Fridge Mechanic

[RobertNotBob]

Any one know of a fridge mechanic to check out the caravan fridge. Not working at the moment switched to DC to see if it is the 240v side.

It is a 12 volt 165 litre Chinese generic fridge with the 240v reduced to 12 v. Change over switch was replace within the last 12 months.

Happy Valley Adelaide location. Cheers Robert

[T1 Terry]

Any one know of a fridge mechanic to check out the caravan fridge. Not working at the moment switched to DC to see if it is the 240v side.

It is a 12 volt 165 litre Chinese generic fridge with the 240v reduced to 12 v. Change over switch was replace within the last 12 months.

Happy Valley Adelaide location. Cheers Robert

Have you tried supplying 12v from the battery to the 12v supply side using heavy cabling? Do you have a multimeter? If yes, check the voltage at the 12v input when the fridge is running, what voltage is it?

T1 Terry

[RobertNotBob]

Terry voltage about 12.6v both at the 12 v feed and from the 240 v to 12 v converter. Not sure what happened for it to stop. On direct 12 v now and slowly coming down. Thank you Robert

[Dot]

We took our fridge woes to Murray heating and cooling in Murray bridge, there is also Dario at St Mary's.

[jon_d]

$ Job for Terry?

[T1 Terry]

$ Job for Terry?

Terry would say, take it out, get Bob in Mildura to fix it and sell it. In the mean time, fit a late model 240vac fridge/freezer that has inverter compressor drive technology and add its own inverter, like a Victron Phoenix Ve inverter, probably around the 375va capacity.
Size compared and price compared, cheaper and use less out of the 12v battery than any 12v compressor fridge, and any fridge mechanic can fix it or the problem can even be Google searched and the offending part sourced with detailed instruction on how to diagnose and replace the parts.

T1 Terry

[RobertNotBob]

Terry that would be nice, had a look at domestic fridge/freezer to fit but the smallest around the same capacity is still too wide with the door open at 90 degrees. Not allowed to move the toilet wall or any major modifications.

Out of curiosity what do you believe would be the problem as I am not electrical or mechanical minded.

Fridge works
Power from both 12v and 240v source
Compressor running

Temperature does not get below 8 degrees in fridge section. Checked with 3 different thermometers.

Cheers Robert

[WarrenK]

had a look at domestic fridge/freezer to fit but the smallest around the same capacity is still too wide with the door open at 90 degrees. Not allowed to move the toilet wall or any major modifications.

Have a look at this LG fridge. It is 194 ltrs, which would be more than most 12v/240v fridges. It is quite narrow at 525 mm.

https://www.appliancesonline.com.au/pro ... -gub-194pl

[T1 Terry]

Terry that would be nice, had a look at domestic fridge/freezer to fit but the smallest around the same capacity is still too wide with the door open at 90 degrees. Not allowed to move the toilet wall or any major modifications.

Out of curiosity what do you believe would be the problem as I am not electrical or mechanical minded.

Fridge works
Power from both 12v and 240v source
Compressor running

Temperature does not get below 8 degrees in fridge section. Checked with 3 different thermometers.

Cheers Robert

The fact it will pull down to 8*C says the fridge is working, it just can't move enough heat from the inside to the outside.

Does it have the condenser pipes on the back of the fridge with that zig-zag their way up with sort of a wire re-enforcing on either side, or are the condenser tubes inside the cabinet walls?

If they are up the back of the fridge, you need to create baffles to force the air to pass through the condenser rather than running straight up from bottom to top. One baffle about 1/3rd the way up between the fridge body and the condenser, the next at 2/3rds up between the condenser and the RV body. The white foam stuff most things come packed in works well. You need a fan or two fans at the upper vent and that must be high enough to remove the hot air at the top of the fridge. Fans to pull the hot air out work a lot better than fans pushing air in.

If it is a more modern design with the condenser tubes in the fridge walls, make sure there is enough space for air to enter at the bottom and escape at the top.
Don't put any sort of insulation against the outer walls of the fridge when it has this condenser in the walls design, it can't get rid of it's heat if there is no air flow up the sides of the cabinet.

T1 Terry

[Greynomad]

We’ve got a fridge mechanic in our kitchen.



Oh, sorry. That’s a fridge MAGNET.