Frigid fiddling's

SquirrellCook

SquirrellCook

Forum Member
Sorry folks, a bit too far out there!

Electricity = current and volts. Sultanas are more juicy than currents, oh well. :(

Motorhome fridge fan switching. In another post on a sister site it was suggested to switch fridge fans on and off with a temperature operated switch. This is fine unless you are somewhere very hot. The fans will stay on all the time.
So I was looking for a cheap and easy solution. This does not need any rewiring or connecting too the existing fridge. It senses the current flowing too the fridge.
 
SquirrellCook

SquirrellCook

Forum Member
xsilvergs said:
I see, this probably not what you are looking for but may be of interest to others who wish to measure current accurately. It does require some additional electronics to go with it.


There is obviously a number of ways to measure current and I think this is the best I've found for my projects.
Click to expand...
It may be an alternative if the TA17-04 isn't sensitive enough. I just want a reliable switch.
I have another being sent to me that is supposed to be self powering!
 
Squiffy

Squiffy

Forum Member
SquirrellCook said:
Sorry folks, a bit too far out there!

Electricity = current and volts. Sultanas are more juicy than currents, oh well. :(

Motorhome fridge fan switching. In another post on a sister site it was suggested to switch fridge fans on and off with a temperature operated switch. This is fine unless you are somewhere very hot. The fans will stay on all the time.
So I was looking for a cheap and easy solution. This does not need any rewiring or connecting too the existing fridge. It senses the current flowing too the fridge.
Click to expand...
Squirrel,
I've mentioned this before can't remember if on this site or others, I really don't understand all this fan stuff, I've been out in Venice and central France where the temperature was in excess of 40deg in two different Van's with two different makes of fridge not in the same years obviously, and both times my fridges have kept the important stuff like beers cold leave alone the un important stuff like butter and salad stuff. Phil
 
SquirrellCook

SquirrellCook

Forum Member
A fridge works by removing heat from where you store your perishable food. The heat removed is dissipated with a radiator. The better you can get the heat away from the radiator the more efficient the fridge will be. By using fans to move air over the radiator more heat is removed. The energy to operate the fan is less than running the fridge compressor.
What no one seems to get about protecting the environment is that avoiding waste makes the most difference.
 
Squiffy

Squiffy

Forum Member
Yes I'm aware of the principle, I suppose I was being cynical when I said I dont understand it, I should have said I have never found it necessary. If the fridge compartment is constructed correctly and the fridge is in good condition. Anything over 45deg is so exceptional as to be unlikely to happen unless your in the Sahara desert during daylight. I was saying as it was in 42deg in Venice about 8 years ago ( The Italians said it was the hottest in living memory) my fridge without any fans worked perfectly, I'd heard all the discussions about fans needed in hot weather in the past so was pleasantly surprised that fans were indeed not necessary for my set ups, 😉. Phil

Of course you are talking compressor fridge I'm talking 3 way condenser
 
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SquirrellCook

SquirrellCook

Forum Member
I understand what you are saying, and from my experience my domestic fridge performed perfectly. Lots of people were very upset that weekend with spoilt food. I was aware that the fridge was on a lot and I’d have loved to have parked in the shade. Yes I could have increased the solar and batteries, but that’s not efficient. At the moment I’m using a compressor winding to switch on the fans. This isn’t a good idea for most people. So my quest to switch using current sensing.
 

wildebus

Forum Member
I made a conscious decision to fit a fan to the rear of my fridge after I found that on hot days IN THE UK, in my last van the fridge back was hitting 50C! The fridge itself was working perfectly but I am sure it would be both more efficient AND the device would likely last longer if ran cooler I would expect.

And obviously the ambient outdoor temp was not 50C, but the inside of a vehicle can be a lot hotter than the outdoors. Last summer I recorded an internal 'room ' temp of over 40C on a few occasions, so for the small expense and effort of adding forced and controllable airflow, it seems a sensible thing to do.
My van doesn't come on that frequently (set at 25C I think?) but when it is on, I really don't notice it, except I see the temp display dropping down quite quickly a few degrees (temp relay has an on setting, and off is always 3 degrees lower).
I suppose if the fan was intrusive I could disable it overnight or raise the 'come-on' temp to have it run less?
 
Nabsim

Nabsim

Forum Member
I don’t know how models compare but I know Charlie’s fridge was absolute rubbish. The dealer agreed once they had tested it but Thetford didn’t. The spec that quoted was not suitable for a fridge and it met that. That was a 2018 reg Hymer so a modern unit
Really used to wind him up when we had all sorts frozen and ice creams and he struggled to cool beer. My old Waeco compressor is superb but you have to take a hit on power.
 
Squiffy

Squiffy

Forum Member
Not suggesting it doesn't have some affect, but does it have a major contributory factor, I personally doubt it, as to longevity of the fridge my previous van I had for ten years which I bought new in 2005 ( The one that I
was in Venice in) and sold in 2015 the fridge was still working as it should, I feel that 10+ would be an acceptable time scale for a mobile fridge somehow. As far as I'm aware it's still going strong now, I see the purchaser on the odd occasions and hes never mentioned having to change the fridge. But as you say Dave horses for courses, I just dont see the point if the fridge is fitted as advised by the manufacturer or better.😁. Phil
 
xsilvergs

xsilvergs

Forum Member
Winter 2018/2019 we were in Albuferia, Portugal. Us and 4 others with Thetford fridge freezers suffered a similar problem.

The fridge would display normal operation, no error messages on the front panel but we found more than once that the units had failed and all the frozen good had thawed.

They all were drawing AC current, if switched to gas the burner would light but the fridge never cooled.

The only way to get them to start cooling again was to switch them off, often for as little as an hour. In this time the fridge heat exchanger would cool enough for them to start working again.

I now had two 12v computer fans fitted and although they don't appear to move much are ours has not failed since. I think Thetford even sell a fan kit!
 
Squiffy

Squiffy

Forum Member
I can only report what is my personal finding of twice being in 40+, and my wife could still enjoy her Magnum ice creams or what ever the Italian supermarket equivalents are 😁 not that they stayed long in the freezer compartment 🤪. Of course if your talking 50/50 fridge freezers then yes you could be in a bit of trouble. Phil
 
Nabsim

Nabsim

Forum Member
Thetford know it’s a problem and do a fan kit themselves but of course it’s an extra.

I didn’t post the spec earlier but it does say in their paperwork it was either 7 or 5 degrees c it has to meet. Charlie’s was one of those tall fancy things and when you read the spec the top of the range was where his was and it was not a spec for a domestic fridge.

I think that like a lot of companies they have taken over Thetford fridges are inferior to the originals. Of course there will be people who get the lower end of the spec and be perfectly happy.

I know I would cry if I had a 2 grand fridge and couldn’t keep an ice cream
 
Squiffy

Squiffy

Forum Member
The one in the old van was a Dometic and also in the new van, the venting for Electrolux and Thetford is garbage and in my view also dangerous in the view of carbon monoxide poisoning as they vent into the fridge cavity space and rely totally on movement of warm air rising to vent gases out through the top vent, it could indeed be the reason that some folk are cribbing about fridges not working in hot climates. The Dometic fridge exhaust vents directly out of side the van. Check out the difference between the fridge vents of different makes. I have put a dometic vent and exhaust on my daughters fridge because they could smell exhaust fumes in their caravan. Be WARNED seriously it's all over caravan web sites and on many motorhome sites Thetford deny any fault but can not use Dometic style exhaust because of the patent rights. Phil
 
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