Coachman VIP 460 2021 model fridge not cool enough in hot weather.

[Ianj@22]

Hi we’ve had our caravan for nearly 4 years now and never been happy with the performance of the fridge when the weather is hot and or we’ve put an awning on. The freezer box never really freezes .
It’s got the Dometic series 10 fridge fitted and I was wondering if fitting the optional Dometic fan kit would improve the performance in these conditions.
Or is there any other better aftermarket options out there?
Any suggestions/ideas would be great, please.
We carry a total cool 45 box with us as we can’t rely upon the caravan fridge.

 

[Mr Plodd]

I believe the "ice box" in these fridges is removable and sometimes they get dislodged slightly so don't cool down as much as they should. A quick Google search shoukd point you in the right direction on that.
If that's not the issue then yes fridge fans do help a lot. It's a pretty simply DIY job to sort your own fan system out without buying the expensive "kits"

 

[Dustydog]

Do you remove the exterior vent covers when pitched up?

Seems your fridge vents into the awning?

If so then yes , fitting fan(s) as suggested by Mr Plodd should help, assuming the freezer compartment is correctly located and the door is sealing ok.

 

[Ianj@22]

Hi thank you both for quick replies 😊👍
The freezer box is firmly located and sealed we had to get a dometic engineer out to re attach the ribbon cable on the back of the control panel, he put a sealing strip to fill the gap between the freezer box and main body.
I’ll definitely look into fitting fans though.
Thank you
Kind regards
Ian

 

[IanB1485]

You may also have a slight blockage in one of the smaller pipes , OR the finned block at the back of the freezer is not in good thermal contact with the cooling pipe , seen this on a few dometic fridges , The cooling assembly is inserted from the rear and the plastic rear wall of the internal compartment can sometimes cause a small gap between the cooling pipe and the finned block . Removing the finned block and removing the brown paste around the pipe and applying heat sink compound to get a better contact can often improve the performance.Its sad that such an expensive bit of kit (RML8230 retails about £1500 ) can be so poorly assembled

 

[Ianj@22]

Hi Ian, thank you for your thoughts on my issue.
The finned block on the inside of the fridge does start to show ice on it after a day or so I think that maybe the contact as you describe is okay there.
Our main concern really is the ability of the fridge to keep things frozen.
The fridge bit seems to work fine, we try to leave air gaps around everything and that seems to work.
I’ve got a dometic fan kit to fit, but it looks a pain to fit as there’s no room to work.
I will only be able to fit the fan under the top fins as it’s quite compact at the rear being the over wheel arch model.
Yes I agree the build/design quality should be better considering the cost😬
The old Electrolux models of years gone by never had these issues did they!
But hey ho, we love our van and all these mod cons don’t we.
We wouldn’t like to go back to the the old foot pump for the water or the gas mantel for lighting would we lol.
Thanks again
Kind regards
Ian

 

[IanB1485]

I took out the whole outer frame for the upper grill and made some brackets to fit three standard computer fans on to the frame , then wired is a series resistor to slow them down and make them a bit quieter and a thermal switch clamped to the condenser pipe so the fans only activate if the condenser goes over 35 Deg C(should have made it 40 Deg C) . I put the assembly in the top vent as the fans will create a slighter lower pressure in the area behind the fridge and draw the hot air out (aiding the natural convection) , thus cooling the condenser and allowing a lower achievable temperature in the freezer. I used this method rather than putting the fans in the lower section, which would slightly pressurise ( we are talking mbar here) the cavity behind the fridge , which may have compromised the room sealing of the fridge

 

[Ianj@22]

Hi Ian, thanks again for this info, very impressed 😊👍
I bought a dometic fan kit 3 years ago, but have never fitted it, as it looked an absolute pain to fit due to lack of access.
I fitted it today, took me a good few hours, if it doesn’t do the job I’ll definitely make up a fan system similar to yours.
I’ve been reluctant to do anything up to yet, just in case I voided any warranty!
I may make a fan system similar to up anyway, nice little project 😊👍
thank you again for your reply
Kind regards
Ian