FF Winter vent covers on or off?

[TinaLes]

Hi everyone.
I have a set of those Dometic FF vent covers, for our large Tech Tower FF, which I guess I should have put on by now.
My questions is: can I use the FF on Gas/mains electric with the covers on?
I have been told yes by some and no by others, so what is correct please.
Any help would be very much appreciated, dont want to melt them.
Les @confused.com

 

[treetops1]

I used mine for enough winters without problems .

 

[TinaLes]

I will get them out and fit them tomorrow, I think some mentioned that there is a gap around the edge to allow for gas fumes to escape when fitted, or did I dream that?
Les

 

[EuroTrotters]

Yes use them,

Forgot ours last week.

Vile wind blowing in through gaps (covers reduce this)

 

[Nirvanauk]

Yes..

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[Landy Andy]

I will get them out and fit them tomorrow, I think some mentioned that there is a gap around the edge to allow for gas fumes to escape when fitted, or did I dream that?
Les

The exhaust from gas use isn’t covered when mine are fitted. That’s why the top one is smaller than the bottom one.

 

[Badknee]

Leave them on. When on ehu their not needed but when on gas their very useful

 

[Theonlysue]

Might need to use them when windy as well.
I've camped in minus 15, and the fridge worked better with vents off rather than on.
See how it goes.

 

[rickwiggans]

Boring, I know, but I just follow Domestic's advice.
When the ambient temperature falls below +8°C, the optional winter covers should be fitted. This protects the unit from excessively cold air.

 

[Robert Clark]

They may cause overheating
Better to fit yet bottom one only, but only when really freezing
Leaving the top one off allows for excess heat to escape

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[DuxDeluxe]

Might need to use them when windy as well.
I've camped in minus 15, and the fridge worked better with vents off rather than on.
See how it goes.

Mine sit in the garage in the van. I may dig them out sometime and see what they look like.......

 

[Speve]

Never needed to use them on any of our vans.

 

[Reallyretired]

I only use the bottom one and that seems fine.

 

[TerryL]

Boring, I know, but I just follow Domestic's advice.
When the ambient temperature falls below +8°C, the optional winter covers should be fitted. This protects the unit from excessively cold air.

Precisely. The FF needs air of a certain temperature to help the evaporation process. Once the ambient temperature drops below the recommended figure the air may not reach a sufficient temperature to properly allow the cooling process (sounds daft, but that's the physics of the thing). The result is that the FF becomes inefficient and you may see an increase in energy used, gas or electric, as the system tries to improve the cooling process. In an extreme case the fridge will fail to cool the contents.

I stress may, as it's clear that a lot of people don't have, or at least don't notice, the "problem".

They are useful however if you, like us, suffer from drafts when the wind is on that side.

 

[Just smiffy]

If droughts are felt in the wind then surly the fridge is not fitted correctly which would assume the droughts are carrying carbon monoxide in to the van.....?

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[TerryL]

If droughts are felt in the wind then surly the fridge is not fitted correctly which would assume the droughts are carrying carbon monoxide in to the van.....?

It's a possibility, yes, and that's the problem with mine and I suspect quite a few others. Have had the fridge out a couple of times, both professionally and myself, attempting to reseal it with only a modicum of success. In the end I've sealed around the inside edges with good old duct tape, which happens to be the same colour as the fridge surround so is not noticed. A CO monitor close by has never activated (yes I test it regularly) so I'm happy we're okay.

Just note that the correct fridge vent covers are not fully sealed and should have small vents, probably top and bottom. You should NEVER seal off the vents completely, for example with cling film, that is definitely asking for CO poisoning even if you are happy with the fitting of the unit.

 

[Lenny HB]

I aways fit them when not using the van, stops all the crap behind the vents.
In use when it's cold I just fit the bottom one, top one gets far too hot for comfort when running on gas.

 

[Lenny HB]

If droughts are felt in the wind then surly the fridge is not fitted correctly which would assume the droughts are carrying carbon monoxide in to the van.....?

Agree there shouldn't be any draughs inside the van from around the fridge.

 

[TerryL]

Agree there shouldn't be any draughs inside the van from around the fridge.

I do so agree - you go tell that to Swift et al.