I like the idea of with you've done, ditching the plastic and upgrading to something similar. I ran out of time and half expected to loose at least the rear big foot feet, but to my delight they are all still there
Crusty's 20.63.1OB
- Thread starter Crusty181
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I got it on Ebay for around $20 delivered. Search "DN15 Adjustable Brass Water Pressure Regulator" I wouldnt recommend the guy I got it off (ellieshang) got jerked around a bit, there are plenty of seller of the same product such as This One
I buggered around with it on a hose with a trigger sprayer and once set to 50psi, it didnt exceed that regardless of how many times I opened the spray and the 30min i left it attached. So far so good
I did like it at the time but never acted on it i can only have my legs straight as there never long enough to slant them i see so.many people with them on an angle is it much better ??
No stupid questions only stupid people
So Homer Simpson says
Im testing the theory that plastic containers in the fridge will "trap" the cold air and help the fridge to cope with higher, constant ambient temperatures. It was quite warm over the Labour Day long weekend, but its a little hard to make a judgement call without a long test period
I have the Dometic 150ltr single door fridge. For what its worth after much searching the best fit containers are Sistema 5ltr and 3ltr containers which are sold in Woolworths and Big W. The Sistema containers are almost designed to fit. 2 x 3ltr containers on the top shelf because of the element at the rear, and 2 x 5ltr containers on the other 3 shelves.
One benefit of the Sistema containers are there are see through which is vital, and only just over 100mm high. If you cant see into the containers, and they are too high and difficult to get into the extra time friggin around with the fridge door open would negate any advantage, assuming containers make a difference. The Princess is highly skeptical. Regardless of the results the Sistema 5ltr containers are a better option for the crisper tray area.
I have the Dometic 150ltr single door fridge. For what its worth after much searching the best fit containers are Sistema 5ltr and 3ltr containers which are sold in Woolworths and Big W. The Sistema containers are almost designed to fit. 2 x 3ltr containers on the top shelf because of the element at the rear, and 2 x 5ltr containers on the other 3 shelves.
One benefit of the Sistema containers are there are see through which is vital, and only just over 100mm high. If you cant see into the containers, and they are too high and difficult to get into the extra time friggin around with the fridge door open would negate any advantage, assuming containers make a difference. The Princess is highly skeptical. Regardless of the results the Sistema 5ltr containers are a better option for the crisper tray area.
Next up mod is the replacement of the internal screen and frame in the Dexter bathroom fan/vent hatch, after its turned brittle. The white vent hatch has always annoyed me with the amount of heat it allows to transfer into the van in hot sun, and also the inability to keep the back area of the van dark to stop the Crusket getting up at sparrow f@rt ..... so after replacing the internal frame and screen I painted the hatch matt black. I was going to replace it with the new smoke hatch lid, so it didnt matter if painting didnt work out. The initial idea was to mist a lick of paint over it just to darken it, but it just looked pox, spotty and half done so I just painted the whole thing.
After it dried it dawned on me that black will absorb the heat and work against the whole plan to reduce heat transfer. A quick coat of silver over the top, and its black underneath like a undercoat to block light, and heat reflective silver outside. With the painted hatch open during the day theres still ample light coming into the shower cubicle to shower with, and at night it obviously doesn't matter. In the morning with the blinds and hatches shut, the rear of the van is now very dark.
Very pleased with the outcome
After it dried it dawned on me that black will absorb the heat and work against the whole plan to reduce heat transfer. A quick coat of silver over the top, and its black underneath like a undercoat to block light, and heat reflective silver outside. With the painted hatch open during the day theres still ample light coming into the shower cubicle to shower with, and at night it obviously doesn't matter. In the morning with the blinds and hatches shut, the rear of the van is now very dark.
Very pleased with the outcome
Roof hatch looks good, have seen people use window tint, seemed to do the job but didn't look all that great from inside, needed a lot of TLC to fit the stuff.
I like the container idea for the fridge, been thinking of taking the cover off for the crisper boxes at the bottom to see if it traps the cold instead of it falling out the door, has a grate shelf above so no loss of storage..................................when I get back home I think I'll pull my fridge out and see if I can improve the outer van wall insulation and other inner walls.
I like the container idea for the fridge, been thinking of taking the cover off for the crisper boxes at the bottom to see if it traps the cold instead of it falling out the door, has a grate shelf above so no loss of storage..................................when I get back home I think I'll pull my fridge out and see if I can improve the outer van wall insulation and other inner walls.
We paid to swap over to a tinted one at last service..
Still will not stop the kids waking with the sun.. Nothing does apart from it being a School day then they do not wake..
Still will not stop the kids waking with the sun.. Nothing does apart from it being a School day then they do not wake..
Probably around 40-50% less light.. still not dark as painted would be.
We more worrying about the yellowing
Unsure about your fridge idea with containers mmmmmmmmm i like most of your ideas but this one im not sure maybe 2 of them but fridge full ??????
Our fridge is normally full and getting somthing small out is easy and quick but with everything in containers would be a pain to me the marge or a jar of somthing traped in containers we get far more in our fridge with carefull stacking not to mention bottles of sider
For this mod i score you 2 out of 10 only for the 2 containers that i mite use but probably not
Evan with a very over full fridge it still seems to work quite well when i know theres far to much stuff in there but thats the wifes zone like her bag ive asked why do you need so much thats what i need she says i can bearly lift her bag
I give up on that and that and just shake my head
Our fridge is normally full and getting somthing small out is easy and quick but with everything in containers would be a pain to me the marge or a jar of somthing traped in containers we get far more in our fridge with carefull stacking not to mention bottles of sider
For this mod i score you 2 out of 10 only for the 2 containers that i mite use but probably not
Evan with a very over full fridge it still seems to work quite well when i know theres far to much stuff in there but thats the wifes zone like her bag ive asked why do you need so much thats what i need she says i can bearly lift her bag
I give up on that and that and just shake my head
Well @Bluey, Ill take onboard you scepticism but in my defence it's not actually my idea, its one of those urban myths which sounds kinda ok, but I don't think anyones actually tested it. Im just putting the myth to the test, like Jamie Hyneman from Mythbusters, for the good of everyone cause im community minded (except you; Im not telling you). And to be fair, your fridge cant be full all the time ????
I think your pretty right that a full fridge is more likely to maintain temp, but an empty fridge wont and thats where the bucket theory comes in. The issue is when you open an upright fridge the heavier cold air will literally fall out onto the floor. The urban myth is that the buckets will capture cool air, less air will be able to fall out and therefor the fridge will be more efficient and more easily maintain the temp.
The key element you've overlooked is the buckets arent permanent, i can remove one, two, four or all of my buckets if theyre interfering with fridge packing, and then replace them when it suits .... so I can have both buckets, no buckets, and half buckets because i have the buckets. You Sir are stuck with no buckets, because you scoff at the bucket theory. Come on board the bucket experiment, you'll love it. Bucket time is family fun time
(PS There are only eight buckets, so a point per bucket gives me 2.5 / 10)
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I cant see if my shower is yellowing because its too dark
To all you people who think caravan TVs in general, and external TVs are a disgusting aversion to the vanning spirit. Try camping with your 5 grandkids (and their parents, phew) who are in tents, and from the time they get up to the time they go to bed are all constantly and desperately trying to get into your van. An outdoor TV unit is a very small price to pay to keep them out.
Mounting a fridge fan to compliment the fridge buckets (even despite not knowing if the fridge bucket experiment will do anything)
I fitting a 80mm PWM Be Quiet fan I got from the UK. 26ft/min, 19dB, 80k hour life and 0.1amp. Ive run the fan power cable out through the fridge drain pipe, cut the pipe and fitted a poly "T" piece to get the cable back out of the drain pipe behind the fridge, then run the wire to a switch plate I already have where the controls are for the diesel heater and fridge top vent fans. The fridge drip tray slides in over the fan, and there is gap which will allow airflow behind the tray. Theres a moulded lip on the fridge rear wall directly above fan to protect it any water dropping of the fridge cooling fins
I mounted the fan backwards to blow toward the fridge rear wall, rather than blow toward the door. Blowing out seemed to work against minimising cool air loss. I drill a gazillion holes around the fan frame so the air will dissipate radially from the fan in all directions other than toward the door, possibly not idea for the fan but better of the purpose.
The fridge drain tray receiver protrudes from the rear wall (nest to the fan in the pic) and will provide airspace around the fan by keeping the fridge bucket 20mm in front of the fan. Feeding the fan power cable down drain hose was surprisingly easy.
I fitting a 80mm PWM Be Quiet fan I got from the UK. 26ft/min, 19dB, 80k hour life and 0.1amp. Ive run the fan power cable out through the fridge drain pipe, cut the pipe and fitted a poly "T" piece to get the cable back out of the drain pipe behind the fridge, then run the wire to a switch plate I already have where the controls are for the diesel heater and fridge top vent fans. The fridge drip tray slides in over the fan, and there is gap which will allow airflow behind the tray. Theres a moulded lip on the fridge rear wall directly above fan to protect it any water dropping of the fridge cooling fins
I mounted the fan backwards to blow toward the fridge rear wall, rather than blow toward the door. Blowing out seemed to work against minimising cool air loss. I drill a gazillion holes around the fan frame so the air will dissipate radially from the fan in all directions other than toward the door, possibly not idea for the fan but better of the purpose.
The fridge drain tray receiver protrudes from the rear wall (nest to the fan in the pic) and will provide airspace around the fan by keeping the fridge bucket 20mm in front of the fan. Feeding the fan power cable down drain hose was surprisingly easy.