[C38] Refrigeration

[Steve Smolinske]

If I recall correctly, industry standards call out something like 4" of insulation for a freezer and 3" for a refer,  Our boats at least mine came with 2" of insulation around the box and nothing on the top   when doing the ice box project a few years ago I added an inch to the interior all the way around along with an additional inch on the stb side of the box next to the engine compartment, Inside the engine compartment I added sound insulatioin with the the foil on one side and then as mentioned on the list in earlier threads stuffed bags of insulation underneath the ice box from inside the engine compartment.  In the mild NW that seems to be okay if we can run the ice box and freeze the plate for a few hours a day.   When down in LA for the race we ended up bringing the box to freezing, filling the box with our pre frozen food and then packing what little room was left with dry ice,  the box stayed a nice -32 for a number of days with minimal time running the compressor.   Our compressor is air cooled and located on the shelf in the cockpit locker with an aluminum cover to protect it from shifting gear,  again for the mild NW this seems to be adequate as the cockpit locker is well ventilated, cant speak to how it would work for you guys in warmer temperatures.    
 
I saw something on yachtworld a few nights ago on a C38 that was for sale, they had a compartment/box in the aft section of the bilge that captured the water filling the bilge and in the center was a bilge pump.  I sort of like the idea as I believe most of the water entering my bilge is I believe coming from the stern,   I would make the compartment  by glassing in a low bulkhead so that if you had a serious problem from forward the water could still flow over the bulkhead and exit via the pump, making the bulkhead slightly higher than the level that trips the float, but for most of the time it would capture and contain the water that makes its way in keeping the majority of the bilge dry.   
http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listing/photoGallery.jsp?ro=5&slim=quicknull&r=2363271&currency=USD&checked_boats=2363271&rs=yachtworld.com&boat_id=2363271&back=/core/boats/1980/Catalina-S&S-38-2363271/San-Diego/CA/United-States&boat_id=2363271&noOfPic=21
 
Steve

________________________________

From: listserve-bounces at catalina38.org on behalf of Steven Ribble
Sent: Fri 9/23/2011 8:45 AM
To: Catalina 38 Listserve
Subject: Re: [C38] Refrigeration


OK, I've got a new proposal for Association funding...we pay for Tom to visit all of our boats and see what improvements can be made! 

Obviously I'm kidding, but Tom is a great wealth of knowledge and I appreciate his continuing to share it with us.

Along with improving the refrigerant line, I had a conversation with a guy a couple years ago about some sort of insulation material (a rigid sandwich type with a vacuum core) that he claimed was the answer to keeping things cold.  While I don't remember the material, the point is that we need to be sure we're insulating the box well given it's proximity to the engine (heat) or all of these mechanical improvements will be marginal at best.

Steve R



-- 
Steve Ribble
207/852-0971

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