Date: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:30:10 -0700
Reply-To: Steven Johnson <sjohnso2000@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Steven Johnson <sjohnso2000@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Mini Fridge
In-Reply-To: <CALw9qvuyJvXbWW6ntf=drU4BnecirdMdWhT1MFN-pH0WWKJYBQ@mail.gmail.com>
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Here's my experience with the built in Westy fridge on a '91. It works as
advertised. I prefer to run it on AC the night before a trip. If I
forget to do
that I just throw in a blue ice to get the temp going down and use the DC
for
the road. For some reason many of the people on the list like to run the
propane on the road. I just have a nervous feeling about that and
safety. And
I also like to preserve the propane in the tank. Now if you've budgeted
your
trip so that it doesn't matter if you use propane on your trip then good
for you.
But I still have the safety mental thing going on in my head so I just use
the
DC option as it works well for me in all kinds of temps. Usually frosts up
the
fins in the fridge. Everything stays nice and cold. At the camp site or
overnight
stop I change it over to propane after the fins defrost a bit. To light
it up I
turn the flame dial to the lowest point (counter-clockwise) so that it
starts fairly
easily. This is extremely important at high altitude. At high altitude
there is less
air so your fuel/air mix will be too rich if you turn the know higher
(clockwise). So
just remember that. I experienced this first hand and was very frustrated
to say the
least. Oh well, plenty cold. Yes I wish the fridge held more but you
get what you
get. An extra ice chest goes a long way if you need to haul more
perishable vittles.
As does Mr. McNeely I don't store canned or bottled drinks in the fridge
except maybe
one or two at a time. The real estate in there is just too valuable.
Best things to
keep in there are the meats (prefrozen of course!) and cheese. Of course,
it
depends on your diet so prioritize as best you can and you'll learn as you
go.
That's all,
Steven
91 Westy
On Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 12:19 PM, Jim Ogul <jimogul70@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks to all for your advice on this issue. I am dropping the mini-fridge
> idea. The chief problem is compressor start-up draw. And I will now
> concentrate on getting the best I can out of the built in refrigerator.
> Luckily for a complete novice to these vehicles the refrigerator does work
> on the Westy I bought. At least it does work on AC and it gets down to
> about 40 degrees fahrenheit. I haven't tried it on DC yet but will. I
> havent even used the propane system yet. I think before I do I need get it
> pressure tested to make sure its ok. On the few camping trips we have
> taken we used a chest style cooler and it worked fine. I have a ton of
>
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