Fridges in Vans 3

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Anyone ever removed a Dometic?

are they fixed through the back panel?

I can terminate the 240v cables,,

the gas has to be disconnected by a fitter?

[weeds]

i would think the fridge would come out via the inside of the van......and will probably be a tight fit through the door

both electrical and gas trades are licenced trades....for a good reasons

re: 240V i would suggest you get an electrical to check yor connection, need to make sure polarity? is correct

re: gas, there should be an isolation valve that you can turn off but will will gas going to your cook top although to save dollars i bet there is only one valve. once disconnect from the fridge o would fit a plug into the end of the line/fitting turn the gas on and spray soapy water around the fitting to ensure there are no leaks.

[Graeme]

Mine has to be accessed at the rear before it is removed via the front. The gas pipe is simple to disconnect and the 12V & 240V leads are withdrawn after unplugging. Mine has a screw in each bottom rear corner.

The cabinet should be a tight fit but mine is only tight at the front panel, so now has the gaps at the sides and top filled with insulation, not that the insulation makes mine work properly as its effectively dead.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

.... although to save dollars i bet there is only one valve. once disconnect from the fridge o would fit a plug into the end of the line/fitting turn the gas on and spray soapy water around the fitting to ensure there are no leaks.So why wouldn't you use a bare flame to check for leaks? :o :twisted:

Chicken! :D

[rick130]

As mentioned, remove the louvre panel at the back to gain access to the gas and electrical connections, (your gas fitter will find it tough to swing a spanner/shifter in there, but it is do-able. My gas fitter swears a lot when he has to do undo those things :angel:) and in all likelihood there will be a couple of large screws through the base too.

Remove the architrave from around the front of the fridge and it should slide out with a decent push from the back.
They are usually pretty tight.

[CraigE]

From the installations I have seen there is usually some sort of screws from the front into the surround, usually behind a cover strip.
If you look on the Dometic website you should be able to find the installation diagrams. However as you probablly know allready, they are not always installed as per directions.

[Glynhouse]

Don't know if I am too late on this one or not.
Most Dometic previously Electrolux 3 way fridges should be fixed at top and bottom in front vertically, and the larger ones will have 2 screws at the rear through the bottom rails.
They should be just plugged into a 240 power point so no need for a sparky, the gas, all the ones I have seen have their own shut off tap, usually inside the van at floor level.
I wish you luck getting it out ! most 150ltr. and above will not fit through the door and have to come out through a window (remove the window first).
The last one I did was catus so we removed the unit from the fridge and got it out in two bits - does not help getting a new one in though. Replaced it with a 12volt unit which did fit through the door !

Best of luck

DD
(Dennis)

[Glynhouse]

Just seen your other post on batteries, but re the fridge as far as I know none of the Engels have "T" rated cabinet's it is a measure of the insulation effectiveness, usually measured in the temperature that the fridge will be effective in.
While the Engel car chest type fridges are good their van fridges leave a lot to be desired.
You don't say what size fridge ?

We have 420 watts solar on the roof and with any decent cloud cover struggle to keep a 150litre 12volt going, but we are fairly heavy on power, and we get a lot of dense cloud in Nth Qld. without the cloud the unit has cut down on the charging rate well before lunch most days.

DD

[Pedro_The_Swift]

only looking at filling the same hole,, so around 85L,,
interesting your comment on insulation though--

[Glynhouse]

Pedro the ratings of fridges are very hard to get, those that are "t" rated (tropical e.g. good for 42c ) will have it on them, if it is not on them the salespeople will tell you they don't know know what you are on about ! Even the ones that 10 minutes ago were trying sell you another one and they point out that it is rated ???!:o
I don't think there are any rated fridges under 100 litres, but there may be now. Plenty on the net about it.
It is a cabinet rating all to do with the insulation.
A lot of fridges supplied in Australia in vans are actually rated at SN, it is a European system and they roughly come in at and I quote the standard " not to be used over 32c " = and they sell them in Australia ??

DD

[Hoges]

I've wondered about getting a bar fridge and substituting the motor/compressor with a replacement from a waeco/bushman ... is it doable? I've spoken to the blokes at bushman and they claim (consistently!) that their standard motor/compressor is capable of supporting a 200L fridge...dependent on the speed etc of the motor which is adjustable with a laptop and the proprietary software...
I can't fathom why the cost of these things is so high in comparison... but that's been moaned about before:wasntme:

[Lotz-A-Landies]

When the compressor in one of my early Engels wore out we replaced it with a Danfos compressor (same as Waeco compressor fridges), so it is absolutely possible.

[Glynhouse]

Hoges certainly do-able the problem being that the Danfos units (there are 2 a BD35 and BD50) which are used by most fridge manufacturers except Engel which has its own brand both cost as much or more than a new fridge complete.
Guess we have to wait till the Chinese come out with a bolt in unit at a sensible price.

DD