I just stepped into the basement to work on my Dometic "Frankenstein".....

SNIP

>  Or is most of the heat problem with the Dometic on
> propane the propane fire being used to create the cooling cycle?

Heat is being created at the combustion chamber. I would assume the outside gets quite warm (nearly hot) or hot depending on ambient temp. Heat is also being dissapated via fins on tubes containing ammonia etc. This is likely where the majority of the heat is coming from.

I'm sure that the electric heater element (12VDC/110AC) creates less stray heat behind fridge as it is contained in a metal tube next to coolant tube etc.all of which is wrapped in insulation and covered with galv sheet metal.

I"m sure running on LP contributes stray heat, but, and I'm guesstimating, more than half of the stray heat comes off of the cooling fins and possibly the absorber.

Neil.

On 7/21/07, Loren Busch <starwagen@gmail.com> wrote:
> A 1question for the 'feidge gurus out there.  We all know that with the
> stock Dometic refigerator in our Westies that there is heat build up behind
> the refigerator, that there is a fan on the Dometic to move air across the
> cooling fins when the temp gets up to a certain point, and that many have
> taken additional steps to get that hot air out of the space behind the
> refigerator.  But, how about the Norcold like several of us have installed?
> Is the heat being extracted from the inside being dumped in that same cavity
> behind the 'fridge?  The Norcold has built in vents top and bottom but when
> my Norcold is running I don't get any sign of heat (like with the Dometic)
> at the vents in front or at the top of the cabinets (behind the stove).  So
> where is it going?  Or is most of the heat problem with the Dometic on
> propane the propane fire being used to create the cooling cycle?
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>

--
Neil Nicholson. 1981 Air Cooled Westfalia.

http://web.mac.com/tubaneil