Why did they do this?

[Ramblin Recks]

I know there has been alot of discussion of adding cooling fans behind the refrigerator because of the heat build problem in the slide. So I ask, why do RV manufacturers use this in the slide design without trying to mitigate the problem of heat build-up ?

Here is a quote from the Dometic Vent installation Instructions, " When installing the refrigerator, the installer must block the space between the storage cabinet and the top of the refrigerator, otherwise heat will become trapped in this space, making the top of the refrigerator hot, thus reducing the efficiency of the unit".

In my case, why didn't CC install a baffle on the top of the refer box to help the air flow out the vent like Dometic recommends?

Also, CC blocked off 1/2 the height of the upper vent with paneling. I can only guess that they thought the cheap (noisy) pc fan blowing air, would funnel the air up to the evaporator coil. But because the upper vent is half blocked and there is no baffle at the top of the refrigerator, the air can not escape and it gets hot,,,,, Good job guys......

So this mod I'm doing, should have been a standard design.....

I just ordered two new quite, low amp (.08) fans to arrive this week. I think these, along with the baffle I made, my refer should be much cooler this summer.

Thanks, I feel better now......

Still Ramblin..

[Witch Doctor]

I was told last year on the factory tour that they couldn't put it in because it wasn't approved by dometic. I wired a second fan in just piggy backed the connection, the refer works a 100% better. They will make an excuse to save 10.00 bucks anyway they can. That's why I like this forum we all could design a better unit. Just don't ask the OC he will have you rebuilding the whole trailer.

[PhoneDude 8289]

I installed two low amp cooling fans (44 cfm ea) behind my refrigerator two weeks after I took delivery, the original fan (75 cfm) made so much noise squeaking. Made a sheet metal shroud to direct the air to the vent and also removed the paneling they had back there blocking half the vent. Finely I added two small fans on the evaporator inside the box to keep it from icing up. The evap fans run all the time and the condenser fans cycle on the temp control on the coils. Great temp control now, we'll see when the outside temp reach 100+.

[OldCoot]

All rv frigs have the same problem whether they are in a slide or not. The ones in a slide have to vent out the side, but with a curved baffle at the top directing the air around the 90° exit would help. Putting the 2 fans at the bottom and blowing across the entire tubing area helps even more.