Insulating evaporator box...has anyone done this?
 

I'm in the process of replacing the evaporator blower motor (bearings starting to make noise) inside of the smuggler's box on my 82 SC. In doing a search on the replacement process for the motor, I came across a photo of someone who insulated the plastic box containing the evaporator and the electric motor. He used insulation with an aluminized coating facing outward. Seemed like a pretty good idea in regards to keeping the box nice and cold. Has anyone performed a mod like this? I'm going to put the new motor back into the car in the next day or two, so I've got to make the decision within that time. It's not a job that I want to do a second time....what a pain.

Thanks,
Steve

It's a good idea, and I can't imagine it would do any harm, but hopefully someone like Jim Sims or Charlie Griffiths will weigh in on this.

Rennaire already has a solution for that.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1154042613.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1154042653.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1154042676.jpg

For those who don't know, Pelican is now carrying the full line of Rennaire products.

bump

Anything one can do that avoids picking up heat from areas one doesn't want to cool (like the smuggler's box and the trunk) is helpful as is eliminating leaks of the cooled air. A couple of important points regarding insulating the evaporator/blower housing:

1) There is very limited clearance to the walls of the smuggler's box at several points so the insulation must be thin/and or compliant enough to accommodate this.

2) The insulation should not absorb or wick up water as the evaporator will condense water out of the air in the process of functioning. Wet insulation can be worse than no insulation in terms of heat transfer plus it can mildew and generate an unpleasant odor.

Another simple effectiveness gain can be had by filling the gaps between the evaporator and the interior walls of the evaporator/blower housing with self-adhesive foam strips. This forces more air through the core of the evaporator by reducing the shunting of air around its perimeter.

Jegs , summit racing , ebay .........sell a product called DuraMat that works great , even Napa sells them but I think in only 12" X 12" sheets .
Foil and sticky backing . SxS