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Old 07-21-2014, 07:33 AM   #1
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Rv fix refrigerator fan install/operation

I'm starting a new topic on just the fans. . As more folks install and use the fans hopefully we can get some good information on performance. What I'd like to know is the size of the frig, is the freezer removed and do you have the new baffle system or Texas fans Of course Temp and humidity the trailer is in. Those with home made fan installs please feel free to include your information. If there is other information folks would like please feel free to chime in.
I installed the fans last Wednesday in my 4.3 with freezer removed and no baffles. Started it around 10am on 3 running on a/c with fans on. Temps high 80's low 90's, trailer in full sun. Final check for day was around 9pm temp was 35 degrees and starting to ice. Turned fans off and temp to 2. Next morning temp 39 , loaded frig switched to propane turned fans on and left for the sante Fe national forest. I travel with propane on. Got in set up and cked frig was at 39 degrees. Camp ground is at 8300 feet temps high 70's to 80's. Over the weekend the frig worked great on 2 on propane. I turned the fans on and off as needed, trailer was in full sun. Temps in frig never got above 40 degrees. I'm pleased with the first test and can only compare it to a trip to Moab this spring with similar temps, had to run frig on 5 to keep it around 40 degrees. Was at a much higher altitude last weekend which also plays into performance. I had to open the outside cover to the hot water heater to keep it running.
I'm going to do more testing this week in the driveway using chilled water bottles. Going to be hot, temps high 90's and humid. Well humid for New Mexico.

Dave
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Old 07-21-2014, 10:29 AM   #2
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"I had to open the outside cover to the hot water heater to keep it running. "
Dave1 - trying to understand the water heater comment?

Thanks for starting this topic! Well done.
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Old 07-21-2014, 10:47 AM   #3
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"I had to open the outside cover to the hot water heater to keep it running. "
Dave1 - trying to understand the water heater comment?

Thanks for starting this topic! Well done.
Should not have included it. The water heater would not keep running longer than about 3-5 minutes. Cked manual it talked about needing to adjust air/gas mixture at altitude. By opening the cover it got enough air to keep running. Was making the point that altitude effects the operation of propane appliances. I hope it doesn't get us off the topic of the fans. My bad!!

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Old 07-21-2014, 10:57 AM   #4
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Interior fans ? If so which ones ?
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Old 07-21-2014, 11:16 AM   #5
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Interior fans ? If so which ones ?
These ones:

Fridgee-Fix for Dometic 8555/8551

Have been multiple threads on the topic.
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Old 07-21-2014, 07:26 PM   #6
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Should not have included it. The water heater would not keep running longer than about 3-5 minutes. Cked manual it talked about needing to adjust air/gas mixture at altitude. By opening the cover it got enough air to keep running. Was making the point that altitude effects the operation of propane appliances. I hope it doesn't get us off the topic of the fans. My bad!!

Dave
That is actually an interesting observation. IF the water heater is starved for 'air' does the refrigerator compensate for altitude in any way? My guess is 'no' so it may be affected too?

In our Alpenlite and Scamp trailers over the last 20+ years I have never noticed problems with the frig or water heater but they had quirks too. Many of my trips were to National Parks in WA, OR and ID so we stayed in hot and high environments. Picking up our '19 in August and I feel fortunate to have the this forum to understand the quirks of the Escapes before I learn the hard way!
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Old 07-21-2014, 07:42 PM   #7
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That is actually an interesting observation. IF the water heater is starved for 'air' does the refrigerator compensate for altitude in any way? My guess is 'no' so it may be affected too?

In our Alpenlite and Scamp trailers over the last 20+ years I have never noticed problems with the frig or water heater but they had quirks too. Many of my trips were to National Parks in WA, OR and ID so we stayed in hot and high environments. Picking up our '19 in August and I feel fortunate to have the this forum to understand the quirks of the Escapes before I learn the hard way!
From Norcold's website:

What effect will high altitude have on my refrigerator when it is running on propane gas?

Altitudes higher that 5500 feet above sea level may cause reduced cooling performance and may cause burner outages. Norcold recommends you operate the unit on AC when altitudes are higher than 5500 feet above seal level.
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Old 07-21-2014, 08:13 PM   #8
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From Norcold's website:

What effect will high altitude have on my refrigerator when it is running on propane gas?

Altitudes higher that 5500 feet above sea level may cause reduced cooling performance and may cause burner outages. Norcold recommends you operate the unit on AC when altitudes are higher than 5500 feet above seal level.
Oh no.... That compressor model looks more appealing daily. OK so now if we are above 5500 feet OR the temp is over 90 we should put a black bag on the trailer to heat water and find block ice to load in the refer...? Thankfully we have fiberglass .. That's something Grandma and Grandpa didn't have!

How can manufacturers sell products for trailers that don't work properly in the climate where they are marketed? There should be big red warning labels in the propane refrigerators, not for use in hot climates ?!
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Old 07-21-2014, 08:31 PM   #9
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Oh no.... That compressor model looks more appealing daily. OK so now if we are above 5500 feet OR the temp is over 90 we should put a black bag on the trailer to heat water and find block ice to load in the refer...? Thankfully we have fiberglass .. That's something Grandma and Grandpa didn't have!

How can manufacturers sell products for trailers that don't work properly in the climate where they are marketed? There should be big red warning labels in the propane refrigerators, not for use in hot climates ?!
It's not their fault. It's a limitation of the technology. RV buyers want a fridge that uses minimal energy, and will work with no hookups. Absorption is the best fit for those criteria. Solar may change that.
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Old 07-21-2014, 08:48 PM   #10
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If it is a limitation of the technology can an additional fan inside and outside (back) extend the operational temperature range? My point is IF it can,which I believe it will after talking to Mike about their FridgeFix, then it's not a limit of the technology.

Or is it a limitation of the technology when sold in the configuration they sell it in?

I guess that's the purpose of this thread?
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Old 07-21-2014, 08:55 PM   #11
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If it is a limitation of the technology can an additional fan inside and outside (back) extend the operational temperature range? My point is IF it can,which I believe it will after talking to Mike about their FridgeFix, then it's not a limit of the technology.

Or is it a limitation of the technology when sold in the configuration they sell it in?

I guess that's the purpose of this thread?
Well, I suppose they could make an absorption fridge that would work better and run colder, but inevitably, it'd cost hundreds more -- maybe more than that. As for the fan, others came up with the idea. I'd rather reward them for their ingenuity in trying to fix a problem than fault the manufacturer for not thinking of it first.
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Old 07-21-2014, 09:00 PM   #12
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Whoa fellows.......let's not be jumping the gun here. In his opening post Dave said, and I quote:
" Camp ground is at 8300 feet temps high 70's to 80's. Over the weekend the frig worked great on 2 on propane."
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Old 07-21-2014, 09:06 PM   #13
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Whoa fellows.......let's not be jumping the gun here. In his opening post Dave said, and I quote:
" Camp ground is at 8300 feet temps high 70's to 80's. Over the weekend the frig worked great on 2 on propane."
Which is my point exactly Myron. I think that given the limitations of absorption technology, the fridges do a pretty good job most of the time.
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Old 07-22-2014, 09:23 AM   #14
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Right on, Rbryn. I have been following this fridges stuff closely, though I admit have had no complainable issues with mine, although have also not yet camped in the hot-as-hell weather.

My 19's build start date was Aug 30 '13, with the RM 8551. Page 18 of my Dometic manual under Caption "Forced ventilation," states "To achieve better air circulation at high ambient temperatures this appliance is equipped with an additional fan." A drawing illustrates there are two fans in back, above the big coils.

Dave's opening post results are convincing me that adding another fan inside the fridge will further improve cooling efficiency. I'm probably going to go with that. Have zero desire to pull the unit out and add that baffle configuration, which I'm thinking is not worth the trouble.

Of course however, in the spirit of full disclosure, re-read paragraph one above.
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Old 07-22-2014, 11:22 AM   #15
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RV fix fan

We have been in Oregon now for over a week and our fridge did not like 100* weather with frequent opening of the door. But as soon as we started seeing some cool nights I see single digit freezer and 30's in the fridge but also the cooling unit needed to be defrosted, something we don't need to do with 10% humidity in AZ. I have two fans blowing up the back over the coils plus a styro panel to deflect the air over the coils and a single 4 inch fan inside to circulate air and my fridge is ok in this weather but not at 100*. I looked at the RV fix fan and ordered it this morning because I believe it will help with much better distribution of the cold air than I have now. I'll find out when we see the high temps later this summer if I have time to install the fan.
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Old 07-22-2014, 11:22 AM   #16
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After confirming my unit has the rear baffle, I went inside and removed the top refer instrument panel and determined it was all sealed in the rear, except overhead there is a large piece of exposed fiberglass shell. There is no insulation, just unfinished fg? I'm wondering if this was done by choice to keep it cooler or by accident and should I cover the exposed fg with reflectix? Anyone else looked up and there and have similar situation? Any ideas on what to do?
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Old 07-22-2014, 01:16 PM   #17
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We cannot change the physical heat exchange characteristics of absorption refrigeration. Ambient air temps regulate the heat exchange between the evaporator and the condenser.
We can however enhance the performance by:
Moving the cool air in the frig by using fans that direct air away from the evaporator in the frig and distribute the air throughout the inside of the cooling box.
We can move more ambient air across the condenser behind the frig. I am grateful that Reace is trying to address this strategy. He is not happy with the results but feels that the baffle mod helps. In the 4.3 frig the mod goal is to direct the air across the thermal switch on the condenser that turns on the fans below the condenser. Without the mod the fans are not coming on and even then seem ineffective when manually controlled by a switch.
Add thermostatically or manually controlled fans at the top of the vent to draw air up and across the condenser pulling ambient air in the lower inlet and discharging out of the top vent.
Without any fan enhancement we are relying on the draft of rising hot air to pull air in the lower vent and venting it from the top vent which has a restricted vented cap.
The condenser fans can be turned on manually, using a thermal switch turned on and off by ambient air, or attached to the burner tube.
If you are camping in hot weather consider a cooler and ice as a backup.
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Old 07-22-2014, 01:22 PM   #18
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"We cannot change the physical heat exchange characteristics of absorption refrigeration. Ambient air temps regulate the heat exchange between the evaporator and the condenser.
We can however enhance the performance"


That's what I've been trying to say all along -- except not as artfully.
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Old 07-22-2014, 02:33 PM   #19
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I've been toying with the concept of muffin fans mounted on a plate that would sit on top of the vent insect screen, powered by a solar cell mounted either on the top of the vent cover or the top of the trailer next to the fridge vent. Will have to wait until my 21 arrives before proceeding, my biggest curiosity is how to get adequate airflow without affecting the flame in the chimney..........
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