Looking at heading north soon ..... have heard that some have experienced fridge inefficiencies because of external heat (Sun) so have made up a sunshade to drape over external vents when stationery, have purchased a fan to install behind fridge to circulate air.
Wondering if this would be enough to overcome "overheating" of fridge ...... have heard that some folk install additional insulation in fridge cavity ..... wondering where and why?
aussie_paul said
01:25 PM Feb 12, 2016
Try the search function Bob. This is a link I found there.
Assuming the fridge is a 3 way??? The idea of the fans in the rear cavity is not so much to circulate, but to extract the trapped hot air. Extra insulation can help as long as it doesn't block cooler air from entering the cavity. Been there done that with past caravans.
Another thing that can help is to put a small computer type fan inside the fridge to push the colder air from near the freezer down into the fridge section again assuming it's a single door fridge, this also helps in a compressor type fridge and helps to reduce ice build up around the freezer elements. I've done this with the Engel upright in the motorhome.
Steve is correct about the removal of heated air trapped behind the fridge. A fan can extract the air making the fridge more efficient.
Before you begin installing additional insulation, consider how you use the fridge.
A fridge that has little in it can be very inefficient and each time it is opened, cold air is replaced by warmer air from inside the caravan. This then has to be cooled. Id your fridge is full or near full, there is less chance of this happening and the items in the fridge, already cold, will help the fridge maintain the temperature. Likewise with the freezer. If there is hardly anything in it, freeze some bottles or containers of water. This assists the fridge in maintaining low temperatures.
And lastly, decide what you want from the fridge and open the door and get it, don't stand there deciding with the door open. Also minimise the number of times you open the door. Don't open it to put the margarine away and then open it again to put away the cheese. Do it all at the one time.
If that doesn't work for you, stay in Victoria or Tasmania or somewhere else that it is cooler.
The Phantom
Aus-Kiwi said
01:24 PM Feb 13, 2016
I made a thin plastic panel across the front lower section of uptight fridge . The grant kids often stand there with door open . Yes they get told to shut the door ., I figure if half the bottom air which is cooler is kept in fridge ? It must help keeping Poppi's drinks cool ., I added a shrouded fan at the back of fridge and a solar extractor fan on top plastic vent . Why I went with shrouded fan ? There already is a PC fan fitted ., but it seems to just blow air everywhere ., next step maybe small fan inside fridge . Just for distribution around contents .,
madaboutled said
02:56 PM Feb 13, 2016
Aus-Kiwi wrote:
I made a thin plastic panel across the front lower section of uptight fridge . The grant kids often stand there with door open . Yes they get told to shut the door ., I figure if half the bottom air which is cooler is kept in fridge ? It must help keeping Poppi's drinks cool ., I added a shrouded fan at the back of fridge and a solar extractor fan on top plastic vent . Why I went with shrouded fan ? There already is a PC fan fitted ., but it seems to just blow air everywhere ., next step maybe small fan inside fridge . Just for distribution around contents .,
It must be a bugger to have an uptight fridge..... saw it just had to comment LOL.
BTW, the fan inside the fridge works well, just set it up with a switch on the door so it turns off when the door is open.
Regards Steve.
Aus-Kiwi said
10:05 PM Feb 13, 2016
Yea Stev . I can't edit while posting from iPhone .. Big fingers and small phone .. Lol
montie said
10:55 AM Feb 14, 2016
Nomad1946
Three way fridges are not renowned for their efficiency in warm climatic conditions especially 30deg and above. Tropical rating in my opinion is nothing more than a marketing ploy.
Venting of the warm air is crucial so i'm not sure that covering the vent with a shade is such a good idea.
Park in the shade if possible, keep the fridge as full as possible and refrain from opening the door too often.At best if you get around 8 deg from a three way fridge you are doing well. If you're a beer drinker buy yourself an Engel.
Montie
Cruising Cruze said
08:45 PM Feb 15, 2016
Hi Monty
Our 12/240 volt Evakool 2 lid fridge/freezer does a excellent job keeping everything cool & frozen
Just runs of a 200 watt solarpanel
The old 3 way fridge in our caravan is shocking in warm weather above 30C
It will be the last one we own that can run on gas
Cheers John
montie said
07:44 AM Feb 16, 2016
Cruising Cruze wrote:
Hi Monty
Our 12/240 volt Evakool 2 lid fridge/freezer does a excellent job keeping everything cool & frozen Just runs of a 200 watt solarpanel The old 3 way fridge in our caravan is shocking in warm weather above 30C It will be the last one we own that can run on gas
Cheers John
John,
I have also found the Engel tub fridge an excellent beer fridge but runs a bit noisy.
Three way fridges in my view are ok for food, milk even white wine but it's hard to get them below 5 deg and even higher in 30 deg plus temps.
Compressor fridges are a lot more efficient ie Vitro Frigo, but you need a constant power source and they can also be noisy.
Everybody has their own view but my ideal set up is 3 way fridge for food etc., and the Engel for beer etc.,
Montie
Aus-Kiwi said
11:48 PM Feb 17, 2016
John .. Pretty much what I have ., 3 way fridge /freezer two door . With 60 litre Chili bin compressor freezer . I added extra solar and run seperate 6mm wire just for this unit to prevent voltage drop.. Previously it would drop out due to low voltage .. With extra solar, new batteries, heavy wire feed it should be fine .. Running it off the std wiring just doesn't cope with other things runing on same circuit .. I fitted new outlet where we want our 60litre the extended loom didn't help either ..
elliemike said
09:18 PM Feb 18, 2016
We've been around the block three times and lots of travel in the WA nor west. Three way Dometic works fine for us.
I have tweaked it a bit and am able to do most maintenance myself but it works OK for what we need.
I don't drink beer so having a coldy is not a priority. We are meat eaters but not in vast quantities. Never had food go off in the fridge, and meat remains frozen in the freezer box.
When on the dirt roads I switch it off and blank the vents off for the time off the bitumen. I pressurise our camper against red dust and doing it this way works for us. The freezer box is till frozen after 5 hours travelling on dirt.
Nomad1946 said
01:13 AM May 13, 2016
Nomad1946 wrote:
Looking at heading north soon ..... have heard that some have experienced fridge inefficiencies because of external heat (Sun) so have made up a sunshade to drape over external vents when stationery, have purchased a fan to install behind fridge to circulate air.
Wondering if this would be enough to overcome "overheating" of fridge ...... have heard that some folk install additional insulation in fridge cavity ..... wondering where and why?
An "update" .. installed a full length slide (whatever you call it - same tracking as for annex) on the roof so I can could run a full length shade cloth "curtain" pinning it about a metre out .... thinking this will not only shade the fridge vents but the whole side of the van thus keeping temp down a tad. Recent trip to Winton (April '16) we didn't have any "heat" problems ... daily temps circa 34 - 36 ... fridge worked okay so I guess "perceived problem solved" ... time will tell
Radar said
04:01 PM May 13, 2016
montie wrote:
Nomad1946
Three way fridges are not renowned for their efficiency in warm climatic conditions especially 30deg and above. Tropical rating in my opinion is nothing more than a marketing ploy.
Venting of the warm air is crucial so i'm not sure that covering the vent with a shade is such a good idea.
Park in the shade if possible, keep the fridge as full as possible and refrain from opening the door too often.At best if you get around 8 deg from a three way fridge you are doing well. If you're a beer drinker buy yourself an Engel.
Montie
Our 2008 model 3 way 150 litre works a treat. The couple of bottles of beer are cold, the wine is great.
I did make a shade to.cover that side of van which also kept that total side of the van cooler. I would suspect the 12 volt frig would work more efficient also.
It would be interesting to read a costing on setting up.to run a 12 volt frig compared to a 3 way over say a 5 year peroid. What with the extra batteries, solar and a generator just in case then throw in the need for a bigger towing vehicle because of the added weight factor of the caravan all because you thought the beer is not cold enough.
I must confess the previous generation 3ways were.not that great but these newer versions get my vote.
Looking at heading north soon ..... have heard that some have experienced fridge inefficiencies because of external heat (Sun) so have made up a sunshade to drape over external vents when stationery, have purchased a fan to install behind fridge to circulate air.
Wondering if this would be enough to overcome "overheating" of fridge ...... have heard that some folk install additional insulation in fridge cavity ..... wondering where and why?
Try the search function Bob. This is a link I found there.
Aussie Paul.
http://thegreynomads.activeboard.com/t58945591/dometic-fridge-struggling/
Assuming the fridge is a 3 way??? The idea of the fans in the rear cavity is not so much to circulate, but to extract the trapped hot air. Extra insulation can help as long as it doesn't block cooler air from entering the cavity. Been there done that with past caravans.
Another thing that can help is to put a small computer type fan inside the fridge to push the colder air from near the freezer down into the fridge section again assuming it's a single door fridge, this also helps in a compressor type fridge and helps to reduce ice build up around the freezer elements. I've done this with the Engel upright in the motorhome.
Hope this helps, Steve.
http://thegreynomads.activeboard.com/t61405487/installing-cooling-fan-in-fridge-enclosure/
Another good link.
Aussie Paul.
Steve is correct about the removal of heated air trapped behind the fridge. A fan can extract the air making the fridge more efficient.
Before you begin installing additional insulation, consider how you use the fridge.
A fridge that has little in it can be very inefficient and each time it is opened, cold air is replaced by warmer air from inside the caravan. This then has to be cooled. Id your fridge is full or near full, there is less chance of this happening and the items in the fridge, already cold, will help the fridge maintain the temperature. Likewise with the freezer. If there is hardly anything in it, freeze some bottles or containers of water. This assists the fridge in maintaining low temperatures.
And lastly, decide what you want from the fridge and open the door and get it, don't stand there deciding with the door open. Also minimise the number of times you open the door. Don't open it to put the margarine away and then open it again to put away the cheese. Do it all at the one time.
If that doesn't work for you, stay in Victoria or Tasmania or somewhere else that it is cooler.
The Phantom
It must be a bugger to have an uptight fridge..... saw it just had to comment LOL.
BTW, the fan inside the fridge works well, just set it up with a switch on the door so it turns off when the door is open.
Regards Steve.
Nomad1946
Three way fridges are not renowned for their efficiency in warm climatic conditions especially 30deg and above. Tropical rating in my opinion is nothing more than a marketing ploy.
Venting of the warm air is crucial so i'm not sure that covering the vent with a shade is such a good idea.
Park in the shade if possible, keep the fridge as full as possible and refrain from opening the door too often.At best if you get around 8 deg from a three way fridge you are doing well. If you're a beer drinker buy yourself an Engel.
Montie
Our 12/240 volt Evakool 2 lid fridge/freezer does a excellent job keeping everything cool & frozen
Just runs of a 200 watt solarpanel
The old 3 way fridge in our caravan is shocking in warm weather above 30C
It will be the last one we own that can run on gas
Cheers John
John,
I have also found the Engel tub fridge an excellent beer fridge but runs a bit noisy.
Three way fridges in my view are ok for food, milk even white wine but it's hard to get them below 5 deg and even higher in 30 deg plus temps.
Compressor fridges are a lot more efficient ie Vitro Frigo, but you need a constant power source and they can also be noisy.
Everybody has their own view but my ideal set up is 3 way fridge for food etc., and the Engel for beer etc.,
Montie
We've been around the block three times and lots of travel in the WA nor west. Three way Dometic works fine for us.
I have tweaked it a bit and am able to do most maintenance myself but it works OK for what we need.
I don't drink beer so having a coldy is not a priority. We are meat eaters but not in vast quantities. Never had food go off in the fridge, and meat remains frozen in the freezer box.
When on the dirt roads I switch it off and blank the vents off for the time off the bitumen. I pressurise our camper against red dust and doing it this way works for us. The freezer box is till frozen after 5 hours travelling on dirt.
An "update" .. installed a full length slide (whatever you call it - same tracking as for annex) on the roof so I can could run a full length shade cloth "curtain" pinning it about a metre out .... thinking this will not only shade the fridge vents but the whole side of the van thus keeping temp down a tad. Recent trip to Winton (April '16) we didn't have any "heat" problems ... daily temps circa 34 - 36 ... fridge worked okay so I guess "perceived problem solved" ... time will tell
Our 2008 model 3 way 150 litre works a treat. The couple of bottles of beer are cold, the wine is great.
I did make a shade to.cover that side of van which also kept that total side of the van cooler. I would suspect the 12 volt frig would work more efficient also.
It would be interesting to read a costing on setting up.to run a 12 volt frig compared to a 3 way over say a 5 year peroid. What with the extra batteries, solar and a generator just in case then throw in the need for a bigger towing vehicle because of the added weight factor of the caravan all because you thought the beer is not cold enough.
I must confess the previous generation 3ways were.not that great but these newer versions get my vote.
.