Vanagon EuroVan
Previous messageNext messagePrevious in topicNext in topicPrevious by same authorNext by same authorPrevious page (May 2003, week 3)Back to main VANAGON pageJoin or leave VANAGON (or change settings)ReplyPost a new messageSearchProportional fontNon-proportional font
Date:         Sun, 18 May 2003 23:58:15 -0700
Reply-To:     Chris <superluckyninja@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Chris <superluckyninja@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      [Q] was: 12V substitutes for OEM Dometic refrigerator / fridge?
In-Reply-To:  <5.1.0.14.2.20030517131533.03470f30@pop1.attglobal.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

on the topic of fridges......

is running it off of propane more powerful? I assume it will run much longer than off my second battery.

I have a westy that i got recently. I have figured out how to opperate most everything except running the fridge off of propane. I have a manual for the camper conversion, but it is for the wrong year. I can tell slight differences in the pictures of the fridges.

Does anyone know if there is a trick as I have followed the instructions in the manual and on the inside of the fridge. The previous owner mentioned having to light the pilot light with a match through a hole on the inside of the fridge..... i think. does this sound right? Could my pilot starter [ the button inside the fridge ] be broken?

battery power is nice while driving, but i go places where there is no AC and my secondary battery dies in a day of fridge use.

thanks in advance.=]

-chris 90' westy "MotherShip"

--- David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET> wrote: > At 11:51 AM 5/17/2003, vw_traveler wrote: > >I don't know if I am potentially espousing heresy, > but the OEM > >refrigerator affords little cooling power on > battery power, which is > >mostly the way I use it. It's not a lot better on > shore power. There seem > >to be a number of 12V coolers on the market that > have improved cooling > >technology. Has anyone tried replacing the Dometic > with a 12V only fridge, > >such as the Igloo Kool Mate 40? > > > >http://www.igloocoolers.com/products/active/kool_mate_40.html > > I would expect coolers like this to give fairly > similar performance to a > Dometic in good condition. They have similar rated > temperature drop > against ambient (because of the difficulty of > keeping the heat from the hot > side of the Peltier device from leaking back to the > cold side), and they > use noticeably less power doing it. They have > external and maybe internal > fans that run continuously when the unit is actively > cooling, and I *think* > that in general they cool continuously. > High-quality insulation will > reduce the run-time if there's a thermostat, but it > won't get the box any > colder. They do start cooling immediately, unlike > the absorption units > that take 20 minutes to start up; and likewise they > aren't affected by > vehicle motion which the gravity-driven absorption > systems definitely are. > > If you want seriously good performance you're going > to need a > compressor-driven system, and for decent efficiency > (much better than > either absorption or Peltier coolers) one of the new > breed like > http://www.sundanzer.com/PDF/SunDanzer_Batt_Powered.pdf > -- though of course > those particular units are much too large. There > are good smaller units if > you look around -- a number from Australia I think. > > Finally, for decent results with the Dometic on DC > you need to arrange to > keep it running during brief stops so the absorption > cycle doesn't > stop. Also control the van inside temp since that's > the ambient temp that > you're getting your 40-degree drop from -- this > includes keeping the area > of the side of the van outboard of the fridge out of > the sun. All these > small units have very limited ability to move heat, > so they recover very > slowly from having a load of warm groceries shoved > in them -- pre-cooling > highly advisable if possible. Finally, wiring > quality makes a big > difference at 12v, and Westalia was sorta skimpy -- > increase wiring size > including ground, and make sure fuse clips are clean > and making good > contact to get minimum voltage drop between the > battery and the fridge. It > is possible to rewire the thermostat so you can > switch between AC control > (direct) and DC control (through a relay so you > don't beat up the > thermostat contacts). > > david > > > -- > David Beierl - Providence RI USA -- > http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/ > '84 Westy "Dutiful Passage" > '85 GL "Poor Relation"

__________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo. http://search.yahoo.com


Back to: Top of message | Previous page | Main VANAGON page

Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!


Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com


The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.

Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.