Duetto.a bit draughty...

Hi there.
Just spent a few days at C&C Club site in Canterbury. Great site just out of town and v handy for range of coastal places.

We were there during the remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo. We were surprised at how draughty our Duetto was...mainly around fridge and
cooker areas. The wind was blowing on that side of the van but should we expect this and if so, can we do anything to improve things?
Thanks all. Bev

Hi there,

1.  Have you fitted the fridge's winter screens? 

They are provided so that the fridge can operate at low temperatures and restrict the air-flow around the fridge.

2.  Did you close off the heater vents, put the heater control to "windscreen" and set the fan to "recirculation" before switching off the ignition? 

If you miss out any of these moves then the wind will just flow in around the fan.

If you have answered "No" to any of these questions then your van will be draughty. 

Hope this helps. 

Best regards,

Hi Dutto

Yes we had closed heater vents...a very useful tip picked up on this forum. But no...had not fitted fridge's winter screen/cover.To be honest this stays at home and doesn't get fitted until we finish using the van for the season. Maybe we should fit it as weather gets cooler.

Thanks bev

hi,
our fridge vent covers are rarely taken off,
chris

Just PUT my fridge covers on, after draining down , will use it in the winter.

On my last A-S (a Flair, which is a shorter version of the Duetto) I found I could drastically reduce the draft from around the fridge simply by filling the gaps between it and the inside of the cabinet with foam rubber strip (of the type that you can often buy cheaply at Aldi or Lidl).

-mojo- wrote:reduce the draft from around the fridge simply by filling the gaps between it and the inside of the cabinet with foam rubber strip (of the type that you can often buy cheaply at Aldi or Lidl).

When I had my van at the Autosleepers Service Centre part of the work they did was to fix the fridge.  when they put it back in the used clear sealant around the edges of the fridge to stop draft - it made a big difference especially to for our dog who sleeps in front of it!
Richard

Thanks very much for suggestions re sealing around fridge - we'll take a look.
bev

The biggest draught comes from the 1inch gap at the base of the oven

We found the biggest draught came from the sliding door if you don't shut it properly

Have you fitted the fridge's winter screens?(Dutto)

Showing my ignorance here but I assume these screens are the ones visible or the rear side panel, both marked "Electrolux".

1. On our Duetto the upper vent is white plastic - should it have a black grille over it?

thanks
bumperman

bumperman wrote:Have you fitted the fridge's winter screens?(Dutto)

Showing my ignorance here but I assume these screens are the ones visible or the rear side panel, both marked "Electrolux".

1. On our Duetto the upper vent is white plastic - should it have a black grille over it?

thanks
bumperman

Hi there,

The fridge should have been provided with two blank plastic rectangles with tiny turnbuckles that fit over the external inlet and outlet vents of the fridge.

Our's are cream coloured to match the existing plastic on the vents but I presume that they will be provided to match the fridge vents.

They look like this:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I found ours tucked away underneath the wire basket beneath the bed so seek and ye might find!

Hope this helps. 

Best regards,

Thanks Dutto,

We've definitely not got these with our Duetto, must have been lost by a previous owner.
Any idea where we can get a pair of black covers to match the large black side panel?


bumperman

bumperman wrote:Thanks Dutto,

We've definitely not got these with our Duetto, must have been lost by a previous owner.
Any idea where we can get a pair of black covers to match the large black side panel?


bumperman

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Better to get white ones and spray black if you really want to.

PB

peugeotboxer wrote:

bumperman wrote:Thanks Dutto,

We've definitely not got these with our Duetto, must have been lost by a previous owner.
Any idea where we can get a pair of black covers to match the large black side panel?


bumperman

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Better to get white ones and spray black if you really want to.

PB

And that price is for only one, 2 are needed. Here is a white pair I just bought for 1/3 of that price. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]?

When we had our Duettos, one on a MK5 and the other on a MK7 Transit, the winter covers for both were, cream / white, not black. If they had been black, they would have clashed with the colour of the vents onto which they fitted (cream / white).

In my opinion the covers look best when they match their vents but I suppose that over time AS could have fitted different colours.

The draughts that the OP was complaining about are a Duetto feature, caused by AS not installing the fridge as per manufacturers instructions. The fridges are not sealed-in. If you want to see how badly they are fitted, just take off the vents and have a look, especially on the right-hand side (viewed through the vent). It takes a fair bit of fiddling with cardboard, hardboard and expanding foam tape to make a reasonable job of it due to the restricted access through the vents. Even then you are unlikely to make a complete job of it. We first found out about this 'feature' at the North Cape (Norway) when a good strong, sub-zero wind blew on the fridge side of the Duetto and froze up our water pipes under the van, even though we were in it with the heater running. The blasts of cold / freezing air coming into the living space were horrible.

Spospe wrote:The draughts that the OP was complaining about are a Duetto feature, caused by AS not installing the fridge as per manufacturers instructions. The fridges are not sealed-in. If you want to see how badly they are fitted, just take off the vents and have a look, especially on the right-hand side (viewed through the vent). It takes a fair bit of fiddling with cardboard, hardboard and expanding foam tape to make a reasonable job of it due to the restricted access through the vents. Even then you are unlikely to make a complete job of it. We first found out about this 'feature' at the North Cape (Norway) when a good strong, sub-zero wind blew on the fridge side of the Duetto and froze up our water pipes under the van, even though we were in it with the heater running. The blasts of cold / freezing air coming into the living space were horrible.

"The draughts that the OP was complaining about are a Duetto feature....."  PMSL!!!! 

But.....you are bang on right. Zero sealing.

When i first had my Duetto i couldn't get the fridge to ignite at all. The fact the van had never been used by the previous owner contributed. Expecting it to need a new igniter (it did) i decided to get a Mobile Caravan Engineer out and let him sort it. He told me how A/S had vented the gas outlet wouldn't even get passed on a current build van today. Totally illegal.

Duetto's do have many interesting and unique "features".....such as the loo seat which when raised sits exactly vertical so when having a pee, will come crashing down 'mid pee' (velcro sorted that!). Never ever ever put anything on or against the section in the shower base which goes over the wheel arch.....the plastic will crack! Need to replace the roof aerial mount (the original rubber duck bases have a habit of rusting and rotting away)? The forward two inner roof sections will need removing and it's a two man job to refit a new base mount. Replacing a roof aerial on a car takes about 10 minutes. Allow at least half a day for the Duetto! The weird 'box' (with the TV and 12v socket inside) which you can't put much inside because the minute you open the flap everything falls out!

Bulletguy wrote:

Spospe wrote:The draughts that the OP was complaining about are a Duetto feature, caused by AS not installing the fridge as per manufacturers instructions. The fridges are not sealed-in. If you want to see how badly they are fitted, just take off the vents and have a look, especially on the right-hand side (viewed through the vent). It takes a fair bit of fiddling with cardboard, hardboard and expanding foam tape to make a reasonable job of it due to the restricted access through the vents. Even then you are unlikely to make a complete job of it. We first found out about this 'feature' at the North Cape (Norway) when a good strong, sub-zero wind blew on the fridge side of the Duetto and froze up our water pipes under the van, even though we were in it with the heater running. The blasts of cold / freezing air coming into the living space were horrible.

"The draughts that the OP was complaining about are a Duetto feature....."  PMSL!!!! 

But.....you are bang on right. Zero sealing.

When i first had my Duetto i couldn't get the fridge to ignite at all. The fact the van had never been used by the previous owner contributed. Expecting it to need a new igniter (it did) i decided to get a Mobile Caravan Engineer out and let him sort it. He told me how A/S had vented the gas outlet wouldn't even get passed on a current build van today. Totally illegal.

Duetto's do have many interesting and unique "features".....such as the loo seat which when raised sits exactly vertical so when having a pee, will come crashing down 'mid pee' (velcro sorted that!). Never ever ever put anything on or against the section in the shower base which goes over the wheel arch.....the plastic will crack! Need to replace the roof aerial mount (the original rubber duck bases have a habit of rusting and rotting away)? The forward two inner roof sections will need removing and it's a two man job to refit a new base mount. Replacing a roof aerial on a car takes about 10 minutes. Allow at least half a day for the Duetto! The weird 'box' (with the TV and 12v socket inside) which you can't put much inside because the minute you open the flap everything falls out!

Yep!   

Can't argue with any of that; especially the "cut off in mid-stream" syndrome!!   

If "Petal" didn't tick so many of the other boxes I would get rid of her tomorrow ....  

.... and I'll bet I would have a buyer within a week! 

Best regards,