refrigerator

[jashyd]

I have a 2007 28 ' tow lite and refrigerator doesn't get cold enough even with the setting set on 5 the coldest setting . Any ideas on what the problem is ? I always have the refrigerator fan turned on when running as manual says to do.
Am I the only one that has this problem ?

 

[Bruce from Kansas]

Are the Coils in back of the refer covered in dust, or are they clean? A build up of dust makes it not work as well.

 

[maestro123]

prolly needs Freon recharged. jmo. dust will do a lot to dimish cooling also tho. a lot. oh thanks for the info I didn't know that!

 

[retiredcamper47]

RV fridges do not use freon. They use liquid ammonia. Is your trailer level? It does not have to be right on level, but close enough. How long has the fridge been plugged in? It will take several hours for it to get to it's cold state. On the inside back wall of the fridge are aluminum fins. On the last fin on the right should be a plastic sliding device (thermister). The thermister controls the coldness temp inside the fridge. They sometimes get bumped by food objects and slide down or fall off the fin. Make sure it is attached to the fin. The higher on the fin, the colder; the lower on the fin, warmer. Hope this helps. You can also google rv refridge repairs and get some more/better hints.

Bob

 

[jashyd]

Camper is very level and been running for 4 days . I did check inside and find that the plastic slide on the bottom of fin so I raised it all the way to the top . I will post to let you know that solved the problem
Thanks,
Randy

 

[jashyd]

I have let it run all day and the adjustment did lower the temp inside the refrigerator 10 degrees from 60 to 50 degrees still not as cold as I would like . I guess after this camping trip I will be replacing it .

 

[maestro123]

prolly need ammonia recharged then! huh? can ya do that to those? idk? only had 2.

 

[jashyd]

I was told by a repairman that ammonia crystalizes over a period of time and blocks flow he recommended I replace it .Also he said they should be plug in on a/c current every now and then . Not good just sitting all year and then wanting them to work just for a couple of weeks a year .

 

[campthewestcoast]

Replace the thermistor easy fix when installing dis connect shore power and house batteries by disconnecting battery cables from battery you don't want to take a chance shorting out computer boards in refrigerator

 

[Bruce from Kansas]

Also, as I stated on another thread, rather than removing (a real hassel) and replacing the refer, there are kits for just replacing the coils. A whole lot cheaper than the whole refer.

 

[maestro123]

post 8 makes a lot of sense. some things we never think about in the winter. never knew you could just get a new coil unit either, them 3 way reefers ain't cheap. I never knew either they charged with ammonia that's interesting.

that's why I always just get a 120v mini fridge, cant ,ever afford the 3 way.
I wish I could tho. had 2 of them in diff campers, both did same thing. idk? I do know the water heaters are worse. lol

 

[campthewestcoast]

Try this replace outside vent grill like I did
Do a search ; refrigerator exhaust vent by campthewestcoast
Also add a high cfm computer fan on the inside of the frigerator

 

[KnottyRig]

I was told by a repairman that ammonia crystalizes over a period of time and blocks flow he recommended I replace it .Also he said they should be plug in on a/c current every now and then . Not good just sitting all year and then wanting them to work just for a couple of weeks a year .

The ammonia is in a closed system - unless some kind of intrusion occurs I’m skeptical of this claim.

Also, even today, very large cooling/refrigeration systems (think large buildings) still use ammonia, and run for decades. If this was a problem,I’d think they’d abandon ammonia.

 

[campthewestcoast]

I agree the refrigerator works on convection air flow is important for it to work efficiently that's why I installed a waterproof computer fan on the inside box of the refrigerator next to the cooling fins on a seperate switch , installed a larger cfm fan on the back of the refrigerator which still works on an automatic thermostatic switch and changed the exhaust grill on the outside of the trailer for better air flow
Also a new thermistor on the inside cooling fins

 

[Treeclimber]

To give you an idea of how efficient they are, almost EVERY hotel and motel uses this system. How many rooms is that? No noise and they last a long time.
Like camp says, installing more efficient "fin fans" help a lot. There is a mod in the "search" section for this.