Another RV Refrigerator Question...

[Highway Yacht]

I know nothing about RV refrigerators so please forgive me for "stupid questions. I'm trying to learn though. When an RV refrigerator is powered with 110V...How long does it take to get cold on the inside? I've got the 12v side hooked up to a battery and running a dropcord to the 110V side. The indicator lights on the refrigerator say that it is on. The backside of the refrigerator is hot which I figure is normal since I learned yesterday that an RV refrigerator uses heat to make cold air but so far I can't tell that the insides are getting cooler. How long should it take for it to get cold??? Its only been plugged in for about an hour. I just want to make sure it does run properly before going to the trouble of installing it in the bus.

[Len Silva]

Put a cup of water in the freezer and leave it alone for 24 hours.  That should give you a pretty good indication of it's condition.

[bevans6]

I can tell mine is working after about 4 or 5 hours, takes overnight to freeze something small.  It's a very gradual process.

Brian

[PP]

If the back stove pipe is getting hot and you don't smell any ammonia, you're on the right track. Like Brian and Len said, give it time-RV Fridges are much slower than compressor types. Will

[Jriddle]

Not sure how you have it installed. If just sitting in bus or shop the refrigerator will not cool very well. I tested mine out before I installed it and it did get cool but wasn't working well. You need air coming across the coil low and exiting out the top. When installed the air flow is like a chimney effect. If you have it just sitting in the shop you may need to have a fan blowing across the coils.

John

[Highway Yacht]

Not sure how you have it installed. If just sitting in bus or shop the refrigerator will not cool very well. I tested mine out before I installed it and it did get cool but wasn't working well. You need air coming across the coil low and exiting out the top. When installed the air flow is like a chimney effect. If you have it just sitting in the shop you may need to have a fan blowing across the coils.

John

It is still sitting in the Donor RV that I am stripping. There was some water damage to the roof of the slide that had been ripped out before I bought it. The PO cut a lot of the wiring to pull out the rotted wood so I'm running a dropcord to the refrigerator for 110V and the 12V is coming from my Pick up with a 15amp fuse linked in. It is an 8 cubic ft 2 door unit. The freezer is getting quite cold already but the refrigerator wasn't that cold last time I checked it. Freezer was down to 34 degrees with the IR Gun and refrigerator was at 78 degrees. I did notice the freezer coils got hot about an hour before the refrigerator coils. Not sure if that is normal. I'm hoping the temps in the frigerator will start dropping.

[Highway Yacht]

UPDATE!!!!

Just checked it again with the IR Gun. Back wall of freezer is down to about 12 degrees and has ice crystals forming and refrigerator has dropped to 69 degrees from 78 degrees in about 30 minutes . It has been plugged in approx 3 hours.

[gus]

Mine cools easily overnight on AC.

However, air is pretty hard to cool. It works far better if you put some frozen stuff in the freezer and some cold liquid in the frige section. We use gallon jugs of water for this if we don't have enough stuff to fill it and leave them in until we need the space.

Water holds the cold for a long time, air-not for long. The water(Or any liquid) stabilizes the frige and freezer temps. Friges don't like empty space.

[Depewtee]

I agree with Gus.  I decided to check my fridge a couple of weeks ago before setting up the bus for my wife and kids to live in for four months (she is doing an teaching internship and the school she is assigned to is about an hour's drive, so we took the bus to a friend's house about a mile from the school.  They stay in the bus during the week).  When I let the fridge run without anything inside I had the same results as you - the freezer was getting  cold, but the fridge part not so much.  After 24 hours plugged in I decided to load it down with bottled water.  It got cold within a couple of hours and has been working great since.  Mine is a home refrigerator currently running off shore power.

Brian S.

[artvonne]

  What I dont understand is why someone in the US doesnt start building Ammonia refrigerators for RV's. Dometic and Norcold both know how to make these things correctly of good quality, but they both have figured out how to make them fail so they have short lives.

  The early Dometics cooling units were built of high grade steel which did not rust. Rust will either plug them up internally, or rot through externally and the Ammonia leaks out.

  They are incredibly simple machines, if the cooling unit was made of stainless they could concievably last forever. Which is apparently what the current manufactures dont want.

  I had my Dometic repaired up in Minnesota after it lost gas, but the guy who did it is about the last guy around that does it anymore. 

[luvrbus]

Art,the Amish build good hand made LP fridges here and about any Amish group will have a repair guy in their community I had a leak repaired on a NorCold in Pryor OK  but you will not find them in the yellow pages or on  the net  LOL pretty creative people   



good luck

[artvonne]

I had a leak repaired on a NorCold in Pryor OK  but you will not find them in the yellow pages or on  the net  LOL pretty creative people   



good luck

   How did you find them??

[luvrbus]

I just asked the people in Pryor where I could get a LP fridge fixed and they sent me to the place and the directions were look for a pay phone booth in the front yard  lol 


good luck

[thomasinnv]

here's one in Plumerville Arkansas.  They sell cooling unit, rebuilt fridges, or rebuild your fridge.  prices are very good IMO.  not affiliated with them in any way.

http://www.rvfridgestore.com/

[Highway Yacht]

We have two different people advertising on the Charlotte Craigslist RV section that claim they specialize in RV Refrigerator repairs. They even do recall work at no charge to the customer.