Caravan fridge vent
Submitted: Thursday, Feb 16, 2006 at 13:25
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30834
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TLC
Having read Collyn Rivers' atricles on making fridges work prompted me to take to the van with a screwdriver. After removing the single large vent I was horrified at what I saw (read what I didn't see)...
I didn't see any sort of baffle...
I didn't see any form of insulation between the fridge and the cabinet.
Having said all that we spent 10 days in
Echuca in Jan with temps in the mid 40's for the first 3 days and mid to high 30's the rest and the fridge performed very
well indeed.. The Kids icypoles remained frozen as did the steaks and snags..
You could have fried an egg on the sink though as it's directly above the fridge.
The fridge was run on 240 with the thermistat on the highest setting..
I was concerned that the consecutive 40 deg + days would finally take their toll so I aimed a pedestal fan at the top of the vent during the hottest part of the day..
So here's my question..Should I go to the trouble of insulating the fridge from the cabinet and the sink? If so what do I use...pink batts ..styrene foam etc...
Should I somehow block off the middle of the sigle large vent effectively making an upper and lower vent and add a baffle and a 12volt fan..
I'm guessing the answer to all the above will be yes!
cheers
TLC
Reply By: Member - Reiner G (QLD) 4124 - Thursday, Feb 16, 2006 at 13:45
Thursday, Feb 16, 2006 at 13:45
the biggest improvement would be a chimny going from the exhaust pipe on the right straight outside which it doesn't have by the sound of things.You can buy them of camec and other caravan parts people. You need to get rid of the hot air from the inside of the cupboard.
Is your van a viscount by any chance? Fridge Electrolux?
A fan is a good idea in extreme heat.
Reiner
AnswerID:
155355
Follow Up By: TLC - Thursday, Feb 16, 2006 at 13:57
Thursday, Feb 16, 2006 at 13:57
G'day Reiner..Thanks for your reply..
Yes it is a Viscount circa 1984..Yes it's an Electrolux (Dometic) fridge..
Do you have any experience with Viscount vans and poor fridge installation?
cheers
TLC
FollowupID:
409314
Reply By: Member - Reiner G (QLD) 4124 - Thursday, Feb 16, 2006 at 14:16
Thursday, Feb 16, 2006 at 14:16
I repaired Caravans for about 20 years and the Viscounts used to have the fridges fitted without a
chimney. The ones before yours had ventilation in front of the sink and the fumes would come into the van rather going outside.
The Viscounts used to get a hot sink thats why I thought yours must be a Viscount :-)
I used to fit vents in the floor as
well to get more air moving but priority is getting
air out of the cabinet. And the fumes ofcourse.
If the fridge worked
well at 40° I wouldn't worry to much about it.
Reiner
AnswerID:
155359
Reply By: turbopete - Thursday, Feb 16, 2006 at 17:35
Thursday, Feb 16, 2006 at 17:35
dont use "pink Batts" they will sag use styrofoam sheets
AnswerID:
155399
Reply By: bushanimal - Thursday, Feb 16, 2006 at 20:41
Thursday, Feb 16, 2006 at 20:41
tlc
i to was on the murray at xmas amd i have a brand new van with a dometic 2453 in worked very porley i also han a 60 lt engal it worked like a charme i investigated all the fan options and had the fridge tested ad the answer i got was they dont work in high temps so i ripped it out and put in a upright commpressor fridge it is unbalevably better every one raved to me about gas fridges they are rubbish and cant beleve any one would buy one i spent $150 on the fan options and testing to find this out
hope this will prevent you waisting the same money
AnswerID:
155438