Safe to vent fridge from inside?

[wopachop]

My absorption fridge is located in the center of the trailer. It vents from underneath and i have a small fan there blowing upward.

Under the bathroom sink is an access panel. Is there a reason it would be unsafe to remove the panel while on electric?

Regarding the fan, i remember someone posted a way for the fan to click on at a specific time. Is it bad for the fan to run 24/7? Is there a point at which you can have too much airflow?

[dougrainer]

Remember, ALL OEM installs require the Appliance maker to sign off on the way the appliance is installed. Center installed refers are extremely rare. Floorplan design is what dictates it. With a roof top added 12 volt fan, the refer will perform as designed even with the lower than required lower air input. Doug

[wopachop]

I live in this sucker. Would love a compressor fridge but have to stick with this for now. Theyre calling it "island application". I remember something about the interior designer for this floor plan being a guy who had made a name for himself. Maybe the center fridge was part of him mixing things up.

[NRALIFR]

Wow, that manual addresses your specific installation. Like Doug, said, that’s a first for me. I worked on RV’s a looong time ago, then changed careers and spent 36 years in it. If Doug hasn’t seen one like this in his career, there’s darn few of them.

It would definitely be better if the frame wasn’t blocking so much of the intake. Theoretically, that could be dealt with by making the bottom of the duct bigger, and leaving the top at the size it is now. But, without seeing what’s around it that may or may not be possible. And I’d follow the manual’s suggestion of having the fan in the intake duct as well. As far below the absorber tank as it is, a little fan like that shouldn’t be too much. One up top would be good too.

The reason I don’t usually recommend a fan IN the exhaust vent is because, as I said, that actually reduces the size of the vent, just like those frame members do. You can create a situation where the fans MUST run all the time in order to vent the fridge properly. But, I think you’ve probably got that situation already with this type of installation, so a fan at the top probably isn’t going to make it any worse.

How do you use your trailer, Tony? Would a compressor fridge work for you? Either a whole new unit, or a compressor conversion for your existing fridge.

:):)

[wopachop]

Thanks everyone will hop on the roof tomorrow. My intake duct is 18"x5" and its blocked by the frame. My quick estimation is that its 90 square inches and 37.5 is blocked.

So a total of 52.5 square inches. The instructions are saying minimum size is 11x6.5 which is 71.5. So im way below the minimum.

[dougrainer]

I found a FR from 2012 that showed the refer in the center of the RV. I have 40 years as an RV tech and have never seen such a set up. But, to answer your question. IF the access panel is to access the rear lower area of the refer where the connections and control box and LP is connected-----NO, do not leave that panel loose. When installed, it allows the bottom floor vent access to allow fresh air to come UP from the bottom of the RV and up thru the roof. If left OFF, you will disrupt the required air flow up the backside of the refer and will pull inside air also. The BEST way for a rear 12 volt fan is at the TOP to PULL fresh air up and out. If you have a fan at the bottom, that is OK, but you are not getting the full amount of cool air. It is better to PULL( roof top area fan) than to PUSH air up. You want the fresh air to flow THRU the upper rear Condensor fins. Knowing FR, I doubt they installed this refer per the Refer makers instructions. You want NO gap between the upper Condensor and the wall on the backside of the refer. I would go up on the roof and remove the roof top vent and look at how FR built the baffles(if they even installed the required baffles) to make all fresh air run thru the Condensor fins. If there is a gap between the fins and the wood wall, make a wood baffle to force all air thru the fins. Doug

[NRALIFR]

The installers guide for the fridge should specify the size of the intake and exhaust openings, in square inches. Before making changes, I would check that.

Typically, above the absorber tank, but below the condenser on the very top, the spacing between the evaporator tubes gets wide enough that there’s room to fit a small, low rpm muffin fan attached to the rear wall of the cabinet. That’s all that’s needed, really. You might have to pull the fridge partially out of its cabinet to access that area. I personally don’t like putting fans in the exhaust opening above the condenser, because that actually reduces the sq/in’s of exhaust area.

:):)

[wopachop]

NRALIFR wrote:
Ideally, the fan should be above the big tank at the bottom so it’s not blowing directly on it.

Thanks that was a great tip.

[wopachop]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
What model floorplan do you have?

2013 Forest River Stealth model FS2812. (thats what the sticker on the window says...but searching always brings up FSC2812)

Is anyone good at finding floor plans? I searched months ago and wrote forest river. THe previous owner said they moved the kitchen back 6 inches. Everyone is telling me noway. I just want to see the numbers so i can compare. My search tells me the cargo area is 144". But i measure 149" to the first cabinet. So it kinda matches what the couple told. Its a toyhauler and people make buying decisions on this number. Makes me think the listed 144" would be accurate.

Reason i mention is because my lower fridge vent sits right over the frame and is partially blocked. Will put up pictures later. Surely cant be helping my fridge work in hot weather.

Plan was to feed it cooler air from inside the cabin.

I understand now how the fan on the top exhaust is better, since you guys are saying you dont want air blowing direct on the big tank that im guessing is the part that purposely gets hot.

The roof vent has a cover. It must be designed to work properly in high winds? Its gets mega windy here. If i did have a propane leak i wouldnt want air coming in the top exhaust with enough force to then enter the trailer with my access panel removed.

New idea is maybe cut a small hole in the access panel to fit a fan. With hopes that air will only be able to travel one direction. So a propane leak could not enter the trailer with the fan running.

Shutting off the gas is no problem either. Its just me in here. I dont mine turning it on to cook and then turning it off. Maybe buy a secondary propane detector for the bathroom. Set it right there in the cabinet.

[NRALIFR]

wopachop wrote:
Is there a point at which you can have too much airflow?

Strictly speaking, yes there is. Certain parts of the absorption cooling unit NEED to get hot in order to work. It really doesn’t take much of a fan to make sure the air flows up as it should. A slow, quiet fan is all that’s really needed. Ideally, the fan should be above the big tank at the bottom so it’s not blowing directly on it.

Screaming, gale force fans that can blow an anchor chain horizontal, that’s probably overkill.

:):)

[NRALIFR]

The backside of the fridge (where the cooling unit is) is supposed to be completely sealed off from the living space, because of the possibility of a leak in the LP system. For that reason, yes it would be unsafe to remove that panel anytime the propane tank valves are opened. Regardless of which mode the fridge is running in (AC or LP) if the LP valves are open, the lines are pressurized and could leak.

:):)

[John_Wayne]

Are you sure you do not have a vent in the roof? If refrigerator is in a slide out it should have a vent high on the slide out wall. Other wise it should be in the roof.

[Old-Biscuit]

What model floorplan do you have?
Fridge in 'center' of trailer.....where is TOP vent located?

Bottom vent is there for 2 reasons
1) Propane is heavier then AIR so bottom venting allows any propane from leak to exit and not accumulate
2) Draft.....airflow is from bottom UPWARD thru absorber tubing bundle then across condenser fins at top then exhausting hot air out thus removing heat from cooling unit.

Whether using propane OR electric........airflow needs to flow from bottom area up and out top area for effective cooling.

Some alternative 'venting' via an access panel under bathroom sink will NOT provide sufficient airflow especially across condenser fins where the HOT ammonia vapor is condensed into a cool ammonia liquid.

Rear fan(s) controlled by a thermostat on condenser fins are typically set to CLOSE/run fan when FIN temp reaches 130*F and OPEN/Stop fan when FIN temp drops to 115*F

HOT weather...fans running 24/7 would be OK
COOL Weather...ambient temps below 50*F fans would not be needed and if running 24/7 can cause overcooling which can cause ammonia coolant solution to not boil into sufficient quanities of ammonia vapor to effectively cool fridge

[fj12ryder]

The fans for out fridge only kick on when needed. They don't run 24/7, are you sure yours runs all the time? Or did you install it and wire it that way?