About the fridge opening...

[Uncle Cereal]

Kai, you're probably right about the plexiglass since nobody commented on that.

I discovered that I have unlimited access to free plexiglass scraps. I wonder if I can replace the broken glass in the door jalousie window with plexiglass. Might have to start another thread when I get there...

All comments were helpful, thanks. We'll probably leave the vents but do the screen and hardware cloth thing. We're planning on finding a second hand fridge that we'll use as an ice cooler (ice box) when unplugged.

[Randy J.]

I suppose it depends on your budget and your needs. Our Mobi Cool claims to keep its contents at, "up to 20 degrees C below ambient temperature", and we have found it to be so. So on on a normal summer day for around here with temperatures in the mid-20s, the inside temp is fine for food. If the temperature gets much above that I usually add a block of ice in a container and find a shady cool spot for the cooler. And we are careful of which foods we try to store and which we buy fresh as we go. Works for us. Actually, if I remember the manual for my old Dometic, as an evaporation unit it had its own limitations. Oh, and we paid $133.88 for our 35 litre on sale including the separate 120 volt adapter with tax.

If on the other hand one spends a lot of time in the south and/or wants to live in their RV than something more robust might be in order. But for our needs this has been a good solution.

[John in Michigan]

Keep in mind: With the original propane/electric fridge, the cabinet was (and definitely needed to be for safety reasons) airtight to camper interior, thus no bug problems and NO screen needed. AND any added screen would have significantly reduced air flow, and cooling effectiveness.

If replacing with a different model fridge, carefully follow the installation specs (vents, clearances, etc.)

[Uncle Cereal]

Originally Posted by John in Michigan

Keep in mind: With the original propane/electric fridge, the cabinet was (and definitely needed to be for safety reasons) airtight to camper interior, thus no bug problems and NO screen needed. AND any added screen would have significantly reduced air flow, and cooling effectiveness.

John, I'm not sure I follow you.

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by Uncle Cereal

John, I'm not sure I follow you.

I think he means that bugs could not get past the fridge body and into the trailer's living space. However, others probably are thinking of keeping bugs (like wasps) from taking up residence in that space between the fridge and vent, for which a screen is helpful (although it may cut down on the heat dissipation a little bit).

[John in Michigan]

The propane burner is located in the back of the fridge. To prevent carbon monoxide from entering the camper, the back of the fridge is sealed from the camper interior.

[Uncle Cereal]

Gotcha! The need for ventilation is not the same with an electrical unit. Will check the specs for sure. Thanks!

[Paul O.]

Also, the absorption fridge uses ammonia as its cooling medium. Because ammonia is POISON, the whole apparatus must be separated from the people space and vented directly.
Compressor fridges use Freon, or substitutes, which are inert and if they spring a leak, it is not deadly.

[Uncle Cereal]

I found a 30-dollar electrical fridge that's 18" X 18". It's a little smaller than our 19" X 21" opening but the price is right. It even has a little freezer! We might use the extra space on top to make a little drawer someday...

[Bill Nolen]

I have asked for some information on installing a dorm fridge in another thread.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...dge-73419.html

All help will be appreciated.

Bill

[Kai in Seattle]

Local Walmart had a beautiful little fridge for about $139 that even had a separate freezer compartment with its own little door. May consider one...all electric, 110/120. Kind of a lot of draw, though, when we're hoping to be all battery/solar eventually.

[Uncle Cereal]

Moving along to get the old Boler ready for vacations...

The last unexplored territory is under the counter! So do I understand that I can rip of the sheet of metal and the plexiglass? (See upside down picture on first post).

I'm still somewhat preoccupied with water coming in while driving in the rain. Any words of wisdom?

Thanks!

[k corbin]

Originally Posted by Uncle Cereal

Very helpful. Thanks guys!

Any risks of water coming in? While driving especially?

My vent cover / grill is broken: two slats are missing. I'll need to find a place that sells stuff like that.

Yes with broken slats there is a good chance you can get water coming in.
The vent covers are still available from various RV supply stores. It will be easiest to find them using the overall dimensions in the keyword searches.

[Uncle Cereal]

K C, I didn't state the obvious: I have new vents... I wrote about it in other threads, but not here. My fault.

So my questions are:

Won't water come in while driving in the rain with my new vents?!

Can I remove the metal shield and the plexiglass or do they play a role to keep the water out?

Thanks!

[David B.]

Water does come into that compartment while driving down the road in heavy rain. Like stated previously, the compartment is sealed to the refrigerator body so fumes, dust, bugs, cold/heat, and rain do not enter into the living area, but the floor does get wet and drains out the bottom. When I installed our NovaKool in our 13' Scamp, I painted the floor with a roof sealant, insulated around the refrigerator with styrofoam and reflectix, as much as there was room for, resealed the refrigerator body to the trailer body as it had been with the 3 way refrigerator, and then used the aluminized duct tape on the inside of the vented door, from about 6" up from the bottom, and left the top vent above the belly band as it was. This cut down on the amount of water intrusion, but was more than adequate for ventilation for the 12 volt refrigerator.
Good Luck
Dave & Paula

[k corbin]

I have covered in old vents by making a sheet metal plate. To close it off I got a piece of aluminum sheet metal cut to size. I cut it to size myself as we have tools for that but any sheetmetal shop can shear it to exact size for you. It is a small job, think beer Friday for payment and the time to approach them for the work as they often don't want to bother invoicing such small a job and would have to charge you a lot more, the shop minimum, if they did the paperwork. A six pack is often a good currency at such places for little jobs. When you get it home round the corners off with a metal file. After you get the metal sized transfer the marks for the mounting screws and drill those locations. Clean the metal with acetone and then spray self etching primer on it. Spray with auto primer and lastly put on a finish coat of auto enamel that is aclose color match to the shell. Put some butyl putty tape under the edges and screw it in place. Job done.

While it is possible to fill the holes in with fiberglass, I did do that on my fridge openings in the motorhome, that is considerably more work and more expense than creating a flat sheet metal cover. Also it is harder to reverse should someone want to go back to having a gas fired fridge. The reason I fiberglassed in my fridge openings is because I changed the layout of the interior and was no longer going to have a fridge at that location. I have 2 fiberglass RVs now, plus sometimes travel with a friend in his boat or his van. Therefore my solution is a portable AC/DC fridge that I can move into the rig I will be traveling in. Too expensive to give each one its own built in fridge.

[Keaner]

I glassed my opening in. I used 1/8 door skin on the inside as it is stiff yet still conforms to the curve of the body.
The beauty of fiberglass is if it doesn't look right you just sand it off and re-apply. Pretty straightforward.