Fridge not cold after fitting winter vents (1 Viewer)

[MichaelT]

All

I fitted winter vents to the fridge (pic attached) but the fridge does not seem to be getting cold now. Freezer seems fine and has frozen stuff but fridge does not seem to have got so cold as normal in fact the condenser/cooling unit does not feel cold at all. Never fitted them before and fridge always worked as normal. I do not have a thermometer to test with just going by touch.

I put vent covers on both top and bottom.


Any ideas?

 

[Madcaravanner]

Sounds daft but set your fridge to just 50% of the cooling available ours actually got colder when out side was 37°C and we fitted the vent covers in November when the local temperatures in France were down to 0-2 degrees and the fridge continued to cool nicely

 

[bigtwin]

Try taking the bottom one off.

That should improve the temperature differential between the top and bottom of the column and should improve the circulation of the refrigerant and hence the cooling effectiveness.

Ian

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[Theonlysue]

You might not need them.
I put mine on in minus15 and the fridge got warmer. So i took them off again.
All ok.

 

[PhilandMena]

Never use them in winter ! There a conn !

 

[Northernraider]

I've noticed this with mine too , I just fitted them the other week might just take them back off

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[JockandRita]

TBH, I've only ever had to fit the lower one, when the wind was so strong it was extinguishing the flame, and that's only about twice in the last 12-13 years.
Apart from that, we've never needed to bother with the covers.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Enword]

Never use them in winter ! There a conn !

You could well be right I fitted mine last winter, first weekend away took them off as the fridge was struggling, then all fine when removed.

 

[MichaelT]

Thanks everyone, will take them off shortly and see what happens. Must admit this is the first time we had them and never had problems before.

Sounds daft but set your fridge to just 50% of the cooling available ours actually got colder when out side was 37°C and we fitted the vent covers in November when the local temperatures in France were down to 0-2 degrees and the fridge continued to cool nicely

Only ever have it set at number 2 or 3 bars at anytime even high summer as I found if you set it to 5 (coldest) it works overtime to try and cool and seems to go in ever decreasing circles creating more heat to cool more....

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[frogijock]

When I bought my Burstner I asked about vent covers and was told that Burstner do not recommend using them

 

[MichaelT]

Quick update, just went out to remove the covers and there was a huge build up of heat behind the top cover so just wondering if the vents are too big (LS300 covers) or as you all suspect they are not really needed or only in very high wind etc. Will see how it cools now.

Thanks for your input.

 

[Paul and Kate]

Are they only needed if running on gas

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[7735]

I only fit mine when the vans not in use, keeps the spiders out.

Spongy

 

[Poutie57]

They should only be fitted to the bottom had this problem last year the heat needs to be expelled from the top especially if your on gas, we then went away in temperatures reaching -15° and all worked fine

 

[bigtwin]

Looking at your photo, there doesn’t seem to be any obvious vent for the hot air to escape. I’m pretty sure ours has a vent space.

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[cookie]

We've just had problems with our covers just like those . They are too big and don't let enough air through . Thd fridge was overheating. Made 2 covers half the size out of a heavy duty carrier bag and fridge worked ok

 

[Rugeley Tim]

You can see from my thread that we had a problem with our fridge not working on leccy, fitted the covers and all seems OK. Having travelled in the van extensively the only time my fridge has struggled as you discredit is when we were not level (can make a huge difference) or when it was really hot in Spain.

 

[MichaelT]

Looking at your photo, there doesn’t seem to be any obvious vent for the hot air to escape. I’m pretty sure ours has a vent space.

The vent space is very small about an inch. Must admit when I fitted them I did wonder. Anyway no vents on now and fridge us cold, will contact dometic on Monday for advice.

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[Lenny HB]

Are they only needed if running on gas

Other way round you shouldn't use them when running on gas.

 

[Northernraider]

I took mine back off yesterday


Had coco pops and milk ice cubes for breakfast this morning


Might need to turn the fridge back down

 

[bigtwin]

The vent space is very small about an inch. Must admit when I fitted them I did wonder. Anyway no vents on now and fridge us cold, will contact dometic on Monday for advice.

Is it upside down? Or is that the only way it’ll fit?

Ian

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[Lenny HB]

Is it upside down? Or is that the only way it’ll fit?

Ian

Nope he has it on the correct way.

 

[Northernraider]

That's how my vent covers fit too it only leaves a small gap at the bottom of each one.
I only fitted them last week but noticed the fridge wasn't as cold so I turned it up a little
The cupboard above it was also getting very warm inside with covers on

I took them back off yesterday and had frozen milk this morning ha ha ....turned fridge back down and it's back to normal

Think I'll pass on the vent covers

 

[bigtwin]

Nope he has it on the correct way.

Seems curious that the vent isn’t at the top to let the hot air out.

Ian

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[Lenny HB]

Seems curious that the vent isn’t at the top to let the hot air out.

Ian

The evaporator fins are about 9" below the vents.

 

[bigtwin]

The evaporator fins are about 9" below the vents.

Perhaps, but without a fan directing the heat through the gaps it will rise to the top and not escape through those gaps. Seems odd.

Ian

 

[MichaelT]

OK I emailed Dometic and below is the response. Looks like unless its extremely cold only lower vent is required.

Thank you for your email,

As you are aware absorption fridges use heat to produce cooling,

If the rear of the fridge is too hot or too cold the fridge will not work efficiently,

We recommend the use of winter covers when the ambient temperature falls below 8-10C

Depending on the weather conditions it may be necessary to use only the lower vent, for example if its cold and the sun is shinning on the side of the vehicle you may only need the lower vent.

I hope this is of assistance,

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[DL42846]

Never used fridge vents and never had a problem in temperatures from +38c to -12C

 

[MichaelT]

Never used fridge vents and never had a problem in temperatures from +38c to -12C

Neither have I but thought it was a good idea, maybe will just use them for storage to keep rain out and when washing.