Thread: 3way fridge ventilation

3 Way fridges are very problematic when not used level and as such are not recommended for 4WD. The reason is that even on electricity (12-24VDC or 240VAC) they use a heater element and that then operates a thermal cycle within the sealed cooler unit. If the unit is not level you get hot spots when gravity is obstructing the thermal cycle and then the unit can rupture and the ammonia (or whatever) leaks out. My 3 way recently ruptured on my motorhome/camper for this reason, and yes the 3-way was fitted before I bought it. A compressor fridge is by far the preferred type of fridge for a 4WD or camper trailer.

Onto the question, you can get fridge flues and air vents from caravan and motorhome accessory retailers. You should have both a flue and at least one vent to allow air in and probably a second to allow heat out from the rear of the fridge. I would try someone like Camac.

If you do keep the 3-way, I would fit leveling legs and spirit levels to the trailer so that you can get the trailer level when camped.

As Lotza said, you need at least two vents, one at the top, just above the coil and one at the bottom, just below to enable natural convection when it's on.

Some people fit 12V computer type fans into the top vent area for a forced flow and that's not a bad idea IMO.
Google, there's a number of setups shown on the 'net, but whatever you do you need air flow across the reactor and coils as just like any refrigeration system, it extracts heat from the cooled space and needs to expel it to the ambient air so needs some sort of ventilation to do this successfully.

I have an Electrolux 3 way fridge in my camper trailer, and my mother has exactly the same model in a Toyota Hi-Ace camper.

Neither of us has ever experienced any problems with them as far as being level goes, so I would not worry too much about this - and I've pulled my camper trailer over some fairly rough and steep tracks.

We both use them on 12V when travelling, but the design of these fridges is such that they do not perform as well on 12V as they do on 240V or on gas. Provided you get them cold before travelling, 12V is good enough to keep them cold while you are travelling, but I wouldn't recommend using them on 12V while you are camping - either gas or 240V will give much better performance.

I always turn the gas off at the bottle when travelling (as does my mother). I have previously been told that it is OK to leave the gas on and the pilot light alight while you are travelling, but I don't believe this and would never do it myself - it doesn't take that long to turn on the gas and light the pilot once you set up for camping.

As far as ventillation goes - as others have said, one up high to allow heat to escape, and a second down low behind the fridge. The main reason for this second vent is actually to allow any gas to escape should there be a leak - gas is heavier than air.

The bottom vent is for correct air flow through the coil.

Without a bottom vent there won't be any flow.

Originally Posted by BMKal

I have an Electrolux 3 way fridge in my camper trailer, and my mother has exactly the same model in a Toyota Hi-Ace camper.

Neither of us has ever experienced any problems with them as far as being level goes, so I would not worry too much about this - and I've pulled my camper trailer over some fairly rough and steep tracks.
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My 3-way is/was an Electrolux too, it was working well before it ruptured and yes it was on a tilt when it happened..

Just because it hasn't happened YET doesn't mean that it wont happen tomorrow or in years to come!

Just some of the warnings from the Electrolux user manual: (The manual is for caravans where 3" on the end equals about 1" on a Toyota HiAce or camper trailer)

• "3. IMPORTANCE OF LEVELLING The downward circulation of refrigerant within the cooling unit is by gravity and the refrigerator has lobe reasonably level, when it is stationary, for the cooling' unit to operate properly. If the refrigerator is left operating with a sustained list in excess of about 3" in any direction, pockets of liquid refrigerant can collect at various points within the unit impairing or preventing normal circulation of the refrigerant vapour until level conditions return. It is essential, therefore, that the refrigerator is installed so that the ice-tray shelf inside the refrigerator is level in relation to the caravan, in both directions, so that when the caravan is level, the ice-tray shelf is level."
• "when the caravan is at rest for more than about half an hour, a list of more than about 3" in any direction relay interfere with the operation."
• "If the list does not exceed 8° cooling is usually resumed when the refrigerator returns to the upright position, but if it does exceed 8°, the burner should be extinguished or the electricity supply disconnected, as applicable soon after the list has occurred otherwise the cooling unit may become damaged due to overheating of the boiler."
• "When the caravan is to be at rest for a period, with the refrigerator operating, the caravan should be levelled, in both directions, so that the refrigerator is level."
• "If the caravan is to be stationary lot a period, check that the refrigerator is level,"
• "Levelling When the refrigerator is operating, liquid refrigerant trickles through the pipework of the cooling unit under the influence of gravity. To enable a satisfactory flow to take place, the unit must be reasonably level, from side to side and from front to back, otherwise refrigerant can accumulate in pockets instead of flowing back to the bottom, and the cooling process may be impaired or cease."

I guess they only mentioned the word level 16 times in a 16 page manual, so I guess levelling isn't important

I understand that a 3 way will perform ok out of level in a moving vehicle because it's passing through level often enough. I was told to have the operating fridge within 1/2 a bubble of level when stationary. Personally I wouldn't use one on gas in a vehicle. On 12v they use about 10 amps, so make sure your wiring and battery can take it. Also I'd suggest using an anderson plug for the trailer connection to the fridge if you don't want to melt your 7 pin connector together. Don

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

My 3-way is/was an Electrolux too, it was working well before it ruptured and yes it was on a tilt when it happened..

Just because it hasn't happened YET doesn't mean that it wont happen tomorrow or in years to come!

I guess they only mentioned the word level 16 times in a 16 page manual, so I guess levelling isn't important

Well other than the fact that you'd normally try to park your camper trailer or van on reasonably level ground so that you don't roll out of bed anyway, I really don't see it as a major drama.

My Electrolux is at least 30 years old and has never had a problem. I don't use a spirit level to set up my camper trailer. The one in my mum's Hi-Ace is probably about 20 years old, and there's no spirit level in a Toyota either.

Now if for some strange reason, you want to set up your camper trailer or van on the side of a 30 degree slope ...................................