The fridge paranoid strikes again!
Submitted: Friday, Jan 20, 2006 at 01:50
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Andy1
Try this one for size.......
Having installed the fans etc as outlined in previous posting I have been running a few trials on various thermostat settings prior to setting out at the end of the month. It occurred to me that the drain hole is potentially a significant point for cold egress/heat ingress. The top of the drain is fitted as a perfect cold air trap in a small trough at the coldest point in the fridge. The outlet of the drain is at the hottest point of the system right above the compressor.
My physics is long since forgotten but I assume there must, in theory, be a continuous inflow (hot) & outflow (cold) through the drain line which is not insignificant in size, maybe 7mm. I have fitted an old air mattress plug in the drain hole.
Is this the ultimate paranoia or do the laws of physics back me up?
Andy
Reply By: F Troop - Friday, Jan 20, 2006 at 21:18
Friday, Jan 20, 2006 at 21:18
Andy, Andy, Andy,
I think it's time you hit the road again. I think a few killer squid and KG Whiting may help you forget about your fridge. But for now, just sit back, chill out, and pour yourself another red (which, luckily for you, does not need chilling).
Jan
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Reply By: Noosa Fox - Saturday, Jan 21, 2006 at 20:59
Saturday, Jan 21, 2006 at 20:59
Andy,
By blocking the drain hole, each time the fridge does a bit of a defrost the water will not be able to escape and will flood in the fridge and then leak out the seal in the door.
You have probably got one of the early set ups like mine where the drain alows water into the drip tray.
What
Bushtracker do now is to fit a tube onto this drain and run it down through the floor so that any water flowing through it is exhausted outside the van. If there was too much runoff from the drain and it overflowed the drip tray then it would be going onto the flooring under the fridge.
I think your best option is to fit a tube to the drain and run it outside like BTi do.
As for the heat transfer through the hole, I think that it would be minimal anyway.
Brian
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Reply By: gottabjoaken - Friday, Jan 27, 2006 at 23:15
Friday, Jan 27, 2006 at 23:15
I suspect that the outlet being over the compressor is actually intelligent design.
The idea is that the heat evaporates any water drained out to avoid it overflowing the tray.
I don't think the amount of hot air that would be able to pass cold air coming down the pipe would be able to affect the internal temperature of the fridge.
Ken
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Follow Up By: Bushtracker - Saturday, Jan 28, 2006 at 03:02
Saturday, Jan 28, 2006 at 03:02
Ken,
Da Ranger here,
We did not like the evaporation drain set up... As in areas of high humidity and too often in the fridge, it would not keep up and overflow would wet the floor. That is a very old design, and we routed the drain through the floor several years ago...
And you are correct, heat transfer through the small opening would be so small as to be not calculable... Negligible.... Bug on the windscreens affect on mileage... ...
Best regards, stg
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