Re-insulating My Refrig. Box the Hard Way.

[Typhoon]

Originally Posted by sailcrazy

With a boat almost as old as yours, I'm considering a similar project for both the refer and freezer boxes. Mine are side-by-side, with only counter-top above them, no sink or other infringements, but...they are both built-in and with no access anywhere.Did you consider just drilling a series of small holes in the liner, hogging out the back side, and using spray foam insulation(letting it expand to fill whatever voids there may be) vs your method of cutting out large sections of the liner? Why did you opt for your plan? How will you reinstall the sections of removed liner, and what will you use to cover the existing liner...a layer of fiberglass, or?

There is really no replacement for what Jim has done, this is the right way to re-insulate an old box. . There are of course short cuts that don't work. The spray can foam that you speak of , know as crack filler, will not fully expand behind the liner , it will stay gooey and produce zero R value. These products need air to fully cure . Now you could use a two part foam and inject that into the voids behind the liner but these products expand a lot and will destroy your liner as it does.

Jim has shown a step by step way of insulating an old box without destroying the surrounding wood work. I have done this myself many times with great success.

Once he gets his system installed I'm sure he will follow up with performance figures of his new box

Regards John.
www.coldeh.com

[Typhoon]

On another note along the same lines.

After this project is done and you have your new system installed and running. Don't forget air tight doors seals !!

This is a huge issue in a spillover system , there is a lot of seal area.

Also , all that new fiberglass and paint in your air tight box will make all your food taste like fiberglass resin and every other solvent the manufactures use.

Get a bunch of this stuff , activated carbon. Its much cheaper if you buy it from an aquarium supply store. Put it in a old pillow case and through it inside your box , leave it there for as long as it takes to get that paint and resin smell out.

https://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-s...a-4-Quart.html

Regards John
www.coldeh.com

[jhulmer]

Originally Posted by ColdEh Marine

On another note along the same lines.

After this project is done and you have your new system installed and running. Don't forget air tight doors seals !!

This is a huge issue in a spillover system , there is a lot of seal area.

Also , all that new fiberglass and paint in your air tight box will make all your food taste like fiberglass resin and every other solvent the manufactures use.

Get a bunch of this stuff , activated carbon. Its much cheaper if you buy it from an aquarium supply store. Put it in a old pillow case and through it inside your box , leave it there for as long as it takes to get that paint and resin smell out.

https://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-s...a-4-Quart.html

Regards John
www.coldeh.com

thanks for the tip John, I coated the inside with poly gelcoat, 4 coats, and even with a carbon filter respirator on when applying, it ran me out for a while. Even, now it is very strong when I go in the boat. So I will use the activated carbon tip to help reduce that new boat smell.

I have put a couple coats of gel on the doors and need to sand and spray a couple more coats. I have a double seal planned, one on the top lip of the doors and one on the bottom lip. Hopefully, this will break the thermal bridge of the metal countertops.

That will have to wait until I get back from a little Maine sailing on a friends boat.
JIm

[skipgundlach]

Originally Posted by ColdEh Marine

On another note along the same lines.

After this project is done and you have your new system installed and running. Don't forget air tight doors seals !!

This is a huge issue in a spillover system , there is a lot of seal area.

(clip)

This is what I use http://skip.justpickone.org/gallery/...r/100_3929.JPG

I cut it to length, miter the corners (scissors) which I superglue together, and then apply on both the lip/door face edge and the bottom of door.

In my case I have two, front load reefer, and top load freezer.

They do a nice job, and for our hand fabricated edges, which likely are not as fair/flat/level as OPs, they have ample room to accommodate slight differences.

After we've had it decommissioned for a while, such as when we do a shoreside trip, getting the doors closed is an effort. Of course, after being closed on them for a time, they are compressed enough that it's not challenging

[skipgundlach]

A link to three different pix of my reefer door with both gaskets in place, and the magnet for the NO/NC reed switch:

Pictures: Flying Pig 2011-2012 Refit/Last Minute Stuff/Reefer Gaskets and Ding Repair

[jhulmer]

Skip
that is a better seal for the bottom of the door than the one I have. Where did you find it? I have a similar 1/2" wide for the top lip of the door that will work well.
Thanks
Jim

[skipgundlach]

Originally Posted by jhulmer

Skip
that is a better seal for the bottom of the door than the one I have. Where did you find it? I have a similar 1/2" wide for the top lip of the door that will work well.
Thanks
Jim

Home Depot, in their weatherstripping area. The earlier versions of this had a longer tail, which made it even softer. But it's very effective; it will compress readily from the 3/8 or so it starts in, in case you have very close clearances.

[Hugh17]

Following. I may have to tackle the same project some day. Interested in how you rebuild the box.

[skipgundlach]

Originally Posted by Hugh17

Following. I may have to tackle the same project some day. Interested in how you rebuild the box.

Hugh, OP's rebuild is very carefully shown in the many pages this thread has taken.

We cut ours out altogether and started over, which is a very different approach.

Which way will yours go?

[jhulmer]

Project Post: #8

I have sanded and sprayed 4 coats of white gelcoat on the divider and the newly insulated doors.

I still have to sand and polish the doors. They are showing a lot of unfaired areas that I don't like. I will probably have to give them another coat or two to get them to my satisfaction. Then I will install the double seal on the doors.

I'm waiting on my new refrigerator system to get here to install the spillover ports in the divider.

I hope to finish this project up in the next couple of weeks. I will post additional pictures of the finished project.

Thanks for following.

[jhulmer]

PROJECT POST: #9

As promised I am posting the pictures of the completed box with all fridge components installed.

This was the ColdEh Marine spillover system and all and all I am happy with the ease of installation and design help received.

I am glad to get this project off the list! Well still have a few little items to finish.

Although, this thread didn't receive a lot of attention, I hope it will serve someone on their future project.

Jim

[john61ct]

Fantastic job both the fridge and the thread, thanks!

[jhulmer]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Fantastic job both the fridge and the thread, thanks!

John
Thank you!

[TheOffice]

Very well done!! Enjoy the cold beer for many years to come! I have side by side boxes with a unit only in the larger box. Some day I'll do a spillover system too.

[jhulmer]

Originally Posted by TheOffice

Very well done!! Enjoy the cold beer for many years to come! I have side by side boxes with a unit only in the larger box. Some day I'll do a spillover system too.

Thank you,
The spillover was fairly easy compared to reinsulating the box, but the cold beer will make it all worth while.
Jim