Ice Castle Question

[Brade4]

I just recently bought an Ice Castle. It is finished and ready to go. However I would like to put in a radio with speakers. Could I mount a radio anywhere with the wiring? How would I go about this? Thanks

[sx2]

first of all i have to say congrats! Is it a v-front or not? If it is a v i would mount the radio up front, Because most of the time the batteries are located up there so that makes it easy to run the wires for your power and ground.

[Brade4]

Yes it is a v-front with the cupboards and stove.

[sx2]

if you would like i can send you some pics how i did mine. just post up your email!

[Brade4]

Yes that would be great! [email protected]

[Nisswaguy]

Hi sx2. Would you be willing to share them with me? [email protected]

Thanks for your help!

[deaceye]

SX2. could you send me the diagram as well, thanks [email protected]

[broken_line]

some of the "V" fronts have the batterys under neatf the back seats....

[Glockwinger]

I used a car stereo purchased at a local electronics store along with the speakers. I have a 12v cig socket in the front of my Ice Castle that I removed and tapped into for my power. I ran the speaker wires inside my cabinets. I decided to use indoor/outdoor speakers instead of car speakers as well. The sound is amazing and they handle the cold. I also like to look of them hanging on the wall. When I watch movies, I route the dvd sound though the head unit as well. I manufactured two brackets to hang the head unit from the cabinet and installed an antenna on the outside of the fish house. Just got to be careful where you drill through the siding to make sure you don't hit any factory wiring. Here is a pic of my setup:

[Nisswaguy]

Hi Glockwinger,

Thanks for the details. You sure do have a nice looking rig there. Couple of other questions for you.

What's underneath your stove? Is that your furnace?

Does your stove have to be vented to the outside?

My v-front house that I just bought from someone doesn't have anything in the V. So I'm thinking of buying a stove and making

my own counter/cabinet up there with the stove - just like you have in yours.

Do you have batteries hidden underneath your counter for your 12v power?

Again... thanks for all the help!! Great looking shack!

[Glockwinger]

Nissawaguy,

Sorry for the delay getting back to you, been away for awhile...

The vent holes under my stove/oven are my forced air heater powered by 12v. The heater is vented to the outside, but the stove/oven is not. My 12v source is a pair of deep cycle batteries that ride under the lower bunk in the rear of the fish house. All my electrical connections are back there for the 12v system except the cig lighter plug behind the tv up front that I tied the car stereo into.

Glockwinger

[Nisswaguy]

Thanks for the info Glockwinger.

How do you have everything connected?

[Glockwinger]

The house came pre-wired with two sets of pig-tailed wires with large clips attached to them under the rear bunk on the right side (I'd include pics of it, but the house is in storage a half hour away.. ) One pigtail is specifically for the heater, the other runs all other accesories, lights, and 12v outlets. I use one battery on each pigtail. I generally will run a generator once a day to charge the acc. battery and every other day on the heater battery. I also ran a meter down to the acc battery to watch the voltage. I only "killed" the battery one time while listening to tunes, the radio started flickering on and off, so out came the generator. I have 4 lights down the center of the ceiling, one under the bunk, and I plan to put one over the stove.

The house is wired for 110 as well, so when I plug in the generator, I have 4 live duplex outlets to plug the tv, dvd player, cell phone charger, and yes even the microwave into while charging the battery!