Do I need a vent?

[Mike Magee]

I'm out of ideas on that. But let me add that I had a dorm fridge in my former Burro and the door kept popping open during travel. Unless you have some sort of latch or closure, any weight bumping against the door will pop it open. I fixed mine by putting a strip of velcro from the front to the side. It's easy to pull the velcro off the door while stopped, then secure it again when preparing to travel.

[varmint]

Hi,
We have a small Dometic elect frig that came with the Scamp. It was not vented and built in. I noticed that the air was warmer in the cupboard with the frig running when I opened the doors. I thought the frig might cool a bit more efficiently with some air circulation within the trailer. There is a wood spacer panel below the frig. I cut a number of holes in the panel for air intake. The LP stove is in the same cabinet group as the frig and has holes at the bottom of the burners that are open to the cabinet. I now have some circulation in through the spacer holes and out through the stove to move some of the heat from the frig coils. It is still a bit warmer in the cabinet but not as warm as before.

[Bill Nolen]

Mike and George, both good ideas!

I'll check my stove range and see if there are holes under the burners.

Thanks,

Bill

[Johnny M]

Venting an electric only fridge is not necessary but wouldn't hurt. It really depends on how much heat is put out by the fridge as it would work against the a/c trying to cool in the summer, but on the other hand it would help heat the trailer in the winter. As far as the vent it is not a big deal to install. You could buy an expensive fridge vent from an RV supplier with frame, hinge, etc. or you could go to Lowe's or Home Depot and buy a $2 soffit vent used on the underside of the overhang on a house. The vents look very close to what a 3 way vent looks like, and comes with a screen built in to keep the bugs out. Some butyl tape around the shell opening under the vent and some rivets and you'll have a nice leak proof seal to last years. If you want it to be opened you could make a thin wood or metal frame and use screws instead of rivets, but with an all electric fridge I don't see the need for the vent to open. If you vent the fridge though, you will want to seal the back of the fridge off so the heat expells out the vent and to keep the outside air from entering the trailer through the cabinet. House hold duct work tape will work well for this.

[Timber Wolf]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

I had a dorm fridge in my former Burro and the door kept popping open during travel. Unless you have some sort of latch or closure.

The door on my dorm fridge was set up to be reversable. I made an aluminum plate with a hole in it for a pin. It screwed down to the threaded hole for the hinge on the now latch side and I made a pin to drop in the hole in the top of the door. I made the pin out of some dowel rod and a wood cabinet knob. In camp the knob goes in a certain place EVERYTIME in an upper cabinet so we can find it when we hit the road. At home the pin is put in with the door open to make sure it stays that way so the refrigerator can dry out and circulate some air.

[Bill Nolen]

Originally Posted by Johnny M

Venting an electric only fridge is not necessary but wouldn't hurt.....You could buy an expensive fridge vent from an RV supplier with frame, hinge, etc. or you could go to Lowe's or Home Depot and buy a $2 soffit vent used on the underside of the overhang on a house.

Johnny M, i have used such house vents, to vent cabins in wood sailboats.

However, I'm not convinced that they keep heavy rain out...but, then again what vent will keep out wind driven rain?

That is a good point about directing the hot air outward.

Thanks,

[Bill Nolen]

Originally Posted by Timber Wolf

The door on my dorm fridge was set up to be reversable. I made an aluminum plate with a hole in it for a pin. It screwed down to the threaded hole for the hinge on the now latch side and I made a pin to drop in the hole in the top of the door. I made the pin out of some dowel rod and a wood cabinet knob. In camp the knob goes in a certain place EVERYTIME in an upper cabinet so we can find it when we hit the road. At home the pin is put in with the door open to make sure it stays that way so the refrigerator can dry out and circulate some air.

Tim, I'll have to check the door hinges on my fridge when I go "visit" my scamp this evening.

Having the door come open when traveling would not be a good thing!

Bill

[ThomKat]

Bill- I have a dorm refrigerator also- I cut a vent into the floor just underneath the back of the fridge, about 5x6 inches- just in case. I sealed the edges and covered it over with heavy wire mesh, to keep the critters out.
I screwed small angle brackets under the fridge and screwed through those into the front of the cabinet floor. Good luck with yours!

[Bill Nolen]

Originally Posted by ThomKat

Bill- I have a dorm refrigerator also- I cut a vent into the floor just underneath the back of the fridge, about 5x6 inches- just in case. I sealed the edges and covered it over with heavy wire mesh, to keep the critters out.
I screwed small angle brackets under the fridge and screwed through those into the front of the cabinet floor. Good luck with yours!

Thanks Tom for that information. That sounds like a easy way to add some air flow.

Have you driven in the rain since you installed the fridge? I was just wondering if rain or slush would come up through the vent hole?

Not that I plan on driving in the rain...but...it does happens too often!

Bill