I am thinking of connecting the icebox drain to the sink drain on my O day 25. Have others done this and are there any problems with this connection? Thanks Wm
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No problem
I bought my 25 last fall and it has a barbed t-fitting connecting the ice box and sink drain. No problems at all.
I bought my 25 last fall and it has a barbed t-fitting connecting the ice box and sink drain. No problems at all.
Do you need the water, Wm?
The main reason ice boxes aren't connected directly to the sink drain is because this "gray water" is useable as wash or rinse water. Fresh water is at a premium on boats. You may NOT want to just dump it over-board. Bill on STARGAZER
The main reason ice boxes aren't connected directly to the sink drain is because this "gray water" is useable as wash or rinse water. Fresh water is at a premium on boats. You may NOT want to just dump it over-board. Bill on STARGAZER
Heeling can be
A problem if the bottom of the ice box is lower than where the fitting goes in to the drain. The ice box will fill with sea water and all sorts of critters will be living in your food area. Not good. My ice box drain, and most new boats have a pump which pumps in to a nearby sink and then overboard. A few minutes a day are spent on pumping out the water but it's worth it. Of course not all of the water is removed. a half cup is always in the bottom unless it's soaked up with a towel. The reason I wouldn't want mine to drain to the bilge and into the bilge pump is beacause of what the previous owner had happen to him. a quantity of milk spilled into the ice box and then to the drain at the end of a trip. It was summer and without thinking they packed up and went home leaving the mostly-milk/water mix in the bilge. So it's summer 85+ degrees outside 100+ degrees inside the closed up boat and the milk now becomes something other than mere milk. The congealed mass which was in every nook and cranny of the bilge "perfumed" the boat for the rest of the season. It took a full winter lay up with many bleach and water rinses to belay the scent. Whatever you do don't allow the ice box to drain into the bilge. Fair winds skipper, Mike
A problem if the bottom of the ice box is lower than where the fitting goes in to the drain. The ice box will fill with sea water and all sorts of critters will be living in your food area. Not good. My ice box drain, and most new boats have a pump which pumps in to a nearby sink and then overboard. A few minutes a day are spent on pumping out the water but it's worth it. Of course not all of the water is removed. a half cup is always in the bottom unless it's soaked up with a towel. The reason I wouldn't want mine to drain to the bilge and into the bilge pump is beacause of what the previous owner had happen to him. a quantity of milk spilled into the ice box and then to the drain at the end of a trip. It was summer and without thinking they packed up and went home leaving the mostly-milk/water mix in the bilge. So it's summer 85+ degrees outside 100+ degrees inside the closed up boat and the milk now becomes something other than mere milk. The congealed mass which was in every nook and cranny of the bilge "perfumed" the boat for the rest of the season. It took a full winter lay up with many bleach and water rinses to belay the scent. Whatever you do don't allow the ice box to drain into the bilge. Fair winds skipper, Mike
No more stinkin' bilge
Mike is so right. Let the wrong liquid leak into the icebox, then the bilge...phew! My O272 icebox drained by default into the bilge, which was then pumped out by the exterior Whale bilge pump. I first tee'd the icebox into the sink drain and was quickly reminded that water seeks its own level. Opened the thruhull and the water flowed back into the below-water-level icebox. On to Plan B. The P/O set up the galley sink faucet with a Shurflo Nautilus on-demand water pump. I reworked the fresh water system completely and had the leftover Nautilus pump. So...I mounted and wired the pump at the back of the undersink area, ran the drain line to the pump, and tee'd in ABOVE the waterline level. Now, a flip of the switch and the icebox drains almost completely. Nothing drains via gravity and the icebox holds lots of slushy ice (necessary for cold beer). I can take a picture of my setup this weekend, if you like.
Mike is so right. Let the wrong liquid leak into the icebox, then the bilge...phew! My O272 icebox drained by default into the bilge, which was then pumped out by the exterior Whale bilge pump. I first tee'd the icebox into the sink drain and was quickly reminded that water seeks its own level. Opened the thruhull and the water flowed back into the below-water-level icebox. On to Plan B. The P/O set up the galley sink faucet with a Shurflo Nautilus on-demand water pump. I reworked the fresh water system completely and had the leftover Nautilus pump. So...I mounted and wired the pump at the back of the undersink area, ran the drain line to the pump, and tee'd in ABOVE the waterline level. Now, a flip of the switch and the icebox drains almost completely. Nothing drains via gravity and the icebox holds lots of slushy ice (necessary for cold beer). I can take a picture of my setup this weekend, if you like.
If you are referring to the stock galley icebox mounted in the counter, you can connect the icebox to the sink drain using a tee just above the thruhull. Many of the 25's came just that way. No problem with backflow.
Great info!
After reading the suggestions, I wonder if I should make somthing of a "trap" for ice water to sit instead of directly flowing out, by placing the "T" a little higher on the sink drain hose?
After reading the suggestions, I wonder if I should make somthing of a "trap" for ice water to sit instead of directly flowing out, by placing the "T" a little higher on the sink drain hose?
Valve on Icebox
Maybe you could put a petcock on the icebox drain line. Just because the ice has melted is no reason to let it drain away. The water is still colder than outside. Better to keep the cold mass inside the icebox no matter the form; ice or water. I always start with a little water in the bottom of the icebox when adding ice. The ice does pull energy from the water initially and melt some in the beginning, but drinks get cold faster when surrounded by ice/icewater than ice and air pockets.
Maybe you could put a petcock on the icebox drain line. Just because the ice has melted is no reason to let it drain away. The water is still colder than outside. Better to keep the cold mass inside the icebox no matter the form; ice or water. I always start with a little water in the bottom of the icebox when adding ice. The ice does pull energy from the water initially and melt some in the beginning, but drinks get cold faster when surrounded by ice/icewater than ice and air pockets.
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