Hot weather refrigerator performance

[Chappy133]

IDK why it was elsewhere but I meant to put it here. Thanks for the redirect Merlin.

[Popup2012]

Here is something else to look at.  I checked the insulation on the sides of my fridge and found 2 gaps about the size of my fist. Tomorrow morning when it is cool, I plan to take both doors off and plug the gaps.

[MitchB]

Conversation on the Facebook page regarding baffles between the back of the refrigerator hardware and the wall of the trailer itself.  Cliffnotes version: There should only be an inch of space between the condenser fins and the wall of the trailer, if there's more there should be a baffle to reduce the space to about an inch. This causes air to move over the radiator fins and improves cooling.

Mitch

[gbpack]

Thanks Mitch. I'll check it out.

[pjcd]

Here is one possibility posted in another thread by Chappy123

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

Can you just hook that up to the existing fan?

[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

Can you just hook that up to the existing fan?

Hmm...you could hook it up to the same power source, but I'm not sure about hooking it up to an existing fan (especially a thermostatically controlled fan). And, of course, that's not an option for those of us who are clueless; oops, I mean fanless.

[FastEddieB]

Someone on Facebook posted this photo of what he found under the cover of his refrigerator panel:



Unbelievable. But certainly something to check!

[MitchB]

Strangely, it's like that on purpose and it's what the Dometic installation manual says should be done.  Go figure, an inch between the back of the fridge and trailer wall is all that there should be.

Mitch

[FastEddieB]

Weird.

I see something with fins and I assume freely flowing air to them is a good thing for heat transfer.

Unless I'm missing something.

[Pinstriper]

Weird.

I see something with fins and I assume freely flowing air to them is a good thing for heat transfer.

Unless I'm missing something.

Maybe it wants a confined air column open at top and bottom to get natural convection going. Think about old home construction with a window above the door to let heat out which pulls cool air in from a lower window.

Just a guess.


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[MitchB]

That's what the manual says. The narrow column forces air to flow over the radiator fins thus improving refrigerator performance.  The material you see in that picture is is part of the baffle, it's not part of the fridge.

[FastEddieB]

I'm going to look at mine between rain showers.

I'll report back what I find.

Funny, I had the covers off to install screens prior - mud daubers had clogged my propane jet. I certainly did not notice such a "baffle" at the time. Not to say it wasn't there.

[MitchB]

I had the same exact experience Eddie and when I saw the picture I said to myself, "Geez, I don't remember seeing those"  I went and looked and I don't have them.  My fridge is really close to my back wall though so I don't need one.

[gbpack]

I don't think we have one of those either, as I have been in the back portion of the fridge a number of times to clean out debris. Unless it's up higher than the area down below that we have access to. I'll take another look, only this time I'll look up higher. Not a problem if it's there (or not). Just am curious.

[Capt J-rod]

I'm hoping to resurrect this old thread rather than starting a new one... Had problems with my fridge holding temperature in the AC electric mode this weekend. When the fridge was on propane everything was great, 35 deg on the display. Set the trailer with my trusty level and switched to electric. Three hours later and I reached in to make dinner. Everything didn't feel all that cold. Temp was at 57deg. I switched back to propane and the temp started to drop. I tried electric again and it started to creep up. I came home and down loaded the trouble shooting guide. Being an HVAC-R engineer, I decided to dig in. I have a 2015 21RBS The Fridge is a Dometic RM3762LBFX. Two doors. I Ohmed out the electric heating element and checked all the fuses and voltages. All Good... There is one little computer tower fan located between the upper and lower exterior vent. It is cycling on temperature as it should (loud and annoying). I decided to pull the panels ad set up my blue blower squirrel cage blower and crank up the airflow over the outside coils. Outdoor temps were in the high 70's low 80's. Final conclusion as of tonight is the same as most have stated, the unit runs great on propane and only will function on electric when outdoor temps are below 70. I plan to swap out the little fan with two high velocity QUIET fans. There are mounting holes already there, but there is only one fan. I also plan to make a shroud similar to the one pictured in this post and see if it helps. It seems like the units that vent through the roof don't have these issues as much. FWIW the freezer worked fine on AC but the fridge just wouldn't keep up. I will also inspect the gasket on the door and report back. The only good news is that these units don't use much propane. My gut tells me that I will be running it on propane 90% of the time. Either way that annoying fan has to change! So far I am not very impressed with my dometic appliances. My old camper had a Norcold that ran like a champ in either mode. Any inputs or experience with this is greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone.