Dometic Refrigerator Help?!

[fourdoras]

Rookie refrigerator question.
We are in the road for our first long road trip, and our Dometic freezer is plenty cold! Fridge “was cold when we left (38 degrees running on AC at our house). Temperature in fridge got up to 51 while driving today! Fins in fridge (older model Clss A 200 Holiday Rambler in great condition) were nice and frosty when we left house 6 hours ago. Now, we are connected to 50amps, and temp dropped to 48 so far after about 3 hours. We have small battery operated fan from Camping World running in there, and seems to be slowly cooling. But SLOWLY! And no frost on the fridge fins now. Freezer is still very cold at like 20 degrees and lower.

Any suggestions or help appreciated. We are BRAND NEW to RVing. So any help is greatly appreciated!

[Rick_Jay]

fourdoras,

Welcome to the forums.

You've received good info above. The only thing I'd ammend is this. Several said you have to have your fridge on propane while you travel, and generally that's true. However, if you had your generator running to run the coach A/C while travelling, you DON'T have to have the fridge on propane. It will get it's power from the generator.

A refrigerator will keep the contents cold a long time on its own without power. However, every time the door is opened, you let in warm air which must then be cooled. Which reminds me, you should check the seal around your fridge door as well. It's possible the seal is failing and allowing warm air in more quickly than it should. Here's a link describing the process to Check the Seals On Your Refrigerator & Oven.

Good Luck,

~Rick

[tropical36]

fourdoras wrote:
Rookie refrigerator question.
We are in the road for our first long road trip, and our Dometic freezer is plenty cold! Fridge “was cold when we left (38 degrees running on AC at our house). Temperature in fridge got up to 51 while driving today! Fins in fridge (older model Clss A 200 Holiday Rambler in great condition) were nice and frosty when we left house 6 hours ago. Now, we are connected to 50amps, and temp dropped to 48 so far after about 3 hours. We have small battery operated fan from Camping World running in there, and seems to be slowly cooling. But SLOWLY! And no frost on the fridge fins now. Freezer is still very cold at like 20 degrees and lower.

Any suggestions or help appreciated. We are BRAND NEW to RVing. So any help is greatly appreciated!

No clue as to your fridge or coach, so you might consider adding some particulars to you signature.
Most modern fridge versions will sw. over to LP automatically when without 120vac. If not, do so manually.
Some have had problems with the gas going out while underway, but there should be some sort of an alarm for that.
Do you have an inverter and is there an outlet behind the fridge for it, would also be a good question.
We do and run the fridge with it, while underway, rather than use propane. Also for short stops, but not for any length of time, as it will soon deplete the batteries.
Having an inverter on and leaving the fridge on auto, insures 120vac operation, but again, will deplete the batteries when not on shore power, genset or with the engine's alternator.

[bjbear]

fourdoras wrote:
Rookie refrigerator question........We are BRAND NEW to RVing. So any help is greatly appreciated!

I am assuming that you did not test your refrigerator on propane before leaving on your trip. The refrigerator will often not run on propane initially, especially if the propane has been shut off.

I have had a number of RVs over the years that required a couple of tries before it would work on propane. Here is the procedure I usually use when starting the fridge:

1) Start propane system.

• Ensure RV is plugged into shore power (AC) and Batteries are charged
• Turn on propane
• light one burner on your stove briefly to test the propane system and ensure it is working correctly.

2) Start refrigerator.

• Turn on refrigerator.
• Set {MODE} to gas/propane.
• Listen carefully. You should hear the igniter click a number of times followed by the sound of the burner.
• If the burner does not ignite, you will get a failure indication (Ususally a red "F").
• If it did not light, turn off the refrigerator and repeat previous steps.
• The refrigerator should start (i.e. burner running) after no more than 3 attempts.
• Let run on propane for 5-10 minutes, then switch {MODE} to 110VAC or AUTO. Check that the propane shuts off and the fridge continues to cool on 110V
• Allow at least 12 hours for the fridge to get down to normal temperatures.

3) If refrigerator will not run on propane after 3 attempts.

• Remove lower access door on outside of fridge.
• Check that all wiring connections are tight.
• Check that propane lines are tight. Some systems may have a small isolation valve that must be on.
• Locate the burner and flue then have someone attempt to start the fridge while you observe from the outside.
• You should see a spark at the burner, then hear the propane start to flow and then ignite.
• If the propane starts, but the flame is weak or goes out immediately, it could be because the flue is plugged. Spiders love to build webs in the flue. These can be cleared by using a compressor to blow air up the flue.
• If the propane still fails to work, then it is time for the manual and troubleshooting guide.

Hope this helps. Remember, you need to have the propane turned on while you drive. I always leave the fridge on AUTO so that it switches to propane as soon as the coach is unplugged from shore power.

[dougrainer]

1. When camped you MUST be Level
2. 120 or LP will not make a difference on cooling, UNLESS your CG line voltage is below 115 volts. If so, then switch to LP
3. A MUST tool for RV'ing is a Multimeter to test both 120 voltage and 12 volt.
4. In Transit, you DID have it on LP? Also, there is a drain line for the Evap fins to drain the water off when the fins de-ice. THAT tube comes out the back side of the refer where the outside refer access door is. THAT tube can allow hot air to migrate back up in transit and cause the lower section to raise in temp. You can temporarily block it off for in transit operation and unplug when camped
5. The normal operating temp of the Freezer is 10 degrees or colder.
The normal for the lower section is below 40 degrees
6. You just joined, so remember to always post Year and brand/model of RV and Brand and Model of appliance. You cannot get good help without that info.
7. IS the refer in a slide room? Doug

[Ivylog]

bob213 wrote:
Was the fridge on lp when you were traveling?

X2??? These things are slow to cool and the freezer section needs to be close to 5 degrees to get the refrigerator section cold enough. Does the drain hose in the back of the refer have a plug in it? If not put water in the cup it’s in so hot air doesn’t get in until you can buy a check valve for the drain. 50 degrees is going to spoil your food so you can buy several pounds of dry ice to raise the temperature if you cannot get it to cool better.

[midnightsadie]

put it on lp cools better and is your battery charged? most older units need a good 12v source even on shore power ,

[bob213]

Was the fridge on lp when you were traveling?

[MountainAir05]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKxyHkp61jg