Insulating a cool box

[Cspirit]

I have a Westerly Corsair and need to improve the inadequate insulation around the existing coolbox/fridge. Given the difficulty of increasing the insulation on the outside of the box (access is poor/need to dismantle to whole galley) I intend to reduce the volume of the box by insulating inside. One option would be to make a new, smaller GRP liner which would then slot into insulation in the exisitng box. However, I'm tempted by the seemingly simpler route of using some food grade insulation panels, cut to size and attached to the inside of the existing box, sealed with silicone or similar. Isotherm sell packs of these for about £150 - expensive , but this might make the job easier:

http://www.isotherm.com/en/index.html?fixframe=1&

Does anyone have any experience of this?

 

[jsl]

You could try 'floating' a plastic stacking crate in a sea of polystyrene worms - the kind that are used for packing. Then drop a matching crate full of frozen stuff into the first crate. We have used this method for years, and it is surprisingly effective. Dead cheap, too.

 

[lille_bee]

We bartered some beers for a couple of sheets of polystyrene insulation(40mm thick) off a greek building site and cut them to size so that they line the inside of our cavernous fridge, and it has made a world of difference, I'd highly recommend it!
The "crate in a sea of polystyrene worms" idea sounds good too, but I can already hear the expletives the first time one of the "worms" finds its way into the bilges and associated sensitive pumps /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif....

 

[vyv_cox]

In the past I have lined a plastic box with polystyrene sheet, filling the gaps with decorators' caulk, acrylic filler in a tube. It made a very effective cool box tailored to fit a specific space.

 

[jsl]

The worms are big enough to see, and float well above the strumbox.

 

[kds]

"The worms are big enough to see,"

Don't you worry about the early bird ?
/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Ken

 

[Happydaze]

our corsair is a mk2 and i managed to remove the shelf behind the sliding doors above the cooker and fill with 50-150 mm of Celotex insulation between fridge and hull, then from inside of the fridge i fixed 50mm celotex to the oven side, 50mm to the sink side and 50mm to the aft wall, (heater is fitted on the other side of the bulkhead) then 100mm to the bottom ( to stop her on board faling in head first ). I then lined the inside with 3mm plastic sheet and sealed the joints with silicon. The only thing i have since changed is added a 6mm ply panel under the bottom sheet of plastic because a heavy landing with a bottle broke the bottom plastic. Don't forget to extend the drain. I also fitted a new compressor and plate and it runs at about 5 deg. all summer and winter. 50 watts of solar power keeps it cold in the summer in the Med. Hope this helps, John

 

[Cspirit]

Really helpful. Many thanks.