Over working fridge

[bizzard]

27 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

I've got one of the old gas/12v ones running on gas. It seems to be fine on the first two settings, but if turned on to the highest, while I can hear the flame burning a lot more (it's silent usually) it seems to be working less efficiently than on the lower setting. Any ideas?

Mind you, I don't think they cope that well with these temps at the best of times.

Yours is an absorbtion fridge Arthur, not compressor fridge so no moving parts that's why they are quiet. Not so efficient as a compressor fridge though, much slower to get down to temperature.  You trouble might be that the flame is getting too much air. Check that the flame quard is reasonably in place. The 12v bit is just a 12v element strapped to the side of the condenser, ''the round thing that the flue passes through'', with a metal band.

[Iain_S]

14 hours ago, Arthur Marshall said:

I've got one of the old gas/12v ones running on gas. It seems to be fine on the first two settings, but if turned on to the highest, while I can hear the flame burning a lot more (it's silent usually) it seems to be working less efficiently than on the lower setting. Any ideas?

Mind you, I don't think they cope that well with these temps at the best of times.

We used to have that problem with the 3-way fridge on or shared boat. Problem seems to be that when the fridge is running, it produces heat and if the heat cannot escape, then it builds up, making the fridge less efficient. In extreme cases, the heat produced gets back into the frdge, warming it up. Bit of a vicious citrcle.

[JonesBoy]

Thanks to WotEver and BEngo re side wall condenser. You learn something new all the time on this place. I had never seen one before, only back or bottom with loop round door pillars for anti-condensation, must be getting old.

[Tracy D'arth]

59 minutes ago, JonesBoy said:

Thanks to WotEver and BEngo re side wall condenser. You learn something new all the time on this place. I had never seen one before, only back or bottom with loop round door pillars for anti-condensation, must be getting old.

I regard putting the hot condenser inside the cabinet you are trying to get cold to be a very backward step!

Not only that but the surface area of the condenser is considerably less than when it was a mass of pipes and fins out in the fresh air at the back.

[Arthur Marshall]

Thanks Bizzard and Iain. I'll check it all out after this cruise - I have to dismantle the kichen to get at it. 

[Stephen Jeavons]

On 14/08/2020 at 17:28, TheBiscuits said:

 

1. What size cable is feeding them, and how far are they away from the batteries?

 

2. Do they have adequate ventilation above and below?

 

3. http://www.shoreline-marine.co.uk/admin/document_library/RRInstructions_BD35ONLY.v21_150618.pdf

 

Answers:

1) 10mm cables (both legs) for both appliances and each fed from its own 15A breaker. Machines <6m from batteries

2) Plenty of ventilation below to heat exchanger which is underneath and near the front. Machine's own fan blows in this direction not up the back (These are integrated units). Plenty of ventilation to the rear behind adjacent cupboards.

3) I have this manual. It is general and doesn't include any specific guidance or instruction for units with coils under the front. Specific installation for the integrated units is notably missing. 

 

Had I known that an array of extra fans were needed to make up for the way it was designed, I would have included them. 

 

I used to fit kitchens in a past life and have never known any integrated fridge or freezer to require special vents in worktops or additional fans. The design of these AMICA appliances is flawed 

[BEngo]

On 15/08/2020 at 14:50, Tracy D'arth said:

I regard putting the hot condenser inside the cabinet you are trying to get cold to be a very backward step!

Not only that but the surface area of the condenser is considerably less than when it was a mass of pipes and fins out in the fresh air at the back.

I too cannot see why.  To have side condensers means using both sides, presumably to get enough surface area, and the smooth, single sided cooling faces surely mean that a   greater condenser area is needed than when pipes and fins are fitted at the back.

I can see that many fridges get stuffed hard up a against a wall at the back while surrounded closely by an unvented chipboard box from Howdens or whoever so that the fridges have a hard time cooling the condenser, but that will happen to a side condenser model too and could surely have been sorted by better installation instructions.

Anyone any other ideas why  side condensing?

N

[Tony Brooks]

13 minutes ago, BEngo said:

I too cannot see why.  To have side condensers means using both sides, presumably to get enough surface area, and the smooth, single sided cooling faces surely mean that a   greater condenser area is needed than when pipes and fins are fitted at the back.

I can see that many fridges get stuffed hard up a against a wall at the back while surrounded closely by an unvented chipboard box from Howdens or whoever so that the fridges have a hard time cooling the condenser, but that will happen to a side condenser model too and could surely have been sorted by better installation instructions.

Anyone any other ideas why  side condensing?

N

Cost - a length of bent pipe on the case V complex multi-fin design.

[OldGoat]

The advantages of  side condensers are (IMHO) :-

• cheaper to make
• spread the cooling surfaces over a wider area which resultsd in a lower external temperature
• Possible makes the whole unit more attractive to buyers (!) - I can see people saying 'no nasty cobwebs / dust trap

The first two above are the important ones...

[johnmck]

I suppose in common with a lot of builders, ours fitted our integrated Shoreline fridge, in a box with little in the way of ventilation. I have remedied this now and added a 12v Silent Eagle fan . But, the fridge is over cooling. It's become virtually a freezer.  I suspect the thermostat,  so over the weekend contacted Shoreline via Messenger, requesting the correct part for my model.

 

I have to say, I am more than impressed.  They replied at 0834 this morning, with a link to the correct part. This is due for delivery tomorrow . Great service. I know I have probably paid a little more than necessary, but if it solves the problem...

 

[Iain_S]

21 minutes ago, johnmck said:

I suppose in common with a lot of builders, ours fitted our integrated Shoreline fridge, in a box with little in the way of ventilation. I have remedied this now and added a 12v Silent Eagle fan . But, the fridge is over cooling. It's become virtually a freezer.  I suspect the thermostat,  ... (snip)

 

I believe that when @ditchcrawler was experimenting with additional fans, he found that after installing them, fridge running time did not reduce much, but the fridge got much colder.

[johnmck]

25 minutes ago, Iain_S said:

I believe that when @ditchcrawler was experimenting with additional fans, he found that after installing them, fridge running time did not reduce much, but the fridge got much colder.

I am incorporating a switch into the additional fan circuit, so I cam use it in particularly hot weather, then knock it off when it cools down. Time will tell.

[Keeping Up]

55 minutes ago, johnmck said:

I am incorporating a switch into the additional fan circuit, so I cam use it in particularly hot weather, then knock it off when it cools down. Time will tell.

Why not use a room-thermostat from a central heating system (preferably an old non-electronic one) which you can mount behind the fridge? That's what I use and the results are excellent.

[robtheplod]

Pleased to say my fridge survived the 35oC temps of last week and stayed cold...... phew!!

[Tracy D'arth]

My ancient 12v Batts, LEC cabinet is fine in these temperatures. needs defrosting a bit more often but cools fine on 2 to 2 1/2 on the 'stat.

No fan, no hole in the floor or the worktop which is only 1" over the top of the fridge.

I do have a disused Electrolux gas flue hole behind it though.

I will be very sad when/if it fails, its been fabulous.

[ditchcrawler]

3 hours ago, Keeping Up said:

Why not use a room-thermostat from a central heating system (preferably an old non-electronic one) which you can mount behind the fridge? That's what I use and the results are excellent.

I got one to fit but never got round to it, fan runs 24/7 

[JonesBoy]

On 17/08/2020 at 14:26, BEngo said:

I too cannot see why.  To have side condensers means using both sides, presumably to get enough surface area, and the smooth, single sided cooling faces surely mean that a   greater condenser area is needed than when pipes and fins are fitted at the back.

I can see that many fridges get stuffed hard up a against a wall at the back while surrounded closely by an unvented chipboard box from Howdens or whoever so that the fridges have a hard time cooling the condenser, but that will happen to a side condenser model too and could surely have been sorted by better installation instructions.

Anyone any other ideas why  side condensing?

N

I suspect the overriding reason is manufacturing cost.

Like I said before I have never seen one in real life only the ones pointed out to me by WotEver and BEngo despite 30 + years working in a domestic appliance service division, but only for one manufacturer.

There I spent many happy hours explaining to consumers and kitchen fitters why the appliance would not work because it had been installed in an air tight box.

It must be even worse now with side condensers.

[ditchcrawler]

3 hours ago, JonesBoy said:

 

There I spent many happy hours explaining to consumers and kitchen fitters why the appliance would not work because it had been installed in an air tight box.

 

So true