Refrigerators in the heat

Well, since it was 119 in Phoenix today, I don't think it would matter what you used....propane or electric...

My advice, hitch up and get out of there.

Your a/c isn't going to do very well in this either. At least not mine.

downtheroad wrote:

My advice, hitch up and get out of there.

Yeah, at night!

DownTheAvenue wrote:
More important is the amount of draft in the flue. It requires a positive airflow to dissipate the heat. The addition of a small computer 12 volt cooling fan will make a significant difference in the cooling in the refrigerator.

Absolutely not.

You want maximum heat in the flue - they even put a spiral baffle in the flue to slow the airflow and hold the heat in.

Fans are used to increase airflow through the condenser coils.

mike-s wrote:

DownTheAvenue wrote:
More important is the amount of draft in the flue. It requires a positive airflow to dissipate the heat. The addition of a small computer 12 volt cooling fan will make a significant difference in the cooling in the refrigerator.

Absolutely not.

You want maximum heat in the flue - they even put a spiral baffle in the flue to slow the airflow and hold the heat in.

Fans are used to increase airflow through the condenser coils.

Maybe I did not make myself clear, but the goal is to remove the heat from the coils and that is done by moving air up and out vis the vent at the top, or side on a few models, mostly refrigerators in slide outs. A fan helps in this regard. Keeping heat inside the refrigerator compartment only serves to minimize the heat transfer from the coils to the surrounding air. Heating the flue creates a draft because the hotter the air, the lighter it is, hence it will go up! Think hot air balloon! However, in extreme ambient temperatures, the hot air in the flue often is not much hotter than the ambient temperature and the air flow stops or slows down, thus minimizing the heat exchange over the coils. You absolutely need a flow of air over the coils, or there will be little or no cooling.

So, while the flue does need heat to expedite air flow, it is the air flow that is critical, not the flue temperature!

DownTheAvenue wrote:

Maybe I did not make myself clear...
So, while the flue does need heat to expedite air flow, it is the air flow that is critical, not the flue temperature!

You've made yourself perfectly clear - you don't know what the flue is in an RV refrigerator. What you're calling the flue, isn't.

I found that if my frig is in the sun by making a shade panel to cover the outside of the RV frig is cooler, The panel is made of the RV reflective bubble wrap they sell at CW. I use velcro to hold it on...

I found an area toward the bottom of the cooling unit where I could simply wedge a 92mm 12VDC computer cooling fan. Since they're so small, I zip tie two together to make a side-by-side pair of fans and cram them in place. They don't last long in our salty humid environment so I buy them by the box. Walmart had a box of four that I couldn't find last time, so I bought a box of five from Amazon. Works out to $2-3 per fan. First time, I bought them at the computer store, about $6 a fan, and those didn't last any longer.

What they DO, and seem to do well, is keep a convection going in the chase behind the Norcold N811 fridge. We don't have slides, and it seems having a roof vent is better for fridge cooling than the wall vents in slides.

We get along OK on electric, but I'm keeping the 112VAC bogey (Thanks, Doug!)in mind now.

Make sure you crimp or plug the drain tube. I found it makes a big difference.

Newer Norcold models will switch to LP if the voltage is below something like 108, even if it's present.

mike-s wrote:

DownTheAvenue wrote:

Maybe I did not make myself clear...
So, while the flue does need heat to expedite air flow, it is the air flow that is critical, not the flue temperature!

You've made yourself perfectly clear - you don't know what the flue is in an RV refrigerator. What you're calling the flue, isn't.

You are correct. I interchanged plenum and flue. My mistake. But I think everyone knew my point, and you were waiting for a minor error to make your point. Good job!