3-way fridge

[John Dorrer]

This post is for Wandering Sagebrush who is traveling in Mexico and can only text. He asked me to post this.

 

He believes the original owner taped the backside closed and the fan is between the fridge and taped area. Sun is directly on curb side and noisy. He wanted to know if Oliver may have taped this. Trying to relay this as best that I can from his texts.

 

Top opening. He can see cooling coil. He wants to remove tape.

Edited March 12, 2024 by John Dorrer

[John Dorrer]

Last March we had an issue with our Norcold fridge in our 2022 LE2. We were in Galveston. Contacted an approved Norcold Mobile RV guy. He came out and test the Fridge and found the AC heating element had failed. Had to wait until we got home to get it replaced under warranty. We used DC and propane for the rest of the trip

 

He inspected the top vent and found slit opening in the insulation on the backside of the fridge. He told me that should not have been open and sealed it with aluminium tape. 

 

We have had zero issues. I'm guessing Steve has the Dometic fridge. I don't remember what year he has.

[topgun2]

51 minutes ago, John Dorrer said:

He believes the original owner taped the backside closed and the fan is between the fridge and taped area. Sun is directly on curb side and noisy. He wanted to know if Oliver may have taped this.

Only guessing here - but - 

Since I believe his hull # is 364, he (most likely) does have the Dometic fridge.

The fan is there in order to move more air through the back side of the fridge thus helping to cool (relatively) that area faster than relying on simple convection alone.  Any restriction in the air flow will simply defeat the objective of moving more air.  There are reasons why an owner might want to tape these areas though - in order to help keep dust and or cold air (think winter here ) out.  But, in doing this taping the sir flow is restricted and therefore the functioning of the fridge can be compromised.

The noise of the fan is another (perhaps related issue).  These "pancake" fans usually have "sealed" bearings" but they do wear out over time.  And, the more they are used and the more that use is in a hotter environment, the more quickly they tend to wear out.  A noisy fan is a fairly good indicator that the fan's life is about to end.  Having said that - my noisy fan lasted two years after it first started making noise before it finally succumbed to its destiny.  The good news is that these fans are fairly cheap and are fairly easy to install.

Hope this helps him.

Bill

p.s.  I'd remove that tape and disable the fan in order to get more air flow while making things quieter at the same time. 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Many thanks to John Dorrer for posting my question.  I did not have internet at Organ Pipe.  The tape job the previous owner did looked so professional, I thought it was done at Oliver.  It’s going to soon be removed, perhaps to reappear when traveling in dust country.  The !#@** fan will be replaced as well.

My Rube Goldberg solution was to shade the refer by leaning my dog ramp against the trailer, using a towel for padding and additional shade.

 

Two other LE IIs here, plus an LE reported in the group camp.

[Steph and Dud B]

On 3/12/2024 at 11:07 AM, John Dorrer said:

He inspected the top vent and found slit opening in the insulation on the backside of the fridge. He told me that should not have been open and sealed it with aluminium tape. 

John, do you have a picture of the area he taped? 

[John Dorrer]

13 minutes ago, Steph and Dud B said:

John, do you have a picture of the area he taped? 

Confirmed by Mile Sharp, this should be sealed.

[MAX Burner]

On 3/14/2024 at 2:55 PM, Wandering Sagebrush said:

 It’s going to soon be removed, perhaps to reappear when traveling in dust country.  

SUGGESTION:   Leaving the taped area in the upper compartment "as is" will decrease the amount of warm air from the rear of the fridge entering into your cabin area.  My understanding is that tape deflects rising warm air out the upper vent/cover and away from the interior compartment.  We've had to "re-tape" ours since the original tape gave way over time - the previous OTT owner may have done the same thing in your case.  However, the tape shouldn't cover the cooling fins, FYI.

Edited March 15, 2024 by MAX Burner
added clarity...