Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2000 09:16:34 -0700
Reply-To: Bill Davidson <wdavidson@thegrid.net>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Bill Davidson <wdavidson@thegrid.net>
Subject: Solved: fridge blowing out!
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Thanks much to David Beierl for his post on how to solve the fridge blowing
out problem!
After sealing the flue gasket I drove my van to 78 mph and the fridge stayed
lit!!! Before, the fridge flame would blow out above 40 mph.
Not wanting to go to the work of pulling the fridge I didn't bother with the
burn chamber seal or the O-rings at the ends of the venting pipes.
Here is what I did:
1. Remove the vent assembly
2. Clean all the parts
3. Used a wood dowel inside the air intake to push/press so that the vent
casing (cast piece that both vent tubes end in) ends up flush with the
outside of the van. (if it puts pressure on the rubber gasket, the gasket
could distort and allow air to blow under the gasket)
4. Use alcohol to clean both sides of the rubber gasket and the fixing
plate... so that the Silicone Caulking will stick to them.
5. Squeeze a bead of Silicone Caulking (I used GE Silicone called
Household Glue... clear) on both sides of the Rubber Gasket and the outside
edge of the Vent Casing where it makes contact with the Rubber Gasket.
6. Reassemble the vent.
7. Wipe off excess silicone... also reach behind the fixing plate to wipe
off excess that may have squeezed in there.
8. Allow the Silicone Caulking to dry for 24 to 48 hours before starting
the fridge.
The idea behind this is to prevent high speed air from blowing under the
Rubber Gasket or between the Rubber Gasket and the Fixing Plate. It looks to
me like the Fixing Plate is designed to create an eddy of air at the opening
to the air intake tube... it seems to me that this eddy would mitigate the
vacuum effect of air at speed (Bernoulli's effect.... air at speed reduces
pressure... principle of air lift on airplane wing...) ... an unmitigated
vacuums effect would inhibit air from entering the air intake tube. Air
blowing under the Rubber Gasket or the Fixing Plate would destroy the eddy
and allow the vacuums effect to act on the air intake.
Bill
90 Westy Syncro
