Any reason not to cap the roof vents once a residential fridge has been installed? Seems like two big chimneys for all the warm air to exit. Is this ventilation required?
Are the condenser coils for the new residential refrigerator on the back or bottom?
If bottom, yes, I would seal it after confirming that like most residential refrigerators with bottom coils the both draw in and exhaust air out their front.
The original fridge has a conditioned air break at the front of the fridge to separate the inside from the outside, but still allows a huge heat or cold source that is inside the outside wall. I'm sure you could reduce down to several square inches top and bottom. If your fridge is not sealed off then I would definitely seal off top and bottom
I sealed (and insulated) the roof and wall vents when I installed our Samsung RF18. It has performed perfectly for several years in various outside temperature conditions.
When you say roof vents (plural) (two chimneys) - one is likely the roof vent from the microwave/convection oven.
The wall vent is sealed up already.
@D.J. Osborn - We have that same fridge. Do you have the microwave/convection oven and if so, do you use it with both vents capped?
I have the microwave/convection oven and haven't had it out and so I'm not sure but I've seen no indication that it's vented to the outside.
The vent above the microwave is intact on ours. The rooftop vent above the refrigerator is now closed. I had and open/close louvered vent under the cap so that in the winter while driving it didn't suck so much cold air. It required a roof top visit to open or close it. The side vent for the refrigerator has an insulated slide up door behind the plastic cover. Open it provided additional ventilation, close it closes it up for winter travel. It also make access to behind the refrigerator pretty easy.
Rooftop cover is aluminum, painted, curved to match roof curve with solar cable entrance.
Roger, do you have a separate vent for the microwave/convection oven? Mine looks to have two vents above the fridge and that's it.
On our 2003 U320, there are two identical looking vents on the roof, one directly above the fridge, one above the microwave/convection.
The microwave is right next to the fridge.
Our microwave/convection vents to the roof through one of those vents.
Two separate vents, one for the microwave, one for the refrig. They were isolated as built originally. Behind the OEM LP refrig the space was sealed to the inside of the coach and vented from the side wall vent and out the roof vent.
The microwave vents to the outside through its own roof vent.
OK, so the forward vent is for the microwave and the rearward vent is for the fridge. Got it.
I assume blocking off the vent for the fridge should make a decent difference in keeping the coach warm as hot air rises and is going right out the vent right now. The side vent is already blocked.
Depending on who installed the residential fridge, you may find the top vent is already blocked off when you remove the vent cover. Ours was.