Seeking refrigerator tips... in AZ and heat is hampering...

[groundhogy]

.. its ability to keep cold.

I don't know much about these units, but I assume the idea is to keep the back coils cooler?

I have seen one guy with a fan in the outside compartment.
But that's just blowing 110 degree air on the coils.

I am kind of thinking of one of those tiny swamp coolers that they advertise on TV.

Any comments or education welcome.
thanks..

[3_tons]

sch911 wrote:
I have two 12V computer fans blowing air upward in the back of the fridge. They are mounted about half way up the back of the flue. Getting the heat to rise out of the flue is the key.

Me too, a considerable help…

[Huntindog]

I am in Phoenix. What has worked for me in all 4 of the RVs I have had in the last 30 lears is keeping the interior as cool as possible. Crank it down , so it will get a headstart on the day.
That is all I have ever needed to do.

[wopachop]

It can be done rather clean. The 4" size makes it easy.
4" hole saw
4" flexible duct
4" grill to make it look nice on the outside.

Depending on your layout its possible you could drill a 4" hole inside your lower kitchen cabinet that is next to the fridge. Then just crack open the cabinet door to let cold air into that space.

When running on propane i would cover the 4" hole with something. 4" pipe plug might fit perfect. Even duct tape would work as you would not see the hole inside the cabinet.

Use a fan to blow the air from the cold cabinet into the warm fridge ventilation area. Im currently feeding 79F cold air into my fridge vent space. Outside air must be in the high 90s. Fridge air temp hasnt gone over 39. The technique works good if youre using the trailer AC anyway. Danger is propane leaking back into the trailer. (although it would most likely fall down and out of the side vent of your fridge, since the 4" hole you drill will probably be higher than the lower vent) Adding a secondary propane detector wouldnt be the worse idea for added safety. Or dont try the technique at all. Only sharing because it has worked good for me and i understand the danger. I have my propane turned completely off on days like this. Not gonna be cooking inside on the stove.

[groundhogy]

Great idea Wopachop.

[wopachop]

groundhogy wrote:


Any comments or education welcome.
thanks..

Not the safest approach but if youre living inside the unit with your AC running figure out a way to let the cold interior air enter the back section of the fridge. Ive been doing that for awhile. Most people dont really understand the concept. It works pretty good if you are already spending the money to cool the inside of your trailer and stuck with an absorption fridge. You can vent 80F degree air up the back of the fridge instead of 110F.

[groundhogy]

Manhattan Project.
lol

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Here's a personal report about efforts to maintain 35°F refrigerator temp with 0°F freezer temp in ultra hot conditions...

I simply could not meet these temperature goals with an absorbsion refrigerator. A brand new 8 CF Norcold. With a fifty degree differential (Delta T) door shelf temps were in the sixties and interior fans maintained 45°F+ which impacted my food safety.
Best cooling unit effectiveness was achieved with the use of a noisy 225 CFM 24 VOLT fan placed right at the roof vent base. Passing air across any of the coils below did nothing or raised interior temps. The huge fan is utterly impractical energy consumption and noise wise.

I tried a Whirlpool home refrigerator. The result was 24/7 operation and a temperature curve that bulged into the forties during the afternoon.

Trial number three was a knee knocking purchase of a 24 volt Vestfrost refrigerator that weighs 300 pounds. Due to insulation. Due to weird dimensions this is an utterly impractical choice. My bus allowed me latitude in space.

Due to cost and hassle I nicknamed the refrigerator and freezer The Manhattan Project. The insulation and Danforth compressors did the trick. Still I needed a circulation fan inside and a small condenser fan outside. But door temperature was maintained in the high thirties and freezer temps maintained below zero.

Just for info. Outside air temps soared to 115°F
Because the reefer and freezer were so large a
P hour usage was cruel. 115 and 140. @ 24 volts.

So, chin up when things seem tough. The ultimate "fix" is neither inexpensive or easy.

I spent all spring and summer on the Caribbean coast. A trip to town was 200 miles. Forty years later has entailed 2 rebuilds plus 2 new motors.

I finally gave up in July and started a diesel genset 24/7 and 3 roof airs. That and a palmetto roof really cut down amp hour consumption. Diesel was 15 cents per gallon back then.

Following the advice of the people on this forum will be easier and cheaper 🙂

[groundhogy]

Original Poster:

Old Wizard..
I can run this refrigerator in the wilderness on a tiny bit of propane.
Can that be done with a compressor fridge?

[lostbytes]

pbitschura wrote:
We installed a computer fan near the vent to draw more air. Also, since the freezer works better than the frig we freeze water bottles in the freezer then rotate them throughout the frig. If you start with several frozen bottles they can be cycled between the two.

We use blue ice for startups and Same on rotation during day to help cool frig. Usually start early tho. I have seen someone put skinny foam between frig back and pipes of ammonia to keep heat away from frig. I thought about doing that but on my unit there isn't room... Well, there would be but not bending the pipes. Too bad there isn't an 2 inch ducting from a/c to back of frig to help cool it a little back there.

[theoldwizard1]

Bite the bullet. Get a compressor refrigerator.

[Lwiddis]

Moving the air inside the fridge is important too. Small battery powered fan works great. Usually two D cells for power.

[wildtoad]

In addition to an external fan (mine came with one) they also
Make small fans for inside the fridge to better move air within the fridge.

[Flute_Man]

Swamp coolers work very well. I have a portable one inside my motorhome to help with the air conditioners. Have to fill it with water almost every day. It helps a lot.

[dougrainer]

Do you still have the 29 foot Airstream? If so, that silver Metal exterior is NOT the best exterior to have in hot climates. Also, due to Airstreams curved body, the roof vent is NOT right above the refer rear Condenser fins. So, opening the lower door and adding a fan to blow UP will give you much better operation and cooling. Usually on Airstream's there is enough room to install a small 120 volt fan blowing up so you just plug it into the rear 120 receptacle the refer is plugged into. Doug

https://www.amazon.com/OPOLAR-Speeds-Powered-Powerful-Office/dp/B01MR2SEAR/ref=sr_1_15_sspa?dchild=1...

[pbitschura]

We installed a computer fan near the vent to draw more air. Also, since the freezer works better than the frig we freeze water bottles in the freezer then rotate them throughout the frig. If you start with several frozen bottles they can be cycled between the two.