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Icebox Drain Mystery

Menez La Vie

Junior Member
Well, I've somehow spent amazingly too much time on this, but just can't figure out why my icebox won't drain.
The previous owner mentioned he had a problem with the drain and I noticed it was slow, but wasn't an issue at first. Now, it doesn't seem to go anywhere and I'm using the portable bilge to suck out the melted ice water.
I've looked over all the old Ericson docs and can't seem to find out where the drain goes. See pictures. I looked under the sink and there's no drainage or anything coming from the icebox bulkhead. I looked behind the galley drawers and nothing. I looked behind the galley wall (aft of galley) and nothing there as well.
I finally went to Home Depot and got one of those drainage uncloggers and stuck it down in there. After about 10' still nothing! I could hear the metal from that thing under the galley floor, but couldn't see anywhere it might have come out. I can only assume it made it out some thru hull, but then why wouldn't that have unclogged the drain? Pressure? But then the icebox sits above the water line.
I can still bilge her out or even throw a towel in there to soak up the water, but it would be nice to drain the melted ice to get better use out of her.
Any other suggestions? Besides, shut up and bring a cooler :)
 

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Rocinante33

Contributing Partner
Which model and year Ericson do you have?

My icebox drains with one of the two foot pumps which are below the galley. The plumbing may have been changed to do it this way, but it pumps the ice box water up into the sink.
 

boethius27

Member II
From the picture, it looks rather similar to my e-35-2 galley. My icebox drains out of a hose that comes out of the insulation under the sink. The hose is supposed to discharge under the shelf-panel that makes the undersink storage flat and usable, however the hose is cut off a bit too short and it drains half into the bilge and, sadly, half onto the shelf under the sink and then across the cabin sole. :rolleyes:

Anyhow, mine is very easy to see but i don't have that nice looking retaining wall between the undersink area and the icebox insulation. Maybe your hose is hiding in that insulation somewhere, but I don't know why it wouldn't be draining... unless the insulation has somehow shaken loose and clogged the drain most of the way, thus allowing your metal unclogger to get through but not allowing water through very easily. Doesn't make much sense. Good luck.
-Justin
 

Glyn Judson

Moderator
Moderator
Ice box not draining properly.

Dear friend, As mentioned by Keith, your ice box drain could be T'd somewhere other than the sink drain but for the fact that you can't see where it emerges from under the ice box. My best guess is that the drain hose has developed a crease at a turn and it has become progressively more and more kinked to the point where it has effectively sealed itself off. It might be the case that despite snaking the line, it could have closed up immediately after removal. Can you get compressed air to the sink in the form of a portable compressor or a SCUBA tank? Maybe a slight burst of compressed air could open up the hose should it not be a kink. Failing that, I'd be tempted to open up the bulkhead adjacent to the drain with a 4" hole saw. That would at least let you look in there to assess the situation. You might want to cut a second hole if needed in order to get both hands and more access to effect a repair or replacement of the drain hose. The other advantage to cutting that hole and other small ones for that matter would be that you could shoot aerosol insulating foam in there after the fix. Keep us all posted. Oh, what model and year is your Ericson? With that specific, other owners of the identical boat could be of more help. Glyn Judson, E31 hull #55, Marina Del Rey, CA
 

HughHarv

Hugh
Kinked hose

My icebox drain also goes to the foot pump, however I looked under the box and could see that the hose is kinked. It had the same symptoms, progressively slower drainage till finally stopping. I ran a stiff wire down it and got it to drain again. Hope this helps.
 
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bayhoss

Member III
Try this

These are used by people in the HVAC & R industry to unclogg condensate (and anything else) lines. They will clear a clogged thru hull in a second flat. You can buy them at any place that sells plumbing supplies. They use small CO 2 cartriges that can be had anywhere. No connection to the manufacturer or supplier.

Hope this helps,
Frank
 

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Glyn Judson

Moderator
Moderator
Wow, I didn't know.

Frank, Thanks for sharing that great little tool for all of us to know about, I never would have thought such an item even existed. Bear in mind though, there's always the chance that a crimped or clogged line getting a sudden blast might react by blowing the hose clamp free of the barb or worse yet, splitting an aged vinyl hose. Can the pressure be regulated of is it just a case of puncturing the CO2 cylinder and letting 'er rip? All and all, I still think that tool is very, very cool. Glyn Judson, E31 hull #55, Marin del Rey, CA
 

bayhoss

Member III
Regulator (sort of)

Hi Glyn,
There is no regulator other than the trigger. The longer you hold it down that more you get. Typical use is to give short "bumps" on the triger to release small amounts of volume. Over doing it can sure seperate a line if the clog is close to the point of entry.

Best,
Frank
 

Emerald

Moderator
Very cool tool - but you guys are thinking too much about it's intended uses. If I only had one of these things back in the frat days. Can you say turbo charge your keg, long distance projectile delivery, or some other worthwhile engineering project....:cool:
 

bayhoss

Member III
Anything related to advanced beer delivery would have been at the top of the list in the college days! All those brain cells - poor devils never stood a chance:cheers:

Best,
Frank
 

Shaggy

Member II
Howdy, Menez -

We still don't know which model Ericson you have.

I had a clogged icebox drain on my E-38, which uses a foot pump to drain into the sink.

I tried a plumbing snake to no avail as well and was stymied by lack of access to the hose (or plastic pipe) directly underneath the icebox.

Believe it or not, I resorted to a (new and unused) toilet plunger. I squashed it down over the drain in the ice box and plunged away in the standing water until the offending item, a stray, semi-decomposed grape finally popped free.

I'm probably lucky I didn't rupture any of the plumbing, but it worked like a charm!

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Shaggy
 
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