Winter covers???????????????????

[Mothman]

Hi Guys quick question for you, do any of you use winter covers for your fridge vents in low temps? home made or brought??
can i make some covers?

Cheers Mothman,

 

[Firefox]

I've got some which came with the fridge vent installation pack.

You don't need to use them, they just make the fridge less efficient, LOL.

If the rear fridge ventilation compartment gives draughts into the van, it isn't properly constructed or sealed.

I guess they may be useful to stop rain and cold air for those people who lay their van up for 40 weeks of the year with trace heating on and the fridge off. Or you could use them to stop spray when pressure washing or on a very wet motorway trip to combat spray. But in normal winter operation of the fridge and van they are not needed for any purpose.

 

[Mothman]

I see! i was told to use them in winter but if you say not too then thats good enough for me,

cheers Mothman,,

I've got some which came with the fridge vent installation pack.

You don't need to use them, they just make the fridge less efficient, LOL.

If the rear fridge ventilation compartment gives draughts into the van, it isn't properly constructed or sealed.

I guess they may be useful to stop rain and cold air for those people who lay their van up for 40 weeks of the year with trace heating on and the fridge off. Or you could use them to stop spray when pressure washing or on a very wet motorway trip to combat spray. But in normal winter operation of the fridge and van they are not needed for any purpose.

 

[Firefox]

I have seen it said you should use them when it gets really cold like -10 to stop your milk freezing. But if that happens you could simply turn your fridge down or even off and save some power! I guess if it gets super cold like -15 or -20 you could turn the fridge off and use them to stop more cold air coming in, but we don't really ever get prolonged conditions like that in the UK. I think the real reason they make them is for very cold weather use like in Sweden or Norway but I've seen some people in the UK who like to buy accessories and spend time modding their van use them at 5 and 10 degrees which serves no purpose that I can see.

 

[maingate]

They are supposed to be used when the temperature gets down to a few degrees above zero. They are supposed to make the fridge more efficient in cold weather but need to come off as soon as the temp. gets to about 8 degrees Celcius.

As Firefox says, a lot of vans suffer with cold draughts because of poor assembly in the factory. I do not use them myself but keep meaning to get some.

 

[Squibby]

There are loads of winter covers on the internet you just need the make of your original covers. they are used in the winter to improve the operation of the fridge and to stop it turning into a freezer.

The cover do this by resticting the cooling air flow around the rear of the fridge, so most of the heat given off by the refrigeration process is retained in the vent area, this should stop your fridge becoming a frezzer, as most of these fridges cool the inside to about 18 below ambiant tempreture of the air in the vent area, so if your vents are fully open and 0 celceus out side the van then the fridge would be about -18.

Nobody likes frozen beer, it's a bugger to get out the can.

Found all this info out today as I'm looking at putting a fridge into my conversion if buget will allow, if not I will just leave a empty cupboard with space for one later.

Squibby.

 

[Deleted member 3011]

I see! i was told to use them in winter but if you say not too then thats good enough for me,

More research is needed before coming to any quick conclusions

As I understand it, there are two things that can happen when the ambient temperature gets too low.

First is that the gas flame or element just can't heat the boiler up enough to get the cycle going - so far from making the fridge more efficient, extreme cold can make it stop working all together.

Another problem is that the liquid inside the coils can turn to jelly and apparently that causes major problems.

In the US, winter covers (as distinct from snow covers used when laying the van up) don't seem to be used, but here they recommend hanging a 75W light bulb in the back. Other fridges have a light bulb inside the fridge itself and that stays on all the time to force the unit to cycle on and off occasionally.

I don't know what the temperatures are that cause these problems - probably they are too dependant on the actual installation, but I imagine that it would show up mostly when travelling due to the extra drafts through the vents.

I block off about 80% of the lower vent when there is snow around and that seems to work OK with no adverse effects on cooling even when temperatures rise to high teens.

 

[flatpackchicken]

I do not use any covers, just turn fridge down a couple of numbers and all was ok last winter even in -17 in Oxfordshire, Regards garry Flatpackchicken

 

[Mothman]

Many Many thanks for the swift replys you guys are Awsome cheers:banana::banana:

Mothman,,

 

[Firefox]

I think we all get used to the modern convenience of fridges. But to be honest when it is below freezing outside and back of the fridge sitting inside a compartment open to the atmosphere, It's doubtful if they need to be switched on at all! I'd say use a fridge thermometer to monitor the temp of your cool compartment. If it is below 5 degrees without power, why bother with power at that time. You may be surprised

This will all depend on the fridge model and the efficiency of your circulation cabinet construction at the back. My Dometic seems to be good at keeping itself cool in cold conditions outside.

 

[Mothman]

Good call cheers Firefox,

I think we all get used to the modern convenience of fridges. But to be honest when it is below freezing outside and back of the fridge sitting inside a compartment open to the atmosphere, It's doubtful if they need to be switched on at all! I'd say use a fridge thermometer to monitor the temp of your cool compartment. If it is below 5 degrees without power, why bother with power at that time. You may be surprised

This will all depend on the fridge model and the efficiency of your circulation cabinet construction at the back. My Dometic seems to be good at keeping itself cool in cold conditions outside.