All,
I just completed my latest boat upgrade project last weekend and wanted to pass on the results to all of you.
My 1988 Hunter Legend refrigerator's original performance (as installed) just wasn't cutting it. The Adler Barbour Cold Machine's with its Danfoss BD50F compressor ran all the time and wouldn't cool the refrigerator section below 48F. The freezer wasn't much better. It would only freeze the items placed in the VDF-150 evaporator itself. The AB system was rated up to 9 cu. ft., and should have had ample capacity to handle the 6 cu. ft. volume of the Frig/Freezer unit.
According to the U.S. government's Energy Star program, the ideal setting for your refrigerator should be between 35 and 38 degrees Fahrenheit. The ideal temperature for storing and freezing foods in a freezer is 0 degrees F or less.
The problem, as many of you already know was no insulation. When I took the stove out to gain access to the panel covering the refrigerator compartment, I discovered that there was virtually no insulation other than the 1/2" of foam sprayed on the outside of the refrigerator box itself before being dropped into the galley countertop. This installation created a 2-5" void around the refrigerator box that allowed ambient air to circulate around it, which explained why it wasn't able to reach the proper cooling temperature.
After researching several possible solutions to this problem on the internet, I decided upon using a liquid 'closed cell' foam insulation product sold by Fiberglass Coatings Inc. It has an R-value of ~5 per inch and is very moisture/mold resistant. This decision was based upon my desire not to remove the galley countertop or scar it and/or the refrigerator with allot of holes. I purchased 2-gallons of this product (1 gallon each of the A & B components). It cost $100 and was advertised to provide 8 cubic feet of insulation foam. Its expansion ratio is approximately 12:1 (not the 30:1 ratio of the 'open cell' foam sold in spray cans). Curing time is 15-20 minutes and it doesn't produce too much heat. I estimated the volume of the space around the refrigerator to be about 6.75 cu. feet. I ended up using every drop of the liquid foam to do this job.
My plan was to seal the bottom and sides of the galley compartment that the refrigerator sat in and fill it from the bottom to the top (in several layers) with this liquid foam insulation.
I attacked this problem in much the same way that you would frame up a walk way in order to pour concrete. I did my best to seal the outside edges around the Frig compartment with duct tape, where the counter side panels met the hull floor. Which gave me my 1st Lesson learned! Which is; 1) Always try to seal the compartment from the inside, because the liquid which is the consistency of pancake syrup will leak through, if you don't. The Second Lesson Learned was; 2) Pour the first layer in each section with the minimum amount of foam needed to seal the compartment. Because using LESS is better if you get a leak somewhere. However, the real beauty of this product is that regardless of getting a leaks or not, you are going to seal that area in the end. The leaks only means that you'll have to go back and remove the foam after it cures.
After about five (5) separate pours over the course of the two days I worked on the job, I filled the compartment all the way up to the countertop. I did have to cut two (2) access holes/hatches (each about 2 x 1 inches) one in the top of the rear countertop. The other in the top of the panel on the opposite side of the access panel next to the stove.
Bottomline: Once I was done, I placed a thermometer in each compartment (Frig & Freezer) and ran the refrigerator unit on a Medium setting (4-5 out of a dial range of 7) overnight. When my wife and I came back to check on it the next morning, the Frig compartment was showing 35F and the middle of the Freezer compartment (not inside the evaporator box) was showing 28F. SUCCESS HURRAH!!! :dance:
Regards,
James
I just completed my latest boat upgrade project last weekend and wanted to pass on the results to all of you.
My 1988 Hunter Legend refrigerator's original performance (as installed) just wasn't cutting it. The Adler Barbour Cold Machine's with its Danfoss BD50F compressor ran all the time and wouldn't cool the refrigerator section below 48F. The freezer wasn't much better. It would only freeze the items placed in the VDF-150 evaporator itself. The AB system was rated up to 9 cu. ft., and should have had ample capacity to handle the 6 cu. ft. volume of the Frig/Freezer unit.
According to the U.S. government's Energy Star program, the ideal setting for your refrigerator should be between 35 and 38 degrees Fahrenheit. The ideal temperature for storing and freezing foods in a freezer is 0 degrees F or less.
The problem, as many of you already know was no insulation. When I took the stove out to gain access to the panel covering the refrigerator compartment, I discovered that there was virtually no insulation other than the 1/2" of foam sprayed on the outside of the refrigerator box itself before being dropped into the galley countertop. This installation created a 2-5" void around the refrigerator box that allowed ambient air to circulate around it, which explained why it wasn't able to reach the proper cooling temperature.
After researching several possible solutions to this problem on the internet, I decided upon using a liquid 'closed cell' foam insulation product sold by Fiberglass Coatings Inc. It has an R-value of ~5 per inch and is very moisture/mold resistant. This decision was based upon my desire not to remove the galley countertop or scar it and/or the refrigerator with allot of holes. I purchased 2-gallons of this product (1 gallon each of the A & B components). It cost $100 and was advertised to provide 8 cubic feet of insulation foam. Its expansion ratio is approximately 12:1 (not the 30:1 ratio of the 'open cell' foam sold in spray cans). Curing time is 15-20 minutes and it doesn't produce too much heat. I estimated the volume of the space around the refrigerator to be about 6.75 cu. feet. I ended up using every drop of the liquid foam to do this job.
My plan was to seal the bottom and sides of the galley compartment that the refrigerator sat in and fill it from the bottom to the top (in several layers) with this liquid foam insulation.
I attacked this problem in much the same way that you would frame up a walk way in order to pour concrete. I did my best to seal the outside edges around the Frig compartment with duct tape, where the counter side panels met the hull floor. Which gave me my 1st Lesson learned! Which is; 1) Always try to seal the compartment from the inside, because the liquid which is the consistency of pancake syrup will leak through, if you don't. The Second Lesson Learned was; 2) Pour the first layer in each section with the minimum amount of foam needed to seal the compartment. Because using LESS is better if you get a leak somewhere. However, the real beauty of this product is that regardless of getting a leaks or not, you are going to seal that area in the end. The leaks only means that you'll have to go back and remove the foam after it cures.
After about five (5) separate pours over the course of the two days I worked on the job, I filled the compartment all the way up to the countertop. I did have to cut two (2) access holes/hatches (each about 2 x 1 inches) one in the top of the rear countertop. The other in the top of the panel on the opposite side of the access panel next to the stove.
Bottomline: Once I was done, I placed a thermometer in each compartment (Frig & Freezer) and ran the refrigerator unit on a Medium setting (4-5 out of a dial range of 7) overnight. When my wife and I came back to check on it the next morning, the Frig compartment was showing 35F and the middle of the Freezer compartment (not inside the evaporator box) was showing 28F. SUCCESS HURRAH!!! :dance:
Regards,
James
