Fridge vent covers
We are off for a two week new year break and I have been considering fitting winter covers for the fridge vents. Our caravan has two very large (24 x 48cm) vents and I am sure they don't need to be that big at this time of year.
It seems quite difficult to find much information about these covers other than they should be used when the temperature is below 8'C but I am concerned about using the fridge on gas with them fitted.
Any experience/comments on these covers would be welcomed.
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Don't be concerned, Stephen, they are designed for use as you say in low temperatures and, so far as I know, they help the fridge do its job efficiently and I've never heard of any safety problems.. Incidentally there should be no safety worries about using gas to power the fridge since the exhaust gases are, or should be, vented to the outside with no connection to the living areas of your 'van !! My 'vans covers are put on in the middle of October and stay there until about Easter and I'm still here OK
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Funnily enough I have just received the fridge covers for my Dometic fridge today although I have not fitted them yet. You don't mention what make/model you have, I think,mine is an 8400. The two covers are different lengths so I imagine the shorter one goes at the top but doesn't cover where the gas exhaust is. The longer one goes on the bottom vent.
David
Edit - Just fitted them and the smaller cover does avoid the gas exhaust outlet.
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We travel with them on, and have done for many a year throughout the winter months, without them falling off.......Just hope I haven't spoken too soon.
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Very few places sell them as a single,
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I would like to know why they are not supplied with a new caravan. Crazy price for a bit of plastic that the manufacturer says you should fit on caravans that are sold to be used in the winter
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They certainly vary in price. Our van is silver and the prices were ridiculous. Bought two genuine Dometic white ones on Amazon for £12.50 each and sprayed the outside surface with silver car paint. They blend in very well. We never used any on the caravan, but the vents on the MH are much bigger and the handbook specifically mentions using them. I was also a little concerned re traveling with them on. However, they lock on quite tightly and so far have stayed in place. You can certainly buy the ones for our MH as singles, should you loose one.
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The set of covers I got today cost £11.99 from Bailey, Prima Leisure Accessories. The code was WA120/130 white. I seem to recall the ones I got for my previous motorhome (which had a large fridge/freezer) were also quite reasonably priced, also from Bailey.
David
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Made my own offcut white plastic , total cost nowt
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I just follow the advice in the hand book and fit them for low temperatures and when washing the van. Like DK they were not that expensive, and a small price to pay to prevent potential damage to an expensive piece of, for us, essential equipment.
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They don't list ours. However, an almost comparable (just a cm wider) Dometic cover (white) is £22.49. The ones I purchase on Amazon were £12.50. If I had wanted to get silver ones, by the time I added postage they would have been almost £50 each.
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The fridge runs more efficiently in cold temperatures if vent covers are fitted. We also keep ours on when in storage and travelling at any time of the year just to help keep the area dust free. Having the vent covers fitted in storage also helps keep those pesky flies out at the end of the summer.
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Well this has turned out to be more trouble than I expected (than it is worth).
A local accessory shop has the vents for my caravan (dometic LS300) but they replace the existing vent rather than, as I expected, just cover it. I would then feel the need to carry both sets to cope with temperatures going above (or below) 8° while I am away.
Not to mention that they wanted £40 each. You need an awful lot of improved efficiency to pay for that so, until I can make my own, it will have to do without
I think there is a lot to be said for the idea that these should come with the caravan as they are recommended by the fridge manufacturers. No one mentioned that the caravan was not fit for use below 8°C when I bought it.
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Ours are LS300's as well. You certainly don't have to buy the grill with the cover, which was probably what you were looking at for £40. The winter covers are available separately from Amazon for £12.50 each. That's for white covers, colours or silver are much more expensive.
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Thanks for that, I have had a look at them and they look about right.
I seem to have missed the £12.50 ones though £15 now.
The £40 grille replacement that I found was about an inch thick (insulated) which sort of fills in the gaping hole(s) in the caravan side where these vents are, still hard to justify that price though
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We've never really seen a need for these covers but fitted a pair for Christmas away at Longleat this year. Although it has been cold (but frosty only on one night) we found that the area around the fridge control panel was much warmer than usual. Also some of our frozen food was 'soft'. Which indicates our fridge was struggling to work normally I guess.
So we've removed the covers and the fridge is working normally again. I can see the advantage of fitting them when the van is in storage as discussed but will maybe only use them in frosty conditions in future?
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