Vents for Dometic/Norcold refrigerators in Teardrop TT.

[marcosyh]

Hi people, I am in process of building a Teardrop TT. I am interested in installing either a small Dometic or Norcold 3 way fridge. However I realize the fridge calls for vents....upper and lower vents. Has anyone installed one of these fridges in their teardrop? how did you resolve the venting issue if the fridges venting area(back of the fridge) is actually facing toward the panel separating sleeping area & kitchen without direct opening toward outside..? any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

[bobhenry]

box in around the coils and install a small 3 - 4 inch fan
and force vent it thru the floor via a 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 imch
diameter pvc . ??????? just a thought

[marcosyh]

I thought of creating air ducts & adding a fan to force air in and out as well. In that case the fan will have to be running 24/7, wouldn't that drain the battery..unless its a computer cooling fan...in that case, how high of CFM/Air flow should it create to be sufficient..?.... any idea?

[bobhenry]

You are installing a 3 way fridge I assume 12 volt DC ? 120 voly a/c ? and Propane ? I am scratching my head a bit because a fridge running in 12 volt dc mode will be a much larger drain on the battery than a small fan would. Yet you worry about the draw of the fan ????. In propane mode I assume we have carbon monoxide being vented much like a home gas water heater. I would be more concerned with not waking up.
Is this in the galley area and seperate from the sleepy side ? The O2KOOL fan I keep in the tear is 120 volt ac 12 volt dc and an internal "d" size battery pack. The ac fails the dc takes over the dc fails the battery pack will continue to run the fan. It runs real quiet and the electrical draw is negligable. If the frig is in a seperate "room" be it a galley of a housing that can be "vacuumed" out , the housing or the entire galley can be force vented thru the floor (or roof). Natural convection might work as well if you are game for a stack bring fresh cool air thru the floor and as it is warmed by the appliance vented straight out the the roof. If the housing designed for the fridge was mostly air tight the internal air in the tear would not mix with the stack air and gasses more dumb thoughts but ya got us thinkin '

[marcosyh]

I understand that fridge running on DC is not a good choice so I am planing mainly on running the fridge on AC when I have shore power and propane while traveling. Of course in that case the fan venting the fridge will have to run 24/7.
Now, you definitely gave me food for thoughts, a small O2KOOL fan that's "3 way" will definitely resolve my main issue. Maybe adding an on/off switch for the fan so I can turn the fan off when not in use it'll also work.....
anyways, to clarify the confusion regarding locations where fridge will be placed, it'll be completely separate from the sleeping area where the ice box generally are placed in most teardrop designs and I'll have to fabricate a housing for the fridge with its ducting which translates into loss of cabinet spaces for the "kitchen". But I guess that's the best way to resolve the venting issues......

Thanks for the ideas! I'll include this idea of O2KOOL into my fridge setup!

[len19070]

marcosyh

Please don't think me as being a wet blanket...but your on the wrong track trying to put a LP ref in a teardrop.

I've been an RV tech for over 25 years, built over 40++ Trailers and I can even get LP Ref's for free, and I have abandoned the idea a long time ago.

First off, if this is your first tear, history shows us that you will be building another in the next few years.

If you install a $350-500 3 way ref in it, you can wave that money good by.

The clearance issues on an install aren't that bad but space is at a premium and every inch counts.

Proper Venting is extremely important.

Not just for operation but for your waking up in the morning.

Servicing a 2-3 way ref...and they do need serviced means removing it from the tear.

Theres also a hole you have to make through the floor for venting (weather proofing), as well as a vent (right in a very critical point) in the roof. You will loose a cabinet as well.

And theres heat issues with the flame...an open flame.

Now some would argue that there are ways of getting around these issues, and there are.

I just think its lowering the river instead of raising the bridge.

I'm not against lp/3 way refs, in fact I think they work very well BUT... I advised a buddy of mine to get a portable 3 way Ref, Dometic.

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-r ... rc4000.htm

He has had it for over 8 years and 4 trailers. And is still using it..not somebody else.

I and many others still use a good ice chest.

Happy Trails

Len

[marcosyh]

Dometic rc4000 could be the way to go....I wish I could get a bigger portable fridge in there. Does anyone know any safe 2 way or 3 way portable fridge that is larger than the RC4000? I am so used to bigger ones...or I'll have to do grocery shopping every 2-3 days....

[madjack]

...also not trying to throw a wet blanket on ya, but like Len, I have done a lot of research on this and have found no good way to put a full 3way fridge into a tear...the Dometic he references is a good alternative...if you need something bigger look at the various models from ENGEL or EDGESTAR ...I also question your "shopping every 2-3days"...we(2 of us) go camping for a week or more and use two 50qt 5day coolers, one for drinks and one for foodstuffs...and we eat good...extra ice is about all we ever need...one last thought is the fact that with 3way fridges, they are not recommended to run on propane while traveling down the hi-way....
madjack

[deano]

u could set it side ways ands vent it out the side thats what i am doing

[marcosyh]

side ways? It'll be great if you can provide a bit more info. I thought of side ways too however I thought the space is somewhat limited for that setup.

[jackdaw]

Guys, I've fitted a three way fridge in my galley and it seems to work fine.

My trailer is 5'6" wide, so I still have room in the galley for other stuff.

I should add that the fridge came from a donor travel trailer that I stripped, so I didn't pay mega bucks for it.

I have a 12 x 3 hole cut in the floor at the rear of the fridge, and a whooping marine vent in the side of the trailer . Ive put insulation on the cabin side of the vent duct to stop the heat going through to the cabin.
The gas exhaust is jigged through the side of the trailer. I had to move the partition back allow for the vent.

The 12 volt is supplied from the tow vehicle whilst driving, and most of the time we would use the electric hookup at campsites.
I would only use the gas if we were to be rough camping , and that wouldn't be very often.

With the fridge running on mains electric the galley area was getting quite warm with the hatch closed, so I've added a couple of vents high up in the galley area.
Its surprising how much heat the fridge kicks out

All that said, I'm not sure I'd want to pay loads for a fridge in the first place, or loose the space in a smaller trailer.

Cheers Dave