Campervan Fridge temperatures

[Skyliner123]

So this is my first winter with a Campervan and at the weekend I thought my fridge was broken as the compressor wouldn’t start even though the lights were on. It is a Sanjo SVR50 (Waeco/ Dometic CRX50 copy). Anyway to cut a long story short I didn’t give any thought to the fact that the already low temperature in the van meant that the fridge temperature even turned off was down to around 4 degrees C. The manual of the SVR50 states a temperature of between 5 and 12 degrees c which I thought sounded high (the CRX50 manual states 3 to 12 degrees c)? Also don’t even look at what ambient temperature range both manuals suggest the fridge works in! I managed to get it to kick in on the highest setting by leaving the fridge door open for a bit with the diesel heater running so am assuming/ hoping there is no actual fault.

During the Summer we only used to have it running on around the 3 out of 5 temp setting but going by the specification that would make it around 7 or 8 degrees c which is far too warm and we would surely have noticed so am I missing something here?

Any help/ advice appreciated.

 

[Pete C]

The cold weather temperature behaviour you describe matches exactly how our Dometic operates.

In summer, have you put a thermometer inside to see what temperature it gets to. The temperature regulation on ours is not as good as a household fridge, but as long as it‘s 6°c or lower, then we don’t worry.

Pete

 

[AussieMick]

I have a digital thermometer mounted in my van and the sender unit inside the fridge. This allows me to keep an eye on the internal temperature of the fridge and adjust accordingly



Often the warmer the ambient temperature the colder inside the fridge due to the compressor running a lot more.



I try to keep internal temperature around 3 to 4 degrees Celsius.



 

[DXX]

My CRX50 is good on setting 2. If set any cooler some food will freeze on the back of the top shelf.
As with any fridge it can’t work if overfilled and doesn’t stand a chance if the door is opened for food gazing.
I quite often use it without the freezer box and it works without issues even in the low 30’s degC.
The installation clearances are critical to allow sufficient convection across the back of the fridge.

 

[AussieMick]

Agree about ventilation. I have added a 12v fan blowing across compressor when needed and added ventilation grills at top of cabinet to allow hot air to escape.

 

[Skyliner123]

Regarding food grazing I also discovered if you leave the door open for a certain period all the led lights start flashing presumably to warn you, this isn’t mentioned in the manual.

 

[Skyliner123]

I didn’t think to put a thermometer in the fridge in warmer weather so have no real comparison to see what it read on the lower settings. I notice that the CRX50 fridges have a setting for ‘quick‘ freeze, on the SVR50 there is a ‘quite’ mode apparently according to the manual and I had wondered what that meant until I read the CRX50 manual!

 

[Pete C]

Agree about ventilation. I have added a 12v fan blowing across compressor when needed and added ventilation grills at top of cabinet to allow hot air to escape.

I have done something similar - we have seen temperatures above 40°c behind the fridge on hot days.

Pete

 

[DXX]

If you have the ‘standard‘ camper layout make sure there is a gap of about 10-15mm between the body below the window and the edge of the worktop to allow air flow.
Aside from the ventilation it has the added bonus of preventing a leaking sliding window damaging your furniture.

 

[Dutchy]

The cold weather temperature behaviour you describe matches exactly how our Dometic operates.

In summer, have you put a thermometer inside to see what temperature it gets to. The temperature regulation on ours is not as good as a household fridge, but as long as it‘s 6°c or lower, then we don’t worry.

Pete

Hiya, fairly new to campervanning here!! So I understand the logic of the cold weather and the fridge not kicking in as it may be on temperature. Problem I got is that the freezer compartment in that case won't keep my frozen food frozen during this cold weather. Is there a way round this? I got the CRX0050 dometic and can't find anything in the manual on this.
In the summer it is different as the fridge pretty much operates most of the time and hence keeps the freezer compartment frozen.
Any ideas or just gotta live with it.....? Thanks!

 

[Pete C]

In reality, the only time that this is an issue is when you first use the van on a cold day. Sleeping in it and driving around keeps the interior warm enough for the fridge/freezer to operate.

Pete

 

[roadtripper]

Both camping and domestic fridge freezers come in two types.

The better ones are twin compressor and thermostat and are effectively 2 independent devices in one housing.

The simpler ones have a single compressor and work by sending the coolant first through the "freezer" and then the fridge. They rely on the fridge running enough to keep the "freezer" cold, if the environment they are in is not around the 16-21 degrees of a house then the freezer doesn't cool enough.

This also impacts you at home if you have a single compressor twin device in a shed or garage.

Basically if you have 2 thermostat or temperature settings your fine in low temps, if you only have one then the freezer will only work properly if the area around it is broadly room temperature.

@Dutchy if frozen food is important in low temperatures you could always have a small additional compressor coolbox and set that lower, though you will need the space and power.

 

[Pete C]

To be fair, our only use of our freezer section is ice cubes for G&T's. And it has never failed us in both extremes of temperature

Pete