fridge replacement projects - post here

[ledogboy]

[WestiT3_1986]

Hi guys,

atm I am attampting the install of a Waeco CRX50 with the optional 230V/12V switch - aka the campervanculture solution.

The fridge seems to have the same regulator as the Truckfridge TF49/Vitrofrigo. Like that one here:

Should be the 101N0500

I would like to add an external switch to shut off the fridge completely (either in the night for sleeping or in the cars hibernation times.) Especially for the nights I would like to have an external switch - because switching off on the inside drains a lot of the cool air the is inside the fridge.

Has any of you already done this?
Thanks for your help.

Greetings from Germany!
Sven

[RichBenn]

Sven,

The amount of cold lost from a single opening is minimal - that's because the bulk of the stored dense cold is in the solids (food), not the air.

I had been looking at the CRX series, but I discovered they are rated for only down to 15c or so. Apparently the compressor may not run frequently enough, and defrosting of the freezer occurs.

Not a problem if you camp warm, but I don`t heat my camper at night and camp, sometimes, in locations near freezing in a nice down bag.

In the bigger 130L size, they apparently have a heater they install in non tropical locations for very cold ambients.
_________________
Rich

[davevickery]

[WestiT3_1986]

@RichBenn -

[WestiT3_1986]

Dear Vanagon/Westfalia friends,

I thought my just finished fridge swap might be of interest for some of you...

Background of the swap:
I do like my beers cold, even when we camp in hotter countries.
I did do a clean up and fan mod of my old RM184 EGI fridge, but still the fridge took a long time to cool down and had issues to keep
the stuff cold over hot days.

At the Dometic-Shop there was a sale of CRX50 fridges with already mounted 12V/230V module that switches automatically between the sources.

Initally I did want to mount the fridge the "CammpervanCulture-way":

As I do have the brown/tan interior I did want to colour-match the frame and insert. I already had the correct spray can with RAL 8028 (terrabraun) paint.
For the front insert I ordered a nice matching adhesive wrap:
https://tiptopcarbon.de/folien-zubehoer/plotterfol...082_31,5cm

I started to take the fridge apart for the paint job. Some exterior parts and the door latch are held by some screws. The rest I intended to cover and paint.

As I had all the exterior parts removed and the old RM184 fridge already out, I thought I might have a look how the fridge fits inside the Westfalia cabinet.

Seeing this I made a switch in plans. Obviously the CRX50 fridge fits inside the cabinet without cutting the back of the insulation.
(Though a I think a liitle cutout in the insulation wouldn't bother me too much too)
Still there was the problem of the very thick door, too thick to hide behind the Westfalia cabinet door.

Inspired by this thread here at The Samba: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8056079, where a Vitrifrigo fridge is mounted inside the cabinet,
I decided to have a look if this is possible with the CRX50 fridge.

So I took the door apart a bit further:

The frame is held in with some screws behind the seal and some hot glue, nothing that a sharp knife couldn't solve...
Then I cut the insulation that extended behind the plastic part of the door, which left the plastic part of the door with the
inner insulation:

I know there will be some loss due to the missing insulation, but a part will be gained again from the wood of the Westfalia door.


Then I measured and marked the height of the CRX50 door on the cabinet door:

35mm on both sides

Screwd to the cabinet door loosely

Compared to the old door:

Via trial end error I found the correct horizontal alignement. (Same as in the Samba-thread above - some mm to the font of the car.)
The fridge door must sit aligned with the inner corner of the cabinet door at the hinge side, so it's 2-3 mm over the corner of the font door side.

Had to cut out some at the cabinet door latch (The seal just slides out)

Fits.

Now I made a liitle board to set the fridge on. (The rubber feet are ~2cm high)
Took some time to get the correct height, so that fridge an door are aligned well.
I had to cut out the thin back plate behind the kitchen at the upper right corner just a tad...

Everything aligned well - as you can see, the fridge sits a little to the front of the car.

Now there was a little hole at the bottow and the top and smaller at the sides of the fridge to the cabinet.
I bought some L-shaped aluminium at the local home depot (like) store (top and bottom 40/40/4mm, sides 20/40/4mm) and made a frame
attached to the original frame and door mounting points of the fridge.

I wrapped the aluminium frame with the adhesive wrap - see above:

The frame has to sit exactly 1cm in front of the fridges edge - that way the seal to the door is perfect.
The rubber seal has a magnet inside - that way it holds to the fridge very good.

I put some more insulation to the sides (left side 25mm, right side 20mm, bottom 20mm (removed the rubber feet), top 40mm.

I also put some wood bars to the sides of the cabinet at the points where the fridge gets screwed on.

In a previous attempt to get my RM184EGI to cool correctly I put two comupter fans behind the vent at the kitchen side of the van.
I wired some commentors for them to the fan wiring of the CRX50, so the hot air gets sucked out of the van, as soon as the fridge fan ist running.

Now- put the fridge in...

Attach door:

Fits and runs:

With the Westfalia I already had the 230V wiring in the car - for the 12V part I ordered some 3-way FastOn connectors (like the original fridge has) and connected it to the original 12V connector. (the always hot part)

So in the end I got what I want - a nice compressor fridge with the OEM Westfalia looks...

Reminder: The fit in length is very close - and I had my whole ktichen side of the van replaced and new parts in, maybe the fit may vary if you have original panels. But as I said above, I don't think it should be a problem if you cut a tad of the insulation at the back of the fridge for the body brace of the car.

Greetings from Germany
Sven

[RichBenn]

Great work, Sven!

Let us know your impressions once you have some time with it.
_________________
Rich

[jimf909]

Well done. Looks great!

I like the use of the aluminum L for trim between the fridge and the Westy cabinet. I’ll have to finish my project with it (two years and it’s still working great!).
_________________
- Jim

[shagginwagon83]

oh man oh man does that look good. You guys are killing me with the custom fabrication. I might have to tackle this project! I am still on the fence of this or a ARB aluminum chest. This fridge is half the price though
_________________
Brandon
"Jo Ann" - '83.5 Westfalia EJ22e w/Peloquin
Instagram @joannthevan

[Alaskaberrys]

Nice work Sven! When we’re thoroughly done with our Dometic I think we’ll go this route. I really like the original setup leaving the “living room” open
_________________
'91 Westfalia, Bordeaux Red Pearl 2.1L 2wd Auto
'91 T3 Syncro Doka, Escorial Green 1.9L TD AAZ “Gremian” (to provoke, irritate, exasperate, vex...)

[chrisvolk]

Eurovan Camper Fridge Replacement:

Seeking anyone who has actually replaced the stock Norcold three-with the Truck Fridge 65 AC/DC. We have a '98 EV Camper. I'm ready to switch but have yet to identify anyone who has made this specific change.

[dobryan]

[chrisvolk]

Thanks Dave O. Just did as you advised. --chris

[Italjohn]

Here is my Dometic CRX-50 swap.
Just need to fix the bottom frame.

Photoshopped to westfalia colors.

_________________
Follow me on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/norwayvanagon
My youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Italjohn
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/italjohn/

[Paulbeard]

[WestiT3_1986]

[a1steaksauce]

Just wanted to thank everyone who has contributed to this thread over the years. I read it front to back a few times before I pulled the trigger on my current setup.

Thanks to the guys over at truck fridge as well. First rate customer service. I read others comments on them and they were 100% correct. Pleasure dealing with these guys.

Also off recommendations in this thread I went to Don Rowe for my inverter. Fantastic customer service as well. If you're unsure of what to get give them a call.

And now for my setup. TF65 and a Xantrex inverter complete with hidden microwave. It's in my bay window so i didn't have some of the fitment issues in the rear that you guys have. But it was an interesting install none the less

[Howesight]

TruckFridge 9-Year Update and Improvements:

It has now been 9 years since I installed my TF-65 compressor Fridge. Mrs. Howesight still refers to the reefer as the single best improvement we have made to our Westy. I was long overdue in doing maintenance to the TF-65 as I ought (I thought) to have cleaned the condenser fins a long time ago, but such is life. As it turned out, the few quick spritzes I gave the condenser with compressed air each year were sufficient to keep it pretty clean.

This time around, I removed the kitchen unit with the fridge and cleaned the fins with pipe cleaners - -no dirt came off. The conclusion: Compressed air does the job.

The impetus for this project was the recent heat wave here in July and my fridge running out my deep cycle battery. It turns out that I had failed to re-connect the sensor wire for my Surepower 1315 battery separator before the trip, meaning that my alternator was not charging the house battery on the trip to the campsite.

I would typically run the TF-65 at max cooling whenever the engine was running to use the gobs of alternator power to “supercool” the fridge contents and the groceries/beer/drinks on the way. Instead, I ended up using a lot of my house battery reserve, and then saw that the campsite we shared with family was so shaded by trees that I could not use my solar panel without driving to an un-shaded location. Of course, I only found out on day 3, once home, that the battery separator was not connected, by which time my house battery was flat. I did not have a voltage tester with me and I thought I had ruined the Danfoss-Secop controller unit in the incredible heat wave. Once home, I found my mistake. Arrrg.


What I did:
1. I re-located the condenser fan and installed a 120mm silent unit in place of the TF-65 90mm unit. Instead of pulling air through the condenser, as the factory TF-65 does, I installed this unit before the condenser to push air through the condenser, which, with modern computer fans, is more efficient and quieter.

2. I fabricated a shroud that connects the new fan to the air intake on the left side of the Westy kitchen cabinet without sucking through the air that has already gone through the condenser, as happened before.

3. I fabricated a shroud that streams the air that has already gone through the condenser up to the long, thin grate at the rear of the Westy kitchen.

4. I repaired the surprisingly extensive rust at the bottom-front of the TF-65 where the white interior plastic meets the exterior steel of the TF-65. This was finished with POR-15 and then painted over. This is a weak point of the TF-65 design as condensed water gets into this gap and rusts the back of the steel lip that is likely neither painted no galvanized.

5. I installed a Merlin-II Smart Speed Controller. This unit plugs into the back of the Danfoss fridge controller and, when the algorithm in its chip decides to do so, it increases the speed of the compressor through 5 steps up to the maximum compressor speed. It senses demand by measuring how long a compressor cycle goes and if the “on” cycle is long, then on the next cycle, the compressor speed ramps up through the 5 different speeds to the highest speed. If the next cycle is shorter, then the next ramp up only increases to a lower speed. Once the box contents are cool, it senses the short “on” cycle and for the next cycle, keeps the compressor at the lowest speed, where efficiency (measured as cooling vs battery consumption) of the fridge is best. For the Howesights, this Merlin-II SSC is very useful since we ALWAYS buy groceries and drinks just as we are leaving on a trip and the higher compressor speed really gets things cool quickly. Here's a link:

https://www.coastalclimatecontrol.com/images/PDF/Refer/Merlin-II-flier.pdf

6. I installed (finally), an interior fan in the TF-65 to speed cooling and keep items uniformly cold. Here's the one I used:

Noctua A-Series NF-A4x10 FLX

And a link: https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX50929?gcl...gJk1PD_BwE

7. I installed the Inkbird (who comes up with these names??!) STC-1000 temperature controller so that I will not have to dial up or down the factory thermostat at night or before driving. This was a very inexpensive at $20 CAD. Have a look here: http://www.ink-bird.com/products-temperature-controller-itc1000f.html

8. I re-painted grey all the TF-65 parts I had painted 9 years ago as there were scratches everywhere.

9. I applied evazote insulation and some reflectix insulation to as many of the fridge surfaces as possible.

I apologize that, in my usual haste, I took no pictures of the above. I am going to re-paint the entire vehicle shortly and will then have the unit removed to take pics of the mods described above. The idea for the fan shroud and the larger silent 120 mm computer fan came from Mr. NoCredtitNoDebt who has posted extensively here on the Samba with his fridge mods.
_________________
'86 Syncro Westy SVX

[dobryan]

Howesite, Thanks for the update. I will be installing a TF65 into my euro bus project this fall and like the idea of the digital temp controller. Nice price at $16. I think I'll spring for that.

The smart speed controller is slick too but at $135... I'll have to pass.
_________________
Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[westyventures]

I'd be careful about reversing fan direction. Truckfridge has mentioned in the past that the compressor ideally needs to receive some airflow as it runs rather hot as ambient temps rise. Plus, when reversing the flow through the condenser, you're effectively pulling hotter air from the compressor, making it work all the more hard. Reflectix is useless as insulation when there is no air gap - foam board would be 5X as good.