Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2022 21:04:03 -0400
Reply-To: Eric Caron <ericcaron96@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Eric Caron <ericcaron96@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: An electrical thing I never noticed in 20 years of Westy
ownership Another Westy Fridge Design Flaw
In-Reply-To: <CAFnDXk33gzRez8z4f8SmcwB8Hr-Tk0DnV0mqN+T0PYD67ovsAg@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Hi Jim,
Yes, That is what I was taught on this list several years ago. For me it has never happened to my knowledge. I live in Vermont. Still the sun can hit the van in the summer and it could happen.
I have a house battery so that could go dead but the start battery would not.
I wish it was not wired that way but not something I’m going to worry about.
In Alabama it is a bigger problem.
Eric Caron
> On Jul 31, 2022, at 3:12 PM, Jim Felder <jim.felder@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> So, my bottom-line takeaway from all this is that when it gets hot enough
> inside the van, the fridge fan temp sensor kicks the fan on, no matter what
> mode the fridge is in, and there's nothing you can do about it in the stock
> configuration?
>
> Jim
>
> On Sat, Jul 30, 2022 at 5:21 PM Jeff Palmer <w.jeff.palmer@icloud.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Fridge running on gas, switch to electricity but don’t turn off gas, voila!
>> Jeff
>> Been there done that.
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>> On Jul 30, 2022, at 3:34 PM, David McNeely <davmcneely40@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Dennis, how could this be done? I don't see it given the controls. I
>>> don't have any skin in this game any longer, since I took out the
>>> refrigerator, but given that one has to select one of the settings, how
>>> could it happen that two of them are operable simultaneously?
>>>
>>>> On Sat, Jul 30, 2022 at 12:40 PM Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com
>>>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> There is nothing preventing operation of the Fridge on either electric
>>>> source or Propane simultaneously. Yes, the fridge will operate the
>> propane
>>>> burner while either the 12 volt or 120 volt heater is energized. This
>> can
>>>> overheat the fluid and ruin the fridge.
>>>>
>>>> Dennis
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com> On Behalf Of Jim
>>>> Felder
>>>> Sent: Saturday, July 30, 2022 2:12 PM
>>>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>>>> Subject: Re: An electrical thing I never noticed in 20 years of Westy
>>>> ownership
>>>>
>>>> Yep, that's probably happening. Dont know why I never noticed it
>> before. I
>>>> bet if I pulled the car cover over it it might prevent the battery
>> drain.
>>>>
>>>> Jim
>>>>
>>>>> On Sat, Jul 30, 2022 at 12:52 PM Mark Drillock <madvws@cox.net> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Here is part of a Vanagon list post from Apr 1999 regarding the stock
>>>>> fridge.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> " Finally, keep the fridge side of the Westy shaded. I use a small
>>>>> silver colored tarp to shade this side. The sun can heat the area
>>>>> behind the fridge enough to cause the fan to cycle EVEN WHEN THE FRIDGE
>>>> IS OFF.
>>>>> I believe that this is part of why the fans all seem to be worn out.
>>>>> Most of the Westy fridges have seen little use but the fans wear out
>>>>> anyway because they operate even if the fridge is off. Darker colored
>>>>> vanagons are more likely to have this occur. This is also why the
>>>>> batteries in parked Westys can sometimes seem to run down unexpectedly.
>>>>> When the sun shines on the left side of the Camper the fan will likely
>>>>> be triggered. We all know how hot it can get inside a Westy on a sunny
>>>>> day with the top down even when it is cool outside."
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 7/29/2022 6:18 PM, Jim Felder wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Interesting. Maybe that's what was running my battery down in the
>>>>> first place. If that is the case, and I'm sure it is, it might be
>>>>> advisable to install a switch to break that circuit when the cooling
>>>>> fan was on but serving no purpose but to run the battery out.
>>>>>
>>>>> Jim
>>>>>
>>>>> On Fri, Jul 29, 2022 at 6:26 PM Dennis Haynes
>>>>> <d23haynes57@hotmail.com> <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> The fridge condenser fan is controlled by a thermo switch on the
>>>>> condenser coil There is no other control for it. If the interior gets
>>>>> hot enough that fan will turn on regardless of any of the fridge
>>>> settings.
>>>>>
>>>>> Dennis
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
>>>>> <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com> On Behalf Of Jim Felder
>>>>> Sent: Friday, July 29, 2022 6:40 PM
>>>>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>>>>> Subject: An electrical thing I never noticed in 20 years of Westy
>>>>> ownership
>>>>>
>>>>> When I park my Westy after camping, my habit has always been to switch
>>>>> the gas knob to OFF and the mode switch to 120 when I parked the car.
>>>>> I just went out to check on something in my Westy (1983 diesel) and
>>>>> heard a whirring noise which I immediately knew could only be the
>>>>> fridge fan. I checked and it was. Why was it on? Further checking I
>>>>> realized that I had the car on a trickle charger plugged into the
>>>>> cabin 120 outlet, and had house current going into electrical shore
>>>> power outlet.
>>>>>
>>>>> Since my bout with chemo a few years back, I don't tolerate summer
>>>>> heat so well and thus go through the hot months without driving the car
>>>> very often.
>>>>> This often caused the battery to be flat when I went to start it,
>>>>> hence the smart trickle charger that successfully keeps the battery at
>>>> the ready.
>>>>> So, though I had not realized it, the house power has been running the
>>>>> fridge for a couple of months now, and since it has been so hot the
>>>>> gowesty fan upgrade has been running too for weeks on end. I didn't
>>>>> realize that would happen when I hooked it up. So now, I have the mode
>>>>> switch on GAS and the gas turned off at the knob and the tank.
>>>>> Probably no problem for anyone but me, but just wanted everyone to
>>>>> know that running a trickle charger with 110 plugged into the utility
>>>>> outlet will run the fridge``and wear out your auxiliary fan if you
>> don't
>>>> do something about it.
>>>>>
>>>>> Jim
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>
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