Webasto fridge freezer

[part time nomad]

I have noticed that my Webasto CR165 fridge freezer is not pulling the temperature down low enough.

The motor seems to run almost continously but the temperature is still about 10c

could it be low on fridge gas? it runs at 24 volt and there is plenty of power there.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

If it was low on gas that could happen. Not sure what the process is with that fridge but on our boat fridge which is based on the Danfoss BD80 compressor there is a charging port.

 

[part time nomad]

it used to work really well but I have noticed it getting steadily worse, particularly in the heat of Spain.
guess I will have to pull it out and get it looked at.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Make sure you also have adequate ventilation for the compressor. Our boat fridge works noticeably in warmer climates.

 

[part time nomad]

Thank you, Yes there is plenty of ventilation all round, also I have a fan to help ventilate that I turn on if needed.

 

[Neil]

We have the waeco cr 140 which is a similar fridge. Its ability to hold a good constant temp is crap. The thermostat is in the wrong place being high up. It takes forever for the cold air in the bottom of the fridge to get deep enough to trip the thermostat. Hence it being on all the time.

I have a solution. I have a small fan inside the fridge that is powered when the compressor is on. This circulates the air in the fridge making an even tempreture all over.

The result being that i no longer get a thick wall of ice on the back wall and the fridge runs at about 30 % of the time it used to.

Its much better

Hope this helps

Neil

 

[part time nomad]

Thanks Neil, I do remember seeing your thread on this, now you mention it. you were in the experimental stage,I believe, I guess its a small computer type fan? is it mounted low down or at the top? and I suppose you have to be careful where to drill for the wire!

BTW. love the blog! keep it coming. Clive

 

[Neil]

Thanks clive

Its a bit more than a computer fan its from rs components and is good at all tempretures etc. Its 12v . I have mounted it on the left side opposite the themostat. There are no wores or pipes on that side.. i have a small bit of plastic tube that us used to push the air from the top of the fridge to the bottom.

Ot works well although i csn just about hear the fan when its on

Neil

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Also search for a fan for a sailboat fridge. They are not all the uncommon either as a spill over (single evaporator for fridge/freezer) or a circulation fan like Neil has.

 

[part time nomad]

I took the fridge out and had it checked, it was low on gas! so they re gassed it and put the sniffer in to check for leaks, and could not find any, so I had it back and ran it, but after 3 days with the outside temperature at 30 c the fridge was again running at +13c & freezer at -2c

So I took it back out and again it was low on gas, with no leaks showing!

So I need a new one! I bought the fridge in November 2015 it was stored for a while as the truck was being built, AES Leighton Buzzard did their best but WEBASTO would not even give a discount on a new one!
But at lease AES are passing it on to me without making a profit.

So I am still £900 worse off!

 

[shouldbeasy]

I took the fridge out and had it checked, it was low on gas! so they re gassed it and put the sniffer in to check for leaks, and could not find any, so I had it back and ran it, but after 3 days with the outside temperature at 30 c the fridge was again running at +13c & freezer at -2c

So I took it back out and again it was low on gas, with no leaks showing!

So I need a new one! I bought the fridge in November 2015 it was stored for a while as the truck was being built, AES Leighton Buzzard did their best but WEBASTO would not even give a discount on a new one!
But at lease AES are passing it on to me without making a profit.

So I am still £900 worse off!

Damn!

Do you think it was due to the conditions that the fridge operated under (high vibration specifically) that caused it to fail? Any thoughts on getting a different brand as a replacement?

 

[part time nomad]

I don`t think the conditions should have affected it, firstly because it designed for boats and motorhomes and secondly because they could not detect a leak on the visable pipework so it must have been a pipe that was within the insulation!
I have considered an alternative, but it would mean altering the casing that it sits in and possibly having to move other things, so I am guessing maybe I am just unlucky and that the new one (when it arrives) will be ok.

I have taken the pump & motor out of the old one as spares! I did notice that the condenser has a fan on it, but its mounted only 15 - 20 mm from the casing of the fridge to the back of the condenser so it has nowhere to blow to. This must effect the cooling efficiency of it.

I thought of cutting a hole in the side of the new one. I will try to put a picture up of the hole I cut in the old one as an experiment.

 

[part time nomad]

 

[VerMonsterRV]

A little late but just ran across this circulation fan for refrigerators. I will look into it closer once I install our fridge. Just wanted to have the link here in case someone is looking for something like this.

Fridge-Fix