# La Strada Nova M - Fridge Exhaust Gas + Winter Issues.



## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

Hello,

So, we have been enjoying our new La Strada Nova M.

Many mods are required.

Main issues that I want to address is the shockingly cold draft that enters the habitation area.

The cold comes in through the fridge vent, blows all around the fridge and drawers. Indeed, the slightest frost will freeze an food, tins or bottles left in the drawers as it is so open.

Anyone else had similar issues?.

TM


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Time to get out the silicone gun, but do use clear, not white.

cabby


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

Thanks Cabby,

Should not have to be doing that on what is today, new an £80,000 Motor.

TM


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

here is an example


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Let me get this right - 

External air is blowing INTO the van via the external fridge vents?

Is it a 3-way absorption fridge? 

(If not, then ignore what follows!)

If that is the case THEN IMMEDIATELY STOP USING THE FRIDGE ON GAS.

Why?

Because if fresh air can blow into the hab area then so can combustion gases from the fridge.

They include the DEADLY CARBON MONOXIDE.


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

I have just looked at the specs of the van (in German) where it states that it has an absorption fridge.

If that is indeed the case with yours then it indicates a very serious design flaw.

On our (then brand-new) Hymer there were tiny gaps around the fridge that were enough to allow combustion gases into the hab area.

This especially showed up when there was a burner fault and if we had not installed a CO alarm we would not be here now to tell the tale.

I repeat - WE WOULD NOT BE HERE NOW TO TELL THE TALE.

Although the alarm gave us heart attacks!

I have posted on here several time how I sealed the rear of the fridge from the hab area.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

pippin said:


> Let me get this right -
> 
> External air is blowing INTO the van via the external fridge vents?
> 
> ...


If that were the case then most of us, who used to use the old paraffin or converted fridges, would be dead in our own kitchens by now. Most 3 way fridges are not room sealed. They take air for combustion from the van and vent mainly via the fridge vents at the back to the outside.

There should be a seal round the fridge itself if only to stop what is happening to you ie a cold draft when the wind blows into the fridge vents . Many convertors ignore this. We found a length of foam pipe insultion,cut lengthways and caulked into the gaps betwen fridge and kitchen unit, did the job very well, if not terribly elegantly.

If it is very windy then you can put plastic covers over the fridge vents which will prevent dirt and water getting in too as you travel and, if it is very cold outside, help the fridge to work efficiently.

G


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

£80,000 or not TM, that is a seriously crappy build! 8O 

I would take it back and demand that the fridge is sealed off from the inside, which is how it should be. Irrespective of the price, that is not a trivial fault!

Air should be able to go in at the bottom grille and out of the top one, with no possibility of entering the hab area.

If you can't take it back for some reason, get in at the rear via the grilles and seal it with anything a bit flexible that will keep the gales out. It will be a fiddle, but there's no option by the sound of it. Foam rubber poked into smallish gaps is probably the easiest.

Dave


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

I take your point Grizzly, but the average kitchen or lounge in a house is much greater in volume than a hab area and tends to have lots of leaky draughts.

Remember - it was when our fridge burner went faulty that the danger reared it's ugly head.

The fault was simply that the chimney sooted up - a very common occurrence.

The installation instructions for Thetford clearly state that the rear should be sealed off from the hab area.

PS

Times have changed - those paraffin heaters were awful things - I wouldn't go anywhere near one now.

In my time as a TV repairer I made lots of house calls.

Whenever I took the cover off a TV in a house with one, the interior would be totally covered in brown greasy gunk (attracted by the high voltages).

Looked worse than a smoker's lungs!

PPS

I located the gaps by totally darkening the inside of the van and looking very carefully for the sunlight coming in from outside.

I then sealed up with aluminium adhesive tape.

That same night I put some incredibly bright lights inside the van by the fridge.

I then looked through the external vents, found more gaps and sealed those up until I was totally satisfied.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

Hello,

I have removed the fridge to see what it looks like behind.

All of the cupboards and the gas hob above the fridge is open to the outside air coming from the grills and the back of the fridge.

You can see that the flue goes directly out, though not the rest.

I have popped the fridge back in and I am going to send an email to both the dealer and the Converter.

TM


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

I have just done some checking.....

Domtetics Website for our

Dometic
RM4281
Product Code:921073143
Manual Code:821266502

What is Below, I interpret to mean that. For a winterised installation, the fridge must be room sealed in order to prevent drafts. In this installation, the "T" piece for waste gas is not required. Fig 6a

Where the room is not sealed, the special "T" piece should be installed and vented to the outside (in our case, the "T" does not directly exit the wall/upper vent as the fridge is offset. Therefore, flexible exhaust tube has been fitted to the "T") 6b

Ableitung von Verbrennungsgasen
Der Raum, der sich zwischen Wohnwagenwand und Kühlschrank bildet (Fig. 6), ist gegenüber dem Wohnbereich abgedichtet. Dadurch kann kein Durchzug entstehen (Win- tercamping) und keine Abgase in den Wohnbereich eindrin- gen. Deshalb ist es nicht erforderlich eine spezielle Abgasführung einzusetzen -die Abgase entweichen durch das obere Gitter ins Freie.
Bemerkung: Bei dieser Einbauweise sollte oben wie unten das gleiche Gitter (ohne integrierte Abgasführung) einge- setzt werden. Das evtl. mitgelieferte T-Stück für das Gas- heizrohr wird in diesem Falle nicht benötigt.
Ein über dem Gasheizrohr (I), Fig. 6, angebrachtes Ableit- blech, wie in (B) angedeutet, begünstigt die Wärmeableitung

Which the same Manual in English means....

The ventilation passage at the rear of the recess, between the outer wall of the vehicle and the refrigerator (fig. 6), is sealed off against the living space, and so cold draughts are excluded (winter camping) and no flue gases can penetrate into the vehicle. Thus a special flue outlet is no longer necessary - the gases are dispersed through the upper vent grille.
Note: With this mode of installation the same type of grilles (without an integrated flue outlet), should be installed at the upper as well as at the lower vent open-ning. The angled T-piece for the flue tube (when delivered) should not be used in this case.
The top of the enclosure above the flue tube (I), fig. 6, should be covered with aluminum sheet metal, as indicated in (B), to facilitate the heat dispersion.

Anyone?

http://www.dometic.com/enie/International/Site/Customer-Center/Dometic-User-Manual-Database/


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

The most crucial piece of info in that is this:-

"The ventilation passage at the rear of the recess, between the outer wall of the vehicle and the refrigerator (fig. 6), is sealed off against the living space, and so cold draughts are excluded (winter camping)

and no flue gases can penetrate into the vehicle" 

That is what I have been banging on about!


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## VanFlair (Nov 21, 2009)

This was a common problem with caravans 15 years ago, don't know what they are like now. Not aware that anybody died BUT certainly a situation I would want sorting or sort it myself.


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## coppo (May 27, 2009)

That's really poor workmanship Trev, for a German £80,000.00 van especially so.

Surely there;s something missing here, I can't imagine all Nova's are built like this, wonder if you have to specify a winter package or something as an option, even so it should be standard in the top of the range La Strada. 

Might be worth asking on the La Strada forum, there;s a few on there with Nova's.

Paul.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

I have sent both an email. I can see it is something I am going to have to sort so we can use it.

We have 3 different trips planned with all the ferries booked.

TM


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

An Update, with fridge removed.

I will post some more of the mod when finished.

TM


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

2 more of the pre-modification.


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## coppo (May 27, 2009)

Have you heard back from any of your emails yet?

Found anyone else with a Nova and the same problem?

Paul.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

Hello Paul,

Emailed both, followed up with a call to Alan Kerr, message left for them to respond to me.

Nothing.

Posted on the La Strada owners club site in UK, but it is not very lively.

I will post some updates when I have finished the work.

We have had some Friends around from MHF tonight. They have told us how they had lots of draught from around the fridge on their previous Hymer. They found out on a trip away and had to pack the gaps with toilet paper.

Trev.


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## Pard (May 1, 2005)

Being the owner of the same van from the same source, I'm following your postings and replies with interest, Trevor, as you probably guessed. 

I noticed a slight draft once during our recent jaunt to a sunny warm France but, assuming it was from the rooflight above, which is meant to ventilate at all times, I didn't think much about it, I confess. As the weather cools, I'll see how it feels.

Could it be these vans were modified for the warmer climes we were told of?

Terry


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## coppo (May 27, 2009)

Pard said:


> Being the owner of the same van from the same source, I'm following your postings and replies with interest, Trevor, as you probably guessed.
> 
> I noticed a slight draft once during our recent jaunt to a sunny warm France but, assuming it was from the rooflight above, which is meant to ventilate at all times, I didn't think much about it, I confess. As the weather cools, I'll see how it feels.
> 
> ...


These vans are top of the range La Strada's Terry, costing well over a hundred thousand euros in Germany, winterisation is meant to be standard build I would have thought, surely?

If they had been the L model, we would have been sorely tempted.

Paul.


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

It is nothing to do with winter/summer or even spring/autumn.

The rear of the fridge ought/should/must be totally sealed from the hab area.

No ifs, buts - end of.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

Have spent a lot of time this weekend re-engineering the design and modifying the original flue.

Overall we are very impressed with the design and layout of the motorhome. But, for me, this problem is a major design flaw or more, a botch job.

Due the the way the Kitchen / galley area has been bunched together with mm's to spare, often intruding into the wrong direction. It has been a major task to put right. I could of just botched the job further with cans of foam and sealant. But, then, come time to carry out any other repairs or accessory add ons, would have made those jobs a nightmare.

Almost there, photos to follow.

Trev.


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## pneumatician (May 1, 2005)

Hi Teeny Mob, 
I thought I had replied to you on the La Strada Forum.
However we have a Nova with no significant draughts from the fridge. At least none that have caused annoyance. Surely if the gas flue is connected correctly to the ventilator grid there is little danger of gases entering the interior. If the wrong sealant is used to then it could be a bugger to carry out future maintenance. I think I would use foam tape if required. We currently have some serious domestic problems (wife ill) at the moment but hopefully we may meet up in the future.

Steve


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

pneumatician said:


> Hi Teeny Mob,
> I thought I had replied to you on the La Strada Forum.
> However we have a Nova with no significant draughts from the fridge. At least none that have caused annoyance. Surely if the gas flue is connected correctly to the ventilator grid there is little danger of gases entering the interior. If the wrong sealant is used to then it could be a bugger to carry out future maintenance. I think I would use foam tape if required. We currently have some serious domestic problems (wife ill) at the moment but hopefully we may meet up in the future.
> 
> Steve


Thanks Phartmagician,

Yes, you did and it was very much appreciated Steve.

Trev.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

Some more photos.

Just a new wiring loom to make up and top of fridge / flue to finish off.

TM


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

Here is the outside of the BBQ point.

I wanted to get it next to the EHU. But the floor and other bits were in the way.

TM


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## coppo (May 27, 2009)

Cracking job Trev, very neat.

Anymore mods to do?

Paul.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

Hello Paul,

Thanks.

Yes, quiet a few.

Made some carpets and had them whipped. Changed the Safe and some other bits.

*Solar 1 x 100w + 1 x 40w
*Alugas refillable bottles 2x 11kG http://www.gasfachfrau.de/
*Tow Bar (mainly for bike rack ( Watling Engineers I think)).
*HighLine Instrument Cluster
*Steering wheel Controls
*MB Comand NTG2.5
*Gas oven but cannot for the life of me find one small enough to fit!.
*12v Freezer

And maybe a sat dish.

Trev.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

I have today received an email from La Strada. The details of a modification or their understanding of my complaints are not very clear.,

Trev


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## coppo (May 27, 2009)

Trev

When we enquired about buying a new La Strada we dealt with a lady from the factory.

[email protected]

She speaks excellent English, maybe explain to her.

Paul.


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Some posters have implied that because the flue vent is separate from the cooling vents there is no problem.

Well, if the wind (or a gentle breeze) just happens to waft those flue gasses back into said vents - methinks there might just be a problem.

It is not something that one wants to take a bet on - because death is the odds-on result.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

Final Update.

La Strada emailed me and roughly translated.....

They have had several complaints and now fit a modification since 2012 production (lower Image).

I have got a lot further. See other image.

TM


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