Draughts!

[romingtim]

Hi Ant,

Having just spent three days away in sub zero/nearly sub zero temps and reasonable winds I'm hoping you can shed some light on some of the draughts we discovered.

The most serious one was around the fridge and also from the grill opening. I thought that absorption fridges should be fitted so that the rear end is sealed from the inside of the van to promote correct airflow and also to prevent fumes being brought in.

If that is the case there is something badly wrong with our van as the wind was blowing in around the edges like there was no tomorrow!! We ended up having to hang towels from the hob glass cover to seal the grill hole and the fridge to keep some heat in the van. Thankfully we were on hook up so not using gas or there may have been a serious risk of fumes coming in too.

The other one was from under the sink. I suspect this was coming up from the bottom of the van and in where the pipes come through for the sink. Is this supposed to be blocked up and is there any problems you know of that would stop me from blocking it up?

Thanks for your advice

Tim

[ant]

Hi Tim.
Firstly thje fridge draught. It doesn't sound as if you fitted the supplied draught excluder cover to the top fridge vent outside. This still leaves the exhaust vent clear so the fridge can be used on all its fuels with it fitted. The design of the exhaust is such that even in a windy environment it's very unusual to get the exhaust fumes coming in. The fridge will work perfectly well in cooler conditions with the vent cover fitted.
The under sink draught is a bit more interesting. The route the sink drain takes would make the rear seat locker draughty rather than the under sink area, so I doubt thats the cause. The most diect route for a draught is via a poorly fitted rear light. There are 2 places a draught can get in, 1 is through the two slots that the edge of the light is supposed to lock into, the other is if the fitting screw is not tight the hole the wires go through would not be sealing. I would take out the rear light and check if the seal looks as if its been touching all round the hole. When refitting it make sure the two side clips are located fully before tightening the screw.
Ant

[romingtim]

Hi Ant,

Thanks for the reply. We didn't have the cover on, but that would still have left the bottom vent wide open for the wind to blow in through.

I'm not questioning your comment and understand that the exhaust fumes would vent out, it's just that having dealt with fridges on boats on the broads and seen how badly they work if they are not correctly fitted - to direct airflow I was a bit shocked to see the total lack of seperation behind it.

I'll have a look at the sink pipes/back light and see what I find.

Tim

[friffies]

HI Tim
Where in Norwich do you live I live in Costessey
Sorry to jump in on your query with Ant
Malcolm

[romingtim]

Hi there,

We live on the Ridgeway, near Plumstead road roundabout/pub.

Nice to hear someone else is nearby

Tim

[ant]

Hi Tim.
The lower vent tends to need the draw of the upper vent as its behind the rear bumper and very little passing air is forced through it, once the upper cover is fitted I think you'll find the gale inside subsides!
You should have a bit of tin fitted to the rear of the fridge top to direct the air flow and so creating a cycle of air in at the bottom and out at the top when the fridge is warm at the back.
Ant