Reducing size of fridge compartment

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ostra4

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The fridge on our Dufour 38 is top loading and so deep that even myself at over 6ft has difficulty reaching the bottom .Id like to reduce the size by building a false floor in the bottom of the fridge and wondered what thoughts others may have .I looked through other posts after doing a search and couldn't really see any relating to this although plenty of advice on insulation .The benefits would be easier to keep clean ,I could have a large flat bottomed area in the fridge instead of a sloping area we have at present , the fridge would keep cooler as at the moment I think the cooling plate is simply struggling with the volume at present .
Any thoughts would be appreciated especially as Im the only one tall enough to get near the bottom for cleaning purposes -:).
 
How about a cloth bag with a block of polystyrene in it? Could easily be removed when more space is required. Anything that you put across the bottom is likely to leak and then cleaning would be even more difficult than it is now.

Alternatively, something that will act as a heat sink (water bags? e.g., ex-wine box bags) would probably be even better as it would reduce the losses when the fridge is opened and should also reduce the cycle rate of the compressor.

I think I'd go for a combination of both adding a flat polythene top surface.
 
If you want a permanent "solution" you could put some insulation in the bottom, cover it with something suitable (GRP sheet, plastic etc) and seal the edges with Sikaflex or similar.

A less permanent fix could be a sturdy plastic bag of insulating chips, with a sheet of GRP, plastic etc on top of it.
 
Yes Paul, I'm thinking permanent solution as even with a new floor to create a flat area the fridge will still be huge -:)
It had crossed my mind to fill the space under the new floor with king span or similar , cover with insulated polyurethane rigid plastic suitably sealed at the edges . The insulated chips would maybe be better /easier to fill the space beneath the floor .Thanks for your ideas , hopefully when Iv sorted this my back will be a happy bunny -:)
 
Not sure what they are called but if it were me I would obtain a bag full of those polythene inflated bubbles that are often used in packaging. Put this in the fridge and lay foodstuffs on top. Easy to increase or decrease storage area and I would think the extra insulation is a benefit.
 
Ok fair point Vyv, but how about cutting a piece of corriflute to shape to fit on top of the plastic bubbles. Wipe clean surface. Actually I'm thinking this is a good idea and I'm going to try it in my fridge
 
Increasing insulation at the base is the most effective place to add extra, the converse to insulating a loft space to keep heat in, cold falls and so conducts more downwards.

I would cut a sheet of 12mm ply to fit the shape, attach some plastic side supports, fill the void beneath with expanding foam, then glass the base board, finishing with a decent layer of gel coat to finish off, with a decent rounded bead around the base edge to help with cleaning.

However, think long and hard first, because once this is done getting beneath again will be a major task.
 
Scotsailor said:
Ok fair point Vyv, but how about cutting a piece of corriflute to shape to fit on top of the plastic bubbles. Wipe clean surface. Actually I'm thinking this is a good idea and I'm going to try it in my fridge
Click to expand...

If you want to go this way, put the insulation in a sturdy bag, easy yo clean if you do spill something.
 
We've done this with the fridge on our Sadler 32. Luckily there's a lip half way down so we have a perspex sheet on that. Underneath we have large freezer food bags loosely filled with polystyrene beads, the sort of thing they put in beanbags or dog beds. You can get them from any good haberdashery. Sure, if you spill milk it's a pain but we keep it in another container, Tupperware or some such. And milk spilt in any fridge is a pain in the butt
 
Lots of good ideas here .Iv thought about doing something about this for two years superheat and resisted as I wanted to keep everything original but its a pain as it stands both for storage and cleaning .Whoever designed such a deep fridge has never had to clean one or try and live board for months at a time with fridge contents unable to be organised at least with some order without having to rummage all the contents around Everytime a beer is needed -:)
 
For a permament job, assuming the fridge interior is GRP:
abrade and clean the sides at the desired new level.
Fill the bottom snugly to the edges with something like Kingspan/Celotex (not polystyrene) -- readily available from B&Q. You'll probably need to introduce it as a 'jigsaw' to fit through the lid. Get the surface as fair and flat as possible.
Apply a couple of layers of glass cloth and polyester resin to the new surface, which you've already thoroughly wetted with resin. Pour in enough polyester resin to make a smooth floor which also seals at the edges. The resin can be coloured to match the rest if desired.

Not as quick and simple as insulated bags, but durable and smart.
 
Thanks Macd
Think I'm going to try the freezer bags with insulation topped off with rigid plastic sheet to trial the floor at different levels for a week or two then go for the permanent fix .Great ideas thank you .
 
On A Westerly Konsort, which had a deep tapered towards the bottom , I did as Macd suggested. Kingspan /Celotex cut to fit and held in place by Double sided tape.. Then a Piece of Acryic on on the top of this , with kitchen sealant arround the edges ( Not silicon !) , to form a waterproof seal. This all can be removed if a later owner wants to revert back to standard
 
When I installed a cooling plate in my large moulded in cool box I lined the box with 50mm king span PU foam sheet. Filled any gaps with expanding foam then lined it with 1.5 mm PVC sheet with joints sealed with silicone. It was relatively inexpensive to do.Its been in place for 5 years and has been very successful. Performance has improved dramatically.
 
PaulRainbow said:
...put some insulation in the bottom, cover it with something suitable (GRP sheet, plastic etc) and seal the edges.
Click to expand...

We actually did exactly this on our last boat, having built a good big fridge that was excellent in northern Europe, but proved too power hungry when we reached the eastern Med. I'd built the original unit using stainless steel sheet and used the same for the volume reduction too, we raised the blttom by 3": Got the fridge box cleaned, disinfected and dry, laid 1x2" & 1x1" layers of insulation (the dense blue-stuff) tacked into place with some no nails type sealant/adhesive, then stuck a stainless steel panel on top of the insulation. To seal/waterproof it, I went aroumd the edges with a slim bead of the same no-nails sealant, then having cleaned everything up, we mixed up a half-pint of glass resin and flooded the bottom of the box. At the same time we reduced volume/improved insulation to the 'engine bay side' by sticking 2" of insulation to the fridge wall, then an inverted L-shaped s/steel panel of the correct size (machine, not hand-bent) over the top; obviously we couldn't 'flood' that with resin, so we just sealed it with no-nails, then painted about half a dozen coats of resin over that. We kept the boat another 4 or 5 years after and never noticed any problems/leaks arising from the alteration.
 
Yes I've done the exactly same over the winter. Only two further comments. If you need to buy Celotex/Kingspan etc then suggest you buy a 25mm or 30mm thick sheet which can then be doubled up where it will fit. If you can gain access to the outside of the fridge /coolbox glue more on there. In fact we put far more on the outside than the inside. You can get PVC sheet corner pieces in long lengths and pieces to join two sheets, it makes a very neat job. Lastly if you need any fixed shelves try Acrylic (Perspex) shaped to fit. Lots of videos on U tube of how to do it with a hot air gun.
 
Our fridge is lined with stainless steel, and came with a false floor also made of stainless. It's one sheet, with the ends folded over to form legs (so that, viewed side-on, it has the profile of an office staple). It's punched with several 3/4" holes so that any spillages or melting ice drain through it to the space beneath - essentially the fridge's bilge beneath its sole boards. It can easily be lifted out (with a finger in one of those holes) either to clean the "bilge" or to fit extra food for a longer cruise. Sure, it doesn't add any insulating properties, but it's neat, hygienic, and convenient.

Pete
 
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