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.............................................--- Boat Fridge Install on the Boat Part V ---
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After finishing with the install of the compressor/condenser and hooking it to the evaporator all that was left was finish coats of interior/exterior polyurethane and trip work. Above the polyurethane has been added to the wood countertop, left, and to the box sides.
I'd considered covering them with cedar or something, but...
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.... we liked them with the stain and clear polyurethane on them so went with that.
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The hatch over the one side of the frig was done and ....
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... I cleared the stained wood on the other side.
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Next trim was added to the part of the box that stuck out into the cabin area.
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We chose to use synthetic wood trip for this. The plastic looks like wood trim and...
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...were/are happy with it. Above the bottom enclosure is finished.
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Another shot.
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We tended to keep the large hot pad on top of the frig where the wood countertop is. Note that the part of the fridge box where it meets the side wall is not trimmed yet.
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Now, above, all of the trim is in place.
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Ruth is very happy with the whole install and I am too. It has been a great addition to the boat's galley.
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Here the fridge is finally in use.
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Items we need to use daily fit into the small side and this side stays about 3-4 degrees warmer than over closer to the freezer. We had the thermostat set so that this side was around 40 degrees.
The arrow points to one of the two UHT milk cartons, one 2% and one skim. Someone pointed out UHT milk to us over the winter. We don't use it at home, but did try it out on the boat while we were on it and really like it in as far as it will really help when out cruising. They say it has a 6-9 month shelf life and only needs to be refrigerated after opening. So we can store a lot on board and it is quart size so doesn't take up that much room in the fridge. Most of our milk use is for cereal in the morning and for us the taste is fine. This would of been great for some of our previous MacGregor extended trips.
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The arrow points to some frost that developed in this area of the freezer. I'm going to still install a rubber gasket around the white part of the box top and feel that will seal off any air that might be leaking in at that point. The double lid also helps with that.
We found the purple plastic containers at the local Dollar Store and they fit the area well and ....
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... stacked 3 high are just the right height to work in that area. We fill them with sandwich meat, cheese and other items and extra drinks. We found them handy to keep things separated and to use the space efficiently.
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With them removed from the space where the arrow is you can get access to other items...
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...that are back in the back area of the cooler next to the freezer. There again using a plastic container helps to organize that area.
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The freezer keeps things frozen with the exception of ice cream. In order to keep things from freezing in the cooler section of the box we could only lower the freezer compartment to 22 degrees. It would go much lower, but then the items in the rest of the box would start freezing.
We don't consider this a big deal. At home our chest freezer is set to below zero for long term storage of food. On the boat we only need to keep things frozen for maximum of maybe a month so the higher frozen temperature is no big deal. The ice in the top container stayed frozen the whole 2 months as a test. Ice cream will last a day or two, but starts to get too soft. The main purpose of the freezer is to be able to buy meat like in the package above and keep it frozen until we use it. The box will work fine for that.
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The fridge build and install for the boat has been and will be a great mod that we will enjoy everyday when on the boat.
