we where in spain in july and it was nice and hot, could not get the fridge to cool below 20, had a fan fitted last year and was ok in france last year, any one else had this problem.had to use cool box and bags of ice to keep bear cool.ooooooopppppps that should be beer, think i have had too many to night
sorry steve, but i'm totally against cruelty to bears!!! You try being locked in a coolbox for hours on end!!!! Anyhow,what the hell are you doing with a bear in the first place. I think i'm going to report you!!!!
Yes, they normally state that they cool 20 degrees below ambient. But some still do better than that. The problem is well known.
In general lack of performance is caused by leack of air circulation behind the fridge. The circulation is needed for the element to get rid of the heat.
a few possibilities:
1. The simplest cause ofen is that people turn the fridge too high. Turn the dial a bit lower , not more than position 3, maybe only 2. Turning it higher will be counterproductive. The heating element becomes too hot, not getting rid of its heat. The fluid will start boiling, causing too much vapour, leading to a vapour-lock (amonia vapour in the circuit), and the fridge will even do less. So, when it is very warm, turn down a bit, not up.
If still too warm, improve air circulation by one or more of the next possibilities.
2. The mosquito mesh behind the outside grids are dirty. Cleaning the mesh improves performance. Removing the mesh improves performance too.
Anyway opening these grids also is an improvement to performance.
3. Often fridges are not well mounted. The opening to the inner of the caravan often is not well sealed. The 'way' to the upper grid often continues inside upwards after the upper grid. Normally on the topside there should be a guiding plate, leading outwards. Check that and if not mounted, or ill mounted, improve that. This plate often at the same time is part of the 'seal' against from inward air currents/leakage. It helps guiding the air outward and even may give a certain venturi-effect, if well mounted.
4. If circulation still is not sufficient, often a little (computer)fan is mounted. Either pointing towards the upper cooling ribs, or, much simpler and normally just as effective, hung in rubber bands (against noise) behind the upper grid, blowing air outwards, thus pulling the air outwards throught he proper routing. This normally is a vast improvement.
3 years ago in France the poor old fridge had real problems getting down to a coolish temperature - our fault - the vent was in direct sunshine and the daytime temperature was in the 40s. For the past 2 years we try and ensure the vents are out of the sun, and we put the electric coolbox under the vents to further reduce the ambient temperature around the fridge, without any problems at all. This year the temperature also was high - not quite 40 but mid 30s plus.
it was tried on gas as well as electric, temp was turned down,proper fan with temp sensing switch fitted in top grill blowing out, 2 years ago. previously worked great.vents where inside awning and a 9 inch fan blowing at vents.came back to uk and it cooled down freezer comp to -24 degs C with outside temp at +15 deg C. any more clues. ps van only 2 years old
Agree on the ventilation bit - in france I was disappointed with my fridge, but put it down to cheapness, recently went on holdiay and put it on a wooden platform, rather then the grass - immediate improvement.
As i am not a technician so it's hard for me to find more clues.
I do know that some people don't like fridge-vents inside the awning. As ventilation is reduced in the awning and the temperature in an awning usualy is higher than outside, that also has a certain negative effect, at least when the awning is 'closed'. This probably is diferent when the awning is in use as canopy.
Also proper levelling of the van influences the performance of the fridge. Tilting just a few degrees apparently has a negative influence on performance. I don;t remeber anymore which one most: sideways or forward/backwards, I think the latter, as this disturbs the air current most. Especially if no proper guidance panel has been applied behind the fridge.
Another factor often is the electricity. In countries like Spain and France, especially on larger campsites, the electricity network of campsites often is insufficient. To many users on the same network, actually reducing the voltage per person. Some caravanners of the Dutch 'hardcore' (i mean active in the Dutch caravan club and on the Dutch caravan sites) have measured several times. Sometimes the voltage on campsites would not be more than 180V !! In these cases the fridge will not perform properly when on electricity. Therefore some people switch to gas in these circumstances, which than performs better.
But as you stated that you also tried gas this should not be the cause. (By the way, my fridge needs the middle gas-position 2 of gas to work properly, gas-position 1 is too low: soft ice cubes)
This would imply that either your fridge is at its maximum capacity when cooling 20 degrees below ambient, although still strange that it has performed better before, or that there is something in the system, e.g. a tendency to vapour lock. This vapour lock may have risen when the fridge stiil was on a too high position in Spain (before turning it lower) and maybe got stuck on a difficult spot. In that case the old trick of putting the fridge upside down for a while to unlock the vapour lock. Not normal for a fairly new fridge, but who knows.
By the way, does your fan really blow outwards at the upper ventgrid? If positioned wrong it won't work. Maybe it got loose when underway and now blows the wrong way?
How does it perform now under more or less normal temperatures?
I also heard of some people who added a grid in the bottom of the caravan, which was effective. Cooler air plus extra ventilation.
Otherwise you can only ask the manufacturer. Problem is that if the fridge does cool 20 degrees, it officially fulfils the specs.
wlee, never thought to check voltage,was on gas for 2 days at various settings no differant.door does not cover vents,fan was blowing out at top, air was not warm as has been in past, have e mailed dometic for advice, ps i also have a small cube beer fridge which sits in corner of awning which did its job brill after first cooling beer in cool box with ice, currently working perfect. been threw the instruction book no referance to cooling capacity
Get it fixed for next year or we're not meeting up - that's unless you want to share our fridge Steve!! - we'll keep your milk fresh for you though - I know you're not too keen on yogurt!!
Funny thing is that the fridge does not cool either on electricity onor on gas. This eems to rule out the possibility that the electric heating element has broken down. Things point more towards a vapour lock (the "upside down for a while" solution).
You were speaking about the past two years. From that I understand the fridge has about that age. This type of stuff should be covered by guarantee.
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Topic: 44 deg C and fridge wont cool
