Date:         Sun, 28 Jun 2015 06:10:43 -0400
Reply-To:     Frank Condelli <RAlanen@AOL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Frank Condelli <RAlanen@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Propane and refrigerator success
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

        There is one little trick that has not been mentioned here that will improve the efficiency of the fridge.  Installing a fan in the side of the van that takes the heat from the fins behind the fridge and pumps it outside !  The original design has that small fan behind the fridge sucking fresh air from under the fridge, hence the space and grill at the booting the fridge, and pumping that heat up and out into the van through that grill work being the stove~sink top.  Unless you have a good supply of fresh air, slide door open and the skylight wide open, the circulation is impeded especially on very hot days.  I have found that by installing a fan in the place of the fresh water hook up, which BTW happens to be right in line with the rear fins of the fridge, running that fan improves the operation of the fridge by a large margin.  I have even found that while in Mexico on our winter hiatus, that running that fan all day, even while driving, keeps the fridge at proper cooling for all foods.  How I did this was to cut the back side of the city water outlet to accommodate a 4” computer fan and fit a small micro switch so that if the flap were closed the fan would not run, the flap can be held open with a small prop or if needing it run continually while driving, remove the door altogether.  I took power for this fan from the power source at the LED light indicator panel on the front of the stove~sink cabinet and also installed a small push button switch next to the LED light panel to control the fan if the door was taken off.  This has proven time and again to be the biggest improvement in keeping the fridge operating successfully in hot weather.

AND, BTW about the discussion of which source of heat produce the best efficiency.  Propane, 110v, 12v, well it all depends on the heat produced by each source.  Ideally I guess Dometic designed each heat source to be equal to one another, but over time this is no longer true.  The Propane, 110v and 12v heat sources may not be operating properly due to many factors.  Servicing the fridge occasionally may bring these heat sources back into original specs.  Quite often I have found the propane burner plugged up with rust and other debris, the electrical heating elements are held in there respective tube by set screws which are often loose, therefor reducing the heat transfer from the element to the heat tube that leads to the ammonia circuit.


> On Jun 27, 2015, at 7:39 PM, Automatic digest processor <LISTSERV@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> wrote:
> 
> Re: Propane and refrigerator success



Cheers,    

Frank Condelli
Almonte, Ontario, Canada
'87 VW Westy, '00 Kawasaki 250 Sherpa, "98 Ducati 750 Monster & Lionel Trains (Collection for sale <http://frankcondelli.com/trainsal.htm>)
Frank Condelli & Associates <http://www.frankcondelli.com/> - Vanagon/Vanagon Westfalia Service in the Ottawa Valley
BusFusion <http://www.busfusion.com/> a VW Camper camping event, Almonte, ON, June 04 ~07, 2015