Vent Blockage, Refrigerator

[jcsmith]

I have a 2016 Jayco Eagle HT 28.5 fifth wheel. I was cleaning the refrigerator equipment on the exterior and decided to clean to upper vent. When I removed the cover I noticed the vent was covered 2/3 of the way up with plywood. This appears to be for ventilation only. My refrigerator has been working but needed to keep it on max setting. Has anyone run into this? Did the factory just forget to cut it out or does it serve some purpose?

[16WhiteColly]

That plywood is the same way my top Vent was made, but have gone with residential fridge. Not the same trailer as yours, but that must be how all are, now that you are saying that too.

[Nature Ist]

The plywood is there intentionally. It is supposed to help the air flow up across the fins at the top. It's a complicated set-up, and sometimes that area needs to be tweaked. My suggestion is you search you-tube to learn more about the way things should work.
I did make some modifications to my HT 30.5 CKTS to improve the flow up and out of the top vent. I would guess that almost every unit Jayco puts out has a slight insufficiency because they don't take the time to pay attention to detail. You also have a small 12V fan that should operate when the cooling fins are above a certain temperature, that fan moves more air up and out. You can increase efficiency with some minor modifications to that area. I did.

[jcsmith]

Originally Posted by Nature Ist

The plywood is there intentionally. It is supposed to help the air flow up across the fins at the top. It's a complicated set-up, and sometimes that area needs to be tweaked. My suggestion is you search you-tube to learn more about the way things should work.
I did make some modifications to my HT 30.5 CKTS to improve the flow up and out of the top vent. I would guess that almost every unit Jayco puts out has a slight insufficiency because they don't take the time to pay attention to detail. You also have a small 12V fan that should operate when the cooling fins are above a certain temperature, that fan moves more air up and out. You can increase efficiency with some minor modifications to that area. I did.

Thanks! I am new to the site and am not sure if this the proper way to reply to a thread.

[Nature Ist]

Originally Posted by jcsmith

Thanks! I am new to the site and am not sure if this the proper way to reply to a thread.

You'll find this Forum is very helpful. Welcome!

[Jagiven]

It is correct! Couple tips to help your frigs performance;

Inside the frig you can add a fan on the coils. This helps alot. Before I did this my crisper drawer would freeze, and the top shelf was to warm. I installed a hardwired fan, that clips onto the coils. I have something like this fan. I ran the hot wire, through my condensate drain, and tied it to my frig's 12V power feed. When I do not need it, I unclip it, and it stops (mine only has a single clip)

https://www.amazon.com/DutchAire-RV-...24943338&psc=1

In the rear access area you may have a factory installed fan. If you do, there is a temperature switch, that will turn it on/off. You could look to see if you have this fan setup. If not, it is fairly easy to add. I would add a on/off switch. There are a number of posts on the forum to add this cooling fan.

[jcsmith]

Originally Posted by Jagiven

It is correct! Couple tips to help your frigs performance;

Inside the frig you can add a fan on the coils. This helps alot. Before I did this my crisper drawer would freeze, and the top shelf was to warm. I installed a hardwired fan, that clips onto the coils. I have something like this fan. I ran the hot wire, through my condensate drain, and tied it to my frig's 12V power feed. When I do not need it, I unclip it, and it stops (mine only has a single clip)

https://www.amazon.com/DutchAire-RV-...24943338&psc=1

In the rear access area you may have a factory installed fan. If you do, there is a temperature switch, that will turn it on/off. You could look to see if you have this fan setup. If not, it is fairly easy to add. I would add a on/off switch. There are a number of posts on the forum to add this cooling fan.

Thanks. I appreciate the info. I will look into it.

[Jolvi]

Originally Posted by jcsmith

Thanks. I appreciate the info. I will look into it.

Here is another place you may look at. RVcoolingunit.com. I added the inside unit for the Dometic as the refrigerator is on a slide and does not vent thru the roof but the wall and they come with an outside fan, but did change it to a quieter fan factory one was a bit noisy.

[billcf7]

Originally Posted by jcsmith

I have a 2016 Jayco Eagle HT 28.5 fifth wheel. I was cleaning the refrigerator equipment on the exterior and decided to clean to upper vent. When I removed the cover I noticed the vent was covered 2/3 of the way up with plywood. This appears to be for ventilation only. My refrigerator has been working but needed to keep it on max setting. Has anyone run into this? Did the factory just forget to cut it out or does it serve some purpose?

Check out this video, explains venting very well. Start at 16:00 min. mark to skip to section on venting. Also other great videos. MY RV WORKS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT_5HGe4q-k

[Nature Ist]

Originally Posted by billcf7

Check out this video, explains venting very well. Start at 16:00 min. mark to skip to section on venting. Also other great videos. MY RV WORKS

This guy (MyRVWorks) does some very good videos. He has a great one for the Schwintek slide mechanisms too.

[jcsmith]

The video was excellent. Will check the slide video also. Thanks again.