Our coolbox-fridge has some insulation problems.
Does anyone has some ideas how to get rid of condensation water problem above the cool box?
When using fridge few days, starts first lockers above box to be really wet from the surface.
I will add here a pic how our pantry looks like a. I guess there are no easy way to see how is the insulation / adding it / repairimg it / adding more?
Thanks a lot! 😊??
Not sure where your condensation appears exactly. We've insulated the fridge lid with PU foam, which helped, but the aluminium edges around the lid do conduct heat and there's often some condensation on them if the weather is particularly humid.
We just wipe it off. It's not an easy fix, as the edge is what the lid rests on, so it's not just ornamental. Insulating the inside with some foam strips may help a bit.
Problems are mainly inside this locker (red circle).
(pic not from our boat, but similar)
Also the wood between table top and the plywood has been suffering from moisture.
Lid is not the biggest problem. I guess it is not insulated as good as possible but bigger problems are inside the lockers. It gets really wet (even we are sailing in cold Finland)
Condensation is indicating a lack of insulation. It appears at 4 .. 5 degrees difference between surface temperature and environment temperature. Adding 10mm thermo-insulation at the bottom side of the lid will increase the surface tamperature at the top slightly (1 degree C). Just enough in our boat to avoid condensation. A better insulation approach can be found in the topic "New Fridge ideas"...
Quote from: quakerfin on December 14 2020, 10:17
Our coolbox-fridge has some insulation problems.
Does anyone has some ideas how to get rid of condensation water problem above the cool box?
When using fridge few days, starts first lockers above box to be really wet from the surface.
I will add here a pic how our pantry looks like a. I guess there are no easy way to see how is the insulation / adding it / repairimg it / adding more?
Thanks a lot! 😊??
With respect, could it be that you are looking in the wrong direction? Like others I too have noticed minor condensation on the outside of the lift up refrigerator access lid, but not on the surrounding area of worktop. On the basis that heat rises, while cool descends, it seems strange that you get condensation in a cupboard above the refrigerator and particularly if there is an extra thickness of plywood forming the base of that cupboard which would further insulates the bottom area of that cupboard.
Have you considered the following possibilities
1. that you might have a small leak through the side deck above, maybe from a leaking stanchion base, and from where water may be getting in and travelling past the backs of the cupboards above the one where you have noticed some moisture, but then into that cupboard ?
2. is it possible that you have condensation occurring on the underside of the side deck, and that accumulating moisture then travels down as suggested in 1 above ?
3. you say the picture included with your posting is not of your boat, but of a similar one, but do you use the worktop area in the same way with similar appliances? The photo shows what may be a coffee maker close by, but both that or an electric kettle would give off steam, and condensation from that steam might permeate through the cupboard door if it was left open or through the seam between the woodwork of the upper and lower cupboards ?
In the event that there is no insulation between the cool box, a very common problem unfortunately, then you may have to drill a number of small holes through the base of that cupboard into the void area between the cool box and the underside of the worktop area and through which you can inject some insulating foam. BUT DO CHECK VERY CAREFULLY before drilling to ensure that the area inside in the immediate proximity of where you would be drilling, is free from electric cables, water pipes, gas pipeline etc. You don't want to turn a small problem into a disaster !
I see now where you mean. Improving insulation helps, but it seems equally impossible to access as ours, so all you can do is inject PU foam, which may help to some extend, depending on what's already in there. If the condensation is only in the locker, you could add a sheet of insulation foam on the bottom of the locker. Improving ventilation to the locker may also help.