water pouring out of fridge while travelling ?

[Paul J]

so, before my recent trip, I ran the fridge on electric until we were ready to set off, it then (automatically) ran on 12v while we were travelling, and it was on gas for around 12 hours while we were on site, I then turned the gas off as we set off, confirmed that the 12v operation was on, we drove for an hour to the Trafford centre and parked up while the girlfriend bought some shoes, maybe 40 minutes stationaty, and during this time I had forgot to turn the gas on, so there was no power to the fridge. We returned to the van and set off for home, stopping after another 45 minutes to find water running out of the fridge, into the unit below it, and all over the floor.
Inspecting the fridge, the large metal element was covered in water, likely it was frosty/frozen and then thawed, it was also wet in the front top, the sort of roof of the fridge closest to the door, and water had dropped into the little 'gutter' which has a little hole for draining, it seemed not terribly successful at draining this water, either that or it had possibly thawed and somehow remained there, perhaps we weren't parked level, and then poured out when we moved ?
I'm going to presume there's probably nothing wrong with it, wouldn't have expected it to have thawed in 45 minutes while the fridge was closed, but must be the way they are, next time perhaps I'll put a pot towel underneath the big salad box in the bottom of the fridge, I guess that will catch any water before it runs out.
does anyone have any tips on if they've had a similar experience ?

(next time I go out, I'll be sure to do a few checks on the thermometer to check that the 12v operation is actually working, clearly if it's not, we'll have persistent thawing out problems)

 

[funflair]

Make sure that the drain hole is clear from the little gutter area at the back, it should then run out and into a little dish that sits over the warm evaporator pipe at the back of the fridge.

Martin

 

[Paul J]

Thanks Martin, I'm guessing that the evaporator pipe is out of sight behind the fridge ? you're just saying that's how they get rid of the water, It doesn't drain out the bottom onto the ground ?

 

[jollyrodger]

If you can take the ottom vent cover off (1/4 turn of plastic screw) you will see the drain cup .doesn't need any maintainance

 

[Polar bear]

Check your door seals as you should be able to leave fridge without power for several hours as long as door is shut properly

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[Duck Truck]

Did you by chance!!!!
Happen to have a bucket of water in your fridge?

 

[funflair]

Thanks Martin, I'm guessing that the evaporator pipe is out of sight behind the fridge ? you're just saying that's how they get rid of the water, It doesn't drain out the bottom onto the ground ?

Correct but if you knew it wasn't draining and couldn't clear it it would be worth checking the pipe for a kink.

Martin

 

[Paul J]

there was no bucket of water in the fridge, just the huge bucket shaped ice cube that I made you can never have too much ice

 

[Paul J]

I'll test that little gutter by carefully pouring some water in it perhaps

 

[mitzimad]

i would suspect door seals as well as there shouldnt be a big build up of ice inside

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[jezport]

Check the door is closing and sealing properly

 

[Minxy]

I don't believe that story for one minute ... no way did the girlfriend only take 45 minutes to buy some shoes ... more like 4.5 hours!

 

[Larby]

Door seal was my first thought. We can travel miles without fridge becoming warm.

 

[Clarky]

The defrost water from the evaporator runs down the channel at the back and drains down the tube. On some fridges it runs straight out under the van on others goes into a small plastic dish and evaporates in the warmth from the heater.
If the drain tube gets blocked it will overflow into the bottom of the fridge.
Try something like a pipe cleaner down the drain tube to clear any grot.

Also, check that the door seals are tight. Close the door onto a strip of paper, then slowly pull the paper out to check for resistance. Try this in several places and it will highlight any gaps in the seal. It should grip the paper firmly.

Richard.

 

[Richard n Ann]

Some of the water from our freezer doesn't even get to the drain gully, it comes out the side of the freezer and goes straight into the bottom of the fridge under the salad tray. Only happens when defrosting so I'm ready to mop it up. I doubt if the door seal is watertight so eventually it would come out with the door shut.

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[Lenny HB]

I don't believe that story for one minute ... no way did the girlfriend only take 45 minutes to buy some shoes ... more like 4.5 hours!

My thoughts too.

 

[Pausim]

I find the evaporator cup is only ok whilst the fridge is running, it can overflow when the fridge is off. I have had it run out over the floor from below the fridge. Not surprising since there is no longer any heat to help the evaporation. When packing up I open the lower external vent and suck the cup dry with a small syringe and pipe (pooter). This seems to overcome the problem.

 

[Reallyretired]

View attachment 277006 I find the evaporator cup is only ok whilst the fridge is running, it can overflow when the fridge is off. I have had it run out over the floor from below the fridge. Not surprising since there is no longer any heat to help the evaporation. When packing up I open the lower external vent and suck the cup dry with a small syringe and pipe (pooter). This seems to overcome the problem.

I do the same but lacking a syringe I just use a paper towel to soak it up. The actual amount of water is quite small.

 

[Minxy]

View attachment 277006 I find the evaporator cup is only ok whilst the fridge is running, it can overflow when the fridge is off. I have had it run out over the floor from below the fridge. Not surprising since there is no longer any heat to help the evaporation. When packing up I open the lower external vent and suck the cup dry with a small syringe and pipe (pooter). This seems to overcome the problem.

I do the same but lacking a syringe I just use a paper towel to soak it up. The actual amount of water is quite small.

... wouldn't it be easier to simply put a small drain from the evaporator cup to the outside either via a floor drop vent or through the wall vent? Couldn't be doing with faffing around with syringes and taking off the panel all the time.

 

[Pausim]

... wouldn't it be easier to simply put a small drain from the evaporator cup to the outside either via a floor drop vent or through the wall vent? Couldn't be doing with faffing around with syringes and taking off the panel all the time.

I might have done that but changing mh soon.

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[Richard n Ann]

... wouldn't it be easier to simply put a small drain from the evaporator cup to the outside either via a floor drop vent or through the wall vent? Couldn't be doing with faffing around with syringes and taking off the panel all the time.

Yes it would, I've thought about it before and maybe in cold climates the end would freeze and block? Won't effect us then When we park up for 6 weeks in benidorm I pull the pipe out and shove it in a rubbery one I've got off an a/C condensate pump and dangle that outside. It's a must when defrosting the freezer.

 

[Minxy]

Yes it would, I've thought about it before and maybe in cold climates the end would freeze and block? Won't effect us then When we park up for 6 weeks in benidorm I pull the pipe out and shove it in a rubbery one I've got off an a/C condensate pump and dangle that outside. It's a must when defrosting the freezer.

.... I can understand why you wouldn't want a frozen dangling end bit ... wouldn't be good!

 

[Duck Truck]

When we finish a trip and get home
I empty the fridge and freezer switch it off
place a tea towel in the bottom of the freezer and a towel in the bottom of the fridge.
I leave the doors ajar.
Next day I ring the towels out
and wipe the fridge down with a mild solution of baking soda.
Then dry with kitchen roll.
I leave the doors slightly ajar until we are ready to go away next time.
No mold no water everywhere

 

[iandsm]

... wouldn't it be easier to simply put a small drain from the evaporator cup to the outside either via a floor drop vent or through the wall vent? Couldn't be doing with faffing around with syringes and taking off the panel all the time.

The bottom vent housing actually has a small space for the eveporate pipe on mine. I did have the small cup into which the pipe empties but I extended the pipe with a small piece of plastic pipe from a local aquarium shop and clipped it to the cut out in the vent housing. Now no need for the little cup but condensate does run out of the bottom of the vent down the side of the van, not an issue though.

 

[Paul J]

We've just been away again for a few days, and there's been a mix of being parked for more than 24 hours, running the fridge on gas, then several smaller journeys as we toured around, we obviously turned the gas off while travelling and were sure that the fridge was set on "A" for the auto selection. I double checked several times that it had switched and was showing the correct source of energy (12v appears to be the possibly troublesome one) and there were instances where I was sure it was working, then instances where I thought it wasn't, after we went to the supermarket and loaded the fridge, then continued to drive, it was 12c after a 45 minute drive. On the way home on the last day, we were several hours of uninterrupted driving, (one stop at a services for 10 minutes) as I arrived home, I opened the fridge to unload it, and it was 14c inside, there was a reasonable amount of water in it, the freezer was still rock solid frozen.

Apart from this method of testing it by actually driving and observing any change in temperature, how can I tell if the fridge is actually working on 12v (from the display, it obviously thinks it is) but if I'm correct, theres none/not much sound when operating on 12v. I'm trying to save myself a trip back to the dealer

many Thanks

Paul

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[Hils and Glenns]

Have you taken off the bottom outside vent cover and checked if the little cup is full? If it is while you're on the move it can spill out and end up on the floor of the van.

 

[Southdowners]

Apart from this method of testing it by actually driving and observing any change in temperature, how can I tell if the fridge is actually working on 12v (from the display, it obviously thinks it is) but if I'm correct, theres none/not much sound when operating on 12v. I'm trying to save myself a trip back to the dealer
Paul

I don’t think fridges make a noise in operation on electric, gas or 12v. I assume any slight noise would be drowned out by the noise from the engine when on 12v.

If the display is showing that it’s on 12v i’d tend to think it is actually doing so. Some years ago We had a problem with our fridge not going onto 12v and it was obvious by the display that there was a problem with it it kept jumping to gas.

I wouldn’t have thought your fridge should have defrosted in the circumstances. I’d give your dealer a call and see if they can shed some light on it.

 

[Minxy]

... after we went to the supermarket and loaded the fridge, then continued to drive, it was 12c after a 45 minute drive. On the way home on the last day, we were several hours of uninterrupted driving, (one stop at a services for 10 minutes) as I arrived home, I opened the fridge to unload it, and it was 14c inside, there was a reasonable amount of water in it, the freezer was still rock solid frozen.

Hmm ... AFAIK on 3-way fridges when running on 12v it will only try to maintain the existing temperature, not to 'reduce' it further as would happen on gas. So what was the temperature before your initial drive to the supermarket, ie what was it when it was on gas before you set of? If it wasn't low in the first place the 12v isn't going to take it down further so I'd double check what temperature operating it on gas takes it to first - if it's not cool enough on gas then your 12v won't improve on it.

As for the water ... if the freezer is rock solid then where do you think the water is coming from? Could it be that the drain is blocked so any water sitting in it is simply 'splashing' out into the fridge as you drive along rather than draining away to the collector cup? We had an electric only fridge and it has a daft small water collection container, which is long, thin and not very tall so that water can easily come over the top of it if we're going up/down hills etc.

 

[Blackadder]

"we obviously turned the gas off while travelling" - Could this be the answer? It was only during our second trip in our new van that I realised that the "automatic power selection" only works if the gas is switched on before the fridge is switched on i.e. if you turn the gas off whilst driving you have to reboot the fridge after turning it on again. When I asked the dealer about the safety of driving with gas on I was told it was perfectly safe as there are cut-off valves in case of accident. When asked about filling stations I was told that, again, it's OK to leave the gas on as the friddge burners will not ignite for 20 minutes after the engine stops.
So, going back to the original post, did you check that it was actually running on gas during all the hours the engine was stopped, not just the 45 minutes you were shopping? If it had defrosted for 12 hours I doubt that a short burst on 12V would lower the temp much again.

 

[Southdowners]

We never switch our gas off other than for the tunnel.

I agree with Blackadder.. turning it off could be the reason for your fridge problem.