Interior How can I fit in a bigger fridge

[jazzeddie1234]

After measuring the work area needed to maneuver a larger fridge into position I decided to remove some of the furniture. Not sure what spilled there!

I was also concerned the weight/size would make handling through the door a bit tricky. The pros use a fork lift so I might build a shelf out the door at floor level so the fridge can lay down and slide in. Old fridge was easy to lift out with 2 people and with the doors removed.

I've ordered a dometic 180l compressor fridge for $2400 delivered from MyGenerator. That's cheaper than the smaller thetford.

 

[chartrock]

My wife would freak if I started a project like that.

 

[jazzeddie1234]

I'm freaking out enough for the both of us. Especially about the size of the hole. I've measured many times but it's not my strong suit!

 

[jazzeddie1234]

How much do you think I should advertise it for?


And I might throw this in

 

[poor but proud]

should you ask ,she who must be obeyed first ! i am sure she thinks it is worth more than you do? i am sure she will add $$$ for the stress you both have gone through to get this far, best of luck

 

[jazzeddie1234]

I order the fridge on Friday thinking that would give me a week to finish the cavity and a knock on the door early tuesday morning gets me out of bed to this!
. Talk about quick service. Came from somewhere in Perth

First thing my wife says 'It's a bit narrower and the vege drawer is smaller'

But it will fit and the existing vents are fine for height
I found this from a previous project so printing up a case to mount it in the cupboard
The temp sensor is really clever for such a cheap item - you can set the range between on/off, which way the relay works, alarm for out of limit. But it is really fussy about supply voltage so I added a step down dc dc converter to keep it around 11V. This will control a couple of 90mm fans in the rear fridge cavity (manually select 1 or 2 fans) for the really hot weather we often get.

Next challenge is getting the new 50kg fridge in through the door. Current idea is to make a long ramp out of a couple of doors, use my trolley and wheel it in on a slight tilt - book says not to tilt too much

 

[Drover]

Isn't that always the way....
Trolley move like that will work but ramp needs to be long, to decrease the slope, strap fridge to trolley and have someone capable as a steady on other end as well, it should be okay at an angle to move, by the time you have it fitted it will be all good.... ( moved similar by myself but ran out of steam half way,) and if air tyres ensure pumped up well as it can be easy to flip fridge onto ground....................................... At 50kg 2 people should be able to lift it onto a platform at door height so you can slide it inside, a stepped lift so you don't squeeze the onions too much of course.

Living near you would be fun I think @jazzeddie1234 , always some adventurous mod going on, just up my alley really............................
My good mate here has a Fiat motorhome, its in getting the gearbox sorted, his plan if the box is stuffed is to get a LDV van, strip the Fiat and refit the new wagon..... He reckons it will be a great project for us, , he has offered his small shed to put my boat in while we do it in my shed... .......... certainly keep the grey cells active..... could be a bit too adventurous I think, I'm hoping the gearbox comes out okay....

 

[jazzeddie1234]

So much for all my planning. The neighbor was home from the mines today so I asked him for ideas and he moved my ramp and lifted it in all by himself with me inside to guide it through the door!

 

[Drover]

A few years back thats how I would have done it with a mate actually , now if I try I get yelled at as a stupid old fool by missus..... so I use cunning...
Look forward to more photo's of the resto now......

 

[jazzeddie1234]

Some progress

I made a frame out of 40x18 to give the 611mm cavity depth required
Will be painted it black to match the fridge

Fitted 2 90mm fans for really hot days. Also decided to retain the anderson plug for easy fridge disconnection. The screw block was easy to swap on the fridge too.

The fans will be controlled by this in the adjacent cupboard

The switch selects 1 or 2 fans

This is the temp sensor and power supply wired up


And ready to install


The fridge is now running on the van floor so I can test the consumption, etc. Book says up to 9 amps but only 5 measured on the normal setting. Took about 90 mins to switch off which is amazing compared to absorption.

Test fit tomorrow so fingers crossed I measured correctly

 

[Drover]

Can you get at the fans without pulling fridge out if they croak ??

I sealed the sides of mine with some insulation rolled into a sausage and stapled to wall, when I pushed fridge in it filled the gap without being pushed away, on the floor I had a bead of silastic that had nearly cured which should work well..

 

[jazzeddie1234]

Can you get at the fans without pulling fridge out if they croak

I did wonder about that. I could mount them just above the lower vent. I am hoping the fridge is fairly easy to move in the cabinet otherwise.

Yes the plan is to paint all exposed wood, seal gaps with silicon and then line with engine bay foam - especially the area above the compressor which is where most of the heat will accumulate.

The solar coped with overnight running which is good since the van roof is shaded in the morning and the sun hours are a bit lower atm.

 

[Drover]

I did wonder about that. I could mount them just above the lower vent. I am hoping the fridge is fairly easy to move in the cabinet otherwise.

Yes the plan is to paint all exposed wood, seal gaps with silicon and then line with engine bay foam - especially the area above the compressor which is where most of the heat will accumulate.

The solar coped with overnight running which is good since the van roof is shaded in the morning and the sun hours are a bit lower atm.

I have ended up with my fans just stuck onto the vent, makes things so much easier for access and works really well..... sucking is better than pushing allows for better air flow due to pressure differential assisting with flow.

Insulation, I was thinking of lining the cabinet but found it wouldn't be a good seal and could interfere with fitting the fridge in place, so opted for some house roof insulation , rolled and stapled so that when I pushed the fridge in, the back end fitted into the insulation sausage giving a nice moulded seal right around the edges, the sides of fridges can get condensation on them just like house fridges so having an air gap between sides and wall is a good idea.... my Engel and shed fridge get condenstation around them at certain times makes a mess...

I wouldn't bother painting the timber inside, just smell the van out for ages and I think I would leave the fascia around the fridge till I had it in place, a bit of the measure 3 times cut once idea..

 

[jazzeddie1234]

1st test fit and it fitted!
I used the trusty milk crate on a board to get the exact height to slide it in on my own.

Ok spot the difference game


The surround is 42mm x 18mm and that gave me 12mm clearance at the back when I only need 1mm


So out with the 10 year old router (in as-new condition) to trim the surround to 34x18 and cut a nice edge

I think the reduced size makes a big difference.

Next job is to remove the fridge again, paint the surround (black is the plan), line the exposed walls and roof with insulation so there are no gaps for heat and dust. Cover the cable duct etc



Then run the 3 pin power cable and seal the holes

 

[jazzeddie1234]

It seems like an endless list of tiny jobs to finish this
Wiring all done, holes patched, key areas lined with insulation, a piece of metal on the rhs floor to correct the lean of the fridge (and make it visually square to the cabinet edge), match some paint for the new spacer, test fit again...

And here we are
A tight fit, trim matches the fridge frame, all plugged in and running. A quiet hum until I turn on the aux fans which make a racket but shift lots of air when necessary.

Final jobs: I might strengthen the cabinet floor given it weighs 10kg more plus the extra food weight, cut a bigger hole for the power cable (the thetford used spade connectors to go through the side of the cupboard), tidy the drain hose, reinstall the bench seat (after fixing a few loose bits I noticed when removing), tidy any stuff I ripped apart to do the wiring, label everything

 

[Drover]

Fans will get to you, especially since your going to add labels and unlike most of us, "in the fullness of time" you will do it now, very OCD, then I would remount the fans on some foam/rubber so they don't vibrate................. I noticed that lean is that the fridge or the cupboard not square ?

Fired our fridge up yesterday and will be getting loaded today ........................ .

 

[jazzeddie1234]

is that the fridge or the cupboard not square ?

The cupboard floor is a couple of mm lower on the rhs. It wasn't noticeable with the thetford surround being so far from a cabinet edge

Yes I'm working on another fan mount idea. May use your suggestion of mounting them closer to the lower vent in case plan B mount is also noisy

 

[Drover]

You would want them on the top vent so they create a draft into through the area, more air flow, fans at the bottom have to push air thorugh the area so less volume............ just need something that insulates them from the wall so the sound is transferred, mine are fitted to the vent itself and these are glued with a big gob of silastic to the vent, no noise...zip tied while the goop dried.

 

[jazzeddie1234]

I've been test running the fridge (empty) for a couple of weeks now on one solar panel (200 watts claimed) and batteries. The weather has been overcast with a few sunny days and the solar is shaded early am by trees on our verge. It's around 20ah short on a cloudy day but fully recovers by 3pm on the next sunny day. Pretty good so far

 

[Grandpa Gunna]

I note you've been running fridge empty, I gather door hasn't been opened and closed so possibly 20ah may be a bit short could be double that in real world.
From your post on "my-endless-list-of-jobs-or-feels-like" you are running lithium batteries how far have these drawn down under fridge testing.
The fridge is great mod but for us with 2 teenagers in tow and the constant opening and closing to see if any food has materialised I would need my own power station.