Insulating an Ice box

[Joe_Cole]

Daft, but the Ice box on my boat has no insulation at all. It's time to fix it.

I'm going to use polyurethane foam boards for the bits that are accessible, but some parts are inaccesible without major (and I mean major ) surgery. For these parts I would like to use aerosol expanding foam but am concerned about getting too much in and damaging the ice box if too much pressure builds up.

I really don't know whether I should just spray away and fill the cavity, or drill several holes and put a bit in each hole, or simply fil the whole lot with short bursts every 10 minutes or so.

Wherever possible I want to get 4" of insulation

Has anyone done this and got any tips on using expanding foam?

 

[jerryat]

Hi Joe,

Just a thought. We wanted to increase the insulation on our 'fridge compartment too before we went off cruising and had the same problem as you it seems. We could only get to two sides of the four without huge disruption.

Our solution was to put closed cell insulation (in the form of closed boards as used in the supermarket cabinets) that has an aluminium foil on side both sides, and glue it to the INSIDE of the compartment. This was then covered with formica to give a hard wearing, wipe clean surface. The corners were sealed by running a silicone mastic fillet along them. It was so successful that we did the other two sides as well. This stuff has a very high 'U' value for it's thickness so provides good insulation for little loss of compartment volume. The compartment has been in use virtually full time for the last seven years, so we know it works.

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Jerry

 

[Cactus]

I read this thread as Insulting an Ice Box...

.. " You pathetic excuse for an Ice Box!!! "

 

[kieronriley]

do not under any circumstance use expanding foam you will be in for disasterouse results even with this advice a guy at our club went ahead and after three attemts each one just as disasterous as the previous despite those famous utterings i know what i,m doing now he has had to use polystyrene and fill small gaps with rock wool so go ahead if you dont mind hearing those just so famous words i told you so KIERON

 

[PaulJ]

I tend to agree with Kieron, it probably can be done with expanding foam but there are many pitfalls. Provided there are other holes through which the excess can come out, I don't think a build up of pressure would be a problem but depending on the size and shape of the cavity, getting it all filled without any gaps could be. Also, this stuff is moisture cured and a large amount of it in an enclosed space stays sticky in the centre for a very long time..... possibly it never cures.

The way round that one would be to use a two-pack foam such as "Handi-Foam". This was what I used and is available from Marine and Industrial Sealants...... their number is 01692 406822. They are very helpful and will advise you if it is suitable for your particular job and what sized pack to order.

Paul.