65L Isotherm 2-way fridge questions

[PaulT]

The owner's manual specifically shows ventilation from bottom of cabinet for cool air entry to top of cabinet for hot air exhaust using natural thermal heat flow, ie. hot air rises. They show cross cabinet flow, probably for a more complete air exchange.
http://www.fourwh.com/isotherm-refrigerator-cruise-manual-65.pdf

DanoT has a point about winter camping. Although you guys from north of some random parallel are a tough bunch of customers when it comes to less tropical seasons, having cold air from outside exhaust inside the camper and having hot summer outside air with additional fridge heat exhaust inside the camper seems less than ideal. The air exhausted must be replaced with air from somewhere.

I was able to use wire ties to mount a very light fan to the upper vent on my Hawk, it will be tested over a upcoming trip to your Rockies in hopes of actually seeing the mountains this time.

Paul

 

[Vic Harder]

poky,

the fan is quiet how quiet? i'm not sure i can tell which fan is running so, no louder than the stock one

during the day i have to look at the fan to check if it is running

at night it is more the vibration of the compressor that i notice

i made one vent on the outside wall about 6x6" that goes exactly where the compressor , fan and coils are. there is a direct air flow over the coils from the two fans pushing and pulling together (had to experiment with flipping the fan around to get the flow working so that they are cooperating)

no complaints about the fridge keeps food at 3 degrees C when it is 30 outside

power use is minimal let me check the victron 702--- 12 AH overnight

 

[Vic Harder]

Vic, your auxiliary fan is mounted on what is essentially an outside wall, so I suggest that if you plan to do any cold weather camping that you install a separate on/off switch for the aux fan as well as a cover for the fan.

I mostly do winter camping in ski area parking lots, so I have insulated the "outside walls" on either side of the back of my built in fridge.

Good point DanoT. I will look at covering the second fan and disabling it for the winter. The fridge already has an extra 1/2" of pink hard insulation all around it, that I added during the install.

 

[RC Pilot Jim]

In 2010 - 2012 Four Wheel was experimenting with Engel top loading fridges in the Hawk and other sizes. Biggest problem was losing the counter space on top of the fridge which pushed them back to front opening models. At rallies I have spoken to owners that have this set - up and prefer it over the front opening models.

I have heard the "Isotherms" are much more efficient than the "Dometics". Top loading portables are very efficient because the "cold" doesn't fall out when the door is opened. Still even in my Engel in plus 100 degree heat the setting is 1.5 and the unit is cycling more often than when outside heat is around 90 degrees.

 

[CamperCamper]

I agree with y'all. My isotherm door never shuts tightly, I've added a bunny lock to hold it closed tight. Pre cool everything. But my spouse served vodka tonic one night with ice, so I know I can make a cocktail once in awhile!

What exactly is a bunny lock? I ask because I am also having trouble keeping the door closed. A Google search turns up some interesting images but nothing that would work on keeping a door sealed tight. I would like to employ a temporary fix to this problem.

I am finding that my reefer door opens and closes while driving down rough roads. It doesn't open completely as the latch has not failed but it continuously opens and then closes but never closes tightly and never stays completely closed. It is always ready to pop open on the next bump and allow more cold air to escape. You can confirm the ability of the door to come slightly ajar by gently pulling on the side of the door when it is shut and watch the light come on and the door open enough to let some cold air escape. No es bueno!

I have reached out to the folks at FWC and they are aware of the problem and have offered some solutions but nothing that works. While I continue to work with them for a lasting solution, I would like to find a temporary fix. Anybody wth photos of your solutions?

 

[buckland]

I own the Isotherm 65 ... great fridge. door stays shut on wild bumpy roads. Was on a ferry for 5 days....no solar charge and the fridge ran well and batteries were fine. I did add 2 quarts bottles frozen. I replaced my Engel top loading with this. Also the fridge is remarkably quiet.

 

[whwv]

I have reached out to the folks at FWC and they are aware of the problem and have offered some solutions but nothing that works. While I continue to work with them for a lasting solution, I would like to find a temporary fix. Anybody wth photos of your solutions?

I don't have a picture, but I just used a strip of velcro. If you search on the site, some people have some good permanent solutions such as using a privacy door lock or latch, but I didn't want to put a hole in anything. I put a piece of adhesive velcro on the fridge and one on the cabinet, and then use the opposing piece to connect the two. Works great.

 

[whwv]

I own the Isotherm 65 ... great fridge. door stays shut on wild bumpy roads. Was on a ferry for 5 days....no solar charge and the fridge ran well and batteries were fine. I did add 2 quarts bottles frozen. I replaced my Engel top loading with this. Also the fridge is remarkably quiet.

Good to know. I just need to pull the trigger now. Thanks!

 

[Rob85]

I have 65 L Isotherm on my swift, and I always pre-cool my fridge the night before going on a trip. I then load up the fridge with already cold stuff from my house fridge the morning of, and everything stays cold for several days while camping in hot weather. I had no idea the ARB's are more efficient. I have often wondered myself why FWC does not offer more of a variety when it comes to equipment installs. I know some of it comes down to schematics, along with price, but most people are willing to pay for it.

 

[paulclancy]

I'm happy with the Isotherm on our 2016 Fleet.
It does it's job. You just have to park in sunny spots. The fridge is the main power draw on our system.

If I had to do it again ........
I'd get the camper without a fridge.
Put an ARB fridge in the backseat wired to the truck battery.
Or a Yeti cooler would work for 5 or 6 days.

 

[challinger]

Hi guys,

I'm a newbie here and I also bought 2017 Hawk in March. I have the 85L and was having the same problems with my fridge as the OP stated. What worked for me was I installed a computer cooling fan on the inside of the fridge, powered from the light. It draws .19amps. I live in southeast Va. Before the install the temps in the fridge would vary from the high 30's in the back to low 50's at the door on the really hot days. Now with the fan running it maintains even temps in the front and back staying in the 30's. My dial is usually set around 3 once I have the initial cool down from start up. Having the air moving around on the inside of the fridge solved my problem.

Thanks,

Carl

 

[RONR]

Hi guys,

I'm a newbie here and I also bought 2017 Hawk in March. I have the 85L and was having the same problems with my fridge as the OP stated. What worked for me was I installed a computer cooling fan on the inside of the fridge, powered from the light. It draws .19amps. I live in southeast Va. Before the install the temps in the fridge would vary from the high 30's in the back to low 50's at the door on the really hot days. Now with the fan running it maintains even temps in the front and back staying in the 30's. My dial is usually set around 3 once I have the initial cool down from start up. Having the air moving around on the inside of the fridge solved my problem.

Thanks,

Carl

Carl. Thanks for your post. Your fan install sounds interesting. Could you give us a little more detail on how you installed the fan “powered from the light”? I’m not sure how you would make the connection and doesn’t the power from the light cut off once the door is shut?

Thanks, Ron

 

[challinger]

Ron,
I was able to make the connection before the switch. When the cover for the light is pulled down the wires are exposed. I fished the fan wire thru the back of the housing and made the connection with a tap splice. It all fit nicely in the housing with light cover back in place. I used the flexible wire conduit (not sure if that's the correct term) to protect the wires and the self adhesive cable tie mounts for holding the wires tight to the wall. Also installed, an on/off switch and inline fuse. Before doing this I called indel Webasto and they said the .19amp draw from the fan would not be a problem. The fan is wire tied to the top shelf just below and a little bit to the right of the freezer blowing from back to front. I tried the battery powered Valterra FridgeCool fan and got poor results.
I hope this helps.

Thanks, Carl

 

[RONR]

Carl. It helps. Thanks!

 

[Vic Harder]

Ron,
I was able to make the connection before the switch. When the cover for the light is pulled down the wires are exposed. I fished the fan wire thru the back of the housing and made the connection with a tap splice. It all fit nicely in the housing with light cover back in place. I used the flexible wire conduit (not sure if that's the correct term) to protect the wires and the self adhesive cable tie mounts for holding the wires tight to the wall. Also installed, an on/off switch and inline fuse. Before doing this I called indel Webasto and they said the .19amp draw from the fan would not be a problem. The fan is wire tied to the top shelf just below and a little bit to the right of the freezer blowing from back to front. I tried the battery powered Valterra FridgeCool fan and got poor results.
I hope this helps.

Thanks, Carl

carl, what size fan - inches and cfm - did you use?

 

[challinger]

Vic,

The frame is 3.125in x 3.125in and it's 31.43cfm.

Carl

 

[adamxcl]

I have been happy thus far with the fridge. The first couple of trips out , I was playing with the temp a lot. I put my old FridgeCool in it and it seemed to make a big difference. Had to lower the thermostat dial by two numbers. FridgeCool (current name for it from what I found) is just a little fan that runs two D batteries. They say 30 days on the batteries but I usually get a full season out of them.