winter fridge vent covers
- Thread starter keithwug
- Start date
Hello Keithwug,
I purchased a pair of Thetford fridge vent covers a couple of years ago.
On the fitting instruction leaflet it states that the vent covers can be used when the temperature is beow 8 deg. C, or auwhen in winter storage or when washing caravan.
I must admit to using them when there is high winds but I have noticed when doing this they do get quite warm so in future I will not use them when temp is above 8C.
I purchased a pair of Thetford fridge vent covers a couple of years ago.
On the fitting instruction leaflet it states that the vent covers can be used when the temperature is beow 8 deg. C, or auwhen in winter storage or when washing caravan.
I must admit to using them when there is high winds but I have noticed when doing this they do get quite warm so in future I will not use them when temp is above 8C.
its not adviseable as they restrict the air flow at the back of the fridgekeithwug said:
must admit when I got the new van I had not realised there were fridge covers on, and only found out when one came off while cleaning.
and there was I wondering why the fridge did not work properly or why the fridge cupboard was allways hot
once removed all was well, the only time they are now fitted is during the winter when it is stored,
If you use the vents above 8C the fridge gets a lot colder and could ice up due to heat being retained.
We had forgotten to remove ours in France in June and thought the fridge was packing up.A kind chappie from a Caravan Club rally on site by us pointed them out and once removed fridge was fine.Soon be time to put them back on though sadly
.......I always tow with fridge vent covers fitted as I always have my fridge running on 12volts.
If I tow without them the air flow past the vents over cools the heating unit making the fridge inefficient.
I think this is the main reason for people saying their fridge is useless on 12volts.
Of course I take them off if needed when sited.
If I tow without them the air flow past the vents over cools the heating unit making the fridge inefficient.
I think this is the main reason for people saying their fridge is useless on 12volts.
Of course I take them off if needed when sited.
The 12v circuit is rated the same power as gas and 230v so no difference there.
The usual reason for 12v fridge complaints actually resolve to inadequate wiring in the car and/or caravan resulting in substantial voltage drop - it's not uncommon to find 11v at the fridge despite 14v at the alternator.
I use winter covers in storage (at home) or below 7 degrees C - I also use a winter cover on the microwave vent to prevent draughts when it's not in use, thanks Lunar for using a standard Dometic vent.
The usual reason for 12v fridge complaints actually resolve to inadequate wiring in the car and/or caravan resulting in substantial voltage drop - it's not uncommon to find 11v at the fridge despite 14v at the alternator.
I use winter covers in storage (at home) or below 7 degrees C - I also use a winter cover on the microwave vent to prevent draughts when it's not in use, thanks Lunar for using a standard Dometic vent.
RogerL said:
.......that is the oft spoken reason.
Reference my earlier post.......
I have upgraded the wiring to my fridge and also have a 200 amp hour leisure battery.
My fridge is supplied with at least 12 volts all the time it is switched on ......even if my tow car engine is not running.
These modifications have improved the operation of my fridge on 12 volts......but not as much as fitting winter vents when towing.
Remember the vents are subjected to gale force winds flowing over them when towing.
In my opinion this results in the 12 volt element not reaching the right temperature for efficient operation of the fridge.
Normal wiring for caravan fridges is ONLY operative when engine is running, ie giving 14v.
I always pre-cool the fridge at home for at least 24 hours before towing and have never had an issue with fridge performance while towing (never exceeds 5 degrees in fridge body) - but then I've always used heavy duty wiring in the car, ie 30A cable doubled-up, so minimal voltage drop to ensure 13+ volts at the fridge.
In contrast, I can't get the fridge to cool properly on-site ! Above high teens ambient, I have to remove the normal vents and the internal fridge temperature exceeds recommended limits (2-5 degrees) above low twenties, even with normal vents removed - must get fans fitted !
I always pre-cool the fridge at home for at least 24 hours before towing and have never had an issue with fridge performance while towing (never exceeds 5 degrees in fridge body) - but then I've always used heavy duty wiring in the car, ie 30A cable doubled-up, so minimal voltage drop to ensure 13+ volts at the fridge.
In contrast, I can't get the fridge to cool properly on-site ! Above high teens ambient, I have to remove the normal vents and the internal fridge temperature exceeds recommended limits (2-5 degrees) above low twenties, even with normal vents removed - must get fans fitted !
We had this happen during this summer and assumed that it was because the awning was on the same side as the frdige vents. Apparently a small computer fan at about £5 can resolve the issue, but wiring it in may be an issue on a new caravan re warranty.RogerL said:
GafferBill's suggestion makes sense: It's a bit counter intuitive that if the fridge mechanism is too cool it won't work efficiently (but then if it gets too warm it doesn't work effectively either!), but once you've grasped that then it seems to me to make perfect sense that expecting the fridge to cool with up to a 60mph wind across the vents is probably asking for trouble.
Then assuming this is right, then no matter how good the wiring to your fridge is, and how good the power supply to it is, it will probably be improved by protecting the mechanism from excess ventilation.
Also it would seem to me that a couple of fridge vent covers is a cheaper and easier solution to experiment with, than rewiring the 'van and towcar! I've never used vent covers before, but I'll be buying some as soon as the van comes back from annual service next month.
One question to GafferBill - do the covers need extra securing to stop them coming off while towing, or are they secure enough under their own fixing?
Then assuming this is right, then no matter how good the wiring to your fridge is, and how good the power supply to it is, it will probably be improved by protecting the mechanism from excess ventilation.
Also it would seem to me that a couple of fridge vent covers is a cheaper and easier solution to experiment with, than rewiring the 'van and towcar! I've never used vent covers before, but I'll be buying some as soon as the van comes back from annual service next month.
One question to GafferBill - do the covers need extra securing to stop them coming off while towing, or are they secure enough under their own fixing?
hi Paul, if you apply a bit of logic to the question it is easy to see where the problem lies, as someone said earlier the heating elememt on 12v has the same rating as the 240v, however while the 240v can be regulated by the temp knob the 12v cannot (not on ours anyway) pre cooling the fridge before setting off helps, what happens after that is however problematic.
on 12v the fridge only works when the engine is running if like us you require frequent stops on a journey this can be as much as 25% of the time the fridge is not working and turns into a cool box, although the element would work balls out under tow the air flow over the vents could prevent the exchanger working to its best capacity, I believe this is the main problem, experienced by caravanners complaining that the fridge is not as good on 12v, covers while towing would help, so would switching to some other source like gas while parked,
on site the opposite can cause problems, because the fridge will be on perminantly (subject to the termostat settings) seening as some fridge vents are situated on the same side as the awning and are covered when the van door is open and fastend back, the exchanger can sometimes like in hot weather not be cool enough, leaving the covers on makes this senario worse, and a 12v fan can be used to increase the air circulation when this happens.
the use of vent covers while towing in my experience helps, taking them off while on site and turning the fan on (during the heat of the day) also helps, as does not fastening the door back,
some dont have any problems with the fridge and thats fine but if you do a logical approach should find the answer,
as I said in a earlier post when we first got the Bailey I had no idea the fridge had vent covers it was new to me (I thought it was the new design of the vents
) and for a while thought the fridge was faulty (unlikely in a new van But!) towing it was fine but on site it would cut out and cut in all day long, and the fridge cupboard was allways hot to the touch, and the freezer cabinet never got cold enough to actually freeze anything even if left for a week!!!,
then one day while cleaning the van on site one came off, a quick look at other vans to see how to put it back on and I realised what they where
but after removing both of them, within 4hrs the ice box froze up and the cupboard cooled down,
the only other time after that we had a problem was during our 4 month stay in cornwall, the van was south facing and got sun allday long, the temprature was very hot and fridge started to give problems not cooling down even though it was running on gas, I read on here that a 12v fan fitted behind the vents could help so I obtained a 12v psu fan from a computer shop and wired it in via a switch direct from the van battery while on site, it worked a treat and the fridge returned to normal, but the fan was noisy at night, used only during the day it cured the problem.
so in summary, vent covers ON when in storage, towing, or in the winter below 8degrees, rest of the time covers OFF and a 12v fan to assist in hot weather, if you follow this rule the fridge should give no problems at all,
and ps, in answer to your last enquiry no the vent covers require no extra fixings for towing the clips provided are good enough,
on 12v the fridge only works when the engine is running if like us you require frequent stops on a journey this can be as much as 25% of the time the fridge is not working and turns into a cool box, although the element would work balls out under tow the air flow over the vents could prevent the exchanger working to its best capacity, I believe this is the main problem, experienced by caravanners complaining that the fridge is not as good on 12v, covers while towing would help, so would switching to some other source like gas while parked,
on site the opposite can cause problems, because the fridge will be on perminantly (subject to the termostat settings) seening as some fridge vents are situated on the same side as the awning and are covered when the van door is open and fastend back, the exchanger can sometimes like in hot weather not be cool enough, leaving the covers on makes this senario worse, and a 12v fan can be used to increase the air circulation when this happens.
the use of vent covers while towing in my experience helps, taking them off while on site and turning the fan on (during the heat of the day) also helps, as does not fastening the door back,
some dont have any problems with the fridge and thats fine but if you do a logical approach should find the answer,
as I said in a earlier post when we first got the Bailey I had no idea the fridge had vent covers it was new to me (I thought it was the new design of the vents
then one day while cleaning the van on site one came off, a quick look at other vans to see how to put it back on and I realised what they where
the only other time after that we had a problem was during our 4 month stay in cornwall, the van was south facing and got sun allday long, the temprature was very hot and fridge started to give problems not cooling down even though it was running on gas, I read on here that a 12v fan fitted behind the vents could help so I obtained a 12v psu fan from a computer shop and wired it in via a switch direct from the van battery while on site, it worked a treat and the fridge returned to normal, but the fan was noisy at night, used only during the day it cured the problem.
so in summary, vent covers ON when in storage, towing, or in the winter below 8degrees, rest of the time covers OFF and a 12v fan to assist in hot weather, if you follow this rule the fridge should give no problems at all,
and ps, in answer to your last enquiry no the vent covers require no extra fixings for towing the clips provided are good enough,
......yes I agree with every word Colin has written.
Because I sometimes do a 4 day tow down to Spain having the fridge working well on 12 volts is very important (gas or mains at night)
Frequent stops when towing, if the wiring is conventional, as Colin says turns the fridge off.......not good.
Hence my use of a large 200amp hour leisure battery......and the fridge wired direct to this so that it stays on when the tow car's engine is stopped. (unless I switch it off manually)
To get around the fridge not coping on site if the weather is hot (on ehu) I make use of a 1.5 cu ft 240 volt ac compressor freezer.
This can help by cooling down drinks and food before putting them in the caravan fridge.
Compressor freezers can cope easily with hot weather ........can provide plenty of cold beer for instance
Because I sometimes do a 4 day tow down to Spain having the fridge working well on 12 volts is very important (gas or mains at night)
Frequent stops when towing, if the wiring is conventional, as Colin says turns the fridge off.......not good.
Hence my use of a large 200amp hour leisure battery......and the fridge wired direct to this so that it stays on when the tow car's engine is stopped. (unless I switch it off manually)
To get around the fridge not coping on site if the weather is hot (on ehu) I make use of a 1.5 cu ft 240 volt ac compressor freezer.
This can help by cooling down drinks and food before putting them in the caravan fridge.
Compressor freezers can cope easily with hot weather ........can provide plenty of cold beer for instance
I am not into refrigeration and understand very little on how it works except that it requires heat to work properly. Over the past summer due to the heat in the awning, we had issues with the fridge freezing up although it was set on low. According to some earlier posts why are some people experiencing the opposite?
Surfer......your fridge symptoms are caused by either a faulty thermostat or more likely ......fridge contents packed to tightly to allow the cold air to circulate properly thus causing a cold spot which may freeze.
More common is caravan fridges not coping with hot weather conditions......caused by people expecting their caravan fridge to have the same performance as their domestic compressor fridge......which it does not.
They are wanting to drink a lot more cold drink during hot weather and this is placed in the fridge in a warmer state than it would be in cooler weather.
The same is true for anything put in the fridge.......net result the caravan fridge warms up.
Fitting a fan to draw cool air in though the bottom fridge vent and expel the heated air out through the top vent can help the fridge be more efficient under these conditions.
.......or you can do what I do and precool anything you put in your caravan fridge in a small compressor type freezer.
More common is caravan fridges not coping with hot weather conditions......caused by people expecting their caravan fridge to have the same performance as their domestic compressor fridge......which it does not.
They are wanting to drink a lot more cold drink during hot weather and this is placed in the fridge in a warmer state than it would be in cooler weather.
The same is true for anything put in the fridge.......net result the caravan fridge warms up.
Fitting a fan to draw cool air in though the bottom fridge vent and expel the heated air out through the top vent can help the fridge be more efficient under these conditions.
.......or you can do what I do and precool anything you put in your caravan fridge in a small compressor type freezer.
Since 230v EHU's are demanded now by the majority of caravannners, and virtually all caravans have mains room heaters, water heaters, microwaves, hob ring maybe it's time for the caravan industry to introduce domestic-type compressor fridges and ditch the archaic absorption type currently fitted - it's pandering to the minority who still want to "rough it" and a hindrance to the rest of us.
The Aussies cope admirably with compressor-type fridges on 12v, so why can't we ?
The Aussies cope admirably with compressor-type fridges on 12v, so why can't we ?
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