Date:         Mon, 12 Aug 2002 15:29:50 -0500
Reply-To:     Chris Smith <chris.smith@AQUILA.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Chris Smith <chris.smith@AQUILA.NET>
Subject:      Re: fridge not very cold.
Comments: To: Randrhulbert@AOL.COM
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed

Rachelle Hulbert wrote:

>Our 82 Westy is not very cold.  What can we do to make it colder?
>
>
>
The fridge runs in 3 modes:
12v - The whimpy Mode - Only used when driving or when you have more
battery capacitiy than need for cold.
120v - Shore power - This is a great way to "Pre-cool" the fridge before
lighting and using.  It is also the way to go if you have electricity to
plug into and are low or out of propane.

Propane - or Why does burning a gas make the fridge so blessed cold?
Mode - this really cranks.  I can make ice in TURD when the fridge is
running on LP.

There are other things to check as well.

1) Make sure there are no gaps between the door and the cabinet.  Any
air leak will result in a warm fridge and exsessive moisture (except for
those of you in dry climates, such as the western 1/3 of the US).

2) That silly temp gauge does actually do something.  I leave mine set
at max cold all the time to be safe.

3) The fridge can take 24hrs to reach it's max cold.  A favorite trick
is to freeze whatever I can before we leave.  Then I pop the frozen
stuff in the fridge to thaw and to help the fridge get cold.  This trick
did not work when the temps dropped into the 40s one time.  The fridge
got cold fast but everything remained frozen.

They don't use much energy and as such they don't work anything like a
standard home or even dorm room fridge.  They do work well if you check
all of the above.

Good Luck and enjoy your trip.

Chris Smith
Cheif operating engineer, T.U.R.D.