Residential Fridge Ventilation

[bluwtr49]

When I had the Samsung installed I was shown how the ventilation draws air from under the fridge and than redirected with a baffle plate in the rear so the air than exits under the fridge back into the MH. This seems to be common for residential units so they cam be placed close to a wall and still have adequate ventilation.

But this has started me wondering if I could cut that baffle so the air exits out the back instead of sending the hot air into the coach. Since this is a conversion I still have the ability to vent the area between the fridge and the back wall.

Has anyone else considered this and is there any apparent downside I might be overlooking.

[Bill_Satellite]

My household fridge draws air from under the front and exhausts out the back also at floor level. I sealed up the ventilated RV fridge door (but left it usable) and sealed up the gap between the fridge and the cabinet ceiling and walls. That leaves only one option. Air comes in at the bottom, exhausts at the rear and exits via the original roof vent. It also keeps the rear of the fridge warm (where the water line to the ice maker resides) so camping in very cold temps has not been an issue either.

[msturtz]

It is important to carefully consider how the residential refrigerator is designed to operate. I'm my case it is rear intake rrear exhaust. There are front intake rear exhaust rear intake front exhaust units as well. Each type needs its own ventilation design.

[dougrainer]

The DESIGN of a residential refer is to have the condenser fan blow out the front bottom of the refer. So, to accomplish using the OEM rear or top refer vents would require modifying the residential flow system. Just opening up the lower back residential access panel(the one ON the refer cabinet) will not accomplish that. And, removing that panel will disrupt the correct air flow OVER and THRU the Condenser. Make sure you take into account these concerns when attempting to modify the air system. What I guess I would do is, reverse the Residential fan to PULL air from inside the RF under the refer and then exhaust it out the back or roof vent with an additional fan. BTW, I have never had a customer complain about the occasional warm air coming out the front of the refer. That air and temp is negligible. Doug

[TechWriter]

bluwtr49 wrote:
Sorry for the confusion but perhaps I wasn't clear in my thinking. Since the original Dometic was installed with the clear intent of venting the hot air out the roof I was wondering if it would be practical to do the same with the residential.

That's what I did with my Whirlpool residential.

I completely blocked the old side vent used for the absorption fridge and put thermal-controlled fans in the fridge roof vent. So air comes from inside the RV, up the back of the fridge, and out the roof vent.

[Ivylog]

I modified mine so the bottom fan blows out half of the bottom vent. Left the roof vent open so any hot air would escape. Thought I might go back to original in winter and seal off the lower vent but it never got cold enough.

[bluwtr49]

Sorry for the confusion but perhaps I wasn't clear in my thinking. Since the original Dometic was installed with the clear intent of venting the hot air out the roof I was wondering if it would be practical to do the same with the residential. That way I could seal the bottom of the fridge below the air inlet and let the fan blow the hot air out the back and up to the already installed roof top vent.

In theory I would not need a supplemental exhaust fan since convection and the condenser fan should suffice.

[Trackrig]

Can the baffles that redirect the air back out to the front of the refer be deleted and allow the hot air to go up the back of the refer and out the original roof vents?

Have the original roof vents be covered over?

We're thinking of going with a residential refer also. My thoughts were to install the same type of muffin fans in the roof that people use for their NorColds. Is this not a good idea?

Bill

[Bruce_Brown]

I believe what he's asking is could a vent be added to the MH so the air was vented outside instead of redirected into the MH. Kind of like moving the normal roof mounted vent to the side, although using a different type of vent, maybe even using the current fridge intake vent as an exhaust point instead.

[MrWizard]

Out the back?
Do you mean outside?

The only thing that will accomplish, is exposing the back of the fridge to hot summer outside heat, and also let that hot outside air into the RV
It will not help cool fridge, or keep the RV cooler

If I misunderstood the question, then the answer is wrong