So true! The Dometic is useless even here in the NW, with our record
breaking heat wave that is likely to continue all summer.  The poor person's
fix:
http://www.gowesty.com/ec_view_details.php?id=4361&category_id=&category_par
ent_id=  or do it yourself for about $30 with just the GW block off plate.  

I always had to carry an ice chest anyway, and now I carry a Coleman and a
soft cooler.  If it gets any hotter I may have to get one of those fancy
super insulated ice chests that costs an arm and a leg. 

The Dometic is a cute but obsolete novelty (just like the ice cubes it
makes) that is simply not worth the trouble, and the extra storage when
removed is much more useful.

Stuart--though it did take me 20 years of wasted time and effort to realize
this.  I'm (much) older and wiser now.

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Richard Jones
Sent: Saturday, June 27, 2015 9:03 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Propane and refrigerator success

> The ammonia cycle is capable of pulling something around a 40 degree 
> (F) differential between ambient temperature and internal temperature, 
> and my measurements agree with this.

I think this is not correct.  The "40 degree" comes from the Koolatron style
heater/coolers:
"Cools to 22�C (40�F) below ambient temperature"

For ammonia cycle fridges, our big brothers have big fridge/freezer combos
that are the same design.  How about a double door 9 cu-ft one?
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/dometic-new-generation-rm3962-2-wa
y-refrigerator-double-door-9-0-cu-ft-/34425
The ice cube maker seems like a nice idea about cocktail hour.

The ammonia cycle is not the problem.  Size is the problem.  Think this way:
Volume goes by the cube whereas surface area goes by the square.  So a
slight increase in surface area--the outsides of the fridge--give a bigger
kick to the volume.  You design the ammonia cycle for the volume.  So the
SMALLER you make the fridge, the harder it is to make it work, since the
surface area approaches the volume.

THAT is the problem with the Westy Dometic--it is TOO SMALL.  My Dometic
made wonderful ice cubes, even if they were Barbie size.  So that part of
the fridge must have been below freezing.  But in a hot Moab afternoon, with
the interior temp of the Westy at 110 F, there was too much surface area of
the fridge for the volume of cold.

Maybe sometimes that meant a 40 degree difference but other times it could
be less.  If the overnight low was 40 degrees, my fridge would go to well
below freezing if I didn't turn the thermostat down.

Again, the problem with the Westy Dometic is that it is TOO SMALL.

Replace it with a Vitrifrigo and you have DOUBLE the volume in the same
space, or really less since you can put a drawer under it, or a Propex,
or....  And you have double the volume with only a slight increase in the
surface area. :-)

Richard