Currently my camper has a gas fridge, with an exhaust outlet in the side of the van. This is covered with some kind of grill /plastic cover. Having opted to move over to a 12v fridge, I'll be getting the gas one out this weekend. But I guess this will leave a hole (albeit covered by the plastic thing) in the side of the van. Obviously I'll eventually get this welded up, but as it will involve removing the interior cupboards, and re spraying the panel, it's not going to be happening any time soon if I can avoid it. So what would be the best course of action, do you think? Tiger seal a steel patch on the inside? Fill it with fibreglass filler? A combination of both? Or summat else? Ideas and experiences please.
Personally I would leave it, if this grill looks ok. The reason being if ever you (or future owner perhaps) wants to revert back to a gas fridge the hole is there. Seems a lot of unnecessary work to me. But no doubt I’ll be put right on here shortly.
I would leave the vent as its doing its job stopping rain getting in, cover it over inside to stop drafts and wait for a proper job. Or use thin Sikaflex or car panel adhesive to stick a backing plate bare metal to bare metal using a patch inside, prepare outside, around hole, sanding down surrounding paint, fill with filler and rattle can outside. Apart from the bad paint job, the second idea is what you might expect if you paid somebody to do it.. Welding probably isnt necessary for a patch like this.
Show us a pic ?? Personally I'd leave it for now and see how you get along with the 12v . Reasoning ?? My Dometic is fab but an a warm day you'd be surprised how much heat is kicked out and the behind the units get a bit too warm for my liking so I'm currently looking for a better way to circulate the air around the van or better still vent it outside.... Wish I still had a vent - I'd use it !! Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
Sorry, should've said, yes I'm definitely leaving the grill / cover thing on the outside, no pint removing it..... but as @mikedjames said above, I want something to stop damp and cold. General feeling that a bonded bit of metal from inside would be okay? Remove grill to paint over exposed side of metal, replace grill, jobs a good 'un?
Aaaah fair point. I'll get a picture when I'm at home in daylight. As long as there's no water ingress, I'm happy with the vent there. I'm just trying to be a bit more organised than normal, and have the necessary bits ready for the weekend removal. (Organised in advance is a novel concept, and probably won't work!!)
That looks like there is a tube going through the panel under the cover. So you may have to remove that to get to a flat panel to glue to. I would find a sheet of thin plastic material to glue as then you dont necessarily need to paint it if you leave the outer vent cover on after fitting the sealing sheet. You might find a standard drainage plumbing blanking cap fits over that tube inside. Or by taking the cover off outside, you can cap the tube from the outside. If its not leaking or rusting leave external things alone - chipping or lifting paint while removing the outer cover if it went onto slightly soft paint or has PU sealant under it is a possible risk.
When I swapped fridges on one of my T2’s I was surprised at the hole that had been cut out behind the grille. It looked like it had been done with a tin opener
^ this no need to overcomplicate. a glued blanking plate on the inside makes it water tight/ no draughts and its easily reversible if needed in the future.
I’d just put a bit of gaffer tape on the inside. When you come to do it properly, why make it more difficult for yourself. Don’t overthink it
Might it be even better to be able to open and close the vent, open in summer, closed in winter, so you get the best of both worlds as suggested by @Lasty ? PS another way to perhaps solve this problem is by having a second portable fridge and leaving the gas one in, I think the @theBusmonkey's have this setup, more room for beers.
You could always repurpose the hole For example you could fit a bullfinch shower attachment point and connect it to your water pump It would be quite handy for washing the dog down etc.
I reckon to pop the cover off and see how it looks inside. If it’s in good order and has a plastic pipe insert thingy going in to the interior, I’d squeeze a bit of sofa foam down to fill the hole and stop any unwanted drafts and dust and debris etc but still retaining the original finish and looks. If you get in there and it looks can opener stylee, then might just be nice to clean and tidy to prevent future ‘ issues’ of deterioration then refit the smart looking cover. Whatever you get on to, it’ll be great if it’s easily reversible should you ever require extra ventilation. Ozziedog,,,,,….. looks very very smart as it is though.
I like the shower attachment idea. Is this applicable to other breeds of birds, or just limited to the bullfinch?
This ^. I was going to suggest gluing a suitable piece of plastic over the hole on the inside, job done.
