More Winter Projects

[jpendoley]

As part of the process of taking ownership of my 365, I have initiated a galley rebuild.  Having already done one icebox rebuild, I should have remembered how onerous the task can be. After cutting out the old box, I began rebuilding with foil faced polyisocyanurate foam. When I am done-and I'm getting close-the new box will have 6 inches of foam on the bottom and outboard sides. The forward, aft, outboard and top sections will all have 4+ inches of foam. All walls have a 10 mil vapor barrier.  The intent is to make 2-3 cubic feet a freezer section and 4.5 cubic feet a fridge.

Whether or not my old AB Cold machine can keep that large a freezer cold is an open question.  I'm trying to avoid replacing that unit this year, eventually I'd like to get a newer Frigoboat. The AB is a 2005 with the use once connectors. So far I think I have been able to move it around and rebend the evaporator plate without losing refrigerant. If I do lose refrigerant, it will mean I need to buy a new system as the older ABs have "one shot connection" couplings. Newer systems let you disconnect and reconnect multiple times.  I'm hopeful that the 280 Watts of solar and 400 amp bank can keep up with the reduced demand. For those of you struggling with the original icebox, it only had two-three inches of foam-pretty low for that size box.