stock cooler mod idea ?

[Bob 04 H260]

I have been looking at the stock cooler that came with our H260. It has had a tiny leak in the drain cap since we first bought the boat, so I need to wipe under the cooler every few days. I am thinking about two changes. First, attach a hose to the cooler drain and lead to a valve installed under the galley sink, then a hose down to the seacock for the galley sink. This would allow draining of the cooler without having to remove it from the normal position. Second, there seems to be an inch or so of space around the cooler so I would add additional foam insulation around the cooler to improve the lifetime of a block of ice. Has anyone else bothered to do this or is there anything else I should consider ?

 

[John23883]

Easy

We never have water in the bottom of our cooler. We cut the corner off the bag of ice and pour it into this. $4 at Big Lots or Wal-mart.

 

[alan grt s bay longisland]

Just throw ur favorite bottled water in the freezer. Then, place in ice chest. When u need extra water, drink it. Or, recycle by placing in freezer. No more water problem. alan

 

[Bill Roosa]

More insulation and a trap

More insulation is always a good idea. The expanding stuff is mildly dangerous to use though. It expands as advertised and if there is no room for that expansion it will push something out of the way. Also turn off ALL flames while it cures.
On your drain a simpler way is to just loop the hose close to the exit of the cooler. This forms a trap like under your sink. Gets rid of the need for valves and opening and closing them. Keeps the cooler dry too.

 

[Bob 04 H260]

I removed the handles so the sides are now flat. I was going to use double sided tape to hold a double layer of 3/8" foam carpet underlay so the cooler could easily be returned to the stock setup if required. The cooler looks like it has a bit more than an inch of foam now so this would make a difference. The underlay for use below grade is treated to resist mildew and mold and quite inexpensive. I don't think a trap will stop water from the sink leaking back into the cooler. I think that ice cold water still has the potential to do a lot of cooling and I usually try to keep it until I get a fresh block of ice.