Where does ice box drain?

JohnVTX · Jul 31, 2016

Mine drains to bilge

Alan Gomes · Jul 31, 2016

gfroch said:
Hello all-
I don't see a drain to the bilge, so guessing it drains over? hooks into galley sink drain?

Thanks...

-gf-

On my 1987 C30 (my previous boat) there was a short hose from the bottom of the ice box and the water just drained into the bilge. I modified it by adding a water pump and running the output of the pump to the sink drain. That way, I could keep my bilge dry.

Alan Gomes · Aug 1, 2016

gfroch said:
Hmmm... There isn't a hose to my bilge. How can I access under my icebox (which has been converted to fridge by a previous owner) to trace the drain? I don't want to us it until I know for sure where the drain goes and that it's intact.

Thanks again,

-gf-

It's been several years and so I'm going by memory here, but....
As I recall it, the hose coming from the ice box was short, so the hose itself did not snake all the way into the bilge. It dropped the water just below the ice box, which found its way to the bilge by gravity.

As far as accessing the underside of the ice box, I recall doing that by removing the drawer set right next to the ice box, opposite the galley sink.

Bob4203 · Aug 1, 2016

On my 1988 Mark II, the foot pump near the companionway takes the drainage from the cooler to the drain line from the galley sink. There it drains through a thru hull. The pump will direct the water into the sink (uphill) and it will gravity flow into the thru hull. No bilge needed here. Strange set up indeed compared to other coolers.

JohnVTX · Aug 1, 2016

Pour some water in it.

Benny17441 · Aug 2, 2016

There is usually a short drain tube discharging to the bilge. You mention the cooler was converted to a refrigerator by the PO. Understand that cold air flows downward and will escape through an open drain causing the refrigerator to cycle more frequently to maintain temperature. I would suggest to cap that drain when the refrigerator is in use. Perhaps the PO was aware of this and he elected to shut off the drain permanently which could be the reason why you do not seem to locate a drain tube. Check and see if that drain is open by pouring some water in the cooler.

Filledwithjoy · Aug 3, 2016

My husband just removed the foot pump along with a nasty smelling hose and now has it draining directly into the bilge.

All U Get · Sep 2, 2016

When we owned our 1981 Catalina 30 the ice box bottom was just above the waterline and it was plumbed into the sink drain. We never noticed any issues until we did some long cruises. Loading the boat with supplies for three weeks made it sit a few inches deeper in the water. When we would heel to port the water would flow into the icebox from the drain and drain out when we heeled to starboard. I put a stopper in the drain hole to keep the seawater out until we were on the right tack. I suppose if I had single handed the boat I wouldn't have needed so much stuff onboard. "Solved" the problem by getting a bigger boat.

All U Get

Filledwithjoy · Sep 6, 2016

I'd say that's a good "solve!"

Peggie Hall HeadMistress · Sep 6, 2016

Icebox or fridge water in a bilge is a guaranteed source of bilge odor. The simplest solution would be re-route the drain to the shower sump. If there is no shower sump--if the shower also drains into the bilge--install a sump...shower water is full of soap scum, body oils etc that will make a bilge smell like swamp or a sewer even faster than icebox drain water. If the boat has central HVAC, AC condensate is another source of odor...route that drain into the sump too. The float switch on the sump pump will let the pump keep it going overboard. And sumps are a lot easier to keep clean than bilges.

For more on this subject, y'all might want to check out the link in my signature.

patrickkidd · Sep 10, 2016

gfroch said:
Hello all-
I don't see a drain to the bilge, so guessing it drains over? hooks into galley sink drain?

I just finished insulating my C30 icebox after installing a Norcold SCQT-4408-L AC/DC icebox refrigerator conversion kit (Excellent device, BTW), and replaced my ice box drain hose.

I imagine you will be able to answer your own question by removing the drawers and casing to the left of the stove with a screwdriver. A lot of hoses and wiring runs through here and it also answers questions about where things go when they exit the port lazarette. My ice box drain has a hose that runs towards the engine bilge, which of course eventually drains into the main cabin bilge. The hose is not long enough to be seen from under the wooden floor panel just under the stairs.

Benny17441 said:
There is usually a short drain tube discharging to the bilge. You mention the cooler was converted to a refrigerator by the PO. Understand that cold air flows downward and will escape through an open drain causing the refrigerator to cycle more frequently to maintain temperature. I would suggest to cap that drain when the refrigerator is in use. Perhaps the PO was aware of this and he elected to shut off the drain permanently which could be the reason why you do not seem to locate a drain tube. Check and see if that drain is open by pouring some water in the cooler.

A clever way to prevent warm air coming into the icebox drain is to add a loop in the drain hose. Some water will stay in the loop blocking air from traveling up into the ice box. The standing water may shorten the life of the hose, and it may not, but in either case it's a good fix IMO.