Happy new year all !
On Nemea we did improve on the stock Icebox few years ago before going out on our 2010 sabbatical year living on board and we are completely satisfied with our fridge setup.
First I've re-insulated the Icebox from the interior side adding about 3 inches of laminated styrofoam at the bottom of the icebox and 2 inches all around. Far less trouble than tearing apart the galley to re-insulate from the exterior.
While re-insulating I made an insulated partition separating the icebox in two making a colder section for storing freezed goods (and for making icecubes on the cold plate). The partition is perforated on top and have a small 3 inch computer electric fan thermostatically controled for circulating air between the "freezer" and the rest of the icebox.
Then I made a new insulated icebox lid from wood, fiberglass, formica and 3 1/2 inches of styrofoam insulation. The previous ones were only one inch thick and not appropriate.
After I ordered a cold plate kit from EZ Kold, consisting of one big stainless steel holding plate and a BD50F Danfross 12V compressor. The compressor runs at full speed and is controlled by an electronic thermostat. The compressor is installed in the cockpit right storage on the wall adjacent to the galley.
Overall we lost maybe a cubic foot of storage but anyway the icebox was far too large in my opinion. Now we have about 4 cubic foot of cold storage onboard.
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File comment: The completed icebox project DSC01014.JPG [ 2.54 MB | Viewed 0 times ]