ICEBOX INSULATION

[PAUL T.]

Hellow All...... I am going to add foam to the voids around my icebox. I've read how to do it, but no mention of what the proper product to use is. Home Depot had a few DOW products but I was told by DOW that these products would not cure in an enclosed space. Has anybody done this?  Thanks in advance.... PAUL  "SEAESTA" #788  1988

[PAUL T.]

Honestly Ron..... I wasn,t trying to steal your hull number.  My hull number is 766 I guess it's time for me to get glasses. thanks for your help. By the way, why didn,t you foam the sides and the lid?  Thanks again...... PAUL

[Gary Wilson]

Before our annual cruise last summer, I upgraded the insulation around our box.  We don't have refrigeration yet, and I figured upgrading the insulation would be a good first step along the way.  My strategy was to spray foam between the box and hull on the starboard side, and also between the box and oven.  Then I would install polystyrene, as thick as possible, on the other two sides.  I had previously cut a large access hatch on the settee side of the sink cabinet to more easily work on plumbing, etc., so I have pretty good access to the forward wall of the box.

For the spray-foam I used Great Stuff in the blue can, designed for door and window moldings.  I chose that type because it claimed it would not bow or distort the window frames.  From previous experience, with the power of 2-part foam expanding in an enclosed space, I thought this was a desireable feature.  In retrospect, I'm pretty sure that the Great Stuff in the blue can is an open-cell foam and I may have trouble in the future with moisture condensing in the insulation.  I installed it behind the box through holes I drilled in the counter top (in the storage bin), and from the side through holes I drilled in wall adjacent to the stove/oven.  I had a little difficulty with the thought of drilling those holes, but it worked fine, and now we never notice them.

I ran out of time, before our departure, to install the polystyrene on the other two sides.  As a last minute idea, I bought some fiberglass batt insulation, the kind that comes wrapped in plastic sheeting.  After I cut the batts to length, I duct-taped the ends to keep the insulation sealed in it's "envelope".  I was able to install them successfully on both sides, and stuff some more under the box.  

I am not proud of this design, but I was amazed at how much longer we can keep ice.  Previously, we were stopping for ice every 2 or 3 days, now it will last for 5 days easily.  I have now fallen in love with this ice box, but we are going to install refrigeration this year, and I want to do a better job on the insulation.

I have ordered a vacuum insulation panel from rparts.com to install under the lid of the ice box.  These panels are 1" thick and have an R value of 28 (equivalent to about 6" of polystyrene).  They are kind of expensive (as insulation goes), but when you are spending $1000 here, and $1000 there for refrigeration systems and batteries and alternators, they don't add much.  They are custom made to size, and cost $24.00/sf.  One big benefit I am looking forward to is the increased height available inside the ice box.  We will be able to stand a milk carton up on the top shelf now.

If this works well on the lid of the ice box, I will replace my $1.98 batt insulation with vacuum panels.  My plan will be to put them on the outside of the box, but I understand they are also commonly installed inside.