we have recently purchased a 2015 coachman vip460 and we went away for a few days and noticed when wind blows a draught blowing under the fridge and from the drawer above and a slight draught from the light switch on the side of the kitchen unit holding fridge, has anyone managed to cure this problem.
yes, ours used to freeze your toes when stood at the sink, so i opened the fridge door and placed sticky tape across the bottom of the fridge and on the floor to seal the gap. its been like that now for the past 8 years and now problems at all as it vents around the gaps at the back of the units in a more dispersed way rather than the direct route onto your toes
i sorted it, by removing the outer grill/covers,, then i could access the rear of the fridge, and put tape down the gaps at the side and the wind deflector at the top, replaced the covers and for the front of the fridge i applied black tape along the gap at the bottom,
The reality is that the fridge was not fitted corrected and may need to be removed and refitted as it will nto work properly in hot weather as no flow of air over the fins on the rear. This issue is common on many brands and not just Coachman.
As Ian has said "The reality is that the fridge was not fitted corrected", it should be sealed properly, predominantly to isolate the risk of monoxide gases, from the burner, entering the habitation space.
Typically, they are so poorly fitted any monoxide will be well diluted, not an ideal solution though.
I applied masking tape round the edges of the fridge and then the edge of the surround. I then applied a bead of silicone smoothing it flat afterwards.
Where the internal side paneling fits up to the sink worktop will also require sealing. I've not got to that job yet but will probably use a bead of expanding foam as it is out of sight. Other possible will be to use foam strip squeezed into the gap.
You might also have a gap down the bottom left rear corner where the water pipes go through the back of the left panel. I sealed that one with expanding foam
...........
Andy
We don’t use expanding foam at home after seeing the thick black choking smoke when it burns (unless the formula has changed). However, fire is extremely unlikely in this situation. We’ve cut foam pipe lagging lengthwise to block draughts around our washing machine at home, which allows for any movement (during spinning).
As for the MH fridge draught, we fit the standard issue covers over the external vents when it’s below 10deg & take them off when it’s warmer.
I'd strongly advise against using any 'permanent' sealants like expanding foam, silicone etc. to fill gaps, if you ever need the fridge removing for servicing etc. the task would take on a new dimension, with no doubt high risk of damage to adjacent fixtures with their additional replacement/repair cost on top of direct fridge work! In a recent post, someone had a £250 labour bill for replacing a fridge, and that was with only a few 'standard' screws securing it, imaging what that figure would be if the fitters had to battle adhesive sealants to get the fridge out!
All you need is ordinary non-adhesive foam strips (pipe lagging seems a popular choice) wedged into gaps (side/top/bottom as required) to stop drafts entering living space. Easily removed if ever need to extract fridge. Ventilation to the fridge rear must be maintained to ensure correct operation, and the gas 'drop out vent' in the floor is a vital safety feature (even if YOU never use gas, the next owner might!) and must not be blocked/obstructed.
Quote: Originally posted by Monty15 on 31/5/2022
I'd strongly advise against using any 'permanent' sealants like expanding foam, silicone etc. to fill gaps, if you ever need the fridge removing for servicing etc. the task would take on a new dimension, with no doubt high risk of damage to adjacent fixtures with their additional replacement/repair cost on top of direct fridge work! In a recent post, someone had a £250 labour bill for replacing a fridge, and that was with only a few 'standard' screws securing it, imaging what that figure would be if the fitters had to battle adhesive sealants to get the fridge out!
All you need is ordinary non-adhesive foam strips (pipe lagging seems a popular choice) wedged into gaps (side/top/bottom as required) to stop drafts entering living space. Easily removed if ever need to extract fridge. Ventilation to the fridge rear must be maintained to ensure correct operation, and the gas 'drop out vent' in the floor is a vital safety feature (even if YOU never use gas, the next owner might!) and must not be blocked/obstructed.
You could of course use "Duct tape", as its name implies that was very much its initial purpose, to seal the odd leak voids in air ducting.
For aesthetics I would apply this internally via the external air vent apertures.
Whilst it would make any fridge removal a little more time consuming, peeling it off or cutting through it ought to present but a few minutes more work.
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Topic: draught from fridge
via mobile 31/5/2022 at 11:53am
