Fridge not cooling on windy days

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bodomalo

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Apr 2, 2014
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Hi

This is a follow up to my older discussion about cooling problems on our Dometic RV.
It took me some while to find out that the fridge will not cool when a certain wind speed is reached. Usually when our awning beginns to make noise and rattles and we take it down during night also the fridge fails complete. It is running on propane, there is a stable and blue flame and we have a 2nd wind cover around the igniter box area, so the flue is Hot  but also the pipes on the lower end of the cooling unit get very hot. Outside temps are between 65 and 68..not hot at all. But the fridge does not cool at all, during heavy wind even the freezer fails.
I believe the wind pushes air from the top back into the vent area. And a normal 12v computer fan has absolute no power go work against that wind blow.
Are there any special roof chimney constructions to prevent this air back flow? Any other ideas? The fridge can work on days up above in the 90s, but wind completely kills it.

Bodo
 
If indeed your problem is wind coming down the vent then you might try using a venturi cover on top of the vent.

It looks like a wind vane, turns into the wind, and creates a vacuum pulling air from the vent.
 
I've seen that effect occasionally during highway travel, where the right (wrong?) combination of wind factors prevent adequate air flow through the exit vent. The upper area gets hot enough that the condenser no longer condenses adequately and cooling slows or maybe even stops altogether. Temperature-wise there is a fine line between OK and Not OK.

Is the upper vent in the roof or the sidewall? Side vents are notoriously prone to this problem.  My first action would be to remove the vent cover and check for obstructions, e.g. tangles of wires, loose insulation, critter nests, etc. It may not take much to get it back into the "OK" category. It is also not unusual for the factory installation to have ignored the fridge install instructions re baffles in the chimney. If you don't already have them in your owner manual, get the fridge install instructions online and verify that everything was down properly.  Last, consider adding a more powerful fan - there are some fairly hefty 12v fans available. Or add a common small 120v fan in the bottom for use on windy days (assuming you don't do much boondocking in windy weather).

Camco sells a solar powered roof vent w/fan, but not sure how well it works. And of course not much help on windy nights or rainy/windy days.
https://www.amazon.com/Camco-42165-Refrigerator-Solar-System/dp/B0012FEX5K
 
I have installed a few fans now around the top of the chimney, and in betweend the coild and the condenser fins.

It does help against the wind problem.

It does not cool on temperatures above 90F. I swap ice in 1/2 gallone milk bottles from the freezer to the fridge every 12 hours to keep it cool enough. The freezer works.

I see that there are no baffles at all, there is a huge space from the back-wall to the condenser fins (at least 2 inches). Manuals says the space there on the back should be only 1/4 inch or less.. But they installed some pipes (I think from the water tanks on the back wall just behind the condenser fins), so everything is open. Air will flow behind the condenser fins up the chimney. I believe this is a very bad ventilation situation.

I installed all the fans without removing the fridge (even the ones below the condenser-fins), but to install some buffles I need to take the fridge out (that is no option at the moment as we are on a long trip and there is a lot of frozen stuff in it)




 
An all-too-typical crap installation by the RV manufacturer, ignoring the fridge installation requirements. The RV fridge makers won't call them on it either, cause they don't want to lose the fridge supply contract.  They know the fridge will last through the warranty period and that buyers have essentially no choice if they want that brand & model of RV, so they just ignore the shoddy installs.
 
Does having appliances and equipment installed by the RV manufacturer and not follow the appliance and equipment installation instructions meet RIVA requirements?
 
kdbgoat said:
Does having appliances and equipment installed by the RV manufacturer and not follow the appliance and equipment installation instructions meet RIVA requirements?
Click to expand...

The RVIA organization only requires that covered appliances and devices be installed in compliance with safety regulations. Quality is not an objective standard of the RVIA.  The RVIA (Recreational Vehicle Industry Association) is just a member organization representing the manufacturers.


 
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