Fridge vents - block em?

[dansimpson]

I dont have a fitted fridge, its a top loading camping thingy, so there are no vents to attech.
However in a previous life there must have been one fitted as I have both the large plastic vent and a flue vent on the outside.

Was thinking of blocking them off as it just seems like they are just a place for damp to enter. Also when the wind gets up if its blowing on that side theres a hell of a draught blows up behind units and out near sliding window.
I've seen others use covers for the large vent in winter, so am assuming if I dont have the fitted fridge I could just take them off, block them then just replace for cosmetic reasons.
Anyone got thoughts why its not a good idea?

Cheers
Dan

[dooooogle]

Is your current fridge electric or gas?

A simple guide to fridges: they use evaporation to cool, this means they produce some form of vapour. Therefore if you were to gum up all the vents in your van, and use a fridge you might start to get condensation in the van. Does your fridge have any vents of any type at all?

You are right that people cover up the vents in winter. This is to stop drafts etc. If the fridge is in a cool atmosphere it does less work than if it were in a hot atmosphere so you will not need the help of the vent in the winter if the temp outside the van is colder than the temp inside the fridge (not an exact rule, but good enough). If you decide to heat your van inside, your fridge might need venting as it will need to get rid of some of that moisture as it tries to cool its self down. You really don't want to collect condensation and get rot.

I bet there will be lots of people with different opinions of covering vents - I would personally cover my vents in the current weather if there was a draft coming into the van to retain heat in the van, but remove the covers when im not using the van / driving.

Just a note on the gas / electric thing. If it is a gas fridge you need to make sure the flue is never covered up - its to allow gases to escape outside the van so you breath safe air.

[AngeloEvs]

Top loading portable camper fridge? Then cover the vents! They are doing nothing but allowing cold air and damp into your van! Why not get some proper clip on vent covers and just line them with a bit of bubble wrap or something similar for the time being. If you can get to the vents then just use a few tie wraps and wrap something around them - they are pretty redundant too for your set up.

[dansimpson]

Cheers people, thought as much, I dont use the gas for fridge unless we have the sliding door open, and me CO detector is rigged up just in case.

Dan

[Plasticman]

Hi dan, yep block the woindy things up, yep these fridges are absobtion types dont know where Doog gets the correlation between evaporative cooling and moisture creation, something crossed there , the fins at the rear get hot and need colling but therein lies another tale
mike