Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2007 08:26:08 -0700
Reply-To: Michael Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Michael Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Outhouse fan
In-Reply-To: <86476e250706151829u3608189ahc61ca870f245bd1@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Hi Loren, Handy Hint #12 about the Norcold. I've had one for over a year
now so I know whereof I speak. The refrigerator compressor itself is
pretty quiet. It emanates a low hum when running and that's about it.
But the reefer does vibrate with it, causing the cabinet and everything
in it and connected to it to vibrate in sympathy. Sometimes making
enough noise to get a fellow up, cursing, in the middle of the night to
prod and poke and bang on things, hoping to stop whatever the heck it is
/this time/ that is making such a gawdaful noise. The stove top makes a
heck of a noise.
Prior to our last camping trip, I removed the Norcold and got to work in
the cabinet and under the stove top to secure, damp, and otherwise
eliminate possible causes of noise. Under the stainless top of the
stove, for example, you'll find bits of sheet metal and stuff that may
be lightly in contact with the underside of the top. Move them a bit
farther away or put something between them and the top so the parts
don't rattle when tapped or shaken. This is a gas stove to make sure any
"fixes" you put in are appropriate gas-wise and heat-wise.
The rear of the cabinet comes close to, but does not really firmly press
against the thin wall of the van, so those two bits can rattle. Thin
strips of foam insulation there can damp that out. At the top front of
the reefer is a plastic facade with vent slots, to help vent the
cabinet. The cabinet is already plenty well-vented for use with the
Dometic, so those slots aren't needed for venting, but they provide an
exit acoustic path for compressor and other in-cabinet noises, and since
we sleep on the bottom bunk, that puts the noise right beside my ear. I
blocked those openings with foam shoved in from behind. I also put
weatherstripping around the reefer opening before re-mounting the reefer.
Tap everything and look for rattles. The only remaining thing that
rattles here is where the thin sidewall joins the trim under the
windows. It is held in place in a narrow slot in some trim bit but it's
not tight within that slot -- I could hear it rattle when I tapped the
sidewall. Were I to remove the sink cabinet I could probably insert a
thin strip of something into the gap and silence that rattle, but that
was more involved that I wanted to get into, so instead I shoved a thin
wood wedge between the rear of the cabinet and the side wall, loading it
into the trim so it can't rattle.
When going to bed, I place a towel on the stove grill, and make sure I
don't have any loose spoons or other rattly items on the stove or in the
sink, and close the stove top lid.
Anyway, the result of all this was dramatic. Instead of being repeatedly
waken by buzzes and rattles loud enough to wake the neighbors, all I
heard for four nights was a low Magic Fingers hum.
--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
KG6RCR
Loren Busch typed:
> RE:
>>
>> I don't use my city water hookup and I've often thought that a tiny
>> computer fan in place of the
>> hookup might do the trick.
>
>
> BTDT, a very easy install. Pull the intake, disconect the internal hoe,
> plug with a 3/8 flare pleug. Hacksaw the back part of the inlet off, epoxy
> a 3" muffin fan, wire up and figure out a place for the switch, pop it back
> together.
>
> RE:
>
>> I could sell you myfridge and all my upgrades later this year when I
>> get a
>> Norcold... = )
>
>
> And so can I. My Norcold arrives first of next week....
>
| 
