18' Series Dometic Fridge Vent (be aware)

Burnsy

Well-Known Member
Mar 26, 2012
2,663
977
113
Newcastle
Hi all,

The other week I went to put some things in our van, when I opened the door I found a puddle of water on the floor :eek-53:. After I swore a few times and mopped up the water I found the water had been coming in from the cupboar under the fridge, when I opened that I could see that the plywood shelf which the fridge sits on was wet and had sagged and a section of plywood next to the fridge has been water marked! I then went outside and pulled off the fridge vent to find a heap of water sitting on the plywood so I suspected the water had come from the top vent in the roof or a poorly sealed top vent after some rain we've had.

When the rain stopeed I put the cover over the van and contacted Jayco and It sounds like they will come to the party in regards to repairs, mainly from water damage as you can see in pics. Anyway I took our van in to the repairer I use for an assesment and to seal the leak and the cause seems to be the fridge vent on the side lets water in. This type of Dometic vent only seems to be used with the 186L fridge, we pulled the same vent off a 12 month old Starcraft and guess what....water stains on the plywood shelf!

If you have this type of vent, pull it off and check for leaks, I have temporary put duct tape on the inside as pictured to raise the inside edge and stop water from splashing up inside, It's surprising how much water comes in, I watched the repairer put the hose on the the side of my van above the vent and only after about 10 seconds there was a fair puddle inside!

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Cheers.
 

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bigcol

Well-Known Member
Nov 22, 2012
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Swan Valley Perth
thats definitely not good mate....... *Try posting a bit more so your post isn't boring* on them coming to the party in fixing it
 
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Bellbirdweb

Well-Known Member
Jan 24, 2014
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Sydney
Thanks for the tip. I have the same vents. Even though the cover is usually on, we have been out in heavy rain recently.

Will be interested to see if there is any evidence of water.
 

Delano

Well-Known Member
Apr 27, 2014
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North west Melbourne
I was at Jayco spare parts the other day and overheard a couple explaining to the Jayco management that they had been caught in some pretty heavy rain last week that flooded their 2 1/2 yr old Starcraft. They said they could actually see it coming in under the fridge. They were told to just take it in to their nearest Jayco dealer and have it assessed and repaired under warranty. Even though the van was 2 1/2 yrs old.
 

rodney

Active Member
Apr 23, 2014
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They have three channels that direct it into the van put some silicone across the back for starters so it doesn't happen again
 

DSP

Member
May 18, 2013
50
29
18
Mornington Peninsula
I have had that happen to us on our van that was less than 3 weeks old. Jayco dealer has made modifications to rectify it.
I will grab some photos over the weekend and upload them for you to see what they have done to fix the leaks.....
 
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straydingo

Well-Known Member
Jul 4, 2011
1,139
645
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Melbourne
thats not good!
make sure when they fix it all affected timber is replaced. Once mould is in, it never goes; and that sixth photo is doozy for mould.....
(speaking as building designer and a sort of environmental assessor)
 

Kevin

New Member
Jun 5, 2013
12
4
3
We have one of these vents. Want to get it off and have a look too. How does it come off? Just don't want to snap antyhing
Thanks
 

Burnsy

Well-Known Member
Mar 26, 2012
2,663
977
113
Newcastle
We've had a heap of rain since my temp fix and all good, I'll now duplicate with something more permanent!
 

Broc Wright

New Member
Apr 14, 2015
3
2
3
Australia
Hi all,

The other week I went to put some things in our van, when I opened the door I found a puddle of water on the floor :eek-53:. After I swore a few times and mopped up the water I found the water had been coming in from the cupboar under the fridge, when I opened that I could see that the plywood shelf which the fridge sits on was wet and had sagged and a section of plywood next to the fridge has been water marked! I then went outside and pulled off the fridge vent to find a heap of water sitting on the plywood so I suspected the water had come from the top vent in the roof or a poorly sealed top vent after some rain we've had.

When the rain stopeed I put the cover over the van and contacted Jayco and It sounds like they will come to the party in regards to repairs, mainly from water damage as you can see in pics. Anyway I took our van in to the repairer I use for an assesment and to seal the leak and the cause seems to be the fridge vent on the side lets water in. This type of Dometic vent only seems to be used with the 186L fridge, we pulled the same vent off a 12 month old Starcraft and guess what....water stains on the plywood shelf!

If you have this type of vent, pull it off and check for leaks, I have temporary put duct tape on the inside as pictured to raise the inside edge and stop water from splashing up inside, It's surprising how much water comes in, I watched the repairer put the hose on the the side of my van above the vent and only after about 10 seconds there was a fair puddle inside!

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Cheers.
We picked up our brand new 20.63.1 in November 2014 and have used it half a dozen times in dry weather.
Over Easter period just gone we camped at Agnes Water and had some pretty heavy downpours over the 5 days.
On day 3 we returned back to the van to find the 240v power tripped. Went through every appliance etc, all fuses and even tried a different lead.
Started on the outside of the van and when I removed the fridge vent it was clear what was happening.
The wires for the fridge were sitting in 15mm of water!! So much water that all the ants nesting under the fridge had evacuated into the van under the slideout lounge! Also under the slideout was a huge puddle of water.
All I could do was switch the van over to 12v and run the fridge on gas for the remaining two day stay.
I have since had the van back under cover and everything has dried out and is working again.
Not happy at all!!
 
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Smirke

Well-Known Member
May 9, 2014
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Palmyra, WA
I have taken to pulling the vent off and using a plastic coles bag as a shroud to keep the water out. I found ours leaks when water runs off the slide out awning down the van and into the top of the vent. Apparently Jayco have a little slip that is meant to go above the vent to stop the water. Ours missed out getting it, but saw one on another van same model as ours last week.
 

Tuppy

Member
Oct 22, 2016
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70
Adelaide
I have had that happen to us on our van that was less than 3 weeks old. Jayco dealer has made modifications to rectify it.
I will grab some photos over the weekend and upload them for you to see what they have done to fix the leaks.....
I've just bought new Nova Vita, and after one trip had water on the floor...coming in through the fridge vent! What was the Jayco fix? Cheers...Tuppy
 

Tuppy

Member
Oct 22, 2016
23
33
13
70
Adelaide
Cheers mate, I'll try the same. As this has been an issue for years, I can't believe the manufacturers using this fridge and vent haven't at least designed a galv or plastic tray that fits the compartment the fridge sits in. Then drain the water from that, so it can't wet any wood, or run through holes into the van.
 

Bellbirdweb

Well-Known Member
Jan 24, 2014
1,921
2,746
113
Sydney
Cheers mate, I'll try the same. As this has been an issue for years, I can't believe the manufacturers using this fridge and vent haven't at least designed a galv or plastic tray that fits the compartment the fridge sits in. Then drain the water from that, so it can't wet any wood, or run through holes into the van.

Like every domestic fridge manufacturer on the market !!
 
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Smirke

Well-Known Member
May 9, 2014
1,687
2,915
113
Palmyra, WA
Cheers mate, I'll try the same. As this has been an issue for years, I can't believe the manufacturers using this fridge and vent haven't at least designed a galv or plastic tray that fits the compartment the fridge sits in. Then drain the water from that, so it can't wet any wood, or run through holes into the van.
If you need a picture, just say. The van is out front for a bit longer before it goes off to storage.
 
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