Cold Draught!

Greetings all! We have been away in our Nuevo this week-end not really realising that we were going to be in Arctic conditions! Although we have been very cosy in our van, I noticed that under my bed (I sleep in the near side bed) there was a howling gale, on closer inspection it is coming from the rear near the wheel arch where there is a gap of about half an inch between the wooden partition and wheel arch. I would welcome any comments about whether I am okay to fill this gap with foam filler. I know the fridge is behind this panel, I don’t want to impede any air flow that is needed for the fridge when on gas. I have temporarily stuffed a cloth in this gap and has certainly stopped the cold draught. I would say that my dearest sleeps on the off-side and she is draught free! I would welcome any comments from my fellow Nuevo owners. Thanks all. Chris.

My wife had same problem when we had the Nuevo. She stuffed a towel in there as a temporary measure but it does need a more permanent fix. The fridge should be sealed from the living area so I'm sure you could seal it with foam.

Two points to make. AS always fit interior bulkheads or cupboards with a workable gap between the wood and the outer skin.  It makes fitting easier, even with a small 10mm gap.
Secondly, the draught is coming in through the fridge vents, which provide ventilation for the fridge on both gas and electric, and will find its way out through the adjacent fittings.
It has been suggested in previous posts that the fridge unit/casing should be sealed to alleviate any possibility of carbon monoxide entering the habitation area.  Sealing the gap will not inhibit fridge performance
Keith

The fridge gets its air supply via the bottom vent and exhausts through the top one and should be sealed off from the rest of the van for top efficiency. I would recommend closing that draughty gap as best you can.

I had this, no more, as I was having the van refurbished and have done a lot of it myself, I put a matching material panel on the side of that wood panel, mine houses a  cupboard and the fridge is next to that, I didn`t stuff anything in to the hole, and to make it look as original, I put a covered wood strip in the corner to finish it off, as the material is the same as the back board behind the seat it looks neat and has stopped the draft.

When I can I will put a photo on to show what I mean. 
Best regards,
Margaret

Yes.

Soft foam rubber and a ruler to poke it in with. As said already, it will do no harm and it's easy to remove if you ever needed to.

Similar here, I sealed the gap with brown silicone. The fridge is completely sealed on the inside of the van now, as it's designed to be.
Al.

Hello to those kind people who have responded. It will be a job for me to do over the Easter Weekend. I am most grateful for the tips and advice, and the reassurance that I won’t be doing anything “wrong” by sealing the gap. Thanks again, Chris & Sue

:tap_fingers:This topic has set me thinking about drafts. Since we bought our Rienza the only draft has been from the top of the fridge. The dealers we bought from said it because the fridge has to be vented?. 
Having just come back from North Yorkshire during this mini beast from the east. We were facing side on to the wind on the o/s. The water tank was frozen this morning.   No ill effects, everything worked by lunch time. Most of the caravaners had frozen water containers.
Any way from the advise given I think I had best look further into this matter. Above the fridge is a slide out work top so I will have suss and boggle under that to see were the draft is coming from. We have been hanging the pot cloth over the edge during the night. A further to this I have just noticed that the winter covers for the fridge vents are off, taken off before we left last weekend. That was me thinking spring had arrived.

That sliding worktop is going to prevent you sealing it from the inside .Maybe you could seal it from accessing through the top vent and stopping draughts rising up and over the top of the fridge.

"The dealers we bought from said it because the fridge has to be vented?. "


yes it does, but to the outside...and there should be no draughts from the outside into the van, certainly not via a badly fitted fridge which could allow unburnt gas into the van...
from inside the van, you shouldn't be able to tell if you have the fridge covers on or not...


if your van is still under warranty, get the dealer to seal the fridge properly...
there should be no 'gaps' around wheel arches or fridges or anywhere else, other than specific drop vents...

 The dealers we bought from couldnt make the fridge stay lit on gas when we bought it. I think I mentioned this at the time, they ended up sending out a fitter to our house after I created a stink about it. My hopes of them fixing a draft are slim so I will have a look myself. It will keep me out of line for domestic warfare if I have a project in hand. The sliding worktop appears well fitted so maybe access from the top vent is the best method of attack. Our last van had so many drafts tracking one down only showed up the next one.

you should be able to slide the frige out of its housing and check that there is a 'foam-type' sealing strip all around the sub frame...
it may be missing, distorted or broken in places but can easily be straightened out or (possibly better) replaced with some new stuff.
then slide the fridge back in carefully, checking that the sealing stays in place and does the job.
hopefully the difference will be really noticeable..
good luck...

Dave 418 wrote:. The sliding worktop appears well fitted so maybe access from the top vent is the best method of attack. Our last van had so many drafts tracking one down only showed up the next one.

If your sliding worktop over the fridge is the same as mine, and I would guess it is, it's actually in a sealed slot and is part of the fridge cabinet. No draughts should be coming from there.
The fridge is fitted underneath the slot, allowing it to be sealed all round from inside the van.
Al.

:allthumbz:Thanks folks , lots of clues and after a bit of sussing and boggling from inside and out I have found the remains of some sort of clear sealant between the sliding bit and the fridge top. Also taking the top vent off there is duct tape along the top of the fridge back 3/4 of the way across. There is a gap of about 6" in the rear corner. Also I can see daylight were the step switch wires go through the panel. When this colder weather has stopped I will have a look in my workshop for some clear sealant for the inside and try and put more duct tape on the rear of the fridge. Hopefully I wont have to pull the fridge out. I am a bit bothered about disturbing the fridge.
Considering how cold it was last weekend we only had to put the heating on gas for a short time to dry our shoes and the dog. The rest of the weekend we only used the electric heating. We find the Rienza is cosy enough for winter breaks including the drafts from the fridge.

Each to their own, and much as I love my van, my winter breaks involve catching a plane to somewhere much warmer. I never notice the warm draughts that may blow through the van in the summer months.
I really admire the folk on here who tough it out, using their vans in Siberian conditions, and coping with all the hardships it involves, but I'm afraid I don't see the fun in that, my old joints would just seize up.
Al.

Al, as you say each to their own.....which is why many take their vans to warmer climes in winter.....
we mix long winter MH Spanish stays with packages or cruises, so don't get too many draughts...
however, this wouldn't stop me tracking one down and fixing it...

Using winter fridge vents in the winter has reduced drafts around the fridge. I bought mine from autosleepers as I wanted grey coloured ones

Greetings all,  Many thanks for all the various replies/advice and comments regarding this subject.  I have this morning fixed (I hope) the problem, I bought some of that polyurethane foam filler, the sort that comes in an aerosol can.  It has filled the gap nicely and it just needs to go off overnight then I can trim it up to make a nice tidy job. The gap by the wheel arch next to the side wall was quite large nearly 1 inch! I wonder why this wasn't sorted at the manufacturing stage though. I am confident that this will make my nights  now draught free! Not guaranteeing less windy though! Thanks again all, kind regards,  Chris.

Hi Chris,our 2012 Nuevo was the same ,used silicon sealant to fill the gap ,also had draughts coming from around the fridge where it hadn't been fitted properly ,so sorted that as well, now all OK .Kind regards  Paul