My grandmother had a Servell, too, and what happened to it is that the door
hinges wore out after so many years of operation. Yep, had a freezer.
Replaced with a compressor fridge that lasted about a third as long.

While we are on the subject of refrigeration, check out the icy ball
refrigerator <http://crosleyicyball.com>

Jim

On Sun, Jun 28, 2015 at 1:55 PM, Jim Felder <jim.felder@gmail.com> wrote:

> Historical aside: The ammonia cycle refrigerator as we know it was
> invented by Dr. Carl von Linde, who made  fortune selling his ice-making
> machinery around the world. He was the professor of theoretical engineering
> at the prestigious Polytechnikum in Munich at the outbreak of the
> Franco-Prussian was in 1870. A German boy whose family had fled Paris
> because they were politically undesirable became his star student and went
> on to become world famous in his on right. His name was Rudolph Diesel.
>
> When I am driving down the road in my Diesel Westy with my propane fridge
> keeping my food cold I sometimes think of how lucky I am that those two
> were in the same classroom at the same time.
>
> Jim
>
> On Sun, Jun 28, 2015 at 1:31 PM, Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@cox.net> wrote:
>
>> ---- Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>> > It's been running in the upper 30s (C) hereabouts for the past few days
>> > and into the foreseeable future. I would not want my household
>> > refrigerator to be ammonia-based. Esp. since we do not have
>> > air-conditioning in our house.
>>
>> Yet, ammonia cycle gas refrigerators are in widespread use throughout the
>> world, particularly where electricity is unavailable.  When I worked at The
>> University of Texas at Brownsville the refrigerators for both domestic use
>> and for lab use at our field station in southern Taumalipas were propane
>> fired ammonia cycle units.  It got pretty warm there.  We made ice in the
>> refrigerators.  mcneely
>>
>> mcneely
>>
>> >
>> > I do have a big aux battery in the van -- a pair of golf cart batteries.
>> > And a set of portable solar panels totalling about 75W (measured) and a
>> > good MPPT solar controller. These are, as someone said a few days ago,
>> > the "support system" for my Vitrifrigo refrigerator.
>> >
>> > Nothing creeps me out quite like watching my perishables get warm. OTOH,
>> > it's a personal issue. Like Don sez, "I suppose I could 'stress' about
>> > how inefficient my Dometic is in my Vanagon but I'm satisfied with
>> it..."
>> >
>> > --
>> > Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
>> > 1984 Westfalia, auto trans,
>> > Bend, Ore.
>> >
>> > On 06/28/2015 08:36 AM, Alistair Bell wrote:
>> > > It's all down to horses for courses.
>> > >
>> > > I have no problem using the dometic where I camp, but I can
>> > > understand how it wouldn't work for hot climates.
>> > >
>> > > The warmest spot I have ever camped in was dinosaur provincial park
>> > > in Alberta in summer. I think it was around 41 C and spotty shade at
>> > > the camp spot. I didn't record fridge temps then but I recall that it
>> > > wasn't up to the task.
>> > >
>> > > Now that I have a big aux battery I could install an electric fridge.
>> > > But I don't have the pressing need right now.
>> > >
>> > > The previous mentioned ( R Jones) surface are to volume ratio
>> > > handicap on the dometic is the big issue. If the fridge had super
>> > > efficient insulation ( aerogel anyone?) it probably would help.
>> > >
>> > > Alistair
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >> On Jun 28, 2015, at 8:17 AM, Rocket J Squirrel
>> > >> <camping.elliott@gmail.com> wrote:
>> > >>
>> > >> I did all the tricks I could to help the refrigerator when I was
>> > >> camping in the Southwest because I like to tinker.
>> > >>
>> > >> Parked the van so the driver's side was the shady side, slung a
>> > >> mylar blanket over that side when I couldn't park ideally, put on
>> > >> the bigger heatsink fan, installed an exhaust fan in the city water
>> > >> port, drew cooler air up from beneath the van, added additional
>> > >> insulation between the outer wall of the van and the backside of
>> > >> the refrigerator, and additional insulation around the flue.
>> > >>
>> > >> None of these made a noticeable difference. When you're parked in
>> > >> 100F ambient temp and the ammonia cycle can only pull a 40F delta,
>> > >> the inside of the refrigerator will eventually get to 60F. It might
>> > >> have been be a bit later in the day when it reached that point, but
>> > >> it got there anyway. Heat never sleeps.
>> > >>
>> > >> But have at it -- maybe someone will tumble to some new trick that
>> > >> will make a significant difference.
>> > >>
>> > >> -- Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott 1984 Westfalia, auto trans,
>> > >> Bend, Ore.
>> > >>
>> > >>> On 06/28/2015 07:56 AM, Alistair Bell wrote: Yes but it's a quiet
>> > >>> person jammed in behind the fridge.
>> > >>>
>> > >>> It gets stoinking hot back there, flue is hot, fins are hot...
>> > >>>
>> > >>> Maybe insulating the flue, didn't Neil do that?
>> > >>>
>> > >>> Alistair
>> > >>>
>> > >>>
>> > >>>
>> > >>>
>> > >>>
>> > >>>> On Jun 28, 2015, at 7:54 AM, David Beierl
>> > >>>> <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET> wrote:
>> > >>>>
>> > >>>> At 10:13 AM 6/28/2015, Jim Felder wrote:
>> > >>>>> Right, I never think about it unless I'm camping and can't do
>> > >>>>> anything about it, but if that little flame was to be outside
>> > >>>>> the living space like it is on RV, by means of a louvered
>> > >>>>> panel or something like what you have done, it would have to
>> > >>>>> be somewhat cooler inside.
>> > >>>>
>> > >>>> The 85 watt heater is about 300 BTU/hr, or about half a quiet
>> > >>>> person.  The flame was quoted to me on the phone by a Dometic
>> > >>>> tech years ago as 650 BTU/hr, or a whole person -- but the
>> > >>>> great bulk of that extra goes out the flue.
>> > >>>>
>> > >>>> Yrs, d
>>
>> --
>> David McNeely
>>
>
>