ice build up on freezer box

[LauraleeG]

Hello
I love my fridge on the boat, and the freezer box actually works--almost too well.
The box is vertical, with a glass door that flips open/closed at the top. There is a lot of ice build up at the back of the hinge, so opening the door ( flipping it up) is almost impossible. Forcing it might break the back hinge.
I dont want to use a knife to chip off the ice....for obvious reasons.
Any advice on how to NOT have that ice build up at the back?
would I be better off getting rid of the glass "door" and just use an insulated cover that I drape over the vertical box freezer?
Thanks
Laura

[tkeithlu]

Warm moist air is getting into the box, condensing and freezing. There is a failure there somewhere of the seal that is supposed to separate the two. Chase that down and the problem will end.

[LauraleeG]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

Warm moist air is getting into the box, condensing and freezing. There is a failure there somewhere of the seal that is supposed to separate the two. Chase that down and the problem will end.

oh yeah! there is a huge gap between the 'flip up glass door" and the freezer unit itself. and thats where the ice builds up. i wonder if putting a small thermal blanket over the whole freezer box would help then? keep the warm air out?

[Nicholson58]

This is a huge problem in the Caribbean with war moist air always. We defrost our freezer with massive force about every six weeks. We turn off the freezer, empty contents into coolers, start generator and use an industrial stretch wrap heat gun to melt the ice. Replace contents turn it on. This all requires the generator to run the heat gun and the bug cold plates. The process takes about thirty minutes.

We have found that leaving an open bag of ice near the freezer opening provides a lot of surface area to attract the free moisture in the air. The ice becomes packed with frost that is pretty nice in a drink. This has increased the time between defrost cycles. It might help you.

Get a heat gun you can use to directly defrost your problem spot.

Attend to any places where outside air can leak in. Add weather stripping of make an improved door.

[tkeithlu]

Quote: "oh yeah! there is a huge gap between the 'flip up glass door" and the freezer unit itself. and thats where the ice builds up. i wonder if putting a small thermal blanket over the whole freezer box would help then? keep the warm air out?"

Consider instead building up a good gasket all the way around the door. One way is to build up some soft silicone sealant in the problem area, cover it with thin plastic as from a plastic bag, and gently close the door. After the silicone hardens, trim the plastic and any globs of silicone that are not helping. Another is a layer of foam tape over the existing gasket so everything is tight when you latch the door. In any case, the goal is to solve the problem without having to take a blanket off it every time you want ice for your really good gin and tonic.

[Nicholson58]

There are countless profiles of weather strip by the foot. Search google and select images.

Look here https://www.mcmaster.com/weatherstripping-gaskets/

[Landfall43]

We are in your neighborhood in Michigan and have always had the same problem. This has been a moist summer by our standards and made the problem a little worse. You can dial back the thermostat but may not get the freezing you want. We will heat a butter knife with hot water, dry it well and remove the ice that way, carefully. It’s tough to find the sweet spot between ice buildup and temperatures that meet your needs. But hey, we have the north channel, Georgian bay and Lake Superior to make it worth while.

[LauraleeG]

Originally Posted by Landfall43

We are in your neighborhood in Michigan and have always had the same problem. This has been a moist summer by our standards and made the problem a little worse. You can dial back the thermostat but may not get the freezing you want. We will heat a butter knife with hot water, dry it well and remove the ice that way, carefully. It’s tough to find the sweet spot between ice buildup and temperatures that meet your needs. But hey, we have the north channel, Georgian bay and Lake Superior to make it worth while.

Right? I also have a problem with stuff freezing in the bottom of the fridge part… but that’s easier to solve. As you say, I am constantly looking for that sweet spot in terms of the thermostat. I am reluctant to use a knife but a butter knife is feasible. like the idea of heating it up- might try a pain scraper too.
Have wanted to get to the top of Michigan this summer, but as of right now you can come to my country but I can’t come to yours…. Go figger!

[Paul Howard]

Ice build up is a common problem in warm and humid places.
When the build up is a problem, we take everything out, put in coolers or wrap in towels, boil water on the galley stove and put pan with hot water in the ice box to defrost, when ice softens it easily comes off, melt water goes out the drain (with gooseneck) or is sponged up, then re-load and turn on.

[skipgundlach]

Keep the moisture out

Not really being facetious, and not knowing if this is available around the world, but in North America, Home Depot and others will have this:

Pictures: Flying Pig 2013-2014 Shakedown/Refrigerator Gaskets


Lots of room for compression and soft enough to accommodate not-altogether-square or -fair surfaces...

[ebs001]

Home refrigerators have a defrost cycle. Boat refrigerators do not. It's always going to be a problem unless you never want to open the refrigerator. On a boat you have to manually defrost by turning off the refrigerator until the ice build up softens enough to pry the ice off easily.

[skipgundlach]

Originally Posted by ebs001

Home refrigerators have a defrost cycle. Boat refrigerators do not. It's always going to be a problem unless you never want to open the refrigerator. On a boat you have to manually defrost by turning off the refrigerator until the ice build up softens enough to pry the ice off easily.

Quite right.

However, we've hit on a means which works well without heating up the box massively with hot air:

Turn off the breaker early, or even overnight. If you have good insulation and gasketing, the temp will hold well, but not receiving any heat removal, the evaporator plates won't be rigidly frozen to the frost.

Then put a bullet fan in the opening after you've transferred all the stuff into cooler/s; it will further soften the bond. A while of that will allow you to slide the ice off with a plastic scraper if it won't just fall off.

Behind the plate is a bit more challenging for access; I use a flat-metal spatula handle to go behind it - but I have enough room at the bottom to get behind them with it...

But the box and plate are not hot from the heat gun, and it returns to stable temperature quickly especially when being cold-loaded with the prior contents...

[Scrimshaw4]

After adding the additional seal(s) as mentioned by others here you should also be aware of how you close the freezer and refrigerator doors. Always close them slowly. Rapid closing creates a pressure wave that displaces the cold air in the compartment with the warm / moist air in the cabin. This also raises the inside temp causing the compressor to run more frequently. JMHO

[Dougtiff]

I f you have an evaporator instead of cold plates, DO NOT use any metal object to remove the ice build up, don't ask me how i know.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by ebs001

Home refrigerators have a defrost cycle. Boat refrigerators do not. It's always going to be a problem unless you never want to open the refrigerator. On a boat you have to manually defrost by turning off the refrigerator until the ice build up softens enough to pry the ice off easily.

Sounds like our home refrigerator circa 1950.