Does anyone have these batteries in their motorhomes?  We have 4 connected to our 6 x 120watt solar panels to provide power to our Vitrifrigo 24 volt fridge, lights, vacuum toilet etc.  Our fridge is now constantly cycling (for the past week or so) and checking with a volt metre there are 25.6volts going into the fridge, which is sufficient.   The fridge continues to cylce with the battery charger on.  The charger shows the batteries are 100% full but  I am wondering whether the batteries may in fact not be charging correctly.  We are unsure of the age of the batteries as the manufacturer of our motorhome (which we've had for 15 months) didn't indicate how long he'd had them before installation.  Would appreciate any assistance.  Hard to know where to start.

Thanks Di

Thanks Frank for your quick response.

Is the fridge performing well.......maybe not, the ambient temp is high...we've had high 30s-low 40s for days and on inspection there's not much venting behind the fridge, which is a bit of a worry.  Kim is attending to that now, drilling a hole in the flow which should create some flow through, there is a small vent on the roof.  Up until now the fridge has been working really well, only ramped up the temp control when summer set in with a vengance, during winter it was on 1 and was really really cold.

The thermostat is on 5 (the highest) and temp ranges from (4 top shelf - 9degrees bottom shelf).  We've dropped the thermostat to about 3 today, which seems strange but just to see if there is an issue with the thermostat and if the temp changes.

The voltage at the fridge is 26.5 not running down to 25.5 running which appears to be just right.

The batteries are over 80% charged and everything else is working fine.

I know I have big expectations but would expect that the fridge should be working OK as it's only been operating for 15 months old.  We thought a compressor fridge would be perfect (told it would work as well as a household fridge) having had issues in our old bus with 3-ways fridges which just never cut it.

Thankfully the wine and beer are keeping really cold in the Engel!!!

Will see if there are any changes over the next few days, and if not will have to call in a professional

A change in the weather might be helpful.

Thanks again Di

 

 

Di thanks for posting that info,

My guess is that the venting is a real problem if the fridge has been working ok recently.
high ambient temps will make tham work harder, particularly if the cabinet insulation(the fridge itself) is not up to scratch for aussie summers. you might be able to improve that if you have space around the outside of the fridge.

temps you mention- 4 at the top and -9 at the bottom. I would say your fridge is doing ok in those ambient temps.

If you could improve the venting to get the hot air away from the outside of the fridge then the compressor will not have to work as hard to pump the heat out from the inside. This would show up as the compressor not running as much through the day.

please remember that your household fridge is usually in a much cooler inside environment and usually has lots of airflow around it. you need to try to do this with your bus fridge if you can but by venting the hot air to the outside.

let me know what happens with what you have done up to now.

frank

Di,

Does the fridge have a small fan forced condenser mounted close to the compressor the same as earlier models. If so is the fan working when compressor is running.?. I am
not sure whether your fridge has this set up or they have redesigned the fridge to what they call a "Cleanskin Design" like most new household type fridges.

So if the fan is working on that small condenser, is the condenser still free/clean off dirt and lint build up as this can seriously affect the cooling operation of the unit. I have seen other fridges with this problem as some are hard to access to clean the condenser/fan unit.

If not of this design then I would find out if it is a "Cleanskin Design" and if so be checking to make sure that both sides of the fridge have an adequate airflow space from the top to the bottom. If all of this is not a problem,then have a fridge tech check the thermostat and next the gas charge of the unit. The Danfoss compressors also have a testing program which is accessed by fitting an small LED light at the electronic control module between the small positive/fan terminal to the "D"terminal. I have left this fitted permanently for easier checking if problems occur. For more on this try www.danfoss.com/pacific/ for a PDF Download of the compressor specs and test light set up.

I myself have a Waeco Coolmatic 220l which uses the same Danfoss BD50f compressor but doesn't have the same condenser design and it has a 90mm computer fan fitted as Std for cooling the compressor only. The condenser in my fridge is the same as the old type house fridges fitted up the rear of the fridge and doesn't require a fan for cooling purposes. I still have extra fans fitted in the top vent to assist in hot weather and an internal manually switched 80mm 12v fan fitted for air circulation/quicker cool down periods.
Also have fitted an extra 50mm insulation around both sidewalls and top of fridge for the hotter climates plus have done away with the "Mechanical Thermostat" and retrofitted an "Electronic Digital display type thermostat" with a lot better control of the fridge operating cycles.

Hope some of this helps,

Cheers Kev.

Hi Frank,

Just a follow up at last.  We have finally souced a thermostat, and who would have thought that it would be so difficult and take soooooooo long.  New thermostat installed and life is a joy.  No more constant cycling and the fridge is working a treat.  I have removed my nightly earplugs  "oh the serenity" and I can now hear the birds in the morning which is such a dellight.  It didn't happen overnight but it did indeed happen and I'm so gratefu l