RM212 Fridge venting...is this enough?

[Smokes]

Hi all, I've fitted a RM212F fridge in my autohomes komet this weekend, it replaced a really old rm122. Now it's working fine on gas and being vented out, pipe is hot to touch and you can smell the exhaust flowing out. The only other venting I have is roughly a 1.5" hole in the floor of the van and the same up next to the gas vent with one of those big white vent covers on

So my question is will this be enough venting when running off 240v/12v? I assume it will just hamper the cooling efficiently if it's too warm behind the fridge? Is it likely to get so hot to be a danger? Has anyone fitted any fans behind there, say over the vent holes to help draw air in and out?

Thanks for any help

[nevill3]

Not an expert but it does depend on the airflow around the fridge. You need a gap/vent at the bottom and the top of the fridge to allow cool air to be drawn in at the bottom and the warm air to escape out of the top vent

Have you checked the downloads section in the members section the installation instructions for your old fridge shows the required vent arrangement.

http://www.club80-90.co.uk/pages/downloads.html

E D I T to add this useful website for you http://www.obrienscamping.co.uk/article ... entilation

[1664]

The hole in the floor is to allow any gas to escape should there be a leak as gas is heavier than air. In some conversions this hole can also double up as a cool air intake allowing air to be drawn in over the heat exchanger and out of the upper vent (Autosleepers I believe) but the hole is bigger than 1.5" diameter IIRC. Some conversions vent the heat internally into the camper itself, and some (westys) do have a fan to assist the air flow on top of this.
Komet's usually have the small hole in the floor and (much larger) upper and lower ventilation grills - I assume yours lacks the lower grill? Is the upper grill the standard size of grill?
Why not just try the fridge and see how it performs? The heat exchanger won't start a fire but if it cannot be supplied with sufficient cooling air flow the fridge will struggle to keep cold - especially so in hot weather.
You certainly shouldn't install a fan over the hole in the floor as it would interfere with it's primary function of emergency gas venting should a leak develop.
When driving along in heavy rain I run my fridge with the vent covers fitted. The fridge does get cold but noticably less so than when the covers are off.

In an ideal world of maximum efficiency, the heat exchanger would stick out of the side of the van

[Smokes]

Hi 1664, yeah there's no lower grill, the upper one is the standard size but with only a small hole behind it The gas worked perfectly today in cooling the fridge down and after 4-5 hours at setting 3 was hot to touch but no so it would set fire to anything. I'll be testing it out on the mains tomorrow so will see how hot it gets and performs (thermometer is in the fridge!)

I guess worst case I can make the hole bigger behind the top vent but hopefully it'll perform fine.

Thanks again for you help

[1664]

I guess worst case I can make the hole bigger behind the top vent but hopefully it'll perform fine.

Yeah that's what I'd do. Make sure you fully rust proof and seal it, A cover's not a bad idea either. I think someone must have retro fitted your conversion to be honest

[Smokes]

It's all good fun fixing it back up though!

[1664]

We will have to agree to disagree on what constitutes 'fun'

[Smokes]

I guess I'm still in the honeymoon phase....It's not cost me much to sort it out, YET!

[kevtherev]

Why would you want to vent warm air outside?
I wish mine were able to vent inside in our cool climate.

[1664]

Why would you want to vent warm air outside?
I wish mine were able to vent inside in our cool climate.

Unfortunately, and in spite of recent weather trends, heatwaves can and do hit us. Besides, the better you can cool the heat exchanger the better the fridge cools. Hot weather (if and when we do get some) will require the fridge to work harder and internal venting will hinder that. Fan assisted might alleviate that but that just another thing to add to your leisure consumption....

Horses for courses Kev. Frankly I reckon the Autosleeper larger hole in the floor with only the upper grilled vent is the best compromise. The lower vent is only rain proof when the vans stationary.

[Smokes]

Interesting, I' was tempted to put in another couple of holes in the floor as well as make the top vent bigger. I'll see if I can be arsed over the weekend