Trillium Fridge ventilation?

[BCPaul]

Hi

I have a new Trillium Outback and I am surprised to find that the fridge vents inside the more or less enclosed box which houses the fridge, furnace and sink. This seems to be not very energy efficient.

Should I install a vent to the outside? Maybe some others have experiences/suggestions.

Thank you

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by BCPaul

Hi

I have a new Trillium Outback and I am surprised to find that the fridge vents inside the more or less enclosed box which houses the fridge, furnace and sink. This seems to be not very energy efficient.

Should I install a vent to the outside? Maybe some others have experiences/suggestions.

Thank you

Hi, Paul

How very strange!
Is this a propane- fired fridge? Or is yours strictly electric?
Propane fridges are required to be vented to the outside. On older trailers like mine, there are two vents, one above the other.

Francesca

[BCPaul]

It is a 12/110 V fridge. I'm hoping to hear what others have setup.

[BCPaul]

I guess a propane fridge would have to vent because the exhaust would be toxic. In our case, with an electric only fridge, my worry is only about venting heat and what kind of vent to install. This is all new to me!

[Francesca Knowles]

Hello again,Paul

Gotcha!
I'm no help, then-
It looks like you're getting lots of views, though-sooner or later, somebody will chime in.
It does seem like the fridge heat should be vented somehow...
Maybe you should ask the fridge manufacturer?


Francesca

Late edit:
Don't know your fridge brand, but I think one's pretty much like another- there's a PDF manual of a Norcold DC fridge at http://www.americanrvcompany.com/assets/images/Norcold/DC0740%20Owner's%20Manual.pdf
On page 7, it does show provisions for both incoming and outgoing air...
I think you're on to something!

F.

[BCPaul]

Hi Fransesca

Thank you for the link. My Trillium refrigerator is a Nova Kool R1900 and the manual indicates the need for ventilation. The cavity housing the fridge, furnace, sink and electrical cord storage area is very large but I still cannot help but think it needs some form of ventilation nonetheless.

I will assume the manufacturer knows what they are doing, especially since I am completely new to RVs, but just to put my mind at rest I will ask them and post their reply.

In the meantime, if anyone has installed vents, I hope to learn about their experiences and what brand.

Part of my motivation is to have an air intake for the Fan-tastic Fan for when it rains, forcing us to close our windows. With the windows closed, the Trillium is virtually air tight and so it gets rather stuffy! We thought of getting window vents by MaxxAir but they are a bit complex/messy to install and why not kill two birds with one stone and vent the fridge at the same time? Dunno. Just trying to think it through...

[BCPaul]

PS: It may by that the furnace vent to the inside of the trailer is expected to be sufficient ventilation for the fridge. Let's see what Joe at Trillium Trailers says...

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by BCPaul

PS: It may by that the furnace vent to the inside of the trailer is expected to be sufficient ventilation for the fridge. Let's see what Joe at Trillium Trailers says...

Hi, Paul

Hmmm...
My concern would be this language in the Norcold PDF :
"If you do not make sure that the
ventilation is correct, a shortened
refrigerator life expectancy, poor
refrigeration, continuous operation,
accelerated battery discharge and
a void warranty will result."
Fixtures like these are usually covered by manufacturers' warranties, and not by the trailer maker.
It may be wise to write to the fridge maker for an opinion as to whether this installation meets their requirements...

Francesca

[BCPaul]

Agreed. I emailed Joe at Trillium and I am waiting for his reply. Assuming other new Trills have the same configuration I hope others will post their experiences.

[Francesca Knowles]

Good job, Paul

Fill me in- I get so-o-o-o confused about who's who in the Trillium World...
Is "Joe at Trillium" at "Outback Trillium" (Canada) or at "Trillium Trillium" (U.S.A.)?

Thanks!

Francesca

[BCPaul]

Sorry. Team Trillium in Calgary Canada. Joe is the owner, great guy from my experience.

He just replied and said the furnace vent doubles as the fridge vent. He recommended against cutting a hole in the side for a vent and felt the MaxxAir window vents are best.

I'll order them today.

[Francesca Knowles]

Problem solved!
I think Joe's the guy I bought my awning hardware from back in '06- there wasn't any Trillium California back then.
I agree with you about his helpfulness- there was a bit of a kerfuffle with customs when he shipped the tube, but he got it sorted out.
Guess they thought it was a missile launcher or something!

Sounds like the Maxxair will work nicely for your vent-in the-rain problem.
I have to say that I'm glad my old trailer has the louvered windows that shed water when open in the rain!

Francesca

[BCPaul]

I think this is where the screened door window under the awning would have come in handy but Joe's supplier messed up a shipment and we had to take a rain check on them and depart.

[Roger C H]

From the Nova Kool website:

http://www.novakool.com/support/documents/manualnkf-049revMay2011_001.pdf

1. Ventilation:
Ventilation should be one of your first major installation considerations. All refrigerators, regardless of make, are heat transfer machines which transfer heat from the inside of the box thru the evaporator, compressor and refrigerant to the condenser on the outside of the box, to be dissipated to the air. The cavity where the condenser is located MUST be adequately ventilated.

Single door units Require 30 sq.in. INLET and 30 sq.in. OUTLET

The INLET should be below the level of the condenser and the

OUTLET should be above. This type of ventilation is ideal and will allow natural convection to take place, drawing cool air in low through the INLET, drawing off the heat from the condenser, and allowing the hot air to escape thru the OUTLET. This is how a chimney on a fireplace works. When using grilles or registers please consider the “free” area as some grilles can be quite large and still be very restrictive. For those inevitable applications that are “hard” to ventilate completely, provisions have been made on the electronic module to accept an auxiliary fan. Please note: adequate ventilation is the responsibility of the installer/customer

Does the cabinet the fridge is installed in have openings?

Note: 30 in² = 6 in dia or 5.5 in square hole NOT counting the blockage of any cover. IOW, a screen blocks a percentage of an opening so you have to make the opening larger to accommodate this blockage. I also notice that the Outback (please don't say Trillium) website does not show the left side of the rig.

[Francesca Knowles]

I wondered about that, too...
Does Joe know something we don't know?

Francesca

[BCPaul]

We plan to add an interior vent to help with air flow. More here:

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ure-47438.html

[Curtis F.]

I have a 2005 Trillium from Joe. My fridge is not vented and is not connected to the heater vents. I think connection to the heater vents would be a fire hazard. The vents for the heater are metal tubes and the exhaust tube should not be opened up to another connection inside the body of the trailer.

I spend a week near Austin, Texas with temperatures hovering around 105 degrees. The fridge was all but useless. It could only hold about 45 to 50 degrees inside. The closed airspace was extremely hot and the whole sink/heater,fridge cabinet was radiating heat back into the interior making it more difficult to cool the trailer with an 8K A/C. I've intended to open up the side and put in two small vent openings. Part of my delay and hesitation has been trying to figure out how to isolate the fridge airspace from the rest of the enclosed airspace that goes all the way to the ceiling.

I believe if you use a flashlight and look into the heater vents, you will see that they are straight tubes going to the burner area of the heater, AND YOU WILL NOT FIND AN OPENING TO EXCHANGE AIR FOR THE FRIDGE. You can verify that by taking out the 4 screws that hold the fridge in place and pulling the fridge straight out.

[BCPaul]

Maybe it is a different model of furnace but if I shine a light into the cabinet (take the drawer off) I see numerous openings for fresh air to come in where the furnace interior vent is. Not that I doubt your report of fridge trouble and I still feel that a extra cabinet vent would do wonders, and possible a vent with a small fan.

My first instinct was to put an exterior vent but Joe suggested against it. Venting to the outside makes sense to me to get rid of heat in the summer but cutting holes in the trailer wall is not something I'm comfortable with.

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by BCPaul

My first instinct was to put an exterior vent but Joe suggested against it. Venting to the outside makes sense to me to get rid of heat in the summer but cutting holes in the trailer wall is not something I'm comfortable with.

Hi, Paul

It may be that Joe wants to avoid giving any advice that creates an impression that the lack of exterior venting is a design flaw...
I think you should trust your own instincts in this one, especially given Curtis's experience. Sounds like more venting is needed.

I know what you mean about cutting the trailer- I agonized over putting any holes in my Trillium- and it's a 1978 Model!
It must be a lot harder with a newer model like yours...
I've overcome my aversion to doing so, having decided that what came from the factory was less a "finished product" than a "good start" .

Adding vents to fiberglass is remarkably easy- it's not hard to wind up with a professional look and result.

Francesca

[Raz]

Just to add to the confusion.... I believe the Lil Snoozy uses a compressor fridge. In the picture on their web site a vent just below the window lined up with the fridge is clearly shown, but in the picture RuthG shared of her Lil Snoozy there is no vent. Raz