Access to fridge unit on SO32

[mikebz]

I'd like to improve the insulation on the fridge box in our SO32 but I can't see any obvious way of getting access to it without cutting a hole in the vertical panel in front of it.  Any ideas or experience from any other owners?

[Anwen (Deep Joy)]

Mike, have your looked at getting the work top off and going in from above? I've got a feeling that it is glued in place, once the fridge unit is dropped in to the "cabinet". You might have to contact the factory to confirm this.

[mikebz]

I did ponder what it would take to remove the worktop, but suspected that route would only lead to significant destruction!  I wondered about cutting a cupboard door sized section out of the vertical panel in front of the fridge box and replacing it with a cupboard door or removable panel - the difficulty here is that it would need to be done with a jigsaw and there is no way of knowing whether there are wires or bits of fridge in contact with the panel so yielding more potential for unwanted damage.  It seems poor that there is no non-destructive way of getting at the compressor etc. if/when it gives up the ghost.

[rodgerg]

My compressor and motor etc is in a cabinet under the cooker accessed by removing a grille assembly

[mikebz]

Thanks Rodger, I'll take a closer look. I wonder if I remove the cooker and the panel below it maybe the whole of the panel in front of the fridge & between the cooker in the fridge can be removed.  The cooker and/or grab rail in front of it need some positional adjustment anyway since the grab rail is so placed to make it very awkward to get anything into the grill compartment.

[rodgerg]

I must admit when the gimbals are locked its difficult to get the grill pan in and out. I think it was only about four screws and there was plenty room to get into the fridge mechanism. I have found careful application of some window draught proofing strips around the fridge door really helped over laying a cloth over the closed lid helps too. I am not in the hottest part of the uk however we put container of ice in the smaller area at the back and it get the temp down faster when we are going away. Ice is still solid five days later if our heavy drinking pals dont catch up with us!

[mikebz]

Yes we found the worktop/access door above the fridge gets very cold so also put a towel over the top which must help a bit.  It does make you wonder how much heat transfer goes on further down the box where it will be still colder (and inside a confined space which is heated by the compressor).  We put some polystyrene in the bottom of the box which must help a bit as well, and always start off with a couple of 1.5l frozen bottles of water from the freezer at home plus frozen juice, meat etc.  Last week the frozen water lasted 4-5 days at the bottom of the fridge (it would have been a lot less at the top).   We would prefer not to have to run the fridge overnight (noise) which should be achievable if the insulation is good enough.

[caoimhin]

Hi Mike
I have just had my fridge re gassed. The engineer advised that it is best to keep the fridge turned on when in a marina on shore power or on engine when underway. This avoids the seals getting dry and the fridge getting noisy.
Caoimhin

[mikebz]

Thanks Caoimhin. We rarely have access to shore power but always run the fridge at max when the engine is running.  It's not particularly noisy but at night when the only other sounds are the birds it is a bit irritating. 

[MickeyB]

Mike,

Unsure about your particular boat (mine is a 34.2) but our fridge is next to a tall hanging locker.  I was recently trying to figure out how to do the same thing you are attempting, and found that someone said you can remove the hanging locker wall, thereby gaining access.

I will pop down at lunch if work permits (5 mins walk) and take a photo if I can, but I think this will work - unsure if you have a similar arrangement though...

Out of curiosity, what are you going to use to fill the void?  I was thinking of spraying expanding polystyrene/foam (in a can) into the area, so only a small hole needs to be made and keep the finger on the aerosol until 'full', but that sounds a tadge draconian (and the risk of expanding foam going everywhere sends shivers down my spine).

Mike

[mikebz]

On the 32 the fridge compartment is in between the galley and the gas locker, no hanging locker etc.

I was going to line the outside of the box with thick insulating material (e.g. Celotex), adding as much thickness as the space can cope with.  I did half wonder about making a hole and squirting expanding foam in but the chances are this will also envelope the whole compressor mechanism which would not be a positive step!

On the subject of expanding foam, here is an apocryphal tale which has been around for several decades at least:


A friend of mine once built a canoe. He spent a long time on it and it was a work of art.



Almost the final phase was to fill both ends with polyurethane expanding foam.



He duly ordered the bits from Mr Glasplies (an excellent purveyor of all things fibreglass) and it arrived in two packs covered with appropriately dire warnings about expansion ratios and some very good notes on how to use it.



Unfortunately he had a degree, worse still two of them. One was in Chemistry, so the instructions got thrown away and the other in something mathematical because in a few minutes he was merrily calculating the volume of his craft to many decimal places and the guidelines got binned as well.



He propped the canoe up on one end, got a huge tin, carefully measured the calculated amounts of glop, mixed them and quickly poured the mixture in the end of the canoe (the two pack expands very rapidly).



I arrived as he was completing this and I looked in to see the end chamber over half full of something Cawdors Witches would have been proud of. Two thing occurred to me, one was the label which said in big letters: "Caution - expansion ratio 50:1" (or something similar) and the other that the now empty tins said "approximately enough for 20 small craft"



Any comment was drowned out by a sea of yellow brown foam suddenly pouring out of the middle of the canoe and the end of the canoe bursting open. My friend screamed and leapt at his pride and joy which was knocked to the ground as he started trying to bale handfuls of this stuff out with his bare hands.



Knocking the craft over allowed the still liquid and not yet fully expanded foam to flow to the other end of the canoe where it expanded and shattered that end as well.



A few seconds later and we had a canoe with two exploded ends, a mountain of solid foam about 4ft high growing out of the middle, and a chemist firmly embedded up to his armpits in it.



At this stage he discovered the reaction was exothermic and his hands and arms were getting very hot indeed. Running about in small circles in a confined space while glued to the remains of a fairly large canoe proved ineffective so he resorted to screaming a bit instead.



Fortunately a Kukri was to hand so I attacked the foam around his hands with some enthusiasm. The process was hindered by the noise he was making and the fact he was trying to escape while still attached to the canoe.



Eventually I managed to hack out a lump of foam still including most of his arms and hands. Unfortunately my tears of laughter were not helping as they accelerated the foam setting.



Seeking medical help was obviously out of the question, the embarrassment of having to explain his occupation (Chief Research Chemist at a major petrochemical organisation) would simply never have been lived down. Several hours and much acrimony later we had removed sufficient foam (and much hair) to allow him to move again. However he still looked something like a failed audition for Quasimodo with red burns on his arms and expanded blobs of foam sticking everywhere. My comment that the scalding simple made the hairs the foam was sticking to come out easier was not met with the enthusiasm I felt it deserved.



I forgot to add that in retrospect rather unwisely he had set out to do this deed in the hallway of his house (the only place, he later explained, with sufficient headroom for the canoe - achieved by poking it up the stairwell).



Having extricated him we now were faced with the problem of a canoe construction kit embedded in a still gurgling block of foam which was now irrevocably bonded to the hall and stairs carpet as well as several banister rails and quite a lot of wallpaper.



At this point his wife and her mother came back from shopping......



Oh yes - and he had been wearing the pullover Mother in law had knitted him for his birthday the week before.

[MickeyB]

It is not often a piece of writing can bring me to whole-hearted chuckles, but that is one of them. Many thanks for lightening up an otherwise shabby Wednesday.

On the 34.2 the compressor is not in the same compartment so I may still go with this method....do please let us know how you proceed, and any more writings in that style will be greatly appreciated.

Mike

[sailbleu]

Mike, there is an extensive article / discussion on the board and on the hint&tips section about frigoboat fridges you know.

Regards

[ianqv]

Aug 9, 2014 4:52:58 GMT sailbleu said:

Mike, there is an extensive article / discussion on the board and on the hint&tips section about frigoboat fridges you know.

Regards

Extensive!!! lol - thats a sailbleu understatement!!