Hot weather refrigerator performance

[Pinstriper]

I remember some sort of discussion around this but kinna find it.

We're camping in the coastal range atween Portland and the ocean, at around 1,000' and 102deg. The freezer is doing fine, but the main fridge is barely keeping cool.

Do I remember something about fitting an auxiliary fan, and does anyone have actionable diy plans ?

Oh, and there was a cougar and bear sighting here back on 6/5. Bear walked right through camp they say.


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[Diversteve]

I bought two 12 vdc computer fans.
Mounted one in the fridge section to promote circulation.
Mounted the other in the condenser section to promote circulation in the outside area.
They seem to help, especially the inside the fridge fan for cool down when first starting the fridge.
Wired both to the 12 vdc power supply to the fridge.

[Merlin]

As a temp, quick fix, a small 120V fan (like a little desk fan) pointed at the lower (intake) vent of the fridge will help a lot by circulating air through the condenser fins outside. Even if the air going in is 102F, increased flow through there will help. Otherwise just the basics, don't open the fridge often, turn it to the coldest settings, run it on propane, and make sure the internal fins are not frosted up. An inside battery powered fan may help the internal frosting issue and we do use a little Valterra fan for that.

Hot enough for ya?

Oh, and bears are ok (usually), but watch out for the cougar. Them are dangerous.

[gbpack]

Our fridge/freezer unit has a built-in fan that automatically turns on when it's warm back there behind the unit, but when the sun is shining on the back side of the camper the fan runs for a long time and the fridge doesn't stay as cold. So my wife had the idea of putting a sun shade over that portion of the back side of the camper where the fridge/freezer unit is. She bought a sun shade online that is about 3'x6' and I just mounted some anchors along the top edge of the camper that we can hook the top of the shade into using some caribeeners (put the short side of the shade along the top and hang the longer side up and down).  Then will just tilt out the bottom of the shade about a foot or two and anchor it with some light rope and tent stakes. We haven't used it yet but it should help provide some shade on the side of the camper where the fridge is. Hopefully it will work well and help keep the temps in the fridge nice and cold! Will post a pic of it once we go camping in one month.

[Pinstriper]

As a temp, quick fix, a small 120V fan (like a little desk fan) pointed at the lower (intake) vent of the fridge will help a lot by circulating air through the condenser fins outside. Even if the air going in is 102F, increased flow through there will help. Otherwise just the basics, don't open the fridge often, turn it to the coldest settings, run it on propane, and make sure the internal fins are not frosted up. An inside battery powered fan may help the internal frosting issue and we do use a little Valterra fan for that.

Hot enough for ya?

Oh, and bears are ok (usually), but watch out for the cougar. Them are dangerous.

We had it on 5, running off AC. Are you saying propane >> AC for cooling power ?

When you say the intake vent, you mean on the outside of the trailer ? 'cause there's no intake inside.

Also, I think the reefer on the 14dbs is the same as your 16, just mounted on the back wall instead of side wall.

The freezer did just fine. Everything was still frozen including a bag of ice cubes. This is a freezer compartment inside the reefer, not a separate door.

No frost on the fins.

By the way....we got one of these at Home Depot earlier in the week, for like $75.

https://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Cove-MBF018-18-Volt-Misting/dp/B00LFUQ0MG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1498426936&sr=8-4&keywords=artic+cove+misting+fan

One of the big One+ batteries lasted over 6 hours, and having a misting fan to sit in was awesome for us and the dogs. Worked GREAT, and since we already carry 2 Ryobi One+ LED lanterns and use a Ryobi One+ driver to raise/lower the stab jacks we already have a charger with us in case.

I wonder if I had pointed it towards the rear intake if the reefer would have done better....

[Merlin]

Our fridge cools down quicker on propane than on AC when we are getting it cool to start a trip. I translated that into propane >>>>> AC for cooling. I think (but don't know) the resistance heating element for the AC may not be as hot as the propane flame?

Our fridge is mounted on the back, and yes I did mean the outside intake area for the condenser fins, the lower of the 2 fridge vent areas.

A misting fan would cool things down back there, but all the water may not be good for the controls/wires.

I like gbpack's idea for a awning over the fridge area. Clever mod for when it's in full sun. Too bad my fridge doesn't have the auto fan Gregg mentioned.

[thedusty]

I want to do a fan at some point. In the meantime, I put those rectangle ice packs in the freezer at night. In the morning I put them on the top shelf of the fridge. It seems to help and it's a quick solution.

[Pinstriper]

I want to do a fan at some point. In the meantime, I put those rectangle ice packs in the freezer at night. In the morning I put them on the top shelf of the fridge. It seems to help and it's a quick solution.

I don't think the problem was inside the fridge, but outside. It just was too hot for the fridge to move that heat anywhere.

It sucks to think I've gotta have a cooler taking up space and feed it ice because the fridge can't keep up.

An auxiliary fan on the outside is looking more and more the way to go.


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[thudd3r]

i just spent 4 days in st george and experienced the same thing.  with the 110 degree outside temps, the fridge was useless.  the freezer was great..even
kept ice cream sammiches frozen.  the fridge was allowed to cool completely over 3 days and i even packed it with ice jusgs when i put the food in.  within 2 days all of the ice had melted and the fridge was warm.

for those running  adv fan...where did you draw the power from inside the fridge?

also, isnt there a heating element meant to reduce condensation?  can it be removed/disonnected?

[Diversteve]

I have heard you can fish the wire down thru the drain line in the back of the fridge.
You would then pick up power from the feed for the fridge.

[gbpack]

Dusty - since you bought your 21BHS after ours, your fridge/freezer probably has the auto fan as well. Do you ever hear a faint buzzing or humming noise coming behind the unit (while you're inside the trailer)? Ours runs whenever it gets to a certain temp back there. On a hot day (or if the sun is shining on the back side of the trailer), the fan runs for quite a while until the temp cools down.

[Popup2012]

Before my LL I had a Aliner popup. The fan came on at 110 degrees and would keep you up at night with the noise.  I added  two   5 inch computer fans that were almost silent. The frid  dropped 5 degrees when I turned the old one off and started the new ones.   I tried this while camping at Inks Lake State Park in TX during the summer.  I am thinking about adding one of the computer fans to my 16 TBS.
  One of the advantages of the computer fans in the Aliner was the two of them only used 1/3 to 1/2 of the power of the old one. They also moved 4 times as much air.

[Merlin]

i just spent 4 days in st george and experienced the same thing.  with the 110 degree outside temps, the fridge was useless.  the freezer was great..even
kept ice cream sammiches frozen.  the fridge was allowed to cool completely over 3 days and i even packed it with ice jusgs when i put the food in.  within 2 days all of the ice had melted and the fridge was warm.

for those running  adv fan...where did you draw the power from inside the fridge?

also, isnt there a heating element meant to reduce condensation?  can it be removed/disonnected?

The heating element is a frame heater used in the 2 door Dometic fridges. The wire can (should be) removed to reduce power use and heat input to the fridge. Run a search using the term "frame heater" and you'll find a number of posts on it, including good info and photos from @tinkeringtechie and @charliem.

[Merlin]

I have heard you can fish the wire down thru the drain line in the back of the fridge.
You would then pick up power from the feed for the fridge.

Not sure why this would be necessary? If you want a fan inside the fridge for some reason, use a battery powered unit like the blue Valterra fridge fan.

What's needed, however, is a fan(s) OUTSIDE the fridge blowing air over the normally passively cooled (by convection) condenser fins and coolant lines that are between the intake and outflow fridge vents on the back (or side) of the trailer. There is 12VDC already available there and can be tapped into fairly easily to add a switched fan or thermostatically controlled fan. On a very hot day there often is simply not enough air moving over those fins and lines to remove enough heat to keep the inside of the fridge cool. My camper does not have a factory installed fan, but it sounds like I should look into installing a thermostatically controlled fan back there.

[Merlin]

Here is one possibility posted in another thread by Chappy123

https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Kitchen/Valterra/A10-2618VP.html?feed=npn&gclid=CLiNg8vV6tQCFcWLswodKqUKvg