Buying a cool box to make a fridge out of

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

From 2001 to 2010, I was a member of Glenans Irish Sailing Club. Besides a large fleet of small keelboats, dinghys and catamarans, we had two cruising boats, a Beneteau 31.7," Rhythm in Blue", and a Dufour 30 Classic, "Spirit of Glenans", which I later bought when 30-footers were ruled out as school boats by new government regulations.
I did a number of courses on both boats, and the regime always was; "engine on - fridge on, engine off - fridge off", with us trainees religiously flipping the relevant circuit breaker at each appropriate juncture. There must have been some breakdown of communication down through the years however, as new base managers came and went, and new cruising instructors volunteered to teach courses, because when I started using my new boat I discovered that the "fridge" was actually just an ice -box, and there was no refrigeration gear fitted. Assuming that the Beneteau was similarly equipped, it explains why the meats always went off by midweek during courses on both boats

 

[Kelpie]

If the box is too big, just pack it out with insulation. That's how I used to run my chest freezer when I lived ashore. Slabs of 50mm polystyrene on bottom and sides (except for where evaporator was). Not exactly wipe clean but it never bothered me.

 

[webcraft]

I would say two things:

Nick seems to have no faith in his DIY abilities so no matter how much we recommend anything along those lines it's a no go and given where the boat is I doubt he has the tools and facilities to do the work to any great standard of finish even if he can find the materials.
I am not so sure about the quality of insulation in the original box, all it says is High efficiency PU foam

Using an existing plastic box for a smooth interior would be the route I would choose in the event of self-build.

I have many DIY skills, and have successfully completed a lot of projects on this boat. I know my limits though, and fine finish GRP work is beyond them.

I am now looking at the Dometic BL40 as an all in one solution, but the specs seem to say that while the compressor is relocateable it is not totally detachable, which would mean I could not locate it the other side of a bulkhead. I am waiting for Dometic to clarify that.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Using an existing plastic box for a smooth interior would be the route I would choose in the event of self-build.

I have many DIY skills, and have successfully completed a lot of projects on this boat. I know my limits though, and fine finish GRP work is beyond them.

I am now looking at the Dometic BL40 as an all in one solution, but the specs seem to say that while the compressor is relocateable it is not totally detachable, which would mean I could not locate it the other side of a bulkhead. I am waiting for Dometic to clarify that.

You can actually buy GRP sheet or other materials that would just need bonding at the edge, a lid wouldn't be difficult once the box is made.

I don't know the BL40 but I suspect that the compressor is already connected to the plate which would mean breaking the connections and regassing assuming the pipes are long enough to do what you wish.

 

[webcraft]

I would say two things:

Nick seems to have no faith in his DIY abilities so no matter how much we recommend anything along those lines it's a no go and given where the boat is I doubt he has the tools and facilities to do the work to any great standard of finish even if he can find the materials.
I am not so sure about the quality of insulation in the original box, all it says is High efficiency PU foam

Using an existing plastic box for a smooth interior would be the route I would choose in the event of self-build.

I have many DIY skills, and have successfully completed a lot of projects on this boat. I know my limits though, and fine finish GRP work is beyond them.

I am now looking at the Dometic BL40 as an all in one solution, but the specs seem to say that while the compressor is relocateable it is not totally detachable, which would mean I could not locate it the other side of a bulkhead. I am waiting for Dometic to clarify that.

 

[webcraft]

Yep, Bl40 compressor can't be removed and reconnected.

So no longer a favoured solution.

As for making my own, just getting to Bricomarche is difficult, bringing a sheet of Kingspan or similar back is pretty impossible without a car, cutting it and disposing of the residue is messy, sourcing perspex for the inner box is fine if you have access to Ebay but it's a whole different ball game in Portugal.

So I am looking for an easy solution. The Dometic coolbox I originally linked to looks an easy way to go, though I am not sure how to mount the evaporator plate. I am thinking Sikaflex might be the answer.

- W

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Yep, Bl40 compressor can't be removed and reconnected.

So no longer a favoured solution.

As for making my own, just getting to Bricomarche is difficult, bringing a sheet of Kingspan or similar back is pretty impossible without a car, cutting it and disposing of the residue is messy, sourcing perspex for the inner box is fine if you have access to Ebay but it's a whole different ball game in Portugal.

So I am looking for an easy solution. The Dometic coolbox I originally linked to looks an easy way to go, though I am not sure how to mount the evaporator plate. I am thinking Sikaflex might be the answer.

- W

Screws and I am not being facetious

 

[webcraft]

Screws and I am not being facetious

Need to be fairly short self-tappers I am guessing to avoid compromising the insulation.

Now thinking of modifying the enclosure a little and getting an Alpicool 25l

- W

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Need to be fairly short self-tappers I am guessing to avoid compromising the insulation.

Now thinking of modifying the enclosure a little and getting an Alpicool 25l

- W

I don't think a cm of screw penetrating the insulation will compromise it, the screw will only be effective in gripping the box liner anyway.

 

[dustynet]

My old man picked up an old coolbox after it cooked his butties one day, cracked it open removed the 5mm polystyrene sheets that were rattling around in there and filled the bottom with a good squirt of expanding foam. Pushing the inner box back in forced the foam all around and out of the top, with a couple of bricks in it until it set and was good to go. that thing was good for 12 hours with a single freezer cube in any temperature.

I have another mate who had no brazing skills. He bought an old fridge and took it apart destroying the fridge body but saving the entire fridge running gear and used that to build a wooden fridge cabinet around it, not including the outside panel. That thing was still running after about 20 years and still used as the main house fridge last time I was round there...

So its doable

 

[Kelpie]

If using expanding foam, it's worth sourcing the "low expansion" flavour. Expands to its final size straight away which makes it much easier to use, unlike the normal type which goes on slowly growing for hours...

 

[Fr J Hackett]

If using expanding foam, it's worth sourcing the "low expansion" flavour. Expands to its final size straight away which makes it much easier to use, unlike the normal type which goes on slowly growing for hours...

The expanding foams have a poor insulation rating in comparison to something like Cellotex which is designed as an insulator. Better than nothing though.

 

[Kelpie]

The expanding foams have a poor insulation rating in comparison to something like Cellotex which is designed as an insulator. Better than nothing though.

Interesting. I thought both were closed cell polyurethane so would have essentially the same performance. What's the difference?

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Interesting. I thought both were closed cell polyurethane so would have essentially the same performance. What's the difference?

Density I expect, there are lots of references to the relative merits of insulators on past threads.