Ice Box Insulation

[Hi Ho]

I am in the process of upgrading my galley. I have the ice box out and the present foam insulation is dry and hard. My question how much will the insulation deteriorate based on age alone. I hate to go through the expense and work if I gain very little. I presently have 4 1/2 inches of foam. Thanks for your thoughts

Hi Ho

[witzgall]

As I understand it, most foam insulation degrades significantly over time. If it is much over 10 years old, replace it while you have the chance. If it is 2 inches or less, beef it up.

Chris

[sarafina]

if only because newer foam comes with MUCH higher insulation ratings for the volume. You will get more cold for same space if you use a newer insulation.

[Hi Ho]

Thanks for your thoughts, when one asks a question they probably already know the answer! I know that foam will lose it's effeciency but what %, I was hoping the answer was going to be with 4-1/2 inches of foam it would not be significant so don't mess with it! The box always seemed to keep ice pretty good so I did'nt think about doing [measuring] the ice melt test this summer. So you get into a project and you think do I or don't I - the dog seems to be sleeping or is he dead! Thanks for your thoughts.

Hi Ho

[Sailabel]

Hi Ho- we went through this project a while back. The foam in our refer/freezer was 20 years old, and after digging into it, we found areas that were soggy... no insulation value.
Since you already have the icebox out, it makes sense to replace the foam. In our case, we used the 'blueboard' sheet insulation from Lowes and Home Depot (one of them had 'pink board'). Before installling the insulation, we lined the area with reflective insulation, and then plastic in which to incapsulate the new insulation. It wasn't a real tough job... the worst of it was removing the cabinetry to get to the refer liner, and then digging out all the old stuff. This is a job you only want to do once, and if you intend to spend time on the boat... having an icebox that keeps things cold is a bonus. If the icebox meets your needs for now, and you don't expect to increase your time aboard... then you can leave it alone.

Steve