Looking for a few thoughts and ideas on heat management.
My fridge is in the rear tub of my vehicle. The tub is covered with a soft tonneau cover, most likely vinyl.
On a hot sunny day (30+ degree C) the tonneau cover gets too hot to touch which is baking the inside of the tub. The top of the fridge cover (about an inch clearance from the tonneau) reaches 80 degrees C and the front of the fridge cover reaches 60 degrees C. A couple of temp checks on random locations inside the tub are above 60 degrees C.
The insulated fridge cover only knocks off a few of degrees but the fridge maintains the set temp of 2 degrees. The downside is that the compressor works hard and I'm concerned that this will reduce its life. We haven't got to the real hot periods yet (high 30's) so I'm looking at options to reduce the temperature inside closer to ambient.
Parking in the shade isn't always possible and is also counter productive to my solar setup. I'd rather not remove the tonneau for security reasons and I'm not sure the direct sunlight on the fridge would be any better.
The fridge compressor is at the back of the tub and the tonneau cover does has a little "flap" which I open to help vent heat but it didn't appear to help that much. As per this pic.
Idea 1 - Forced fan extraction
The compressor exhaust is closed to this flap (as in this photo). Has anybody had any experience using additional fans to move the air? I could place the fans adjacent to the compressor exhaust, or I could rig something facing upwards over the gap. Would I be better to have the fans suck cooler air in, or blow hot air out. Will this work or would I need fans to suck in and suck out similar to a computer system. I can get a couple of low current silent 12v 120mm fans which will move 1m3/min. They cost around $15-20 each.
Idea 2 - Sunshade on top of tonneau cover
Whilst I wouldn't be able to use this whilst driving, when parked up I could put a windscreen sunshade on top of the cover. It works on a windscreen to reduce heat in the car so the principle should be the same. A XL one will cost $20 and would cover most of the tonneau.
Idea 3 - Insulation underneath the tonneau cover
I could add insulation underneath the tonneau cover, I could use the sunshade or get a role of reflective insulation for $15. This would provide heat protection whilst driving.
I could give all the above a try but I thought I'd see if any of these have been tried with success or what other people have done?
Thanks
My fridge is in the rear tub of my vehicle. The tub is covered with a soft tonneau cover, most likely vinyl.
On a hot sunny day (30+ degree C) the tonneau cover gets too hot to touch which is baking the inside of the tub. The top of the fridge cover (about an inch clearance from the tonneau) reaches 80 degrees C and the front of the fridge cover reaches 60 degrees C. A couple of temp checks on random locations inside the tub are above 60 degrees C.
The insulated fridge cover only knocks off a few of degrees but the fridge maintains the set temp of 2 degrees. The downside is that the compressor works hard and I'm concerned that this will reduce its life. We haven't got to the real hot periods yet (high 30's) so I'm looking at options to reduce the temperature inside closer to ambient.
Parking in the shade isn't always possible and is also counter productive to my solar setup. I'd rather not remove the tonneau for security reasons and I'm not sure the direct sunlight on the fridge would be any better.
The fridge compressor is at the back of the tub and the tonneau cover does has a little "flap" which I open to help vent heat but it didn't appear to help that much. As per this pic.
Idea 1 - Forced fan extraction
The compressor exhaust is closed to this flap (as in this photo). Has anybody had any experience using additional fans to move the air? I could place the fans adjacent to the compressor exhaust, or I could rig something facing upwards over the gap. Would I be better to have the fans suck cooler air in, or blow hot air out. Will this work or would I need fans to suck in and suck out similar to a computer system. I can get a couple of low current silent 12v 120mm fans which will move 1m3/min. They cost around $15-20 each.
Idea 2 - Sunshade on top of tonneau cover
Whilst I wouldn't be able to use this whilst driving, when parked up I could put a windscreen sunshade on top of the cover. It works on a windscreen to reduce heat in the car so the principle should be the same. A XL one will cost $20 and would cover most of the tonneau.
Idea 3 - Insulation underneath the tonneau cover
I could add insulation underneath the tonneau cover, I could use the sunshade or get a role of reflective insulation for $15. This would provide heat protection whilst driving.
I could give all the above a try but I thought I'd see if any of these have been tried with success or what other people have done?
Thanks
