---
title: Building an Ice Box & Refrigeration
date: 2015-11-26T00:32:05Z
source: http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?8938-Building-an-Ice-Box-amp-Refrigeration&s=3bc43ca234d01d636640fe3ff9594715
tags: travco

---

How timely; I've got a few icebox issues of my own... Here's the situation, and then I'll get to my questions.

When we bought RONIN, the former owner had just started a icebox-refer conversion, but only got as far as cutting a hole in the back of the icebox (adjacent to the engine). This is a *very large* icebox, two levels, with vertical access doors behind and directly below the galley sink (facing aft), and ice stored on an intermediate tray in line with the depth of the sink.

I for one don't want the trouble of a referigerator, and would rather just buy ice (and having been doing so for months quite happily... oh yeah, we live aboard). It's time to properly seal up that hole though, and what I'd like to do is install another access door to load ice through the back side, without having to remove all of my food from the top portion of the icebox. It appears (from this hole) that the icebox construction consists of two layers of 1/2" plywood with a whopping 1" of closed-cell foam between. Not much, I'm sure. I need to rebuild part of the existing hole, and remove a bit above the hole to create a 13x20" door.

Could I simply build up the icebox on the inside to increase the insulation without having to rip the whole thing apart?

The bigger question: what about drainage for ice?! I've searched high and low, and nowhere have I found any mention of this. There's a 1/4" outlet, which was running straight to the bilge (ack! freshwater constantly flowing into the bilge?!), so I've attached a hose to that and 'frankenstein-ed' together a small bilge pump into an in-line pump, which draws the icebox meltoff into my galley sink (home dishwasher-style) and then out the sink's thru-hull. I was advised not to put a small bilge pump in the icebox itself (creating warming heat and a headache of wiring). This is, however, on a manual switch, so sometimes allows lots of water to accumulate before I turn it on. My newest scheme (not yet employed) is to put a small sump tank under the icebox, which it will drain into, containing a normal bilge pump on a float switch, draining either into my galley sink or spliced into an esixting thru-hull drain hose.

Does this sound crazy? Logical? Has everyone been keeping it a secret how they handle this meltoff? Sorry for the long post, but this has been weighing on my for a while.

-Scott