Truckfridge guy said:

[WalkaboutTed]

I received my Truckfridge TF130 yesterday. Today I temporarily hooked it up in the van to make sure it worked properly(it does).  While deciding how we want to frame it, I decided to call Truckfridge, ostensibly to ask about the flange they sell for installing.

The first thing the rep said was that unless I wanted a clean, pretty install, which ain't possible in our homebuilt conversion, that we shouldn't waste our money on their flange ($50)and the shipping ($25). He suggested that we just get some extruded aluminum or steel from Home Depot to attach the fridge to the frame.

While discussing above, I mentioned that we were going to put insulation around the fridge.  He immediately volunteered the caution "Whatever you do, don't glue the insulation directly on to the outside walls".  That had never occurred to me, but he said that people do that on a regular basis. Then he said for the first time "That will void your warranty (2 years)". He suggested to use the poly straps that packed the fridge to secure the insulation. And to put an footprint insulating panel in.

So, on to a second fan or replacing the stock one? I figured since I had him on the phone, I might as well pick his brain. Changing out the built in fan? "That will void your warranty".  Piggybacking a second fan onto the compressor hooking into the power on the fan wiring? "That will void your warranty".  Splicing into the LED light inside the fridge in order to put in a 40mm muffin fan to circulate air inside? "That will void your warranty". Ya see where this is going.  All the suggestions from the helpful people on this board? "That will void your warranty".

I then asked about using a second fan with an independent power source and "assisting" the stock fan, pushing air in the same direction.  His response was that it wouldn't make a substantial difference in power usage, except to waste the electricity used to run the fan.  He stated that the only time that an extra fan might be helpful would be to ventilate the cabinet enclosure.

A couple of times he stipulated that "Truckfridge aims our fridges at the commercial trucking market.  We aren't able to give you advice on solar installation or RV use because that's not our market". That was along with the unsaid corollary of "We can't be liable for all the stupid things that non-truckers may do with our fridges".  And something he mentioned to keep in mind is that truckers' electric situation is different from RV type setups. Truckers run their engines most of the time or have a generator running. They don't need the multiple days of battery storage capacity that we do here. Truckers don't need to worry about too much more efficiency, therefore, there is no need to try to improve on the already good performance and efficiency in the fridges. Truckers want to install the appliance, plug it in and forget it.

I can understand Truckfridge's stand on modifications of their products as to their warranty becoming null and void.  I also know that there is no such thing as a product that can't be made more efficient through "fixing" things.  

So, while the fridge is under warranty, I won't touch any innards.  After that two years, I'll be fiddling about.  But, just from hanging out, sitting on the floor while next to the compressor while I had it first turned on, the "exhaust" is noticeably warm. I will be adding an external second fan, just not powered by the installed fan. It'll be running full time, I guess.  I'm using that Nashua fan that Sternwake has suggested since I have it in hand.

But, Truckfridge is manufactured by the same company that manufactures Vitrifrigo, Indel B, and Isotherm.  With that in mind, we can look further afield for tips and tricks to make the fridges more efficient.  

I just thought some of you might be interested.

 

[SternWake]

Vitrifrigo is at least assembled in Italy, the others are made in China.  There are certainly similarities in the actual box and interior, but how they run the cooling unit  plumbing is different.

I did not care about voiding warranty.

But, if I needed to use the warranty:

My foamboard insulation is held to itself on the corners withNashua  flexfix tape.  I never even considered glue.  I could remove the insulation, no one would ever know.

I could return the original fan, they would never have any idea I upgraded it or moved it, nor would they know if I added another on the circuit, and I could also remove my internal fan clean enough that  only a inspection  with a magifying glass and a bright light could ever see the 12v LED's wires being tapped.

Evacuating the heat from the cooling unit's general area can make a huge difference in comnsumption, depending on how restricted the area is.  

The most common causes of poor performance on small 12/24 volt refrigerator are:
• Poor airflow through condenser.
• Condenser fan is not shrouded.
• Heated air that passes through condenser is allowed to pass through it again.

Source:
http://www.kollmann-marine.com/Performance problems.aspx


The response from TF almost  makes me want to not post links to their product anymore.

I am even more glad I spend the extra C note for the Vitrifrigo now, but I expect they would give nearly the same song and dance regarding warranty.

I Now release flatulence in the general direction of Truckfridge. 

But honestly their reply is fully expected.  They have to assume any tinkerer has the skills and finesse of a meth addled Gorilla.  It is not like batteries where a user can destroy one though ignorance or deliberatley and expect the retailer or manufacturer to still honor the warranty.

 

[WalkaboutTed]

Anything that I would do as far as modifying the fans, etc, with my inadequate knowledge and skill level would be quite noticeable. So that remains off the table for now.


I had read somewhere that Vitrifrigo was now manufactured in China, like every thing else nowadays. With that in mind, I figured the extra money for virtually the same product wasn't money well spent. I did a quick search and found a PDF of one of their manuals:

Identification of Manufacturer or EEC Officer
Your refrigerator is made in China and placed on the market by:
Vitrifrigo s.n.c
Via Della Produzione, 9
61020 Montecchio (PU)
Tel. +39 0721 491080
Fax. +39 0721 497739
E-Mail. [email protected]

Nothing good lasts forever. It just goes to China and is reborn as crap. Just like everything else I purchase that's made there-I hope for the best, but I'm not surprised when it's junk. That's why I want the warranty, just in case it croaks before the two years are up.

 

[SternWake]

Dang, VF followed the bandwagon to Asia too. Thanks for the info.

As far as the fans, these piggy back connectors would be undetectable, but honestly the Noctua NF-F12 is so quiet, and comes with those resistor cables to slow it even further( and reduce amp draw even further) that you can just let it run 24/7 evacuating heat from or forcing cooler air into the cooling unit area, rather than have it activated by the danfoss compressor controller.

https://www.amazon.com/Vinyl-Insulated-Piggyback-Quick-Disconnect/dp/B001IE3OFA

 

[WalkaboutTed]

That's the fan I have, based on your recommendation. I'm just going to attach it to the grill surrounding the compressor, right behind the fan, blowing in the same direction and attach it with tie-wraps. That should be okay, no?

I have those connectors, but I don't feel comfortable using them after talking to the TF rep. I'm sure I'll be able to use them elsewhere.
Thank you
Ted

 

[SternWake]

  That should be okay, no?

I would use the secondary fan to flush the cooling unit compartment with fresh air, forcing it in or pulling warmed air out.

Another fan on the condenser inline is not going to do much.
  Exchange warmed air with cold, not just circulate preheated air faster.  I;d not bother with another fan on the condenser inline with original.  the original fan has neough flow, the Idea is to get the coils bathed in coolest possible ambient air, not have warmed air move around even faster.

As an example, It would be the difference in sitting in you van in direct sun with a strong fan blowing on you with windows closed, versus a fan in one of those windows pushing cooler air inside and out another window, while the interior fan still blows.

 

[WalkaboutTed]

I can do that so the warm air is blown completely away from exhaust from the compressor/condenser. The area around the fridge is not closed in, it's wide and tall enough that I can sit right next to it. But the warmed area does seem to "pool" there, for lack of a better word. We keep the van fairly cool with convection (the overhead vent and the window's and/or floor vents cracked) and the fridge low on the floor. Hopefully, we'll be out of the desert before we get into the 100s every day. We're in the upper 80s in a couple days.

Our goal is to be able to get by on our 300ah of batteries and the 380w solar with running all the doodads along with the fridge in the boonies for 2-3 weeks at a time. Tonight we have an AC to DC charger out there to get the batteries as full as possible. I'm hoping we could do a long, overnight charge every 2-3 weeks to keep the batteries at max capacity. Otherwise we'll have to turn things off or raise the fridge temp. Warm beer. Yuck.