Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2011 11:39:54 -0400
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: insulating hot side of Dometic refer
In-Reply-To: <4e7f489b.8ac4e00a.0216.ffff8728@mx.google.com>
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Improvements like that are only marginally helpful. The most improvement
come from realizing that in order to use the fridge especially in hot
weather the van always needs to be ventilated. In the real RV world these
fridges are always installed with the condensing parts in some type of
outside chamber with ventilation above and below. A helpful fix is to also
get that hot air out from behind the cabinet and be sure the curtains do not
block the top vents. Installing a small 12 volt fan in that grill near the
table can work wonders getting hot air from behind there.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Edward Maglott
Sent: Sunday, September 25, 2011 11:28 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: insulating hot side of Dometic refer
It's time for the periodic fridge removal and as usual I'm wondering what
could be done to improve it's hot weather performance. Mine seems to work
best on electric in hot weather. I theorize that the propane fire puts a
lot of extra heat back there, making it harder for the refrigeration process
to expel heat. So maybe making sure more of that heat stays away from the
fins would help. And also keeping more heat away from the refrigerated box
seems like a good idea. Would it help to put some thin insulation like
reflectix between the heat radiating fins and the back of the unit? It
seems to be made as one unit with the fins attached to the back in several
places, so doing this would require a number of separate pieces but not too
hard. How about adding insulation around the "hot column"
and on the exposed exhaust pipe as it goes up from the column to the exit
outside? That is just bare metal throwing off heat behind the cabinet. Any
ideas or comments?
While I'm in there I'm prepping for the classic exhaust fan in the former
city water inlet door which should help, and putting in a 12V accessory
outlet next to the vent grille on the back of the fridge cabinet. What is
the best choice these days for a heat transfer compound to put between the
cold-pipe and aluminum fins inside the fridge?
Edward