Exhausting refridgerator heat

[Chaz]

Hey Guys,
  I am starting to rework my interior. I am going to eventually get a "home style" fridge that was suggested to me but, I have the Dometic Americana for now. (I don't use propane so why have it??)
Anyway, I digress... Either way I am wanting to set up a vent to exhaust out the heat off the coils in the summertime and be able to close that vent to help heat the inside in the winter time. Kinda makes sense to me.

Any of you done this?? I was thinking some of you may have a suggestion or two I could use or at least build on. I'm hoping for a paint job next year so now is the time to do the outsidefab work.

Any ideas or suggestions??
   Chaz

[belfert]

Are you talking building a closeable vent for the current fridge or for a future household fridge?

[Chaz]

Ummmmmm..... I see it as working with both. 

[eddiepotts]

I am not saying you can't but the fridge in my house pulls air from the bottom then up the back. if you vent from the bottom then out I think you will have a problem. I know if I open my little slide window while driving I can suck my grandmothers teeth out of her head. It takes about 15 seconds to suck all ac out. The vacuum is increadable. I just don't see being able to produce heat inside and being able to vent it out while driving and keep your coach cool. I even thought about making a cap over the window with a hose so my passengers could clean the carpets while underway. But I can be totally wrong

[James77MCI8]

A household refrigerator will generate a negligible amount of heat. Nothing near the amount that an RV style will. The RV style uses heat to make the absorption unit function. The latter does pull cool air in at the bottom (heat rises) thus convection is set up. Two reasons to vent the RV is 1) You want to get that heat out of the coach. 2) If you don't have a path for the hot air to escape to, convection is lost and the heat on the coil is not removed thus the efficiency of the unit is diminished.   

[Kenny]

This idea was posted sometime ago with a lot of feedback. Take a look. Hope I got the link correct

http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=15462.msg166294#msg166294

[Chopper Scott]

My problem with the fridge was letting in cold air during our trip to Florida last winter. It was like a blast furnace of cold air as we were traveling. We stuffed towels and what not around the fridge but the cold air continued into the closets and such. It sucked. Something I'll need to address before we go on any cold weather excursions again.

[Chaz]

Wow...... good stuff!! Sorry I did not know about that previous thread. Thanx for the link, Kenny.

I guess I am one who leans more toward being as effecient as I can when doing something. (If you have seen my house, you would understand: www.amstudio.us .  ) I also belong to another board -AEA1.org- which is some people who discuss doing their best to save energy as much as possible. It's amazing the waste we have!! TRUELY amazing.......... but I digress.

Thanx again for the info. I am still going to try to come up with something that is worthwhile and makes sense. The great info I got from both threads helps me know that to be more effecient I may have to split hairs.  Will it be worth it?? ?? ?? Sounds like it won't from the posts but from having yet another opportunity to be creative and possibly "save" something (money, electricity, heat, cool, etc.) it should be fun. 

'preciate it,
  Chaz

[eddiepotts]

Sweet house! I can see you have allot of talent.

[grantgoold]

Wow! Very creative and inspiring.

Thanks for showing us!

Grant

[TomC]

Chaz- when averaging out the electrical input of the Summit refrigerator, it works out to be about 44 watts per hour.  Not that much heat generated, compared to the 1200 watts cooling or so of the typical roof top air conditioning.  Good Luck, TomC

[Chaz]

Thanx Eddie and Grant. It's my biggest piece of "art" yet.  Very efficient, very cozy, very secure and very safe. And you really can "feel" that when you enter. I invite anybody to stop by if ever in the area.

Tom,
  As usual, you're a great source for info. That is the frige (your suggestion in another thread) of what I spoke. I guess it really doesn't sound like much but I don't know as I haven't gotten one yet. I will hold off on the vent modification till I get one since you think it isn't much. I know the Dometic puts out way more than acceptable to me.
If it really is negligible, I may not do a vent. But, I know from dealing with efficiency's, a little here and a little there, it can add up. I especially don't mind if it's something I can do once and then let it reap the benefit's over time. But if it's something I have to "maintain" that is a different story. 
  Thanx again,
     Chaz

[Ed Hackenbruch]

When i click on the house to view it all i get is a black screen?  I can see the sculpture ok, just nothing for the house.

[gus]

Chopper,

Something is wrong with your frige vent if you have an RV absorption type. The outside air coming in to the frige at the bottom should all be exhausted out the top due to all the heat from the frige creating a chimney effect.

There are strict specifications for clearances by the vent ducting at the rear and rear sides of an RV frige so the chimney effect will work.

It sounds to me as if you don't even have any ducting. I wouldn't be surprised, when I got my bus the RV frige had no outside vent at all!! It was my first RV so I knew nothing about frige vents. If the bus didn't leak air so much I would probably be dead.

I you have an electric house type then forget all I said, you don't need a vent.

[Lin]

Ed,

It may have to do with the browser you are using.  It did not work for me with Chrome but did with Firefox.