Can your refrigerator holding 40F with this record heat??

[larrie]

Originally Posted by JoeH

Anyone do that to clean the dust off the coils or anything else that might affect efficiency?

This is something you should definitely do. The user manual on our refrigerator at home actually recommends vacuuming the condenser grille. Removing the dust helps the heat transfer so the fridge is more efficient.

There are several threads about adding supplemental cooling fans in the fridge cabinet. It definitely helps to vent the cabinet.

I got the idea from this thread.
http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...html#post45153

My install thread. If I do it again I will put the fan on a thermostat.
http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...fan-10171.html

[arctictraveller]

[QUOTE=daveb;177997] Supposed to be 107 here in a week /QUOTE]

That's WAY to hot. Jump in that van and go camping somewhere about 4000 feet higher. Your refer will work better too

[LenS]

Originally Posted by ShuttlePilot

A small thermostat controls the fan. Perhaps I should have just taken a picture instead of typing all this

-Eric

Make, model, source for thermostat ???

[ShuttlePilot]

Sure Len,
Purchased at coolerguys.com

I liked this thermal controller for the simple, flexible programming and that I can black out the display (it makes a nice night light).
Coolerguys Programmable Thermal Fan Controller with LED Display

A 12v/5.5v power supply is needed. I went with theirs instead of an ebay model because this one is confirmed to be stable with 10-40 volts.
http://www.coolerguys.com/840556102472.htmlv

The whole set up is pretty plug-n-play being intended for cabinet cooling of A/V equipment. I ended up running a small power/ground wire to a 3 Amp fuse in the power block to make a tiny dedicated circuit just encase a fuse blew it wouldn't effect the fan for the solar controller/refrigerator of food. It's on all the time and consumes 0.08 Amp fan off, 0.18 amp fan on.

Here is a pic from a previous topic but you can get an idea of size. The unlabeled blue display is the t-state, the fan is in the lower right and the power supply is mounded next to the t-state behind the wall.


If I can be of assistance please ask
-Eric

[86Scotty]

Great links. Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LenS]

Looks nice. Thanks for link.

[moorefc]

I have the Norcold/Dometic DE-41 and it performs as described above..Much above 3 and the compartment can freeze on long drives. It comes with a computer case fan mounted on the top that appears thermostatically controlled (cannot hear when it comes on). It does not seem to be that thirsty in terms of energy (supposed to be 5.4amps when on with a maybe 40% duty cycle depending on temps).
My earlier van had a spec'ed 4cu ft Norcold DE441 that seemed bigger than the current one (current=3.6cuft). It also kept items very cold (sometimes freezing the main box) if left on higher settings. No fan and 2 12v 90AH would last at least 4 days...Spec'ed at 2.8amps (don't understand why things are not better in terms of current specs)....I did add a little side and top insulation to the old one. Both work well.

Haven't done a comparison with old and new battery draw, but the new one specs with more current draw, is slightly noisier, and may be slightly better insulated.
Hmmm....

[daveb]

Originally Posted by arctictraveller

That's WAY to hot. Jump in that van and go camping somewhere about 4000 feet higher. Your refer will work better too

Wish I could. Got obligations and one of them will be outside...yuck. At least the fridge will be packed with brews for when we're done.

On a side note, I've been keeping a 1/2 gal container of frozen water toward the back of the fridge when it gets real hot. Basically it's just as backup water but I'm thinking it might help keep the fridge cooler during the day when it warms up. If I set the thermostat to where I have about 45* in the door, at night when the temps drop inside the van, the back of the fridge stays cold enough to keep the ice frozen. I hope it helps to lower the cycle rate.

[LenS]

Sorry guys, I started this thread but am only now contributing to it. My refrig was empty and off when the hot weather started here. By the time I got it going and really set up to measure temperature and power draw the really hot weather was gone - for now. I did have to vary the controller on the refrig. from 1.5 to 3 to hold 40f in the refrig. and yes the freezer held its contents 20f.

I was really interested in power consumption and how long I could run the refrig off of the house batteries under these hot conditions. See the below table for my results. In Michigan here the night time temp is NORMALLY 20-25f cooler then the peak daytime temp. so these are really worst case run time with a constant temp for 24 hours.

[rallypanam]

Am I reading this right?

You can run your fridge in 90* ambient temperature for 2.1 days, holding a 40* inside temp, and use less than 70 amp hours?

And at 70* you can run it for 4 days and use only 35 amp hours?

That seems extraordinarily good!