Question for those who have replaced rv frig w/ residential

[larandjane]

When you switched to residential Fridge did you block off the vents behind the fridge?

[Matt_Colie]

I closed off the vents to outside, but installed the new unit so in could communicate with the air inside the coach. It has worked real well for 15 years.

Matt

[Gdetrailer]

ScottG wrote:
I think it depends. Fridges that have cooling coils on the back should have some air flow. Fridges that have their coils on the bottom and breath room air can be sealed up in back.

Mine has coils on the back and I still closed off the RV fridge vents.

Left several inches between the coils and the wall and allowed several inches above the fridge and the upper cabinet.

This creates a internal chimney effect which enhances the air flow behind the residential fridge.

Yes, I am dumping fridge heat into the RV, but in the grand scheme of things the extra heat is not enough noticeably affect my A/C.

This also isolates my resi fridge from 95F+ outdoor temps in the summer which would have affected fridge operation.

Your home does not have any "vents" to the outside air so there isn't any real reason for a resi conversion to have them either as long as you observe the minimum spacing requirements set by the manufacturer of the resi fridge. Those requirements are typically 1" clearance on sides and 2" clearance on the top and rear.

If you are going to ignore the top/sides spacing requirements and the fridge has rear coils then yeah vents would be needed..

Bottom and top coils typically have a fan to pull air through the coils and the typical design of those fridges pulls air in from one side of the front of the fridge and exits on the opposite front side of the fridge. Those also do not need rear vents and leaving those open exposes the rear of the fridge to high or cold ambient outdoor temps which can affect fridge operation.

Bottom or top coil fridges typically should be avoided if you are planning to use battery and inverter and boondock a lot, as the added fan used to move air through those coils will use a lot more power which means you will need more battery capacity.

[chuckbear]

Closed off the outside removable vent. Left the top vent open. No issues in 4 years. Chuck

[ScottG]

I think it depends. Fridges that have cooling coils on the back should have some air flow. Fridges that have their coils on the bottom and breath room air can be sealed up in back.

[Gdetrailer]

Yes.

The outside vents are no longer necessary for a residential fridge and blocking off the outside air can be beneficial when camping in high or low temperatures to the fridge operation.

RV fridges are air tight sealed from your living quarters and correct operation depends on those vents to create a "chimney" for correct operation, also keeps the unwanted combustion byproducts out of your living space.

Blocking off the vents also means you do not need to figure out how to seal around the sides, top and bottom of the residential fridge to prevent cold or heat from the outside of the RV getting into the RV.

Do be very aware that many residential fridges use the metal cabinet of the fridge as part of the cooling system, there may be refrigerant tubing under the fridge skin).

That means you should not add extra insulation to the top, bottom or sides of the fridge. You should also not drill into the top, bottom or sides of the fridge (or even the door faces surfaces), otherwise you take great risk of hitting one of the refrigerant tubes creating one huge doorstop.

For securing residential fridge in place, you can repurpose the door screw holes for the hinges on top of the fridge. On the side that has the door hinge, you can replace existing screws with ones that are long enough to go through the hinge plus the additional bracket that you add.

You only need top brackets as long as you have good solid wood framing to screw brackets to, that is all I am using and that has worked well for me for 12 yrs now, fridge hasn't budged at all.

[LouLawrence]

I used some spray foam to block and insulate the vent on the side of the coach. I left the roof vent to allow the heat from the fridge to escape through the roof instead of into the room as a fridge does in a home. I spend a lot of time in cold weather so this was necessary to keep the water line on the back of the fridge running to the ice maker from freezing. The fridge had run great for 20+ years when I sold it and likely still is.

[yamerhammer1]

I replaced my fridge in 2015 while it was still under warranty. I completely blocked mine. No problems. I use my camper 6-7 months a year. My fridge is a 18 cf Samsung.

[Dutch_12078]

I partially blocked the vents to minimize heat loss in cold weather, but since there is still some heat given off at the back of our fridge, I didn't want to completely block them for better efficiency in warm weather.

[AllegroD]

Yes! Left the original vent plate but have a removable plate, inside that, for access.

[agwill]

No