Poor fridge performance!!

Post by **shepster** » 23 Apr 2007, 15:07

I have recently fitted an almost new 2 way RM122 fridge to my van and Bustypes was the first occasion i had used it in anger and it failed miserably! on 12v on the way there it a was really quite cold but when on gas it was crap and it went out twice.

When i got home i took it out and made sure there was no obstructions/fluff etc blocking anything and set it up in my garage using the same 'flue' set-up as when it is in the van and it works fine? after a couple of hours the tempreture had dropped from 21 deg to 0 deg.

Any idea's why it was crap when in the van? i wasn't parked on very level ground but how important really is that?

Thanks in advance.

Post by **Nicola&Tony** » 23 Apr 2007, 15:44

Very important according to some of the previous posts on here that I read when I was trying to sort our fridge out! If the fridge isn't level it affects the ability of the cooling liquid to circulate. Also, when running the fridge on gas, being not level affects the position of the gas flame (because it will want to stay upright / vertical), so the bit that it heats up (in order to then create the cooling effect) won't heat up very well.

Tony

Post by **Westy.Club.Joker** » 23 Apr 2007, 20:24

May just need a service, take THE fridge out and remove the flue cover and insulation from around the heating tubes. Clean out all the accumalated dust, rust and fluff etc from the gas burner area, give it a good blow out. Then replace the insulation (I used some new loft insulation type glass wool stuff) and replace the lot as before. Put fridge back and try again. may take a bit to light, but hold the button in for approx a minute after the piezo stops clicking and the flame should stay lit. See how that goes. Did mine and I tested it on Friday on gas. It went from above 20 degrees to -5 degrees in just about 2 hours on full setting. Turned it down to about half way and left it on overnight, was stable at around zero in the morning so maybe I can turn it back a bit more on the thermo knob. Will see when it`s fulla food next week

Post by **lhd** » 23 Apr 2007, 21:01

fridge out and remove the flue cover and insulation from around the heating tubes

when you say insulation around the heating tubes do you mean the rear of the fridge should have insulation on as mine doesn't.
its a westy one 83.
cheers Rob...............

Post by **lhd** » 23 Apr 2007, 22:10

Were you using the same regulator/gas in the garage as the van sheps....
Rob.

Post by **Horza** » 23 Apr 2007, 22:22

Shepster, there are two things that make level important.

The way the gas flows in the piping is fairly sensitive to being straight as it works by gravity "floating" chemicals up and down the pipework as they gain and lose heat.

The second more obvious reason is that the flame goes straight up and when level hits the exact point it needs to, when not level it misses so even a degree or two off level will impair the amount of heat getting to the right bit.

Post by **irish.david** » 23 Apr 2007, 22:58

Hi,

This isn't really an answer to the original question but given the title of the thread i thought it would fit in. I've recently pulled my Westy's Electrolux RM184 out with the aim of fixing it up a bit. Assuming the all the mechanics are basically ok and the fridge is level I read on an american site that the main reason for poor performance is the lack of ventilation around the heat transfer surfaces like the condensor on the back and the heat exchanger that actually does the cooling inside the fridge.

When i pulled my fridge out the fan mounted on the back under the condensors was totally seized, but even if it hadn't been it was getting replaced. The motor was an old 1970's DC brushed motor and DC motors have come on a lot in 30 years. I replaced it with 2 x 80mm 12V brushless PC cooling fans. Both have a much higher cfm (airflow) than the original as well as drawing significantly less current and being much quieter. I just wired them in parallel with the original thermostat, which still worked. A pic of this is shown below.

Next i drilled a hole in the back of the fridge just above the heat exchanger and ran a couple of wires through. I glued 2 x 50mm 12v brushless PC fans to the top of the right side of the heat exchanger and connected them in parallel with the cables going through the hole. I wired the fans to a switch i mounted on the front of the fridge, and finally filled the hole with a silicone sealant.

At the moment i'm waiting for a 220v element to arrive before i can test this setup but i reckon it will really help keep everything in the fridge cool especially if the fridge is packed or the ambient temperature is high.

Dave

Post by **shepster** » 24 Apr 2007, 08:09

Great response many thanks, i did use the exact same bottle/regulator set-up in the garage(the one from the van) i also cleaned out all the fluff etc so hopefully when i re-install it things will be better, i presume those yellow leveling blocks are for this very reason? looks like a trip to towsure before the next show.

Post by **lhd** » 24 Apr 2007, 10:59

the lack of ventilation around the heat transfer surfaces like the condensor on the back and the heat exchanger that actually does the cooling inside the fridge.

That makes a lot of sense because although the fridge wasn't working great at Bustypes the heat exchanger was iced. I have also been advised to try not to put anything in front of the heat exchanger on them racks for exactly that reason.

Rob...

Post by **irish.david** » 24 Apr 2007, 11:26

I was getting some ice build up on the heat exchangers when running on gas. Seemed to be worse whenever the fridge was full so i guess that if there isn't room for natural airflow over the exchanger it sits stewing in its own cold and ices up, which makes the problem worse still. Hopefully the fans i've mounted on the heat exchanger will keep enough of the warmer air at the top of the fridge circulating over the exchanger to stop it icing up and improve the overall cooling.

Dave

Post by **Westy.Club.Joker** » 24 Apr 2007, 21:14

Top job Dave, where have you ordered the element from in the end?

Post by **irish.david** » 25 Apr 2007, 03:12

Ordered it from Peter Gunzl. After a lot of abrupt conversations with UK electrolux parts suppliers i got fed up and decided that i'd get the proper job from Peter.

Dave

Post by **Westy.Club.Joker** » 25 Apr 2007, 13:45

Know what you mean Dave, just ordered quite a bit of stuff from Peter, easy to deal with and FAST !

Post by **ringo** » 22 Jul 2007, 10:03

Sorry to Drag up an old thread - but i've just had my fridge out to try and get it working on gas.

Im interested in putting in some fans but was wondering where abouts you pick up the thermostat from?

My electrolux fridge (don't know the model) is different to yours (Irish David) and doesnt have a fan connected - and therefore doesnt have a thermostat either to control the fan.

So, i've got two options as i can see it.

1) Supply the fans off the same power supply as the pieso ignition button. When this is switched on (ie the fridge is in use) the fans run constantly.
2) Fit a thermostat and use this to control the fans.

Trouble is with option 2 - i have no idea what sort of thermostat to get. Obviously 12v but what temp ? Where would i find such a thermostat ?

Appreciate the help...

Ringo

E D I T: Just spotted this at maplin- just the job i reckon...

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?cri ... ce=15&SD=Y