At times our Dometic 3 way frig struggles to keep cool when outside air temps soar. Doesn't matter if we have it on 12V, 110V or LP, when the temps hit 90 and in direct sun it fails to cool properly. I have talked with Scamp service personnel who said that some have added a fan kit to maximize the ventilation of the of the unit. Has anyone here added this to their refrigerator? Here is a link to show what I am asking about.
Welcome to the world of Dometic Fridges.
The fans are not a bad idea to add whether you're experiencing issues or not.
There are long threads and lists of things to try to improve absorption fridge performance in trailers.
Some of them are to pull the thermistor off the cooling fins inside and let it dangle. Pull the fridge and add insulation around the fridge compartment. There are bigger dual fan units that you can add and wire them up on a switch so you control when they come on. These come in both exterior and interior fridge designs https://amzn.to/3gpdyAj
There are many good youtube videos on dometic fridge hacks if google some search terms for them.
I see you have a 91 Scamp 19 so that's almost a 30 year old fridge. Always possible it's seen it's better days and will need to be replaced. You can inquire with the Amish refrigeration group that will replace the cooling unit on your fridge and they receive excellent reviews. https://jc-refrigeration.com/
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We have a 2019 13 with the tiny fridge. I added a 4 inch muffin fan to mine at the upper cover.It is used to evacuate the hot air so the fridge can work better. I use it when above 75 deg and it is not perfect but is better. I just added some white velcro strips to the outside of the cover and wired a plug into the fridge supply. It gets a curious looker from time to time. But the Absorbtion fridges are notorious for poor performance in hot weather and over doing it on 40 deg weather and freezing the fridge contents.
2019 Scamp 13 standard
We have struggled with keeping the Scamp battery charged while traveling with the fridge on 12 volts. I decided to try connecting our TV battery directly to the Scamp battery. I used two 12 awg wires (pos. fused) connected to the TV battery running to the back of the TV and to an Anderson type connecter mounted on the tongue of our Scamp. The tongue Anderson connecter is wired directly to the Scamp battery with 10awg wires. It is also used for a connection point for our portable solar panels.
The results: Scamp battery voltage not connected to the TV and nothing turned on. 12.5 volts
Scamp battery voltage with fridge on 12 volt operation. 11.75 volts
Scamp battery voltage with fridge on 12 volt operation and with 7 pin connecter connected to the TV and TV engine running. 12.25 volts
Scamp battery voltage with fridge on 12 volt operation and directly connected to the TV battery and the TV running. 13.5 volts
Now with 13.5 volts going to the Scamp battery our TV should be able to charge the Scamp battery while we travel. After some real travel testing we will know for sure.
That should work. Just remember to turn the fridge off when you turn off the TV engine.
I too wired the 12v+ and ground with 10 ga wire but used new 7 way plug and receptacle. It performs pretty well and I too see 13.5-13.6volts at the battery with the TV running and the fridge on 12v. It is a long distance even with 10ga and the plug is marginal but seems to get the job done. We also try to leave any destination we can with the battery well charged or start the charging process before switching the fridge 12v on. Larger wire and clean connections is critical to anything that needs that much current to recover the battery and power the fridge
2019 Scamp 13 standard
I added a 1" fan and light with a magnetic switch to the inside which helped as well as an outside fan which also helped. In my case I had some debris in the gas jet and clearing that out made a huge difference. Being in direct sun is also a huge factor, I am thinking of a way to add an awning to mine for those times I have to be in the sun.
I still want to insulate the chimney better, seperate the flue gases from the upper refrigerator heatsink as well as add a barrier above the fridge vent to direct gases out of the vent and not have them get stuck in the dead space up there. All projects for next year.
I also added a tiny Muffin fan above the inside heat exchanger. It made the temps inside more consistant and easier to control plus It is all helpful and these need all the help they can get in warm/hot weather
2019 Scamp 13 standard