Freezer is cold, fridge isn't

[John Z]

This is an older Dometic propane refrigerator/freezer. The freezer is down to 0 degrees, but the fridge portion is about 50 degrees yet. Any ideas what needs to be done? It has been running a bit over 2 1/2 days.

[luvrbus]

john , it could have a air bubble or the unit is bad use this web site for answers they have a forum that you can ask a question or the answer may already be there for you.   www.rvmobile.com  it's not full of shrimp and bbq from Texas is it    have a great day

[John Z]

man! you sure know how to rub it in... we talk so often of the good times and food we had down there. Sadly, with the fuel cost and work situations, not sure we can get enough time off to make it pay to drive all the way down there again. Fuel costs have really changed the way we are looking at things. But if there is a way, we will make it! So tell me, is your fridge loaded with shrimp and tx bbq? Thinking of Hinzes great food still makes my mouth water.

[Hartley]

You may try taking it out and turning it upside down
tap on the coils with a rubber hammer and let it sit
overnight.

Set it back upright and let it sit for a couple of hours
and then try it again to see if it cools any better.

The heating/cooling unit could be losing charge or going bad.

The upside down trick will slosh the working fluids around
and break any particles or crystals loose and might allow
you to get a bit more life out of it.

The working fluid is ammonia-water and a hydrogen gas charge.

Dave....

[JohnEd]

JohnZ,

STOP!  The thing is working fine and if you "fix it"...well, you know.  The cold for the refer comes from the freezer then to the refer.  You can't have one work without the other.  If your refer is cooling down at all that demonstrates to me that the entire system is working and zero degrees in the freezer is way cold enuf.  Your problem is with the gasket on the refer door or the door is warped.

Tear off a strip of news paper and put it in the door of the refer and close the door.  It should not slide out without a slight tug.  Do that all the way around to check the gasket.  They shrink with age and the doors get warped from people tugging on a locked door or leaning on them or closing them on an obstruction.  If warped....just twist it the other way.  I have a Dometic that was made in 73 and it will still freeze every blessed thing I put in the refer, let alone the freezer, if I don't have that little blue fan running that uses two drycell batteries.  I knew the guy that invented that thing and may he be ultra rich to this day....great product.

I personally have never seen one fail gracefully.  They seem to either work or not.  If they did go slowly, then the freezer would work and the refer would be weak but I doubt you would see zero degrees anywhere.  I have led a comparatively sheltered life, though.

[luvrbus]

John have to disagree with you on this one it will happen like John Z describes did to me

[JohnEd]

Luv,

WELL!   Never actually having been wrong before , is my face red or what?   I did say I wasn't completely seasoned.   Let alone fully baked on this side.

Now, are you saying that he shouldn't do what I suggested before he jerks it out to roll it or buy another?  Just asking now.  Heh, Heh, Heh

Thanks for the info as I would not have thought it possible...really.  If the seal isn't bad I would get a dealers repairman's opinion.  I know that inverting them and laying them on their side works but my repair manual says that if it is an old Dometic it will probably start working if you turn it on and run it down a rough road,,,,I swear to God.

Good luck,

John

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi John,

Don't jolt it too much, those rusty old steel cooling units tend to Crack and spill their yellow guts all over...

Good Luck
Nick-

[gus]

I would sure as heck try driving it over a medium rough road before removing it and doing the upside down thing, but I'm the lazy type!

One other thought. If you have nothing in the frige side it is very hard to cool since you are trying to cool air which is an excellent insulator. Try filling it with milk jugs full of cold water since water is much easier to cool than air. Cold beer would be even better, but get rid of as much air as possible.

If none of this works get a Norcold.

[H3Jim]

perhaps there is junk (sometimes ice, but your has not been running long enough) in the port between the freezer and the refrigerator blocking the cold air from migrating to the refrigerator.

[Lin]

I am not familiar with that unit.  Is there a separate cooling element in the frig section or does it cool from the freezer?  If it cools from the freezer, how does the transfer take place?

[Don Fairchild]

I have a Dometic RM7030 and it does the same thing. The freezer will work on both electric and propane but the the refer part. Have not pulled it apart jet so if you find out what is wrong with yours let me know it May be the same thing with mine.

Don

[JohnEd]

LuvrBus,

So how did you "fix" yours that failed the same way.  I am interested.  How could you leave that part out

Nick,

I have a repair manual for "all things RV" and what I said about the "rough road" is a quote. 

Mine is rusty as all heck...you are right.  I hesitate to clean it or do anything else for fear of.....  But it gets COLD.

John

[luvrbus]

John my model had the electric ice maker at the bottom and Dometic did their usual thing and stopped manufacturing the unit after 2 years and no parts were available for it and the Dometic guy at a FMCA rally in Redmond OR told me just buy a new one and I did a Norcold

[gus]

JZ,

You left us all suspended, did you ever solve this problem and if so, how??