refrigerator accessories July 15, 2003, 06:58:52 pm Yahoo Message Number: 24542It looks like Camping World has three types of refrigerator fans: a vent mounted fan that is solar powered, a vent mounted fan wired to the house battery, and a fan inside the fridge that is powered by D cells. Anyone have any recommendations. Also, I don't have the catalog in front of me but I think the digital thermometer they offer is also powered by flashlight batteries. Is this a good product? I definitely need something. Last trip, I had two days of barely adequate performance from my dometic, and then one day of freezing the lettuce and making slush in the sodas. Steve F.
Re: refrigerator accessories Reply #1 – July 15, 2003, 07:25:29 pm Yahoo Message Number: 24546Steve, I have the fan inside the fridge powered by 2 D cells. I'm not sure if it helps with the temp or not, but it's not well designed in my opinion. There is no on/off switch, so when I'm at home and the fridge is off I have to take the batteries out so I don't have to replace the batteries as often. Also the batteries have a tendency to come out during the drive if the road is the least little bit rough. Then they wind up rattling around in the fridge until the next time I stop and put them back in. I'm still thinking about solutions at the moment. I too would be very interested in hearing if anyone uses the fans that go in the outside compartment.Charles.
Re: refrigerator fans Reply #2 – July 15, 2003, 07:33:38 pm Yahoo Message Number: 24547"Camping World has three types of refrigerator fans: a vent mounted fan that is solar powered, a vent mounted fan wired to the house battery, and a fan inside the fridge that is powered by D cells. Anyone have any recommendations." The first two fans serve a different purpose from the third. They are intended to help get rid of the hot air that the fridge puts out (the heat that's extracted from the interior is pumped to the outside via radiator coils), thus helping it work more efficiently. The solar version is the obvious choice, since it can run forever without having any effect on your house batteries--so you need never remember to switch it off. As an added benefit, it doesn't require you to tap into existing wiring. The inside fan that runs on D cells is one that you should also have. It circulates the cold air inside your refrigerator, which means that temperatures are more uniform (no more frozen lettuce) and the fridge cools off faster and more evenly when first turned on. You should remove the D cells when storing your rig, but otherwise this fan can be left running continuously for weeks at a time.Andy Baird :-)
Re: refrigerator accessories Reply #3 – July 15, 2003, 07:36:45 pm Yahoo Message Number: 24548"the batteries have a tendency to come out during the drive...Then they wind up rattling around in the fridge." Charles, it sounds as if a little Velcro would keep the fan in place against one wall of the refrigerator and solve these problems. It is mildly annoying that the fan has no switch, but I simply take the batteries out and turn them 90 degrees when not in use.Andy Baird :-)
Re: refrigerator fans Reply #4 – July 15, 2003, 08:19:28 pm Yahoo Message Number: 24551QuoteThe inside fan that runs on D cells is one that you should also have. It circulates the Quotecold air inside your refrigerator, which means that temperatures are more uniform (no Quotemore frozen lettuce) and the fridge cools off faster and more evenly when first turnedQuoteon. You should remove the D cells when storing your rig, but otherwise this fan canQuotebe left running continuously for weeks at a time. I have run the refrigerator with and without one of these portable fans, and I do think they make a difference and are worth the effort. To turn off for storage I slip a piece of cardboard between the batteries and the contacts.Laurie
Re: refrigerator accessories - Comments - (long) Reply #5 – July 15, 2003, 08:35:11 pm Yahoo Message Number: 24553QuoteIt looks like Camping World has three types of refrigerator fans: a vent mounted fan that is solar powered, a vent mounted fan wired to the house battery, and a fan inside the fridge that is powered by D cells. Newer versus Old FridgeI believe that the newer fridge now used in the new Lazy Daze is now controlled by a thermosat. An owner of a new LD can please confirm this. I believe that the fridge not only automatically switches between gas and electric but also turns on and off the cooling apparatus for temperature regulation.The older small fridge in our 1990 camper van has no thermostat, but rather has a temperature control knob. A certain amount of guess work is involved in setting it. On a hot day, we set it for max. cooling. On a cool evening before we go to sleep we set it about mid range. If we forget, we have frozen milk, cantelope and lettuce in the morning.What year LD do you have? Does your fridge have a thermostat?Fridgemate - in fridge fan operates on D cellsWe use one of these on the bottom shelf. I think that it helps in the cooling process by circulating the air over the internal cooling fins. One has to allow space for air to circulate. If all the shelfs are completely packed with food, air does not circulate well. These fans are inexpensive and will operate for weeks on a set of D-cells. I plan to always use one. I beleive that this fan helps, but I do not have scientific evidence.Solar/12 volt fan on external cooling apparatus I think that the fridge installation is very important for efficient operation. There needs to good air flow over the heating/cooling apparatus. In smaller RVs the manufacturer sometimes does not provide good venting for the Dometic apparatus (may not follow Dometic guidelines). Two brands that come to mind that may have this problem are the Casita fiberglass small travel trailer and the Rialta. Our camper van is not ideal. LD does provide a roof vent for the fridge, which I think is best. In cases where there is not adaquate ventilation, the fan on the external coils might help a lot. I tried one on the camper van, but did not see dramatic results. Getting the cooling unit replaced helped a lot more. The fan unit I had has a switch for solar or house battery. The switch got hot in the house battery position, so I did not use it in that position. The company sent me a replacement switch/box but I have not gotten around to installing it or re-installing the fan.Thoughts on RV absorbtion Refridgerators.When they are working, it is really sweet to be out there with no hookups and having that little gas flame keeping your food nice and cold. They use so little propane, it almost seems like magic.However, it is very frustrating to be on vacation and having your food get too warm because the refrigerator not working properly or failing. These RV fridges seem a lot more finicky that your home fridge. Sometimes the fridge seems to fail for no reason and then resumes operation. From what I've read I gather that the fridge cooling apparatus often fails after years of use because the coils rust through and leak. If you smell ammonia, your cooling unit has failed. Rust is a problem because condensation forms on the cooling coils. Too bad there is not a way to access them, paint them and keep them rust free. Mike Richmond reports good results with annual maintenance (be interesting to hear if he gets over 8 years use of fridge in that humid Florida environment.)Phed Tinseth reports on his experiences using a well insulated efficient compressor type fridge powered by solar. Leveling not required. All interesting to talk about, but we're going to be enjoying our RV, not rebuilding, developing and experimenting (except for maybe Larry, lw? ? ? ? us, who has added many items to his new LD. Sorry, could not remember Larry's id exactly.)There is lots to learn about RV fridges and reference to helpful website/hints in prior posts.Ken Patty and little Stephanie in San Diego 03 LD on order
Re: refrigerator accessories Reply #6 – July 15, 2003, 09:30:34 pm Yahoo Message Number: 24558Steve - here's what I use. (1987 refrig with 6 month-old circuit board).Temp sensor in the refrig part and another one for the freezer, and when I get my new LD, I'll add another one for the freezer. . I use the little battery-powered fan and leave it in the bottom of the refrig. to move the air and improve effeciency.I always have some solidly frozen icecream in the freezer, so the end of this story is that it works.Remember that the RV refrig isn't like the one at home. Stuffing it full of stuff is not good for cooling. Pack it lightly, leaving space around things for air to move. Cold air floating down from the freezer and circulating around is what cools the thing. Now this is the non-tech version. One of the smart tech-types will fill you in on the accurate info.It runs on propane only about 99% of the time (rarely electrical hookup), and it's on all the time that I'm sitting still. This probably makes it easier, in that I don't need to spend a day or two cooling the thing down when I want to take a trip. My whole life's a trip!! ~^_^~Sarah
Re: refrigerator accessories -Holding Fridgemate Batteries Reply #7 – July 16, 2003, 01:18:14 am Yahoo Message Number: 24574wrote: Also the batteries have aQuotetendency to come out during the drive if the road is the least little bit rough. I've had two of those Fridgemate fans. They are inexpensive and look it. Never had the D cells come completely out, but have had poor electrical contact. Solved it by wrapping a stout rubber band around the outside of the battery holder part.Ken Patty and little Stephanie from San Diego
Re: refrigerator accessories - Comments - (long) Reply #8 – July 16, 2003, 02:49:22 am Yahoo Message Number: 24575QuoteNewer versus Old FridgeI believe that the newer fridge now used in the new Lazy Daze is now controlled by a thermosat. An owner of a new LD can please confirm this. I believe that the fridge not only automatically switches between gas and electric but also turns on and off the cooling apparatus for temperature regulation.The older small fridge in our 1990 camper van has no thermostat, but rather has a temperature control knob. A certain amount of guess work is involved in setting it I don't know which model fridge you have, but all the LD with double- door fridges do have a thermostat. Our '83 has a Dometic RM760 full manual fridge, and it is temperature controlled in all three modes. The 'coldness' knob allows you to set that temperature, just as with a home model, without calibration. You can observe the gas flame switch from pilot to full on by observing the sight glass, and I have installed monitor lights on the heating elements that also cycle in those modes.Are there any non-thermostatic ammonia-absorption models? I don't think so. There is no reasonable way to adjust the current flow through the AC or DC heating elements that would not be far more expensive than a simple thermostatic switch, controlled by the temperature set knob. You could adjust the gas flow in LP mode, but that is risky and ANY non-thermostatic control would risk a circulation freeze-up condition in winter use. What may be deceiving is that heat-load performance of these fridges is poor, when compared to a decent compressor model. This leads to under-cooling in hot weather and over-compensation of the control setting when it cools off. Time and experience is the way to solve this issue - you simply have to interact more with your RV fridge, and use a good thermometer - preferably one you monitor externally.Steve
Re: refrigerator accessories Reply #9 – July 16, 2003, 09:17:23 am Yahoo Message Number: 24578Andy, That's a good idea. I currently have the fan tied under the next to bottom shelf with twist ties. I hadn't thought of using velcro to position it against the wall, and right on top of the shelf, so the batteries wouldn't come out during travel. I always remove the batteries when the fridge isn't running. Thanks,Charles.QuoteCharles, it sounds as if a little Velcro would keep the fan in place against one wall of Quotethe refrigerator and solve these problems. It is mildly annoying that the fan has noQuoteswitch, but I simply take the batteries out and turn them 90 degrees when not in use.
Re: refrigerator accessories Reply #10 – July 16, 2003, 10:28:03 am Yahoo Message Number: 24580"Remember that the RV refrig isn't like the one at home. Stuffing it full of stuff is not good for cooling. Pack it lightly, leaving space around things for air to move. Cold air floating down from the freezer and circulating around is what cools the thing." Actually, in that regard it is much like the one at home. While the mechanism that produces the cooling differs, inside the box you still have cold air drifting down from the freezer section to cool the refrigerator section. It's true that if you have poor air circulation iside the refrigerator, you can have uneven or (in spots) inadequate cooling. The FridgeMate fan helps a lot in reducing or eliminating this kind of problem. But there's another factor to consider: what might be called the "thermal flywheel" effect. If there is very little stored in your fridge, then its temperature tends to fluctuate widely and rapidly. On the other hand, if it's packed fairly full, it will stay cold much longer...even when outside temperatures climb during the day. For example, when I first visited Gertie (in southeastern AZ in late May), I found that the refrigerator stayed cold overnight, but rapidly wamed up as the sun hit the coach. Gertie's owner Judie suggested putting a number of containers filled with water in the fridge. I was dubious, but gave it a try. It made a BIG difference--the fridge stayed cold all day, because the water acted as a large thermal mass that stabilized the overall temperature. The bottom line is that in order to maintain a fairly stable temperature, especially in hot weather, you want to have the fridge packed as full as you can manage while still leaving some room for air circulation (preferably fan-assisted).Andy Baird :-)
Re: refrigerator accessories - Comments - (long) Reply #11 – July 16, 2003, 11:30:42 am Yahoo Message Number: 24587I have experimented with the various absorption refrigerators we have owned over the last twenty years. Solar or battery powered ventilation fans, mounted at the rear of the refrigerator do not seem to be particularly effective. Lazy Daze has provided a properly sized vent system. I tried a single and then a double muffin fan installation in our 83 LD. Neither seemed to provide any advantage or greater cooling capacity. In a MH with a restricted vent, they may be more effective.The Fanmate is a different story. It does a good job of providing even cooling. It will run for weeks on one set of batteries. The Fanmate appears to be cheaply made but we have used the same fan for over ten years. I have always had a problem with the batteries either falling out or not making a good connection. I regularly clean the battery contacts with a pencil eraser. A piece of duct tape, across the bottom, holds the batteries in place.As said before, the best accessory your refrigerator can have is a remote, digital thermometer for monitoring the interior temperature. The thermometer has alerted us many times when the refrigerator has shut down for whatever reason.Absorption refrigerators, in RVs, are very marginal in hot weather. In hot weather, we use an ice chest for cold drinks and try to open the door as little as possible. We try to park with the refrigerator on the shady side or use the awning to provide shade. The only real maintenance they require is periodic cleaning of the gas jet and chimney. I blow the cooling coils out with compressed air, once or twice a year. Our 83 LD's refrigerator lasted 18 years before rusting out. We were very conscientious about keeping the rig level.Larry
Re: refrigerator accessories Reply #12 – July 16, 2003, 11:39:40 am Yahoo Message Number: 24588QuoteRemember that the RV refrig isn't like the one at home. Stuffing it full of stuff is not good for cooling. Pack it lightly, leaving space around things for air to move. Cold air floating down from the freezer and circulating around is what cools the thing Actually, the double-door units have separate heat (cool) exchangers in the fridge and freezer sections. It is not intended that there be an air exchange. When the cooling unit in ours was replaced sloppily, the fit was poor, and air exchange WAS occuring. Freezer performance was marginal, while stuff was freezing in the fridge. Injecting insulating foam in the gap restored the proper temperature differential.Stuffing full is good for cooling due to the thermal mass Andy mentioned, not as good for uniformity of temperature. Still, given the meager cooling performance of the design, we have found fuller is better overall.Steve
refrigerator accessories Reply #13 – July 15, 2003, 09:48:14 pm Yahoo Message Number: 24562cells. >>the D cell would certainly be my choice. It is REALLY inexpensive. This would not be a sufficient reason to buy it of course, but we have used one (truly...ONE...'course we've had to change the batteries!) for about 12 years. It keeps the air circulating well when you place it on the bottom shelf, near the rear of the box. Have never had a problem, even driving cross country in the hottest weather.bobbi 2000 RK
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] refrigerator accessories Reply #14 – July 16, 2003, 12:37:42 am Yahoo Message Number: 24572QuoteHave never had a problem, even driving cross country in the hottest weather.bobbi 2000 RK The biggest problem I had with the fridge on our last trip was the 'check' light came on repeatedly. When stopped I would cycle it off and on and it would come on with propane OK. But on the road, the 'check' light came on often.I should mention that it was very windy most days of the trip. On calm days or when parked everything was fine.Bob, 2000 LD 26.5' blue MB Sunny San Diego
refrigerator accessories Reply #15 – July 16, 2003, 12:24:40 pm Yahoo Message Number: 24590hot weather, you want to have the fridge packed as full as you can manage while still leaving some room for air circulation (preferably fan-assisted). >>Interesting conversation about the refrigerator. Did anyone mention that it helps to have stuff chilled before you put it in the RV refrigerator. I know that isn't always possible. But we try not to put too much warm stuff in at the same time. For instance, we try to replace canned drinks as we use them. When we load up from home, everything is chilled or frozen before it goes in. It helps.Bobbi
[Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Re: refrigerator accessories Reply #16 – July 16, 2003, 12:38:10 pm Yahoo Message Number: 24593"Did anyone mention that it helps to have stuff chilled before you put it in the RV refrigerator." Excellent point, Bobbi! Like you, I try to make sure that anything I put in there is prechilled if possible. Also, I keep several liquid-filled chiller thingies in my freezer at home, and whenever I start out on a trip, I transfer them to Gertie's freezer to give it a head start. (The ones I use are called "Freezer Snakes" because they're long and flexible, so they can be coiled up.)Andy Baird :-)
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