caravan fridge

Yeah Pojo,

Experienced same with my first c/van. Solution get a 2 way in the second van, now no more hot beer. The 3 ways are (apparently) only good for 30 degrees below ambient temp, so if in hot country you can imagine what the fridge is running at inside a hot van.
My understanding is that they run coolest on gas, so maybe you could try this to see if it's any cooler if not maybe it's time to talk to your Waeco dealer or engel or vitrofrigo ect ect. about a 12v job.

Cheers Trevor.

Yep - as Trev says, gas is definitely the best mode.... and they have to "breathe" well too - circulating air - if the van is hot inside, and its hot outside and you just rely on convected air over the back, it may be too big an ask - maybe a 12V fan to assist ?

Three things to try:

1. Is the fridge level? Not just the van. Put a small level on the ice shelf of the fridge to check.

2. Is there proper airflow over the condensor? Many installations are poor to start with but get worse if the vents are clogged. If you can get to them make sure they're clean. If not, at least vacuum them from outside. You must have fresh air coming in at the bottom and exiting at the top. If the gap between the back of the fridge and the wall of the caravan is too big then you won't get this happening. It's bizarre that the manufacutrers sometimes get this wrong! A carefully positioned fan to suck air off the top of the condensor can do wonders (however if incorrectly placed will make things worse by cooling the wrong bits)

3. If it's an old fridge then check that the door seal's ok.

If all else fails and you can remove the fridge then take it out, turn it upside down a few times and try again. After a while crystals can form and need to be redissolved

Adrian

12V computer fan for the external fins plus a 12V fan on the inside - works wonders.
As above, Gas provides best result and ensure fridge is reasonably level.
This question has been asked many times. Use the search function at top of screen.
happy camping....................

is 240v electric heater element correct wattage?
is flue stack clean...Internally -
is condenser clean?
hot air rises so ensure adequate air flow from bottom to top at back of fridge condenser area!
are door seals Ok?
Does it get to temperature on gas?

I have had these problems with 2 Brand new caravans I bought over the last 4 years and have tried it all. Nothing works like it should and computer fans, insulation and perfect levels don't help.

As a Engel wholesaler I decided to fit one of my own products to my van. The SR90E which is a direct fit into the Dometic RM2350 cavity.

Wow ! Great, in 55 mins it pulled down from 29 deg to 7 deg and started cycling.

This weekend I will fit one of my AGM's and a 123w solar panel.

At around a grand the fridge is one of my best self bought presents.

Regards Derek

To save you experiencing anymore information overload with what it could be, why not engage the services of a qualified fridge technician...Unless you are willing to start pulling your fridge our to check this stuff, I would..

A few recent Dometic three-way fridges are available as 'T-rated'. They willo operate in ambients of up to 43 degrees C (most previous were designed for 32 degrees C max).

You will find the answers to your questions on my website. Enter and click on 'Articles' - you will find a two-part article there on all aspects of three-way fridge operation and installation.

Please note this is an attempt to assist not to promote - the information is hard to obtain elsewhere.
Collyn Rivers

Hi Pojo

Just been through the same problem with a Dometic 3-way. I have now solved the problem (thanks also to input from Collyn)

1. Check that the fridge is "T" rated (Yes in my case)
2. Check that the vents are in the right place (Yes in my case)
3. Check that the cowling at the top of the fridge to the outside is correctly installed.
( In my case the cowling was only over half the evaporator instead of behind it)
4. Check that there is no airspace above the fridge ( needed more insulation in my case)

The improvement of fixing 3 + 4 has made a big difference in the preformance of the fridge

Regards Ray

Happy it worked out Ray!

Installers hate my repeating this, but most three-way fridge installation varies from 'could either have been done better', to 'hopelessly inadaquate'.

Often, what appear to be trivial matters make a huge difference to performance. As a result over the years gas fridges have developed a poor reputation. That poor reputation would better be associated with many an installer, rather than the product. This is especially true of the recent 'T-rated' fridges. These work superbly (even up here in the Kimberley) if correctly fitted.

One installer phoned me in a huge rage a couple of years back. Paraphrasing his comments - he said: 'I've been installing the b-y things for over thirty years - I KNOW they don't work - but the b-y idiot customers keep asking me to put them in - I'm not interested in their complaints - or b-y idiots like you". This is what users are sometimes up against.

Not just three-way fridges can be improved.

Most 12-volt electric fridges can have their performance improved (often dramatically) by replacing the almost invariably too-thin cable by heavier cable. Nowadays, installers are tending to use 6 mm auto cable (this is actually 4.6 sq mm). This is fine for up to two/three metres - but not much more.

If you are in doubt re cable adequacy, tell me (via posting on this Forum) total cable leength, and make/size of fridge, and I will tell you what cable size to use. Or give me the existing cable details (I must have the cable cross sectional area - or the conductor diameter NOT including insulation) and I can tell you the voltage drop across that cable.
Collyn Rivers