‘GREEN’ on R.E.D.

‘GREEN’ on R.E.D.

Doing our best to conserve energy onboard R.E.D., it’s a delicate balance between what we ‘need’ and what we consume, constantly pushing to make things better.

Even though the cooler (three-year old Dometic CF50) runs really efficiently as far a power draw now that we’ve corrected some electrical issues, it’s located just inside the companionway and on really hot sunny days we’ve noticed the compressor runninig a lot. Keeping the hatch closed has helped but this year I thought it may help further by insulating with some leftover mylar – our perfect solution last year to keeping the heat out of the cabin and giving us a bit of privacy too (check what we did here).

I started by cutting one piece to cover the body of the cooler with slits to tightly fit over each side handle.

Dometic Mylar Blanket

Mylar Surround

 

Opening for Handles

Opening for Handles

Next I cut a piece for the lid.  Making it 2″ larger alowed me to be able to add a side strip to square off the two narrow sides to form a cap for the four corners.  On the under side I used strips of Gorilla tape and shiny silver Duck Tape on the outside to make smooth seams.

image

Taping the Lid

 

Lid Corners

Lid Corners

To make the raw edges less vulnerable to wear and tear I trimmed all with the shiny silver Duck Tape torn in half lengthwise.

image

Reinforced Cuts for Handles

When the Dometic isn’t charging properly it flashes an error message on the door display.  Hopefully with the improvements in wiring we won’t have that problem but just in case I cut a small window over the display and taped transparent plastic over the opening, again reinforcing the edges with the shiny Duck Tape.

Window for Display

Window for Display

I also cut a piece of mylar to place at the base of the cooler.

Base of Cooler

Base of Cooler

It may not be my prettiest creation but we’re hoping it will make some difference in how often the compressor runs.  At the very least with all that silver, it will keep Martians from stealing our beer.

Finished

Finished

Cooler Insulation
Ingredients
  • mylar insulation
  • Gorilla tape (mat grey)
  • Duck Tape (shiny silver)
  • scissors
  • measuring tape or ruler
  • pen to mark measurements
  • scissors
  • beer to restock cooler
Instructions

 

BOAT MODIFICATIONS: Window Covering

BOAT MODIFICATIONS: Window Covering

My plan has always been to make some sort of window coverings for R.E.D.

During our first summer I tried using static cling window film (link here).

It worked great, offering privacy at night,

but we missed being able to see out the windows,

and removing and reapplying wasn’t practical.

Last year we felt no particular need for night-time privacy,

but the sun blazing through the cabin added so much heat

to our little abode.

We still plan on someday adding curtains

but as a temporary measure this year

to beat the heat so to speak

we bought some

Mylar Reflective Insulation,

a double-sided polyester and aluminum blanket

which reflects 97% of radiant heat.

It’s so effective that NASA uses it to shield the International Space Station

against thermal radiation of the sun.

It was easily cut with kitchen scissors,

and pressed into the several window alcoves,

it was really effective in cutting the blazing afternoon sun.