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Insulating The Truck Camper Fridge Compartment Update Good

Operational Update
Success! The new cooling unit is installed and the fridge is back in is place. Results are Excellent!

Previously:
Insulating The Truck Camper Fridge Compartment Hoping For Greater Cooling Efficiency!
VIDEO >>> Insulating The Truck Camper Fridge Compartment <<< VIDEO

13 REPLIES 13

Kayteg1 wrote:
Funny to compare that my Ford Model T has no water pump.
Thermal action is all needed to keep the engine from overheating.
I agree that having hot outside air circulating sides of the fridge makes no technical sense, but than building a seal on the back of the fridge would be big technical challenge.
If you made you side walls insulation snug with fridge side insulation, good for you, but what about bottom and the top?


Bottom and top have about 1/4" space. Bottom sits on the support shelf and would actually be easy to place a strip of weather foam strip there to seal it. The top has an 1" of foam leaving a 1/4" gap so not a lot of air exchange going on up there either. Freezer is at 3 degrees today which is good and fridge at 25 so the fridge is a bit on the cold side. We'll see what happens as we head into summer. I do like the idea of no soft ice cream out in the woods but the milk should pour and that needs to be tested. I just got my new license tabs for the TC so we are ready to go.

Kayteg1
Explorer
Explorer
Funny to compare that my Ford Model T has no water pump.
Thermal action is all needed to keep the engine from overheating.
I agree that having hot outside air circulating sides of the fridge makes no technical sense, but than building a seal on the back of the fridge would be big technical challenge.
If you made you side walls insulation snug with fridge side insulation, good for you, but what about bottom and the top?

Kayteg1 wrote:
Camper_Jeff_&_Kelli wrote:


My theory is a little different. The insulation is snug to the sides prohibiting much air exchange. I see the wall insulation functioning as adding 3/4" insulation to the fridge side walls making them more efficient holding cold in the fridge. The fridge is in now and working nicely. The next thing to see how well it works is the Insulation on the outside wall and how well it keeps sun shine generated heat from entering the fridge compartment. Today was that test and the fridge maintained a steady temp with no elevation throughout the day. Well see what happens with more time and observation.

Maybe in your camper the wall insulation and fridge insulation snug together, but on mine it does allow for some air circulation.
Still it it the part with coils that is crucial.
With no insulation AC helps in cooling the compartment, so refrigerator is more efficient, while insulation makes it working with hotter air.
I parted 1 of my campers and refrigerator is now in Sprinter conversion working on electric only. No vents, so it is using interior air, just like household units do.
Th fridge is over 20 years old and it really works nicely, even 100F for me is spring temperature.
I think lot of owners have issue with them due to poor adjustment, or overloading the fridge, so there is on air circulation between fins and the food.


I think of the installation like this. The fridge compartment used to have room for air all around the fridge and over the top. It was like a big room for vent air to come in and circulate around the fridge, eventually working it's way up to the top and out. Not very efficient ventilation. Now with everything fitting tight, with no room to the sides and top for vent air to stay a while, the vent air circulation is more like it comes in the side vent, up a narrow hall through the coils, and then straight out the top with no way to build up in the compartment. I may not even need additional fans because the ventilation is so direct.

Kayteg1
Explorer
Explorer
Camper_Jeff_&_Kelli wrote:


My theory is a little different. The insulation is snug to the sides prohibiting much air exchange. I see the wall insulation functioning as adding 3/4" insulation to the fridge side walls making them more efficient holding cold in the fridge. The fridge is in now and working nicely. The next thing to see how well it works is the Insulation on the outside wall and how well it keeps sun shine generated heat from entering the fridge compartment. Today was that test and the fridge maintained a steady temp with no elevation throughout the day. Well see what happens with more time and observation.

Maybe in your camper the wall insulation and fridge insulation snug together, but on mine it does allow for some air circulation.
Still it it the part with coils that is crucial.
With no insulation AC helps in cooling the compartment, so refrigerator is more efficient, while insulation makes it working with hotter air.
I parted 1 of my campers and refrigerator is now in Sprinter conversion working on electric only. No vents, so it is using interior air, just like household units do.
Th fridge is over 20 years old and it really works nicely, even 100F for me is spring temperature.
I think lot of owners have issue with them due to poor adjustment, or overloading the fridge, so there is on air circulation between fins and the food.

Kayteg1 wrote:
I think there is misunderstanding about the concept.
Insulating the compartment for hot weather usage prevents the cold from the camper to escape via compartment open to exterior air.
This way the compartment stays hot -eventually making fridge working harder and warmer.
My Fleetwood had Styrofoam insulation on those walls from the factory.
Couple years ago I did tests on my fridge and it was giving -6 in freezer and +1F refrigerator on 103F afternoon, when empty camper interior was at 99F and fridge wall was facing south.
Not bad for 18 yo fridge.
I simply keep the fins clean and check top vent screen.


My theory is a little different. The insulation is snug to the sides prohibiting much air exchange. I see the wall insulation functioning as adding 3/4" insulation to the fridge side walls making them more efficient holding cold in the fridge. The fridge is in now and working nicely. The next thing to see how well it works is the Insulation on the outside wall and how well it keeps sun shine generated heat from entering the fridge compartment. Today was that test and the fridge maintained a steady temp with no elevation throughout the day. Well see what happens with more time and observation.

notsobigjoe
Nomad III
Nomad III
toedtoes wrote:
For my FnR, I found the fans work well in most conditions to keep it cool. But when hot direct sun hits the wall, it fights. So I got a reflective window shield and velcro it on the outside wall just below the vent and fans. It reflects the sun off the trailer and that does the trick. It doesn't hold heat in the venting space, but helps that space from being overheated by the sun. Easy to remove when not needed.


Great idea!

toedtoes
Explorer II
Explorer II
For my FnR, I found the fans work well in most conditions to keep it cool. But when hot direct sun hits the wall, it fights. So I got a reflective window shield and velcro it on the outside wall just below the vent and fans. It reflects the sun off the trailer and that does the trick. It doesn't hold heat in the venting space, but helps that space from being overheated by the sun. Easy to remove when not needed.
1975 American Clipper RV with Dodge 360 (photo in profile)
1998 American Clipper Fold n Roll Folding Trailer
Both born in Morgan Hill, CA to Irv Perch (Daddy of the Aristocrat trailers)

notsobigjoe wrote:
Camper_Jeff_&_Kelli wrote:
JimK-NY wrote:
I super insulated my refrigerator compartment but found it did little good. What did work was good ventilation and a couple of computer fans to move the air. If I get a chance, next step will be to position the fans to then blow directly on the refrigerator coil.


I think the one condition it will work well for is when the sun is heating the exterior wall. We have experienced thawing food when that wall gets hot and we have to move to shade it. This RMAX insulation is about as high an R Value for 3/4" as you can get. I'm planning to mount a couple quiet computer fans on top of the roof cap vent screen, just under the fridge roof cap. The previous fan was loud enough to be annoying, plus it's an easy access location.


Jeff I was going to say the same thing about heating up the wall. Mine did the same thing. I did insulate the intake and exhaust covers on the outside of the camper as well as installed a small computer fan on the top one. It works great. I live in Florida and no problems with warm food.


Fitting the heat shield now and need to get fire resistant or proof matting separator. Reinstall the control board and install this thing. Get the TC back to functioning status. Looking forward to having some of that fun I've been missing.

Kayteg1
Explorer
Explorer
I think there is misunderstanding about the concept.
Insulating the compartment for hot weather usage prevents the cold from the camper to escape via compartment open to exterior air.
This way the compartment stays hot -eventually making fridge working harder and warmer.
My Fleetwood had Styrofoam insulation on those walls from the factory.
Couple years ago I did tests on my fridge and it was giving -6 in freezer and +1F refrigerator on 103F afternoon, when empty camper interior was at 99F and fridge wall was facing south.
Not bad for 18 yo fridge.
I simply keep the fins clean and check top vent screen.

Lwiddis
Explorer
Explorer
Within reason more insulation is always a good idea.
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad

notsobigjoe
Nomad III
Nomad III
Camper_Jeff_&_Kelli wrote:
JimK-NY wrote:
I super insulated my refrigerator compartment but found it did little good. What did work was good ventilation and a couple of computer fans to move the air. If I get a chance, next step will be to position the fans to then blow directly on the refrigerator coil.


I think the one condition it will work well for is when the sun is heating the exterior wall. We have experienced thawing food when that wall gets hot and we have to move to shade it. This RMAX insulation is about as high an R Value for 3/4" as you can get. I'm planning to mount a couple quiet computer fans on top of the roof cap vent screen, just under the fridge roof cap. The previous fan was loud enough to be annoying, plus it's an easy access location.


Jeff I was going to say the same thing about heating up the wall. Mine did the same thing. I did insulate the intake and exhaust covers on the outside of the camper as well as installed a small computer fan on the top one. It works great. I live in Florida and no problems with warm food.

JimK-NY wrote:
I super insulated my refrigerator compartment but found it did little good. What did work was good ventilation and a couple of computer fans to move the air. If I get a chance, next step will be to position the fans to then blow directly on the refrigerator coil.


I think the one condition it will work well for is when the sun is heating the exterior wall. We have experienced thawing food when that wall gets hot and we have to move to shade it. This RMAX insulation is about as high an R Value for 3/4" as you can get. I'm planning to mount a couple quiet computer fans on top of the roof cap vent screen, just under the fridge roof cap. The previous fan was loud enough to be annoying, plus it's an easy access location.

JimK-NY
Explorer II
Explorer II
I super insulated my refrigerator compartment but found it did little good. What did work was good ventilation and a couple of computer fans to move the air. If I get a chance, next step will be to position the fans to then blow directly on the refrigerator coil.