So, my bottom-line takeaway from all this is that when it gets hot enough
inside the van, the fridge fan temp sensor kicks the fan on, no matter what
mode the fridge is in, and there's nothing you can do about it in the stock
configuration?

Jim

On Sat, Jul 30, 2022 at 5:21 PM Jeff Palmer <w.jeff.palmer@icloud.com>
wrote:

> Fridge running on gas, switch to electricity but don’t turn off gas, voila!
> Jeff
> Been there done that.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Jul 30, 2022, at 3:34 PM, David McNeely <davmcneely40@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > Dennis, how could this be done?  I don't see it given the controls.  I
> > don't have any skin in this game any longer, since I took out the
> > refrigerator, but given that one has to select one of the settings, how
> > could it happen that two of them are operable simultaneously?
> >
> >> On Sat, Jul 30, 2022 at 12:40 PM Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com
> >
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >> There is nothing preventing operation of the Fridge on either electric
> >> source or Propane simultaneously. Yes, the fridge will operate the
> propane
> >> burner while either the 12 volt or 120 volt heater is energized. This
> can
> >> overheat the fluid and ruin the fridge.
> >>
> >> Dennis
> >>
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com> On Behalf Of Jim
> >> Felder
> >> Sent: Saturday, July 30, 2022 2:12 PM
> >> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> >> Subject: Re: An electrical thing I never noticed in 20 years of Westy
> >> ownership
> >>
> >> Yep, that's probably happening. Dont know why I never noticed it
> before. I
> >> bet if I pulled the car cover over it it might prevent the battery
> drain.
> >>
> >> Jim
> >>
> >>> On Sat, Jul 30, 2022 at 12:52 PM Mark Drillock <madvws@cox.net> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Here is part of a Vanagon list post from Apr 1999 regarding the stock
> >>> fridge.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> "  Finally, keep the fridge side of the Westy shaded.  I use a small
> >>> silver colored tarp to shade this side. The sun can heat the area
> >>> behind the fridge enough to cause the fan to cycle EVEN WHEN THE FRIDGE
> >> IS OFF.
> >>> I believe that this is part of why the fans all seem to be worn out.
> >>> Most of the Westy fridges have seen little use but the fans wear out
> >>> anyway because they operate even if the fridge is off. Darker colored
> >>> vanagons are more likely to have this occur. This is also why the
> >>> batteries in parked Westys can sometimes seem to run down unexpectedly.
> >>> When the sun shines on the left side of the Camper the fan will likely
> >>> be triggered. We all know how hot it can get inside a Westy on a sunny
> >>> day with the top down even when it is cool outside."
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> On 7/29/2022 6:18 PM, Jim Felder wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Interesting. Maybe that's what was running my battery down in the
> >>> first place. If that is the case, and I'm sure it is, it might be
> >>> advisable to install a switch to break that circuit when the cooling
> >>> fan was on but serving no purpose but to run the battery out.
> >>>
> >>> Jim
> >>>
> >>> On Fri, Jul 29, 2022 at 6:26 PM Dennis Haynes
> >>> <d23haynes57@hotmail.com> <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>
> >>> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> The fridge condenser fan is controlled by a thermo switch on the
> >>> condenser coil There is no other control for it. If the interior gets
> >>> hot enough that fan will turn on regardless of any of the fridge
> >> settings.
> >>>
> >>> Dennis
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> -----Original Message-----
> >>> From: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
> >>> <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com> On Behalf Of Jim Felder
> >>> Sent: Friday, July 29, 2022 6:40 PM
> >>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> >>> Subject: An electrical thing I never noticed in 20 years of Westy
> >>> ownership
> >>>
> >>> When I park my Westy after camping, my habit has always been to switch
> >>> the gas knob to OFF and the mode switch to 120 when I parked the car.
> >>> I just went out to check on something in my Westy (1983 diesel) and
> >>> heard a whirring noise which I immediately knew could only be the
> >>> fridge fan. I checked and it was. Why was it on? Further checking I
> >>> realized that I had the car on a trickle charger plugged into the
> >>> cabin 120 outlet, and had house current going into electrical shore
> >> power outlet.
> >>>
> >>> Since my bout with chemo a few years back, I don't tolerate summer
> >>> heat so well and thus go through the hot months without driving the car
> >> very often.
> >>> This often caused the battery to be flat when I went to start it,
> >>> hence the smart trickle  charger that successfully keeps the battery at
> >> the ready.
> >>> So, though I had not realized it, the house power has been running the
> >>> fridge for a couple of months now, and since it has been so hot the
> >>> gowesty fan upgrade has been running too for weeks on end. I didn't
> >>> realize that would happen when I hooked it up. So now, I have the mode
> >>> switch on GAS and the gas turned off at the knob and the tank.
> >>> Probably no problem for anyone but me, but just wanted everyone to
> >>> know that running a trickle charger with 110 plugged into the utility
> >>> outlet will run the fridge``and wear out your auxiliary fan if you
> don't
> >> do something about it.
> >>>
> >>> Jim
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
>