Date:         Mon, 26 Sep 2005 16:47:47 -0700
Reply-To:     Aaron <lists@MYCOMMUNITYNET.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Aaron <lists@MYCOMMUNITYNET.NET>
Subject:      Is my fridge working properly?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed

Hello all.

I asked a question about my fridge not lighting earlier and...yes it
was operator error. The far right dial was pointed to 0 and not 1.
Oops. In any case I learned a lot about the fridge. So after reading
some guides about getting it to work, cleaning it out, replacing the
broken fan with 2 computer fans, and other such things, it lights
with no problems and is "working".

My issue is that it doesn't cool very well. I know that people said
that it wasn't very capable, but man, this can't be working 100%.
With yesterdays temps ranging from a low of 38 and a high of 70, I
had a low in the fridge of 39 and a high of around 55-58 or so. It's
on the shady side of the van. Most of the time the fridge temps are
not much lower than outside temps. It doesn't seem to go much higher
than the upper 50's but I would love for it to stay in the 40's if
possible. It's relatively empty (a growler of Pullman Porter, 2
cokes, and a tub of margarine) so circulation should not be an issue.
I've noticed that the cooling area (where the ice-cube tray sits)
never gets below freezing. It's cold, but never frozen. Other than
that it runs and stays lit even when driving. It's been on 24x7 for
the last couple of weeks and is parked level.

Things I did:
- Cleaned combustion chamber
- Cleaned out intake/exhaust pipes (they were fine)
- Cleaned accumulated dust off of fins.
- Replaced broken stock fan with computer fans.(I didn't test the
switch and haven't heard them go on yet!)
- Am considering a fan inside (I have 1 more)

Any suggestions to make it work better? Is there something that might
be misadjusted that could cause poor cooling?

Thanks!
Aaron

'85 Westfalia
'85 Sunroof Vanagon

P.S. Ignore the fact that in a couple of weeks I'll be asking how to
turn it into a food defroster with outside temps going down rapidly!