Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2007 09:21:15 -0700
Reply-To: neil <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: neil <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Outhouse fan
In-Reply-To: <46740110.3030009@gmail.com>
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Interesting stuff.
I too have considered going "Norcold".
I'll give my mod a try, and if'n it's useless, may go with the aforementioned.
Neil.
On 6/16/07, Michael Elliott <camping.elliott@gmail.com> wrote:
> 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....
> >
>
--
Neil Nicholson. 1981 Air Cooled Westfalia.
http://web.mac.com/tubaneil
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