# Draughty Ducato



## johnandcharlie (May 2, 2007)

It's suddenly got cold, and I'm starting to discover the places that 1999 Ducato's let in cold air . I've put a blanket across the rear door, and another over the sliding door, but there seems to be draught coming from the cab too. Anyone got any suggestions for keeping the cold air out, and the warm in?

I've got a data logger recording the inside temperature, so that might give some interesting results. I've got a nice warn duvet, but Charlie has a cold floor!


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## rowley (May 14, 2005)

On your model there are two known sources of draught in the cab. One is through the door vents, this can be combated by placing duct tape over the grille in the door. This grille can be seen on the side of the door when you open it. The other is via the door pillar and comes out by your ear from the seat belt support. I stopped this by stuffing insulation up the hollow pillar from underneath the vehicle. Don't forget to put the cab ventilation system on recirculation. There is not a safety issue with this as there is sufficient ventilation provided by the habitation vents.


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## UncleNorm (May 1, 2005)

Not forgetting the slide on the cab heater controls that allow or don't allow fresh air through the system. We always close ours off at night this time of year.
(Then we forget to reopen it in the morning and take ages working out why the van is so cold and the screen won't clear!)


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## fridgeman (Jul 11, 2007)

may be the fridge vents too but not alot you can do about that if you run it on gas.


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## johnandcharlie (May 2, 2007)

fridgeman said:


> may be the fridge vents too but not alot you can do about that if you run it on gas.


I'm on sites with a hookup nearly all the time, so should I fit vent covers and take them off on the odd occasion I use gas?


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## Cherekee (May 1, 2005)

Hi, 
You still need convection how-ever you use the fridge but you can get winterised covers or just cover no more then 2/3 of the inlet and outlet cover with cardboard or something similar. I use the van in the winter and have really gone to town in sealing all around the back of the fridge so the is no where for a draft to get into the living area. Its fine even at minus 19c.

Alan


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## chrisjrv (May 7, 2007)

Hi,
I thought that the fridge vent covers that are made for the job were to be used in cold weather when you didn't need the full airflow across the back of the fridge and it makes no difference if you are on gas or electric, mine are on for most of the year and everything works fine. I'd be very cautious about sticking bits of cardboard over the vents though :roll: 
Chris V


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## Cherekee (May 1, 2005)

Hi again,

Its all about ambient air movement. With winter covers on in the summer (even uk summers) the absorbtion unit will not release its heat easily and slow the whole process down, it will work but use more energy, gas or electric. Regards the cardboard it does of course depend on the design of your fridge service area, common sense must prevail. 

I was a refrigeration engineer for 36 years and paid for my motorhome on the proceeds of customers not ventilating their equipment correctly!!!!!!

Alan


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## fridgeman (Jul 11, 2007)

you did well there then alan,earning a living out of under or over condensing.  

my point was shuting the vents off when on gas and filling the van up with C0,2 possibly killing you while asleep when all the doors are shut.

i must admit i,am not sure if the vents are for using in winter or just when the van is not being used as a camper,it would not bother me about fitting them in winter while on hook up but not sure about gas.


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## Cherekee (May 1, 2005)

Hi Fridgeman,

In my Starspirit we stopped the drafts around the door and around the fridge as per above but obviously left the habitation vents alone as well as the vents in the cupboards for the gas escape. We have Diesel heating so being CO2'd is not quite so critical for us. Its always got to be a compromise between fresh air and comfort I suppose. A warmer duvet, soft lights, a glass of wine and you will not notice the cold johnandcharlie.

p/s why is charlie on the floor?


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## UncleNorm (May 1, 2005)

Good evening, I'm with Stickey on this.

"I thought that the fridge vent covers that are made for the job were to be used in cold weather when you didn't need the full airflow across the back of the fridge and it makes no difference if you are on gas or electric."

The emphasis here is on "made for the job". The covers on my Pollensa had space for the exhaust fumes and reduced space for the circulation of air. When the sun shines next year (2008), the covers should be removed.


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## 105062 (Jun 10, 2007)

Hi Y'all, I,m trying to improve the insulation of my Tribute so I can reduce the use of the heater. At the moment as Stock with an outside temp of 2 deg c after 1 hours continuous heating the van interior gets to 10deg c, thats my base line.

Big Wins so far:
External windscreen and door glass thermal cover, cost £35
B&Q Polystyrene sheets put in the rear door panels and sliding side door cost £9

Curtain closed on bed side window (additional to window blind}. Fitted on van as standard but makes quite an improvement so contemplating making curtains for the other habitation windows.

The rear of the fridge freezer is sealed around the fridge vents so no cold air can get in to the habitation area from the vents...This is standard but there were gaps where cables went through which I have sealed with mastic

Will be doing another heater timing tonight if the temperature drops to 2 deg.

Cheers


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## pneumatician (May 1, 2005)

*Ducato Draughts*

Take the Door panels of and fill tape over the holes both in the doors and the panels. Remove the Seat belt cover and fill with insulation. Should help a little. We used to travel with the table across the back of the seats to keep the "hot" ?? air in the cab a little longer.

Steve


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

johnandcharlie said:


> clipped ..... I've got a nice warn duvet, but Charlie has a cold floor!


give Charlie a Duvet - problem sorted


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## johnandcharlie (May 2, 2007)

sallytrafic said:


> give Charlie a Duvet - problem sorted


I've got fed up with buying him proper bedding. He won't use it. When I got him I bought him a nice bed. He wouldn't go in it, but did like to scrunch up the cushion in it between his legs and make out it was a lady dog :lol:. I've tried other things since but he just likes to wander around sleeping on different parts of the floor. He did have his own arm chair when we had a house, but there wasn't room for it in the van!


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