The comment "Rule of thumb..... Everytime you open the door of an absorption fridge it takes 2 hours to recover and if you keep it open for any length of time it takes longer.." surprised me. The thermometer shows 5DegC when I open the door ... I just take out the milk or marg and that is the only time open - when I check thermometer when I put the milk/marg back(probably 30secs later) the temp is still on 5degC - no loss of temp according to the thermometer.
Cheers - John
Hi John,
I also guess it depends on how much cold stuff you have in the fridge when you open it.. like any front opening fridge when you open the door all the cold air falls out but if it has lots of cold goods in it then they help to keep the cold in .. hence my advice of having bottles of water and bladders there to retain the cold in the cabinet..
oldtrack123 said
12:46 PM Dec 2, 2013
Hi Bob
Ditto to that
Actualy even Empty milk botteles do a good job
They fill the space & retain the COLD air.
But one should still allow space for air circulation in thefridge
PeterQ
oldtrack123 said
01:14 PM Dec 2, 2013
ozjohn wrote:
snip --------- In a real world situation the cavity temperature inside the vans cladding could be well in excess of the test tempertures. Cheers, Ozjohn.
HI
AND THAT is when good baffles in the RIGHT places & fans PUShING ALL the COOLING air through the CONDENSER makes the world of difference!!
note : you do not/ should not cool the boiler section so a vertical baffle seperating it from the condenser section is an advantage.
The AIM IS to get the refrigerent down to AMBIENT temp BEFORE it enters the evaporater[fridge cabinet]
To prevent the fans running unneccessarily a 50C n/o thermostat fixed to the top of the condensor fins. about midway along ,. should be considered
The whole operation is then automatic, the fans only running when needed
I
Both Standard & Tropical fridges use the same refrigerent
The difference is better insulation , better condensor, higher energy input
A long time ago, In far Nth Qld at Mt Mulligan mines ruins, I saw good examples of additional condensor cooling
ALL the fridges had the condenser immmersed in a tank of cooling water which was tricle feed with cold water from the nearby mountain spring[ which gave the town reticulated water]
This included a fridge in an old hotel
That was my wake call on the importance of getting,rid of the heat from the condensor
So some 40years ago I started fitting fans & baffles to MY 3way fridges.
PeterQ
oldbobsbus said
01:31 PM Dec 2, 2013
That reminded me Peter,
Some years ago I was having trouble during summer with the AC on my truck and on one particularly hot day I took it to the Auto Elects to have them check the gas charge... He got out the hose and set to to spray on the condenser and said try it now... Well like you said it worked perfectly .... We ended up changing the condenser for one with more ability to get rid of the heat..
Which goes to prove that the same needs to be done with the heat generated by an absorption fridge...
Here is another point to think about..
IF it works good during cooler weather then it should also work in warmer weather so long as it is properly vented..
-- Edited by oldbobsbus on Monday 2nd of December 2013 01:34:58 PM
KFT said
01:37 PM Dec 2, 2013
Large HVAC systems in one of the hospitals I serviced had a 100 tonne and a 40 tonne chiller sets for aircon and the most efficient way of getting rid of the heat was a water cooled condenser also known as a cooling tower.
We did look at swapping to aircooled condensors but there was not enough roof space on the plant room to get an equivalent cooling capacity.
the ongoing hassle with the cooling tower was the disinfection regimen required for prevention of legionella.
frank
oldtrack123 said
02:52 PM Dec 2, 2013
oldbobsbus wrote:.
IF it works good during cooler weather then it should also work in warmer weather so long as it is properly vented..
-- Edited by oldbobsbus on Monday 2nd of December 2013 01:34:58 PM
HI Bob
I would state it differrently
"As long as ALL the excess heat is removed "
Baffles & fans do a good job on that with ALL refrigeration systems, EVEN Engels & Waecos
I guess that is one of te reasons Waecos have/need a fan
But even my Engels perform better, use less enegy, with a fan when the ambient temp they are in gets HIGH, a correctly place computer fan does wonders & the total battery power used is much less than without a fan
I am talking about temps in a closed vehicle parked in summer in the sun[around 40C]
And yes I have 25mm Styrofoam insulation, top, bottom a sides of my Engels
We did go regularky into the tropics in mid summer.
PeterQ
oldtrack123 said
02:57 PM Dec 2, 2013
KFT wrote:
Large HVAC systems in one of the hospitals I serviced had a 100 tonne and a 40 tonne chiller sets for aircon and the most efficient way of getting rid of the heat was a water cooled condenser also known as a cooling tower.
We did look at swapping to aircooled condensors but there was not enough roof space on the plant room to get an equivalent cooling capacity.
the ongoing hassle with the cooling tower was the disinfection regimen required for prevention of legionella.
frank
HI Frank
Yes ,just goes to show those old fellows back in the 20s knew a thing or two about refrigeration principles
Water cooling towers are a problem for legionaires no matter where they operate even for air compressors Or large refrigeration plants
But as the recent outbreak of Legionaires at two Qld private hospitals showed ,even warm water in any situation can breed it
PeterQ
-- Edited by oldtrack123 on Monday 2nd of December 2013 03:01:01 PM
bab600 said
05:13 PM Dec 2, 2013
Just arrived back into Melbourne after 7 months away in the territoryand northern NSW with hot and humid weather, our fridge Waeco 175...CoolMatic runs on 12 volt 24/7 didnt miss a beat, never ran out of battery power even when we free camped for a fortnight . I have 3 solar panels and 2 batteries no genny .when we built the van the builder said not to have the 3 way fully automatic fridge(WIFE was disappointed) but we accepted his advice and he was 100% correct ,so If i live long enough to build a another van I would do the same.
Regards Brian
rockylizard said
05:16 PM Dec 2, 2013
Gday...
Yes John, the RM7851L is the one with the curved doors. Seems to be not too bad from my experience.
But then, it just may have been installed properly
Hi John,
I also guess it depends on how much cold stuff you have in the fridge when you open it.. like any front opening fridge when you open the door all the cold air falls out but if it has lots of cold goods in it then they help to keep the cold in .. hence my advice of having bottles of water and bladders there to retain the cold in the cabinet..
Hi Bob
Ditto to that
Actualy even Empty milk botteles do a good job
They fill the space & retain the COLD air.
But one should still allow space for air circulation in thefridge
PeterQ
HI
AND THAT is when good baffles in the RIGHT places & fans PUShING ALL the COOLING air through the CONDENSER makes the world of difference!!
note : you do not/ should not cool the boiler section so a vertical baffle seperating it from the condenser section is an advantage.
The AIM IS to get the refrigerent down to AMBIENT temp BEFORE it enters the evaporater[fridge cabinet]
To prevent the fans running unneccessarily a 50C n/o thermostat fixed to the top of the condensor fins. about midway along ,. should be considered
The whole operation is then automatic, the fans only running when needed
I
Both Standard & Tropical fridges use the same refrigerent
The difference is better insulation , better condensor, higher energy input
A long time ago, In far Nth Qld at Mt Mulligan mines ruins, I saw good examples of additional condensor cooling
ALL the fridges had the condenser immmersed in a tank of cooling water which was tricle feed with cold water from the nearby mountain spring[ which gave the town reticulated water]
This included a fridge in an old hotel
That was my wake call on the importance of getting,rid of the heat from the condensor
So some 40years ago I started fitting fans & baffles to MY 3way fridges.
PeterQ
That reminded me Peter,
Some years ago I was having trouble during summer with the AC on my truck and on one particularly hot day I took it to the Auto Elects to have them check the gas charge...
He got out the hose and set to to spray on the condenser and said try it now...
Well like you said it worked perfectly ....
We ended up changing the condenser for one with more ability to get rid of the heat..
Which goes to prove that the same needs to be done with the heat generated by an absorption fridge...
Here is another point to think about..
IF it works good during cooler weather then it should also work in warmer weather so long as it is properly vented..
-- Edited by oldbobsbus on Monday 2nd of December 2013 01:34:58 PM
We did look at swapping to aircooled condensors but there was not enough roof space on the plant room to get an equivalent cooling capacity.
the ongoing hassle with the cooling tower was the disinfection regimen required for prevention of legionella.
frank
HI Bob
I would state it differrently
"As long as ALL the excess heat is removed "
Baffles & fans do a good job on that with ALL refrigeration systems, EVEN Engels & Waecos
I guess that is one of te reasons Waecos have/need a fan
But even my Engels perform better, use less enegy, with a fan when the ambient temp they are in gets HIGH, a correctly place computer fan does wonders & the total battery power used is much less than without a fan
I am talking about temps in a closed vehicle parked in summer in the sun[around 40C]
And yes I have 25mm Styrofoam insulation, top, bottom a sides of my Engels
We did go regularky into the tropics in mid summer.
PeterQ
HI Frank
Yes ,just goes to show those old fellows back in the 20s knew a thing or two about refrigeration principles
Water cooling towers are a problem for legionaires no matter where they operate even for air compressors Or large refrigeration plants
But as the recent outbreak of Legionaires at two Qld private hospitals showed ,even warm water in any situation can breed it
PeterQ
-- Edited by oldtrack123 on Monday 2nd of December 2013 03:01:01 PM
Just arrived back into Melbourne after 7 months away in the territoryand northern NSW with hot and humid weather, our fridge Waeco 175...CoolMatic runs on 12 volt 24/7 didnt miss a beat, never ran out of battery power even when we free camped for a fortnight . I have 3 solar panels and 2 batteries no genny .when we built the van the builder said not to have the 3 way fully automatic fridge(WIFE was disappointed) but we accepted his advice and he was 100% correct ,so If i live long enough to build a another van I would do the same.
Regards Brian
Gday...
Yes John, the RM7851L is the one with the curved doors. Seems to be not too bad from my experience.
But then, it just may have been installed properly
Cheers - John