Ice Box Conversion to Spill Over Fridge/Freezer

[john61ct]

Well at least you know you can preserve a body if someone dies at sea 8-)

[fallingeggs]

Working on a list of other items I need to pick up on the hardware store to finish installing the insulation (which is the only thing I have):

Vapor barrier
Aluminum tape
Adhesive spray
Conduet

I figured the best way to install the vapor barrier and insulation is to use tape and spray. There any better ideas?

Vapor barrier will go in first, followed by insulation then another barrier to seal it all in. Will worry about the liner once I get closer to that step.

Conduet is for the gas tubing, which will be sandwiched between two insulation layers. Hopefully can seal around the ends enough to not have leaks.

Any comments?

[boatpoker]

Just finished my 3.9 cu. ft. freezer today. 5" of polyiso insulation completely sealed on the interior surface with poly/aluminum PeelPly and a 5" thick, double gasketed, air tight aluminum frame door.

My new swing compressor is much more efficient and quieter than the old style Danfoss in my refrigerator.

[fallingeggs]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Just finished my 3.9 cu. ft. freezer today. 5" of polyiso insulation completely sealed on the interior surface with poly/aluminum PeelPly and a 5" thick, double gasketed, air tight aluminum frame door.

My new swing compressor is much more efficient and quieter than the old style Danfoss in my refrigerator.

Isn't that nifty. How'd you build the frame?

[Typhoon]

Nice job[emoji106]

Yes using the vapour barrier can get out of hand . Remember a heat gun will also seal and attach the edges . You can also heat shrink it if you get to much of a bundle somewhere.

I wouldn't bother with the conduit . You will have a tough enough time getting the new liner in place to worry about it . Just drill a hole where you want your lineset to go through and fill the hole with widow crack and gap filler spry foam . Works great and is completely water tight .

I was going to post my test results tonight comparing XPS blue board and polyiso but power went down and we lost our freezer at home , watch for the thread tomorrow or Tuesday . Read it before you buy your insulation .

Your box project looks like it is coming along nicely .

Regard John

[Typhoon]

Originally Posted by ColdEh Marine

Nice job[emoji106]

Yes using the vapour barrier can get out of hand . Remember a heat gun will also seal and attach the edges . You can also heat shrink it if you get to much of a bundle somewhere.

I wouldn't bother with the conduit . You will have a tough enough time getting the new liner in place to worry about it . Just drill a hole where you want your lineset to go through and fill the hole with widow crack and gap filler spry foam . Works great and is completely water tight .

I was going to post my test results tonight comparing XPS blue board and polyiso but power went down and we lost our freezer at home , watch for the thread tomorrow or Tuesday . Read it before you buy your insulation .

Your box project looks like it is coming along nicely .

Regard John

Sorry just noticed you said you already bought your insulation , what did you get?

Regards John

[fallingeggs]

Originally Posted by ColdEh Marine

Sorry just noticed you said you already bought your insulation , what did you get?

Regards John

Both of what you are testing!

I am putting the XPS on the outside and inside surfaces with PolySic (sp?) sandwiched between. I hear the XPS is better when damp, so I figure I'd put it where there is most likely to be dampness (even though I am trying to avoid it). The Lowes only had the XPS in 1" and the other stuff in 1/2", so I couldn't be picky.

Might also add in some Aerogel on the top, parts of the bottom and the spill over divider to get the targeted R-factor (30 for the fridge and 40 for the freezer) and space.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by fallingeggs

Isn't that nifty. How'd you build the frame?

Welded aluminum.

[fallingeggs]

As for the gas hose, it is a bit silly. I actually won't have any gas on the boat as I am using electric cooking. I just figured a future boat owner might want propane, so I should keep a space for the line.

To make matters worse, the current line is for CNG, so it would be replaced in a switch to propane. I think if I don't leave a space for a hose (ie, that CNG hose), it would be a huge pain to run a new one in the future if one had to drill through all that insulation.

[Typhoon]

Originally Posted by fallingeggs

Both of what you are testing!

I am putting the XPS on the outside and inside surfaces with PolySic (sp?) sandwiched between. I hear the XPS is better when damp, so I figure I'd put it where there is most likely to be dampness (even though I am trying to avoid it). The Lowes only had the XPS in 1" and the other stuff in 1/2", so I couldn't be picky.

Might also add in some Aerogel on the top, parts of the bottom and the spill over divider to get the targeted R-factor (30 for the fridge and 40 for the freezer) and space.

Aerogel is great in the doors as I have said before. Polyiso is said to loss r value as it gets cold , truth or not I'm going to proof it with this test , you may want to wait a day or two before you start to layer up .

Regards John

[fallingeggs]

Originally Posted by ColdEh Marine

Aerogel is great in the doors as I have said before. Polyiso is said to loss r value as it gets cold , truth or not I'm going to proof it with this test , you may want to wait a day or two before you start to layer up .

Regards John

Sweet. I will be waiting for your test!

[Typhoon]

Just waiting to drop my insulated cubes in the box . Tracking the cool down and then warm up times . Should give me an idea as to what is going on . If it's bad I may be taking the polyiso out of my deep freeze .

Regards John

[Matt Johnson]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Just finished my 3.9 cu. ft. freezer today. 5" of polyiso insulation completely sealed on the interior surface with poly/aluminum PeelPly and a 5" thick, double gasketed, air tight aluminum frame door.

My new swing compressor is much more efficient and quieter than the old style Danfoss in my refrigerator.

Looks awesome.... but doesn't having the doors side made of highly conductive aluminum defeat a lot of the benefit? It looks like the heat would find an easy access point into the freezer.

Matt

[fallingeggs]

Got in a few inches of insulation with a few layers of vapor barrier.

First layer of vapor barrier, 1" XPS with more vapor barrier:



Had to build up the bottom to even it out:





Then installed 2 inches of Polyiso (four layers of 1/2") on the forward and aft sides:



Tomorrow, I will do 2 inches on the inboard and along the hull with Polyiso. Will wait for the XPS vs Polyiso test to see what I should do after this.

[Typhoon]

Doing the test right now , should take a couple of hours . Will post quick results right away then with graphs later .

Regards John