Shawn:

Does the Norcold DC0040 work on propane?

We sell a cooler/freezer (the mfg. name escapes me and I am at home)
that comes many ways. A unit like a cooler which sits behind the pass
seat, runs on 12 0r120V. A charged battery will run it for 3 days in
the summer before auto low voltage shut down (keep in mind this thing
freezes). They also have a unit which will install in the box of your
choice with the compressor unit up to 5 ft. away. I have thought that
the storage bin aft of the fridge would be ok and that the space for
the fridge could be converted to storage. Maybe even mount a cat heater
on the outside of the fridge door...

I'll get you the name if interested. As I recall they also do Adler
Barber 12 volt stuff.

Ian

On 23-May-06, at 11:03 PM, shawn feller wrote:

> The sad thing is no matter how much many on this list defend their
> Dometics
> I'm very skeptical that they ever ran very well even when new. The two
> fans
> I've installed behind mine (and one inside) just haven't not done the
> job
> once the unit is installed. As I mentioned it did well on the bench.
>
> If I don't get mine working I'm buying a Norcold DC0040 (about $450!)
> but as
> many on the list have told me I'll be very happy.
>
> I just don't want to admit defeat.
>
> Have you pulled yours and done the "flip" yet? My fridge was dead and
> many
> recommended the process. After flipping for 24 hours over a three day
> period
> (3 flips) it came back to life. The ammonia gets in a gel state...maybe
> yours is not mixed well?
>
> Shawn
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ian Allan [mailto:ian.allan@bmts.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2006 11:01 PM
> To: shawn feller
> Subject: Re: Dometic
>
> Thanks for your interest Shawn. It does seem to me that the longer the
> fridge runs in warm conditions the less efficient it gets. Consistent
> with heat build up around the coils.
>
> We run into a similar situation with compressor drive fridges in
> confined spaces in boats, The solution there is water cooling the
> condenser. Same idea- get rid of the heat that has been stripped from
> the fridge interior.
>
> Ian
>
>
> On 23-May-06, at 9:43 AM, shawn feller wrote:
>
>> Ian,
>>
>> I've done some extensive testing and work on my Dometic. I rewired for
>> my
>> unique needs and here is what I've learned.
>>
>> The original ventilation on the back is inadequate and so it attaching
>> 12v
>> computer fans as many have. My fridge bench tested perfect down to 28
>> degrees on 110v and propane (12v sucked) but when I installed it I was
>> having trouble getting down below 45 degrees! I'm still working out
>> some
>> better ways of getting airflow behind the unit.
>>
>>> From what I understand when you switch to 110v/12v the thermal
>>> decoupler
>> should turn off the propane. Why yours is getting brighter is a bit
>> odd. The
>> LED is controlled by a microvoltage generated by the thermalcoupler.
>> The
>> voltage is stepped up so that it may be viewed via the LED in the
>> small
>> board behind the LED. It should not increase with heat. Even if your
>> system
>> allows for propane and (110v or 12v) at the same time you will most
>> likely
>> only damage the ammonia mix in the system. We did tests of running the
>> 12v
>> and 110v together and it made little improvement on lowering the temp
>> but
>> did increase the heat on the backside to alarming temps. You will
>> damage the
>> system with excessive heat.
>>
>> Make sure you flow test (pressure test) you propane output. I found
>> that
>> mine was a bit low and was able to tweek up the flow with the
>> adjustable
>> regulator. A slight increase in propane flow will allow for a slightly
>> higher flame in the back, thus more heat and less cooling. Don't tweak
>> this
>> if you don't know what you are doing!
>>
>> I think if you are seeing fluxuation I would suggest getting the heat
>> disapated in the back better.
>>
>> Shawn
>> Ohio
>> 1986 GL Westy
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
>> Behalf Of
>> Ian Allan
>> Sent: Monday, May 22, 2006 10:50 PM
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Subject: Dometic
>>
>> Hi; I have some questions about Dometic fridges:
>>
>> I have a remote temp sensor in the fridge a have been monitoring the
>> action on a household thermometer which has a memory function that
>> allows you to check min and max temps since the last time you reset
>> the
>> memory.
>>
>> 1)      What is the usual range of interior temp with the setting on
>> coldest
>> and the fridge running on propane?
>>
>> It seems that my fridge will cycle through a range of  about 15
>> degrees
>> (F) from coldest  to warmest during the cooling cycle.
>>
>> It also seems that there is a time just before the temperature begins
>> to drop that the temperature rises rapidly, almost as if the fridge is
>> heating the interior rather than cooling.
>>
>> 2)      What is the effect of turning on the 12 volt or 120 volt
>> switch
>> without turning off the gas? I have noted that the heat led got
>> brighter (indicating more heat I think) but I chickened out on leaving
>> both heat sources on simultaneously fearing that I might damage
>> something.
>>
>> Thanks
>> Ian
>>
>>
>
>
>