E 34 - Icebox Drain

We have a 1992 Ericson 34 (built by Pacific Seacraft) with an ice box drain problem. It has a refrigerator to starboard (no problems) and an icebox to port, just aft of the navigator's table.

The problem is the drain in the icebox - which doesn't drain. I can't locate a seacock, rodding it out and blasting compressed air does hase not helped. The instruction manual is silent on the subject. While cruising, we have to empty out the icebox almost daly to removeseveral inches of melted ice - somewhat of a pain.

Does anyone know know to fix this?

Does anyone know how it drains and where it drains to?

Many thanks.

Stuart Gordon (dwghd@aol.com)

Hi Stewart,

We have a 1987 E34, which should be largely the same (if it's an Ericson/PC 34 which I think was later called a 350). That said, our boat has the galley to port with the cooling unit/compressor mounted under the settee. The ice box is located on the starboard side between the nav station and the aft head. There should be a set of valves (2 to be precise) under the sink mounted to the bulkhead backing up the settee. The vale on the left should be the drain for the port ice box; the valve on the right should be for the cold box to starboard. Once opened, the ice boxes can be drained by using the sea water foot pump underneath the galley (drains into the sink). That's how all late-model aft cabin Ericsons I've seen are plumbed. Good luck.

Stewart;
Chris & Wendy forgot to mention that you need to close the thru hull before you try to pump out the ice box. My 1988 E34 has the opposite layout of there's (ice box to port, refrig. to starboard) but the manifold under the galley sink is the same. I had a devil of a time figuring out how it all worked. Took several beer's to do! Oh well that's another story.
Bud E34 "Escapade"