Having problems with your fridge in the hot summer? I've tried fans on the fins and that marginally works. Tried an internal fan but that didn't work very well.
TRY THIS:
I bought some bubble reflective insulation and doubled it up using adhesive spray. Then I cut it to size to cover the outside wall of the fridge and cut out the vents. I used 1 1/4" suction cups to attach it.
Just tried it out today. Outside temp is 27C in the shade. My fridge wall is in the direct sun. Fridge temp is 4-6C and holding. I do have the fin fans turned on.
What a wonderful difference....its working!
Suction cups are not that great. The wall has to be clean and I moistened the cups before attaching. Most are holding some are not. Need to come up with a different attachment system.
This is not a drive away solution. The suction cups won't hold while driving.
I think the heat supply source for the adsorption heat exchange is a control, not a variable, in this trial. I'd expect that the same heat source was used for both the 'with' and the 'without'.
I also think that it's the shade, not any R value of air-gap foil, that is the cause of the improved heat exchange efficiency.
Tamid, What is the temperature of the camper wall adjacent to the sun-block as compared to the temperature of the wall under the sun-block?
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Jon MB, (the lesser half of Bonnie RB )
I also think that it's the shade, not any R value of air-gap foil, that is the cause of the improved heat exchange efficiency.
Sorry but I have to disagree. The difference in wall temp with and without is significant. Without the shield my hand on the wall is uncomfortably hot and with the temp is very mild. I haven’t measured the temp. The shield is made of air pockets so the heat from the sun does not penetrate and the material is reflective. It’s very inexpensive to make so give it a try and report back
Tamid,
The goal is to keep the cold side as cold as possible, not to make the hot side cooler. You've not only blocked the sunlight from getting in, but the insulation you added is also aiding in keeping the 'hot side' of the system cooler.
The more heat there is on the hot side, the more cold is made on the cold side. The fridge doesn't care what the heat source is 120 AC, 12 DC, LP gas, or sunlight. With enough heat from ANY source the fridge will 'boil' the ammonia on the hot side to make cold on the inside. Having sunlight augment the heat means less AC, less DC, less LP is needed for the same cooling.
A better location for the bubble wrap would be between the hot side and the fridge compartment (cold side) box. That location for additional insulation around only the cold side further thermally isolates the two sides for a greater differential and more effective heat/cold exchange. Get the hot side as hot as possible, and insulate the cold side to keep it as thermally distant from that hot side as possible.
__________________
Jon MB, (the lesser half of Bonnie RB )
I've had a couple of really crummy-performing RV fridges in the past, in a KZ and an Aliner. But I really feel like I hit the jackpot with my current unit, which is a non-original Norcold that the previous owner had gotten installed when the original one quit. I had my Escape plugged in so the fridge could run after my recent camping trip; my wife didn't have room in the home refrigerator for the few little things I'd brought back, so I kept it running. Well, yesterday it was 103 degrees F. when I went in to shut it off and empty it; the thermometer in the fridge read 41 degrees! It was set on 6 (out of 9 max). This thing cools like a champ. And the fridge side was facing south in my driveway, getting full sun.
It seems sensible that the cooler we can keep the condenser coil environment, the more heat can be removed from the refrigerant and the more heat can be removed from inside the fridge. I am trying an awning over the side of the RV that is most often in the sun because I'd rather sit in the shade. It's an easy snap-on-snap-off.
It seems sensible that the cooler we can keep the condenser coil environment, the more heat can be removed from the refrigerant and the more heat can be removed from inside the fridge. I am trying an awning over the side of the RV that is most often in the sun because I'd rather sit in the shade. It's an easy snap-on-snap-off.
Great idea to be able to simply snap off while going down the highway.
Having problems with your fridge in the hot summer? I've tried fans on the fins and that marginally works. Tried an internal fan but that didn't work very well.
TRY THIS:
I bought some bubble reflective insulation and doubled it up using adhesive spray. Then I cut it to size to cover the outside wall of the fridge and cut out the vents. I used 1 1/4" suction cups to attach it.
Just tried it out today. Outside temp is 27C in the shade. My fridge wall is in the direct sun. Fridge temp is 4-6C and holding. I do have the fin fans turned on.
What a wonderful difference....its working!
Suction cups are not that great. The wall has to be clean and I moistened the cups before attaching. Most are holding some are not. Need to come up with a different attachment system.
This is not a drive away solution. The suction cups won't hold while driving.
Great Idea! Thanks.
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Been with my sweetheart since 1969
2015 Chevy Colorado & 2019 Casita owner
If I won the award for laziness, I would send somebody to pick it up for me.
Jon, I'm having trouble understanding what you mean about the location of the insulation.
In my Casita SD, once you removed the louver panels, you can see between the two walls of the camper. You can see the coils, of the fridge, the fans, etc. Do you mean that the insulation should be placed on the inside of the OUTER wall? Or up against the coils themselves, meaning adjacent to the INSIDE of the inner wall? (does that make sense?)
One of my best mods, especially for increasing the efficiency of the trailer fridge cooling, was to install some insulation on the top of the fridge and installing some sheet metal baffles inside to direct the convection air flow around the actual cooling coils, where it needs to be. No fans, no gimmicks, just directing the convection air flow where it really needs to be. And it lives in there full time. No need to take it down for travel. It's a permanent installation. It's always there, always works. I set my trailer up in the Nevada desert, where it is 105+ degrees during the day, and also with the fridge side toward the "southern sunny side" as far as exposure, (with no awning either.)
I used to run the fridge on the highest low cooling temp button (5) but now I put it on 3, and it works great. Any higher, my fridge would freeze.
Thanks Meadowlark,
It's basically about channeling the convection air current to where it passes over the actual evaporator coils, and not just inefficiently traveling upwards through a 6" wide gap behind the fridge, where it doesn't do much if anything, to draw the heat away from the fins of the cooling coil. If you're not feeling a lot of hot air coming out the top fridge vent outside when the fridge is running, then it's not working efficiently. The critical part of my plan was to create baffles above and below the fins on the coils to direct the air over them. There is no fan involved here, it's strictly convection air flow. I just bought a couple of flat sheets of unfurled sheet metal duct sections from Lowes, (the kind that sit flat on a small pallet until you bend them into a round section of duct.) And trimmed them with a pair of tin snips to fit. They are riveted in place and have worked exceptionally well for about a dozen years now.
Little Joe
Van Gogh
2008 Casita Spirit Deluxe
Linear Mode
