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Ice box drain leaking on our E27?

Desiderata

Member II
We have some water leaking from a small hole (about the size of a dime) in the bottom corner of the ice box enclosure. We are thinking it could be the drain hose connection for the ice box, but the ice box is all enclosed so we see no way to access the drain connection. Any ideas?
 

joe-fran

Member II
ice box drain

On my 1971 E-27 there was a drain hole with a hose connected to it that allowed the melted ice water to drain directly into the bilge.
 

Second Star

Member III
On our 28+ the ice box drain hose comes thru the plywood bulkhead that seperates the engine compartment and the ice box. Thus the drain fitting on the box is not visible or accessable. If I must replace the hose in the future I think I'll have to use a hole saw and make a big enough opening to get at the fitting. We did learn to close the drain thru hull valve when undersail; filled the icebox with a foot of saltwater when heeled to port!
 

AleksT

Member III
On my 27 (if I remember correctly) the drain is in the center of the forward edge of the box. The drain tube appears in the area under the sink and goes to the bilge. To get to the underside of the box I would have to cut a hole in that "bulkhead" or the one that defines the storage space forward of the icebox.
If you do some exploratory hole cutting please let us know. My icebox is not leaking, but I am sure that someday it will.
 
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ignacio

Member III
Blogs Author
drain hole

Exactly the same with mine. Is it just my boat, or is the aft-most portion of the icebox lower than the drain hole?

On my 27 (if I remember correctly) the drain is in the center of the forward edge of the box. The drain tube appears in the area under the sink and goes to the bilge. To get to the underside of the box I would have to cut a hole in that "bulkhead" or the one that defines the storage space forward of the icebox.
If you do some exploratory hole cutting please let us know. My icebox is not leaking, but I am sure that someday it will.
 

AleksT

Member III
As my boat sits now the icebox drains forward but I have nothing stored aft of the icebox except for one 15 pound anchor and about 10 feet of chain.
 

Andrew Means

Member III
Exactly the same with mine. Is it just my boat, or is the aft-most portion of the icebox lower than the drain hole?

Ours certainly does - man, that icebox gets lousy with mold if we don't air it out immediately after using it - for day sails I've taken to just putting the ice in the sink and sticking the beer in that.

But this is an interesting thought about the icebox draining into the bilge - ours has a few cracks in it (which the PO had apparently tried to fix with some sort of tape) and I always thought the cracks were what let it drain into the bilge - but maybe the whole thing is that way? I'd certainly rather it drained outside, I should check to make sure.
 

paul culver

Member III
On my E29 there is a fitting inside the box where the drain tube connects. The fitting has a slot in it which I assumed would be for removal by lefty-loosy. I can't get the thing to budge though. Anybody had any luck in getting this thing out? I need to replace the tube because it has a stubborn clog in it and I am now forced to pump the ice box out by hand.

Paul
E29 "Bear"
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
On my E29 there is a fitting inside the box where the drain tube connects. The fitting has a slot in it which I assumed would be for removal by lefty-loosy. I can't get the thing to budge though. Anybody had any luck in getting this thing out? I need to replace the tube because it has a stubborn clog in it and I am now forced to pump the ice box out by hand.

Paul
E29 "Bear"

Our frp ice box has this similar-sounding fitting on the bottom, recessed slightly in the bottom panel. It appears to the "outside" part of a plastic thruhull fitting. The nut would then be on underneath. I presume that ours was done before they foamed the sides of the box. :rolleyes:

Taking that fitting off would be interesting, to say the least. I taped over it after installing the fridge system.

Best of luck,

Loren
 
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Glyn Judson

Moderator
Moderator
To tape or not to tape, a variation on a theme.

Loren and all, I too have that same fitting and would advise not to try to loosen or remove it if you ever plan to use it again. Once that nut below the bottom of the box is loosened, I see no way short of cutting a 4" or so hole in the adjacent plywood bulkhead of ever getting it retightened. After finally winning the battle with refrigeration aboard our boat for the last 16 years, we now have an extremely reliable system that draws close to half or a third of the amperage of the old one, 6 amps vs. 2 to 3 amps, but we still want to have the capability of using block ice in the future if needed. I fashioned an insulated plug out of a combination of vinyl tubing and other available materials that fits snuggly into the drain. The tube is filled with cork and topped off with a 5/16" stainless bolt with fender washer. It's a press fit with the washer acting as a knob of sorts for something substantial to grab on to when/if removing the insulating plug. It all sounds complicated but was simple to make, the most time taken up in shaping the cork and enough of it to fit into the vinyl tube which is about 4" to 5" as I recall. Glyn Judson, E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey, CA
 

paul culver

Member III
Thanks for the feedback on that fitting. I was thinking the hole in the icebox was threaded and hadn't considered that there might be a nut on the other side.

Paul
E29 "Bear"
 

Rocinante33

Contributing Partner
We have some water leaking from a small hole (about the size of a dime) in the bottom corner of the ice box enclosure. We are thinking it could be the drain hose connection for the ice box, but the ice box is all enclosed so we see no way to access the drain connection. Any ideas?

Keep it simple. Get one of those big flat (~6"), old fashioned drainplugs from a hardware store and slap it down in the bottom of the ice box & forget about it & go sailing! It should cover the drain & hopefully the leak around it. You might hafta stand on your head to pull it outta there when you're done, though.
 
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