this insulation is messy and takes a bit of prep work to get it right. But it does work well.

N.B. All of this was done to the cooler found on our CD30, not the 25D, so there may be significant differences that make this idea less or more appealing to your situation. Go thru it all mentally first, and see where the hangups are at.

Good Luck,

Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30 Lake Superior

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to better insulate the ice box on our 25D. Reply as though price was no object. We can't install electric refridgeration.
Thanks for your help.

cd25d@rhapsodysails.com

[matt cawthorne]

If price is no option check out glacier bay's web site. Thier R-50 panels are impressive. You might just find that the ice box will cost more than the boat though.

Matt



mcawthor@bellatlantic.net

[Larry DeMers]

Gunnery Officer Bill,

Yup, you drill thru both inner and outer layers, using a 1 inch hole saw on an extension shaft. Leave the existing insulation in place, and start to pump in the two part sprayable foam near the bottom of the area, working upwards. I used a home made extension for the nozzle..a 3ft. piece of plastic aquarium air hose, with an unbent wire coathanger taped to it. With the coat hanger, I could direct the hose to the area I needed to get to. Fill up to the bottom surface of the existing box, and then fill in the sides all the way up.
This foam expands slowly (over a few hours to a day), and only about 2x the original amount, so you can allow for this easily.

Larry DeMers

GM Larry

Please expound on your process.....assuming that Cape Dory used the same process on the 30 & 25D. Once you cut your access holes, you are saying that you can add insulation? Is that correct? or are you removing the old insulation? Are you cutting through the inner liner and the insulation, but not the outer skin????

More info please.

Bill
Captain Commanding
S/V Rhapsody (the Original)
CD25D #148
Oklahoma Contingent of the NE Fleet, CDSOA, Inc.
Galley Wench S/V Evening Light
<B><FONT COLOR="#ff0000" SIZE="+1">Gunnery Officer S/V Evening Light</FONT></B>
<A HREF="http://www.applegatemarina.com">Kerr Lake, OK (Oklahoma's Outlet to the Sea)</A>

Sure,use the same trick we did, when switching to refrigeration..Insulate the box with spray in place foam. I used the Urethane spray foam put out by Dow Corning (I believe that is correct)..it comes in a pink can!!

I drilled several 1 in. holes in the refrigerators liner and thru the insulation that Cape Dory did put into place, to get at the bottom and sides of the box. In total, there are 9 holes scattered around the bottom and sides of our box. This then gives you access to the entire area to be insulated. As you finish off the area with the foam, bring the foam hose out of the hole slowly and let the foam come up to the opening. As it cures over the next hour or so, you can cut this foam off cleanly with a knife. Then we used the left over cutouts that the hole saw made when making these holes. They were epoxied into place, and then epoxy mixed with a white coloration would be put over the hole, smoothing it into the surrounding surfaces. When done, it is hard to see where this invasion was done. It is inside the cooler anyway, so big deal, right?
Doing this insulation is messy and takes a bit of prep work to get it right. But it does work well.

N.B. All of this was done to the cooler found on our CD30, not the 25D, so there may be significant differences that make this idea less or more appealing to your situation. Go thru it all mentally first, and see where the hangups are at.

Good Luck,

Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30 Lake Superior

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to better insulate the ice box on our 25D. Reply as though price was no object. We can't install electric refridgeration.
Thanks for your help.

demers@sgi.com

[John R.]

If you use spray foam you best be cautious what product you choose to use. You need to use the "low expansion, closed cell" type. Regular spray foam insulation that is available at hardware and home improvement centers is no good for ice box insulation because it is open cell and it absorbs moisture (condensation from the ice box) and eventually becomes saturated with water thus losing most or all insulating properties and also becomes a mess and can even lead to hull and ice box blistering. The foam may be easy to inject but it is hell to remove. Again, be very careful what product you choose for frig insulation. Check with industrial material suppliers in your area for foam products and specifications.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to better insulate the ice box on our 25D. Reply as though price was no object. We can't install electric refridgeration.
Thanks for your help.

[oldragbaggers]

I found the thread and am just posting this reply to get it to the top of the board. Couldn't figure out how else to do it.
Becky

[Troy Scott]

When I was deciding about refrigeration and air conditioning for my CD36 I checked out Glacier Bay. I do believe it's the best system. It's the most clever design, and it would be easiest to install neatly. Unfortunately, it's very expensive, and not just a little bit more. I decided I couldn't afford it compared to other products that pretty much do the same thing. Maybe someday I'll be able to afford the best.....

[Cathy Monaghan]

n/m

[fritz3000g]

I realie this is an old thread, but I have the same question and wonder if anyone knows what kind of insulation you'd use to replicate Larry's solution?

[sgbernd]

As a cheap and dirty approach, which helps, I used the foil backed 2" styrofoam you find at Home depot for insulation in construction. I used cardboard to make a template and then mapped the pieces unto the styrofoam, cut them, then taped the cut edges to prevent shedding. I covered the bottom of the icebox and sides. I couldn't figure out how to easily cover the icebox roof inside so didn't.

Finally, make a plug or stopper of some sort for the drain unless you are using block ice which needs to drain.

It works tolerably well, and when the trip is done, the pieces are easily removed to clean and dry from any spilt food or condensation or melted ice.

It is not great or elegant but you can complete it all in a couple hours and costs very little.

Steve

[fritz3000g]

Thanks Steve,

I've thought about that option, but I don't really want to remove panels to clean. If I can find the right product, running some insulation into the existing cavity also seems like it would be pretty quick.

[fritz3000g]

Does anyone know what foam that's designed to fill a space from the bottom up is called? I'd like for the foam to drip to the bottom and then expand, so that it doesn't leave gaps. I think something like this exists, but I'm not sure what it's called.