Is my refrigerator working?

This is our first experience with an RV refrigerator.

I turned it to AC, it didn’t make a sound. I flipped the fan on and nothing happened. I checked the outlet that the fridge was plugged into and it had 120V.

I turned the fridge on DC, and not a peep from it or the fan.

I turned on the gas and got the fridge lit and nothing seemed to happen there either.

So... I called my friend Sam Shields. I don't know how he kept from laughing at me but he explained that the refrigerator in an RV doesn't make any sounds because it doesn't run off a compressor but rather it runs off chemicals.

He explained to me that it takes several hours to get cold and I should put a cup of water in the freezer, turn it on and check it the next morning. He also explained that the fan has a thermo controller and only comes on as necessary.

I did as Sam suggested and I was very pleased to find the cup of water froze solid the next morning. Yeaaaa!

I may be the only person that didn't already know all of this but just in case here is the information that I "later" looked up on how the refrigerator worked.

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Absorption Refrigerator

RV's use an absorption refrigerator, this type of refrigerator uses less power then the type that you would find in your house but the trade off is that it takes longer to cool off and is less efficient.

The RV refrigerator is composed of a series of pressurized pipes running through it's casing. It has five primary components.

They are the generator, separator, condenser, evaporator, and absorber. They are all connected in line with one another, each performing a separate job.

A heater / burner is connected below the generator. The burner heats the generator.

Contained within the generator is a combination of water and ammonia, which begins to boil. The boiling solution passes though a pipe to the separator, the difference in water and ammonia's molecular weight causes the two materials to separate.

Ammonia rises upward in the form of a gas while the water doesn't. As a result, the water heads to the absorber to wait for later use while the ammonia travels to the condenser.

The condenser is an expansive device, which allows the ammonia’s heat to dissipate, and the ammonia condenses back into a liquid.

The ammonia goes to the evaporator, where it mixes with compressed hydrogen gas and evaporates once more into a freezing vapor.

The vapor is pumped through the cooling coils within the fridge as a result of pressure initially created by the generator, which is the driving force for this entire process.

Once the vapor passes through the coils, it travels to the absorber, which recombines with the water. A chemical reaction occurs, in which the ammonia combines with the water as a liquid, while the hydrogen gas travels up a pipe into the evaporator.

Then the ammonia and water flow back down into the generator and start the process all over again.

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So what did I learn from all of this... well, just what Sam told me, that the fridge isn't supposed to make any noise and you just have to give it a few hours to actually see if its working or not

Neal

refrigerator

I am glad I was a help to you. The refrigerator coils do get very hot in the normal operation so don't tuch, can cause a bad burn. I find that if you leave the refg on all the time the refg, will double it life. The reason for this is the chemicals in the coils when left to sit for long periods of time will slowely change from a gas to a solid that will stop up the coils. Then it is time to replace the coils. About $800.00 or replace the refg about $1000.00. The normal life of a rv refg is about 5 to 8 years. There are other factors that cause the coils to go bad, rust is one of the most common. This also is caused by letting the frig. set for long periods of time with out use. The rust will cause a leak in the coils and the chemicals will leak out. As the heat of the burner or 110 volt element will keep the mosture off. This is a big problem in Louisiana, because of the high humity.
Sam
ps:
The 12volt element in your refg will not cool it down, as there is not enouth heat from the element. The 12 volt element is there to maintain in transit after the refg has been on 110v or gas to reach normal operation temp. In very hot weather you need the cooling fan to be on . This will pull excess heat off the coils. Remember the fan is on a thermostat and will only come on when needed.