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Insulating the fridge on a 14RB

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12:33 pm
July 12, 2013


pfidahospud

Post Falls, Idaho

Member

posts 107

Recently with the hotter weather, I've noticed the fridge just not quite keeping up.  I have a thermometer with an outdoor sensor that I use inside the fridge, and on hot days (>100 degrees) the inside temp would get almost to 50 degrees!  And this is with an electric fan to circulate air inside!  I had also noticed that the countertop above the fridge was also very warm to the touch.  Obviously something was wrong with this whole scenario.  I took off the top vent off cover off (outside), and behind a thin piece of sheetmetal, I found about 5″ of dead space above the refrigerator that trapped the hot air that the cooling system was giving off:

Dead space above fridge

My attempted solution was to insulate around the fridge.  There wasn't enough room around the sides of the fridge to put any insulation, so I focused on the top.  I got the cheapest/smallest roll of fire-resistant fiberglass insulation I could find, and cut a section to fit above the fridge.  I thought about trying to use foam board insulation, but the size of the access window didn't allow that:

Insulation

Finally I put the sheet metal flashing back in the original spot, and used duct tape around the edges to seal as much as I could.  The duct tape may fail with time, but it's what I had on hand Smile

Finished product

So for results, my counter is no longer warm, and the inside temperature in the fridge seems to be quite a bit cooler.  Yesterday was only about 85 degrees, the fridge side was in the shade, so I'm sure that helped too.  I'm sure a fan on the outside of the fridge would help too, to push the hot air up and out, but hopefully this low-tech solution will work.

What I would like to do next is to clean the burner / orifice, but I don't know how to do that yet.  Has anyone here done that, and would like to share?

Thanks!

Tow-er: 2010 RAV4 3.5L 269 hp V6 with Tow Pkg ~ Tow-ee: 2011 Sportsmen Classic 14RB ~ Director: The wife

3:22 am
July 15, 2013


DECON BLUE

Member

posts 93

I am a full time Rver, and have been living in my 2011 14RB for 2 years now and have also noticed the fridge problem.  Try keeping the fridge side in shade as much as possible, don't pack fridge full so air can cirrculate inside and keep cabinet doors open by fridge letting hot trapped air out helps too.  After down sizing from the coach i had to the 14RB I have noticed many downfalls in the 14 RB.  The charging system for my battery failed, the water heater tank developed a small hole in the tank at 1 of the seams, the roofs started leaking at the seams, all of witch happened after the warrenty expired, with no help from the dealer or the factory.  I guess you get what you poay for uh.