Jeanne,
The fridge is not going all the time... the thermostat turns the heating
element on and off as needed to cool the inside.

Besides, my sense of things is that it is a tight area behind the fridge..
already too tight for good ventilation... AND the fridge is already a big
can of worms without adding one other thing to this Rube Goldberg
contraption. :)

My 2 cents,
Bill
-----Original Message-----
From: JeanneMaly <jeannemaly@EMAIL.MSN.COM>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2000 6:32 PM
Subject: Re: Warm water heating staff Campingstar in Reimo catalog

>I am very interested in warm water for my van.  All of the good ideas I've
read
>about use the coolant as a heat source.  I was wondering if any of the
shadetree
>engineers had ever considered the heat from the refrigerator as a source
for a
>heat exchange to warm the water in the tank.  Since the refrigerator is
going
>all the time, it wouldn't require starting up the van in the morning to
have hot
>water.
>
>Any feedback?
>
>Jeanne
>'87 Syncro Westy
>Santa Rosa, CA
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Ty Graham <tyg@OZ.NET>
>To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>Sent: Thursday, December 30, 1999 10:11 AM
>Subject: Warm water heating staff Campingstar in Reimo catalog
>
>
>> Looks like a foot long device you drop in your water tank to raise the
temp
>> to 40 degrees Celsius, a Warmwasserheizer.  Looks like a pretty clean
>> install.
>>
>> Does anyone know anything about this device?  Can anyone translate better
>> than Babelfish?  Anyone want to tell me how many Optimas I'd need to
drain
>> in order to heat up a Westy water tank?
>>
>> Reimo catalog, page 231
>>
>> Warmwasserheizstab Campingstar
>> Warmwasser in Kanister oder Tank thermostatisch geregelt.
>> Max. 40 degree - keine Verbruhungsgefahr
>> Einfach nachrustbar
>>
>> item 67036 12V/75 Watt  DM 108.90
>>
>> or ...
>>
>> Warm water heating staff Campingstar warm water in cans or tank
>> thermalstatically regulated. Max. 40 degree - no verb resting danger
simple
>> nachrustbar
>>
>> Ty Graham
>> '91 Syncro Westy
>> '86 Syncro Doublecab
>