Fridge: Something to Watch?

[maromeo]

We are up in Phoenix. I always start up the fridge for several hours before stocking it, add frozen water bottles in fridge and freezer. I use a portable fridge fan in the fridge part to circulate the air. That seemed to help a lot with keeping it cold.

[ramn4ver]

The two fans are at the top. Single on the bottom. Thermostat comes on at 75°. Solved all my issues I've had the last 6 years.

[Jpchoc3]

We have a Whirlpool residential refrigerator in our Thor Aria which is a consistent problem. It has never really maintained a consistent cooling temperature since we have owned it over the last three years. The entire refrigeration unit was replaced five months ago and just recently the fridge and the freezer have again stopped working. Any advice is welcome. We are contemplating replacing the refrigerator altogether...

[knucklehead]

Originally Posted by The_Breeze

I have a Norcold N611RT. Been kinda hot here in Tucson the last few days getting over 100. Fridge is running on electric and was working fine on #3 until recent. I noticed a jump in the temp from 40 to 50. It coincided with the change in temps so I bumped it up to #4 and achieved 45. I pushed it to #5 about 30min. ago and still sitting at 45. Is it the heat or is the fridge on its way out? Produce keeps very well at 40, lasting a surprisingly long time. It usually spoils otherwise.

Is there any reason I shouldn't be running it maxed out in this heat? Will I damage it? Is there anything I can keep an eye on?

TIA

I have a Norcold N611F in a 2018 Windsport 29m. and I have made several mods to mine. We live in NC so we get rather cold here. The first thing I did was install a cold weather kit. It's a heat wrap that is wrapped around the lower part of the tubing at the bottom to help the mixture not to freeze. Seems to work great. The second thing I did was to install a 12v fan from Auto Zone. The kind that you put on the dash of a truck. It's probably 8" in diameter with a grill and I located it on the top level on the outside behind the vent facing out. Screwed it to a short piece of 2 x 4 and glued that to the base. There was already a small computer fan blowing up but not much air got circulated. I cut the wire in front of the slow/fast switch, spliced some double strand wire and ran it into the kitchen cabinet and behind the sofa then mounted the slow/fast switch next to the drivers seat. When I want to power it up, I plug the fan power jack into the 12v socket at the console and it provides a lot more air flow to cool the back fins. The 3rd and best thing was to put a 12v fan inside the fridge that attaches to the fins. It has an on/off switch and a LED light if you need one that also has a switch. Does a great job circulating the cold air to keep all parts inside the same temp. Don't forget, the thermistor that clips to the fins is another way to adjust the temp inside too. Good luck with all these upgrades. My fridge stays between 38 and 40 degrees and the freezer is ZERO on the highest setting so I'm hardly maxed out, got 4 more levels for colder temp setting's but again, I'm in NC---LOL!!!! Bob Trice

[knucklehead]

Originally Posted by Jpchoc3

We have a Whirlpool residential refrigerator in our Thor Aria which is a consistent problem. It has never really maintained a consistent cooling temperature since we have owned it over the last three years. The entire refrigeration unit was replaced five months ago and just recently the fridge and the freezer have again stopped working. Any advice is welcome. We are contemplating replacing the refrigerator altogether...

Check with JC Refrigeration in Indiana. They sell upgrades and replacement Hvac systems, Bob

[Travelin' Texans]

Originally Posted by Sstenander

Another thing to consider is the voltage your camper is getting. When the weather is hot and everyone is running air conditioning, the voltage to your RV may drop below acceptable levels. This may cause the refrigerator, running on electricity, to be less efficient. When we’ve had this happen and our refrigerator warmed up inside, switching to gas seemed to help. So you may want to try that if you have a gas/electric fridge. We have a voltmeter plugged into one of our outlets which we check regularly. Running on low voltage can also cause damage to some things in the RV.

To prevent this issue add a surge protector/EMS, either hardwired or portable, to your RV.
IMHO one of these should be mandatory on every rv that rolls off the assembly lines.

[CampTap]

May want to look into something like this to help it along and with it being solar you won't drain your house batteries
Camco 42165 Refrigerator Solar Roof Vent System

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by Travelin' Texans

To prevent this issue add a surge protector/EMS, either hardwired or portable, to your RV.
IMHO one of these should be mandatory on every rv that rolls off the assembly lines.

A surge protector won't have any effect on low voltage and an EMS will just force the fridge to run on propane when it kills the 120 VAC at too low a voltage.

The problem is the low temperature difference between the heat source (the electric heating element) and the heat sink (the ambient temperature). In hot ambient temperatures you can't change the heat sink temperature, but you can increase the heat removal capacity by using forced air flow over the condensor fins. But if your 120 VAC is at the low end of acceptability (say 105 VAC) vs the upper end of acceptability (say 135 VAC) your heat source has lost 25% of its ability to generate the heat needed for the fridge to run well. Adding low voltage fans and switching to propane heating is the best you can do to help your fridge run well in hot ambient temperatures where campground voltage may be at the low end of the band.

[brucev]

After my post yesterday I started looking into "The Fridge Defend" and decide to place my order after trading a bunch of emails with the owner. I too have a Norcold N611 and have trouble with it cooling when it is hot, but my biggest worry is that of a fire from an overheated fridge. About 50% of RV fires are reported to be from refrigerators and I saw one a couple years ago and that is when I started looking into a solution. . After reading all about the Fridge Defend I realized that it addresses all my issues, including that of a fire, heat on the shelf directly above the fridge and a blower system inside the refrigerator that only runs when the fridge is actually cooling. My fridge is in the slide so I ordered the fridge defend and fan kit with an intake fan, exhaust fan and one to move air inside the fridge. If anyone is interested, I will report back but the install looks pretty simple after reading the literature and watching a few video's.



I ordered Kit #4.
https://www.arprv.com/purchase.php

[Pete'sMH]

Originally Posted by brucev

After my post yesterday I started looking into "The Fridge Defend" and decide to place my order after trading a bunch of emails with the owner. I too have a Norcold N611 and have trouble with it cooling when it is hot, but my biggest worry is that of a fire from an overheated fridge. About 50% of RV fires are reported to be from refrigerators and I saw one a couple years ago and that is when I started looking into a solution. . After reading all about the Fridge Defend I realized that it addresses all my issues, including that of a fire, heat on the shelf directly above the fridge and a blower system inside the refrigerator that only runs when the fridge is actually cooling. My fridge is in the slide so I ordered the fridge defend and fan kit with an intake fan, exhaust fan and one to move air inside the fridge. If anyone is interested, I will report back but the install looks pretty simple after reading the literature and watching a few video's.



I ordered Kit #4.
https://www.arprv.com/purchase.php

I’m installing my kit this week. Hardest part was opening the burner/flue sleeve to clip on the sensor. The edges are sharp on my Norcold! I am putting the two fans inside the food compartment and the larger outside van as well.

[brucev]

How did you find was the easiest way to get the burner chamber opened so that you can get to the tube. Mine should be delivered Monday and the only part that concerns me is damaging something trying to get the cover off.

[The_Breeze]

Thanks for the great ideas. I'm going to see if I can find a way to combine the fan(s) idea with a thermostat. All I need is something to close the connection when a certain temp is reached. I believe I can use the outside ambient temperature to trip it. If you don't hear back, I got nowhere.

[brucev]

The Breeze,
If you are only looking for better cooling, check out Ramn4ever's post. He did something like that and it looks like a nice fix. Maybe PM him to see were he got located the thermostat he used.

[Pete'sMH]

Originally Posted by brucev

How did you find was the easiest way to get the burner chamber opened so that you can get to the tube. Mine should be delivered Monday and the only part that concerns me is damaging something trying to get the cover off.

The instructions from ARP worked great for my Norcold. There is one small screw at the bottom that is removed and then the bottom of the cylinder can be unlatched and spread open by squeezing it. Then just lift it and work it up over the electrical connections and try to keep the inside insulation from bunching up. You’ll figure it out as you go. Just watch the sharp edges! I haven’t do one any more than clip the sensor in yet but will finish up this week. If it warms up....

[Bob Denman]

"Fridge Defend": I'm gonna have to keep an eye on this thread. They sound interesting!

[brucev]

Originally Posted by Pete'sMH

The instructions from ARP worked great for my Norcold. There is one small screw at the bottom that is removed and then the bottom of the cylinder can be unlatched and spread open by squeezing it. Then just lift it and work it up over the electrical connections and try to keep the inside insulation from bunching up. You’ll figure it out as you go. Just watch the sharp edges! I haven’t do one any more than clip the sensor in yet but will finish up this week. If it warms up....

thank you, I'll let you know next week hoe it goes.

[brucev]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

"Fridge Defend": I'm gonna have to keep an eye on this thread. They sound interesting!

Bob,


Check out the web page there is more information than you will ever want to know. I first heard of them about two years ago when we were in a lot close to a rig that was gutted and the fire started in the refrigerator. I didn't buy it then, just kinda put it off until I saw this thread and I decided to finally take the plunge. Paul and Mao are the owners of ARPRV. I think he is a retired engineer or something that owns RV's himself. You can email them with questions and he got right back to me. Anyway, I will post after I get mine installed. Safe travels and God bless!

[The_Breeze]

Originally Posted by brucev

The Breeze,
If you are only looking for better cooling, check out Ramn4ever's post. He did something like that and it looks like a nice fix. Maybe PM him to see were he got located the thermostat he used.

Read it. Thanks. I have the side vent/roof vent setup. Thinking chimney flu.

[Bob Denman]

Originally Posted by brucev

Bob,


Check out the web page there is more information than you will ever want to know. I first heard of them about two years ago when we were in a lot close to a rig that was gutted and the fire started in the refrigerator. I didn't buy it then, just kinda put it off until I saw this thread and I decided to finally take the plunge. Paul and Mao are the owners of ARPRV. I think he is a retired engineer or something that owns RV's himself. You can email them with questions and he got right back to me. Anyway, I will post after I get mine installed. Safe travels and God bless!

I checked it out last evening. Very overwhelming'
I get the impression that my little 5 cubic foot fridge might not require a two fan setup...

[brucev]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

I checked it out last evening. Very overwhelming'
I get the impression that my little 5 cubic foot fridge might not require a two fan setup...

Take a look at how it is vented then you can decide if you need one or not. My fridge adds heat to the inside of the RV because it is in the slide and there is not good airflow out the vent and some of it ends up inside the RV. I ruined a loaf of bread one time by storing it on the shelf above the fridge and it got hot and hard.If you don't need the fans and still want the protection of the controller, there is a model that only includes the controller and heat sensor to shut the thing down if it gets overheated or if you may be parked too far out of level. Good luck.