Baffle for 4.3 and 6.7 fridges

[reace]

Early spring of 2014, we started installing a new baffle design for the 4.3 cu.ft and 6.7 cu.ft fridges on the 19', 21' and 5.0. Unfortunately we had no way of testing this new design until it warmed up here. We have since seen 30 plus degree Celsius weather and have been able to test the fridges with the new design. We parked the trailers with the fridge side exposed to the sun and kept the door and windows closed. The 4.3 had no problem maintaining 2 degrees and the 6.7 could maintain 4 degrees (2-3 degrees with the rear 'Texas' fan installed).

We will be contacting owners with the 4.3 cu.ft and 6.7 cu.ft fridges installed on the 19', 21' and 5.0 with baffle installation instructions. I will also post the instruction photos on this thread shortly.

Reace

 

[hotfishtacos]

Thanks Reace! This information will be very helpful!

Steve

 

[lefttee]

Would it possible to get instructions for this mod and have a local shop do it and install the fan? Chilliwack was great but I don't want to drive that far to fix the fridge. Thanks Reace for working on the problem. Wonder if you have any hair left.

 

[Parker-ESC]

Reace, thank you so much for this bit of encouraging news! I recall you looking into baffles last summer, which I assume proved inconclusive. THIS is why we bought an Escape.

Parker

 

[Greggo]

Reace, thank you so much for this bit of encouraging news! I recall you looking into baffles last summer, which I assume proved inconclusive. THIS is why we bought an Escape.

Parker

Dittos!

 

[cpaharley2008]

Great news, looking forward to installing it. Now if we just could have gotten the new solar panels…….I guess being an early bird has it's advantages and disadvantages…..

 

[yardsale]

Reace,

We have the 4.3 ci fridge ordered for our 17B due in August. Will we have this upgrade?
Thanks,
Nick Branch

 

[reace]

Hi Nick

The 15' and 17' models have a smaller cabinet which the fridge fits into and does not require a baffle.

Reace

 

[rbryan4]

That answered my question too. Thanks Reace! Man, I'm glad we chose an Escape.

 

[reace]

Just an FYI to those attending the rally in Bandon, I will be bringing supplies so I can install the fridge baffles on site.

Reace

 

[cpaharley2008]

Wow Reace, mighty nice of you. Perhaps if you can swing it, maybe you can come visit the rally here on the east coast in September, just a thought,
Take some deserved time off and see the other side of the world , it is not that bad east of the Mississippi, just a little more crowded!!

 

[Parker-ESC]

This whole thing is really encouraging. It sounds like the baffles must not be that difficult to install. Fridge removal probably not required, for example! I'm really looking forward to seeing the video.

 

[reace]

I made the videos last night...just waiting for my daughter to come in and edit it and show me how to post it! The fridge does have to be removed to install the baffles. The whole re & re takes about an hour.

I will assume I will be much faster at it by the end of the Bandon trip!

Reace

 

[Parker-ESC]

Oh! Well, good luck, and I hope you get to relax a little! In this case, the video is especially valuable.

 

[FMLNM]

Will this baffle mod help performance on the 5.1 cu ft RM2510 fridge in our Classic 5.0?

 

[Seef]

Just an FYI to those attending the rally in Bandon, I will be bringing supplies so I can install the fridge baffles on site.

Reace

Hi Reace,

will you be coming over to the Netherlands too?

Just kidding. Do we need the baffle too?


Have fun!

Severinus and Yvonne

 

[reace]

The 5.0 cu.ft. 2-way fridge also had a different install which allowed it to work fine in reasonable temperatures. In the case of the 5 cu. ft. fridge, if you are not happy with the cooling, an exterior fan will help.

The problem with the 4.3 and 6.7 is they were having difficulty cooling in normal temperatures...never mind anything extreme.

Reace

 

[tractors1]

Hi Reace,

will you be coming over to the Netherlands too?

Just kidding. Do we need the baffle too?


Have fun!

Severinus and Yvonne

A trip to the Netherlands to install a baffle would be a GREAT business tax write-off in the USA. Dunno about Canada, though!

 

[Dave&Kathie]

Great of you to do this Reace. Sign us up!

Dave & Kathie
8)
B20

 

[reace]

Well...the fridge saga continues. Although the fridges definitely work better with the baffle installed, there is a limit. The past couple of days have been scorchers for us at mid 30 degrees with high humidity. Unfortunately, the fridges (non of them) like it!
I was searching for some technical tweaks and came across the following on Norcold's site:

Norcold RV Refrigerator Won't Work in Summer (when it's hot out)

Does Your Norcold Refrigerator Warm Up in Hot Ambient Temperatures?

This issue is more common than you think. If you have a gas absorbtion model refrigerator as opposed to an AC/DC model that doesn't run on LP, it is highly sensitive to temperature. If it's too warm outside (90 degrees F and above) or too cold (below freezing) it will not function properly. In most cases it will end up showing a fault code that indicates that the refrigerator is not sensing a temperature drop. This code could be: no co, n, or light flashing 5 times.

What can I do to make it work better?!

The best thing to do here is to make sure that the ventillation is to spec behind the refrigerator. The venting needs to be near perfect in order for it work properly in hot ambient conditions. We recommend removing your access vents and positioning your RV in a way that assures the side of your RV with the refrigerator on it is facing the shade. Another recommendation is that you run the refrigerator on AC rather than LP. Other than these three things, there is nothing that you can do. Gas absorbtion refrigerators operate based on amonia-based condensation that collects up at the top of the cooling unit. This condensation then falls into the cooling unit's condenser coils and flows through the coils by gravity (this is why it's important for your RV to be level). When it gets too warm outside the problem is that condensation never begins at the top of the cooling unit because there isn't enough temperature difference. We are sorry to be the ones responsible for the bad news! Don't blame us, blame the system!

I haven't been able to find anything so bold on the Dometic site!

Reace