| Author | Message | ||
| Brandon Merritt (Brando4905)
Registered Member Username: Brando4905 Post Number: 5 Registered: 3-2009 Posted From: 173.69.65.111  Rating: N/A |
I have an extra 3-way fridge, and was wondering if anyone has any insight on installation of one of these units in the luggage bay? I would want to run it on propane. I guess main question is how to go about venting. Thanks, Brandon (Message edited by brando4905 on May 21, 2009) | ||
| Alex (Doctor_al)
Registered Member Username: Doctor_al Post Number: 6 Registered: 8-2006 Posted From: 72.161.79.119 Rating: N/A |
venting would be a huge concern. you'll have to be very careful as having carbon monoxide under your bus can be a killer. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with a set-up like that. note that most fridge's vent up and out the roof. | ||
| Brandon Merritt (Brando4905)
Registered Member Username: Brando4905 Post Number: 6 Registered: 3-2009 Posted From: 173.69.65.111 Rating: N/A |
Yeah, that was what I was thinking. I was hoping for some magical installation trick, that would not involve going to the roof. | ||
| Jack Conrad (Jackconrad)
Registered Member Username: Jackconrad Post Number: 1081 Registered: 12-2000 Posted From: 71.3.157.139  Rating: N/A |
A friend tried to vent his RV refrigeratro through the wall, just below the drip rail and had very poor cooling. He installed a roof vent (maybe 12-14" higher than the wall vent) and saw a tremendous improvemnt in cooling. Also, remember that the exhaust from the LP burner is hot and will rise. A very good chance of getting CO inside the coach. I would never try doing this, to easy to wake up dead. Jack | ||
| John and Barb Tesser (Bigrigger)
Registered Member Username: Bigrigger Post Number: 189 Registered: 9-2007 Posted From: 96.42.7.186  Rating: N/A |
My fridge in our Pace Arrow Class A is vented directly out the back of the unit on the side of the camper. It's a Dometric 3 way and we have never had any problem with CO in or around the unit. It's the way it was designed and seems to cool fine. I guess I was figuring on the same system when I put the one in the bus. Do I need to revisit this? | ||
| Jack Conrad (Jackconrad)
Registered Member Username: Jackconrad Post Number: 1083 Registered: 12-2000 Posted From: 71.3.157.139 Rating: N/A |
Perhaps the friends system was not designed properly. He did his own install after removing a house type refrigerator. There has to be a "chimney", with hot gases going up the "chimney" and out the top of it (or side of the top). There also has to be an intake for cooler air to enter at the bottom to replace the hot air that went up the chimney. Even with no propane appliances on board, I would still have a CO alarm. Although you would have no CO sources, a neighbors generator, under the right conditions, could put enough CO into your coach to cause serious health issues. | ||
| John and Barb Tesser (Bigrigger)
Registered Member Username: Bigrigger Post Number: 190 Registered: 9-2007 Posted From: 96.42.7.186 Rating: N/A |
Good point Jack, We had some folks die in a tent last year from a neighbors generator and some die in a horse trailer/camper from fumes from the heater. Too much safety is never enough. | ||
| Luvrbus (Luvrbus)
Registered Member Username: Luvrbus Post Number: 698 Registered: 8-2006 Posted From: 74.33.63.151 Rating: N/A |
brandon,I have seen the chest type propane freezers like Bilzzard and Frostek in bays of buses before and the owners told me it wasn't a problem.I never saw a vent except at the top of the bay door.Wonder how the Amish people vent the propane fridges and freezers good luck | ||
| Jack Conrad (Jackconrad)
Registered Member Username: Jackconrad Post Number: 1084 Registered: 12-2000 Posted From: 71.3.157.139 Rating: N/A |
Not sure about the Amish, but maybe it is not as big a concern due to the cubic ft. of space in a big ole farm house compared to the small space inside a bus? Or, maybe they install these unit on an outside wall of their house? I have no idea how much CO is produced by the small flame of an LP reefer. Jack | ||
| Gus Causbie (Gusc)
Registered Member Username: Gusc Post Number: 911 Registered: 11-2005 Posted From: 206.40.238.103  Rating: N/A |
Norcold allows a side exhaust vent but advises against it. It is also very important that the chimney force the air to flow through the coils. There are specs to keep the chimney shallow to make that happen. Be sure to read carefully the installation manual. I got mine online because my frige was already installed but not vented?? Weird!! | ||
| Chuck Newman (Chuck_newman)
Registered Member Username: Chuck_newman Post Number: 349 Registered: 1-2005 Posted From: 99.0.41.3  Rating: N/A |
The LPG heater on RV refrigerators put out enough CO that both Dometic and Norcold state in their installation manuals the back side of the refrigerator is required to be sealed from the living area. In all my commercial RV's this was accomplished with a bead of silicone rubber between the refer back wall and the side walls. | ||
| FAST FRED (Fast_fred)
Registered Member Username: Fast_fred Post Number: 782 Registered: 10-2006 Posted From: 76.214.45.118 Rating: N/A |
The biggest problem with a side vent is at times side gusts can blow out the flame. Used to happen with regularity on our first camper a Shasta 20ft. FF | ||
| Len Silva (Lsilva)
Registered Member Username: Lsilva Post Number: 248 Registered: 12-2000 Posted From: 24.164.20.23  Rating: N/A |
A friend had a Servel gas refrigerator in his house way back in the early sixties. Came very close to losing his entire family one night because a piece of soot had fallen down on the flame. |