# How Cold?



## VenturerDave (Oct 2, 2009)

It's going to be our first winter with a Motorhome and we are off to Spain in January.
Currently the MH is in a storage compound, all drained, shut up with the fridge blanking plates fitted to the grills.
My question is can you run the fridge on gas with these fitted when the weather is coldas I have read the fridge runs more efficiently. If it is OK to have them fitted at what sort of temperature is it best to remove / fit them if intending to use the fridge.
thanks


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Hi Dave

If you need a sweater, so does the fridge. :wink:

Not a daft comment - it was suggested by his mobile service engineer when my tugger mate and I were arguing the same question.

_(I'm pleased to announce that I won the argument . . . . now, where's that "smug git" emoticon?? :roll: )_

Dave :lol: :lol:


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

When using the fridge, vent covers should only be fitted when outside temperatures fall below 10C. 
peedee


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

peedee said:


> When using the fridge, vent covers should only be fitted when outside temperatures fall below 10C.
> peedee


That's when I need a sweater! :wink:

Dave


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## bigfrank3 (Mar 26, 2007)

If it's below 10 degrees why does anyone want a fridge turning on? A fridge usually cools down to 5 degrees.  

bigfrank3


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## grasscutter (Oct 8, 2009)

bigfrank3 said:


> If it's below 10 degrees why does anyone want a fridge turning on? A fridge usually cools down to 5 degrees.
> 
> bigfrank3


Hopefully it will be warmer than that in the van.


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## jud (Aug 15, 2009)

VenturerDave said:


> It's going to be our first winter with a Motorhome and we are off to Spain in January.
> Currently the MH is in a storage compound, all drained, shut up with the fridge blanking plates fitted to the grills.
> My question is can you run the fridge on gas with these fitted when the weather is coldas I have read the fridge runs more efficiently. If it is OK to have them fitted at what sort of temperature is it best to remove / fit them if intending to use the fridge.
> thanks


hi . we go to Spain every year at the same time and in Spain you will not need to put them on average temps 22c in the day night time dropping to 10c to 15c . if the weather is cold going through France we put our foot down or if its nice we take our time in which case its not a problem . as regards not worrying about if the temp is below 5c if like us your freezer will be chockablock so it does matter.i have never put my grill covers on ( and never had a problem )because i think air should be aloud to circulate when on gas and driving you are on 12v any way.jud


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

You might like to keep them handy however for those times when the wind blows strongly and sandblasts the van. 

G


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## bellabee (May 16, 2010)

Please excuse my ignorance, but I've never heard of 'fridge blanking plates'. Do all vans have them or are they an accessory that you buy extra? Should I be worried?


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

bellabee said:


> Do all vans have them or are they an accessory that you buy extra? Should I be worried?


They're plastic covers that clip on the outside vent(s) of your fridge and protect it from excess cold, wind, dust or even, as you drive along, dirt from the road being splashed into the fridge.

Most fridges that I know have them as an extra that you buy separately. They're not very expensive. We bought the set we have now from CAK Tanks.

G


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## bellabee (May 16, 2010)

Thanks, Grizzly. I'll go and get some.

Chris


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## NormanB (Sep 8, 2005)

We've spent the last 5 winters in Spain without these plates and everything seemed to work ok.


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

You can obviously get away with leaving them off until it gets very cold where as you would be ill advised to leave them on above 10C.

Like many, my fridge has never been installed correctly. It is not fully seperated from the living accommodation and to leave them off in cold weather only makes the interior heating work much harder.

Its a good idea to leave them on when in storage.

My covers came with the van which was purchased new.

peedee


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## VenturerDave (Oct 2, 2009)

Peedee

Like you our fridge had never been sealed from the living accommodation (is this normal with Autotrail, ours is a Cheyenne)?. Having parked a couple of times on our latest trip across the brisk wind it brought the draught around the fridge to our attention.

Acrylic sealer from B&Q and twenty minutes spent sealing the gap around the front of the fridge in its unit cured this completely. 

As someone pointed out if the fridge is running on gas and the wind is blowing on that side of the van you could potentially suffer from Carbon Monoxide poisoning. I don't want to take that chance.


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## DaveJane (Jan 28, 2011)

Are the covers meant to be used when fridge is on Gas or 240V or both?

I'm thinking if they are only needed on Gas then they could be fitted when on EHU regardless of the temperature outside. We have a rattle from the fly screen inside the vents when the wind is in a certain direction so might be useful when on EHU.

Thanks, Dave


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

Both, the idea being to restrict cooling to prevent all the contents in the fridge getting too cold. Conversely, when in a very hot climate absorption fridges do not cool very well which is why some fit auxiliary fans to increase the air flow over the exchanger.

peedee


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## jud (Aug 15, 2009)

bellabee said:


> Please excuse my ignorance, but I've never heard of 'fridge blanking plates'. Do all vans have them or are they an accessory that you buy extra? Should I be worried?


 hi bellabee. you are supplied these blanking plates when the vehicle is new its like a lot of accessories which come with the m/h when people exchange them they leave them out . we have all ways left items that came with the m/h or cars if it comes to that . so you people stop being tight to the next owner leave them in . jud


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## commuter (Jul 13, 2011)

I'm considering getting some. Do I need to look for plates using the make of fridge or motorhome? e.g. am I looking for Dethleffs plates or ?? plates (not sure off the top of my head what type of fridge we have)

Thanks


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## tulsehillboys (Jul 22, 2010)

The reason for the covers if the temp drops below 10C is that the liquid gas in the system will not get warm enough to turn to a vapour. In an absorbtion fridge the transfer from liquid to gas and back produces the cooling effect. Below 10 this will not happen - effectively the fridge will not function. Using the compartment behind the fridge with restricted air flow will increase the temperature and ensure the gas vapourises correctly.

Alternativly turn off the fridge and leave the milk in a bucket of water outside :lol:


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

commuter said:


> Do I need to look for plates using the make of fridge or motorhome?


In our case we measured the fridge vents outside, edge to edge, and bought the size that corresponded. If you're buying them from the internet then you could measure as well as e-mailing a photo to make sure the fittings will work. These are only simply clips and seem to be pretty standard.

We're on our third new van now and have never had any come with the van; we've always bought them.

G


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

tulsehillboys said:


> The reason for the covers if the temp drops below 10C is that the liquid gas in the system will not get warm enough to turn to a vapour. In an absorbtion fridge the transfer from liquid to gas and back produces the cooling effect. Below 10 this will not happen - effectively the fridge will not function. Using the compartment behind the fridge with restricted air flow will increase the temperature and ensure the gas vapourises correctly.
> 
> Alternativly turn off the fridge and leave the milk in a bucket of water outside :lol:


This is not my experience tulsehillboys. It may well happen in extreme cold and I mean extreme given that refridgerents boil at temperatures well below 0C. I have found in our winter temperatures the effect of leaving off the covers is to get over cooling.

peedee


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## tulsehillboys (Jul 22, 2010)

peedee said:


> tulsehillboys said:
> 
> 
> > The reason for the covers if the temp drops below 10C is that the liquid gas in the system will not get warm enough to turn to a vapour. In an absorbtion fridge the transfer from liquid to gas and back produces the cooling effect. Below 10 this will not happen - effectively the fridge will not function. Using the compartment behind the fridge with restricted air flow will increase the temperature and ensure the gas vapourises correctly.
> ...


Boiling point of the gas depends on the pressure in the system. If the fridge is over cooling this is most likely a thermostat fault. Absorbtion fridges have a fairly narrow ambient temperature window in which they are work most effectively/efficiently. Freezing the contents of your fridge is wasting energy and possibly spoiling the food!


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

tulsehillboys said:


> Freezing the contents of your fridge is wasting energy and possibly spoiling the food!


Which is why I try and remember to put the winter covers on 

peedee


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