On Friday nite, I set out a nice cool (Not cold.. you'll see why later) fresh bottle of water in the space behind my cooktop and back wall. I was
boondocking, so my
fridge was running on the 'pane. Outside temp was in the mid 40s, and I don't run the heater at nite.
Normally, it's a can of Dr pepper inside the
fridge on the top door shelf. When I want a drink during the nite, I pop the door open, have a swig and drop it back.
The water bottle didn't fit there, so thats why I put it where I did.
In the middle of the nite, I reached up and took a big old gulp of HOT water! Hot as I like my coffee! Just the heat from the
fridge coils and fins that is directly below the place where I placed it did that. The
fiberglass countertop was acting as a beverage warmer. And a good one at that.
Now, the fridge is vented to the outside, as normal, but heat does rise, not go sideways, so I can see how it would rise up and do that. I have always noted that area was warmish, but never paid much attention.
Would there be a safety issue with cutting a closable vent in that spot and allow the passive heat to rise into the cabin near my bed at nite?
I know you would never recycle
furnace or water heater exhaust (And besides impending death from it, why would you want to if the
furnace itself is heating the cabin) but I am unaware of any toxic issues with residual heat from fridges.
It wouldn't be a TON of heat, but it seems better than tossing it outside the rig when you don't have a heater on at nite. In early spring and
fall, it may just be enough to keep the chill off, especially since I sleep right there.
It would be easy to do, get a small floor vent for a forced air
furnace and simply cut a hole and fit it. Close it in the summer or in warm conditions that you wouldn't want heat from there, and redirect it outside. One could even put a small fan behind it to force the heat into the cabin if
electrical was not an issue.
Thoughts? Warning? Nobel prize nomination?