Date:         Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:04:15 -0400
Reply-To:     Roger Sisler <rogersisler2000@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Roger Sisler <rogersisler2000@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: cognitive dissonance and refrigerators

I know that the way that it cools, my Dometic is not worth keeping; many
others say similar, but certainly not everyone. I do not see how a
manufacturer can expect someone to buy a unit that cools like these do now,
when new, and these 182's are being replaced today with absorption units
that work as people expect refrigeration to be-- Without unreasonable
compromise; keeps the food from going bad in summer when parked for a day,
including da beer. Ask Rocket. Mine was giving me about 55 degrees--this,
after attempting all the maintenance and modifications I could find or
invent. I did all kinds of testing. I won't list here all what I did to help
my Dometic be the best it can be, as I am certain I would leave a few out at
this much later date, but I can say that I did them all. I researched books,
the internet,talked to people in the industry, and I read and asked here on
the list for suggestions, and I tried them all. Today, I have lost
interested in this box, and cannot find any reason to remember all that I
learned about it.

I feel rather good that I did do all that could be done, and even so, I
continued to wonder what the issue could be, and am left believing that
problems exist with the actual refrigeration circut. I had three different
units to preform my evil experiments on, and I spared no favorite Dometic
from this. Perhaps I had one bad Dometic, but three? Don't think so. Once
again, I don't believe that refrigeration that sucks is marketable to
demanding Americans. They expect (unreasonably?) that this thing should be
much better and easier than ice, and not that much different from the
refrigerator at home. Absorption units have been around for as long as
compression refrigeration has, and ammonia refrigeration was common in
American houses as the main and only refrigerator, for years and years,
ending in the 1960's. It was a safety issue from a possible ammonia leak
that ended their manufacture--not warm food.

  I suppose that I should have said that only SOME of the hydrogen has
leaked out. What I said was that the hydrogen leaked out. Enough leaked, I
believe, so that the proportions of ammonia and hydrogen have caused a
limited quantity of useful refrigerant to be available for cooling. There is
left over ammonia that has no hydrogen to combine with to produce the
cooling effect. Therefore, any repair is futile, and a new refrigerator unit
will be absorbed into the Vanagon.

Along the way, I thought that insulation was much of the issue, and I
checked the door gasket using the dollar bill test-- All was well. I added
Inswool to the burner and area where that heat transfers to the refrigerant
to keep it warm. It is a four inch area along the base of the pipes, just
above the burner box, where most of the transfer takes place, but the unit
will not cool without the added heat transfer from the area that is above
this 4 inch area(the area contained with that fiberglass wool). I found that
there is no insulation on earth that can replace the "fiberglass stuff" that
came with it. I tried five or six different types of insulation, including
list suggested types. It all stank, but Inswool stank least, and I let some
test materials stay installed for weeks, and I ran the unit to burn off the
odor the whole time--no luck!!!!!!! That stink stays in your curtains, etc.
Headache city! Try sleeping with that. I added a thin copper roof flashing
to the back of the refrigerator as a break to stop the heat transfer into
the back of the fridge from the burner and pipes. I insulated on top. Like I
say, I can't remember all I did, but in the process I learned how that thing
was supposed to work. I tore them completely apart and back together again,
several times. Evaporator plate--yeah I took evaporator plate 101 and did
all I could in there. Extra  GoWestyesk fans. Blah , blah , blah.Remove heat
from behind the fridge compartment to the outside of the Vanagon. It was not
an insulation issue.Want to buy some stainless steel screws and bolts for
the exterior of your Vanagon?