I gone over some past posts but I haven't found a writeup
on where and what to buy for a replacement gasket for
the top lid on a Mk II refrig.
Suggestions any one of this knowledgeable
assortment of experts?
After ordering from Catalina (their replacement was different than OEM), I went to Home Dumpo and bought a roll of adhesive backed foam weather strip. I cleaned the residue from the orig. install with solvent (acetone?) and mesured and tried to mitre the foam strip at ea. corner. Bending it wasn't great. It works really well. I'm sorry I no longer have the measurments for the tape. Measure it before you buy. Too big it won't seal well, Rgds.
We purchased the foam with adhesive siding from HD and applied it to our reefer hatch. The hatch was approximately 1/8 " above the counter for a week or two, but then compressed to be even with the counter. The measured time difference in the reefer running was/is a 12% reduction. Not bad for a $4 investment. We have looked at adding more insulation around the reefer, but the PO had already done a reasonable job on the outside of the box....so we are thinking about adding some insulating sheets (foam with foil) to the interior when we get back to the boat. Hope this is of help.
I've been meaning to do this, but haven't had the chance. My plan is to go to an autoparts store and see what kinds of gaskets/stripping they have that goes around trunks or doors. I remember at a boat show, I saw a refridge gasket that was a black tubular rubber, the 4 corners were mitered with rubber cememt holding the corners together. The tubular rubber compressed easily when the lid was closed.
Automotive seals would be better and we will no doubt replace our "household" foam in a few years. We went with the peel and stick solution first, in the interest of time.
I've used the inner tube from a bicycle tire for vibration isolation between my HX and the bracket.
I'll bet a carefully cut inner tube would work, too.
We have rubber "Raven" brand door seals here which I would be sure you guys would have too most likely from a good hardware/building products store. They are thin and easily compressed and way better than foam/sponge material.
cheers
Tony