I pose a question. The Electrolux 3 way fridge seems to be the most critical of all the fridges as regards being on the level to work. I have heard something like more than 6 degrees off the horizontal then it won't work. If you are driving along with your fridge switched over to 12 volts the question I pose is, as you drive along the road, it is not flat forever, sooooo as you go up hill and down dale, does that mean the fridge turns off on, off on, off on, off on, off on, or what? Does anyone know the answer, or basically does it mean that you may as well leave it turned off because at the end of the day it has not cooled your fridge any more since you left where ever that morning!

 

Neil Louer

It's that man again,

Electrolux fridges

A bit of a curly one, but here goes.

 

The absorption fridge consists of four main parts:

 

The absorber vessel, this is part filled with a set quantity of ammonia, water and hydrogen solution in a predetermined ratio for the size of the fridge, The rest of this vessel contains hydrogen and ammonia vapour, This just sits there and does nothing , until - you turn it on by lighting the bottled gas or switch on the 240 volt or 12 volt system, The bottled gas section has a flue to exhaust the burnt gas, The two electrical systems are separate heating filaments, The amount of heat is determined by what number you have selected on the control knob, A tube carries the solution goes from the absorber vessel to where the tube is heated by the gas or electrical elements. This heated area is called the boiler, The tube continues from the boiler up to the condenser,  This part of the tube is also called 'the pump', not that there is any

mechanical pumping, but because the heat is now warming up the strong ammonia solution from the boiler, and the liquid starts to move [ flow ] around the system by convection , [driving the liquid and gases around the system ], Ammonia vapour now comes out of solution, and this heated ammonia vapour moves on up to the condenser, but the heated strong ammonia solution, once the ammonia vapour comes out, leaves a weak ammonia solution, which now moves back down the pipe past the boiler and  towards the absorber vessel, as it is replaced by the strong ammonia solution, All this is done continuously, The weak ammonia solution, moving back to the absorber vessel , is siphoned off to the top of the absorber  [ more on that later ],

 

The heated ammonia vapour, on reaching the condenser, now cools and becomes liquid ammonia and a hydrogen and ammonia vapour, This vapour returns to the absorber vessel. The liquid ammonia part now moves to the evaporator [ a low temperature gas exchanger ], Meanwhile a hydrogen and ammonia vapour is moving up through the absorber, towards the evaporator, but the weak ammonia solution returning from the boiler, in the first part, comes in at the top of the absorber and runs back down into the absorber vessel, gradually absorbing the ammonia out of the ammonia and hydrogen vapour, so that by the time this solution reaches the absorber vessel it has now become a strong ammonia solution once again, The vapour at the top of the absorber, has now lost its ammonia and is now a hydrogen gas which moves to the evaporator, The liquid ammonia [ from the condenser ] now mixes with this hydrogen gas [ from the absorber ] in the evaporator, this then becomes a hydrogen and ammonia vapour ,and returns to the absorber vessel and the cycle is completed and starts all over again [ or actually continuously ]

 

At the evaporator, when the liquid ammonia and hydrogen gas mix [evaporate] to become a hydrogen and ammonia vapour this requires a certain amount of heat [relatively] to complete this chemical transformation, It is obtained by extracting heat from the refrigerated space and so the cooling begins.

 

If you do not use your van for a long time it is recommended that you switch on your fridge for 2 full days every 2 months. Do not put fly wire over your ventilation grills .At the factory all caravan fridges are tested to hold 5 degrees while the ambient temperature is held at 38 degrees. Check the door seal [the old cigarette paper trick]. If you intend to operate with the outside temperature above 38 degrees think about installing a fridge mate cooling fan, This comes in a kit ,12 volts with a switch and light, so you can switch it on /off when required about $20. If the sun is on the fridge vent side, and there is no shade available, there is a wide range of ideas out there for rigging up shade from the rough and ready to very sophisticated.

A'vanners at Pambula Beach R and B Young from Mannering Park in NSW 02-4359-2929 had a range of awnings in a range of materials well presented.  Looked very professional. Some people might find they are a bit high in price, but horses for courses.

 

Wow I think that exhausts me!

 

cheers

 

Neil and Bev Louer