Effect of Outside Freezing Temperatures on Fridge

jvblade

Canadian Member
We have a Bighorn 3610RE with the fridge in the kitchen slide. Our freezer stopped cooling last week so we contacted a service technician. He said even before coming out that the problem has to do with the frigid weather we have had lately (-18 F Yikes). He said it is a common problem with fridges in the slides and gets two or three calls a day for this problem. His recommendation was to cover the vent and put a light bulb in the area where the evaporator is and hope the unit starts back up.

Can someone explain to me what effect is of extreme cold on these units? I have read up on how the absorption type fridges work but I am trying to get my head around why it would stop working with cold weather - hot weather I can understand!
 

2010augusta

Well-known member
The Fridges require heat to work and if it is too cold or too hot outside the unit will stop cooling. A 100 watt light is enough to keep it going most of the time. and crank the temp to max so it will cool more and creat more heat on the back side.
 

SouthernNights

Past South Carolina Chapter Leader
We have a Bighorn 3610RE with the fridge in the kitchen slide. Our freezer stopped cooling last week so we contacted a service technician. He said even before coming out that the problem has to do with the frigid weather we have had lately (-18 F Yikes). He said it is a common problem with fridges in the slides and gets two or three calls a day for this problem. His recommendation was to cover the vent and put a light bulb in the area where the evaporator is and hope the unit starts back up.

Can someone explain to me what effect is of extreme cold on these units? I have read up on how the absorption type fridges work but I am trying to get my head around why it would stop working with cold weather - hot weather I can understand!


Are you kidding?:eek::eek: You are camping in that kind of weather??:eek::eek:
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
Are you kidding?:eek::eek: You are camping in that kind of weather??:eek::eek:


I think you got it wrong...they are not camping ...they are living in their RV, A big difference when your RV is your home. Camping is using your RV occasionally. If you are full-timing or any-timing then you RV may be your home. :)
 

2010augusta

Well-known member
But john, if it is that cold out side just put the food in cooler and set it out set and MAYBE it won't freeze:D. You'll have a huge walk-out freezer.
 

SouthernNights

Past South Carolina Chapter Leader
I think you got it wrong...they are not camping ...they are living in their RV, A big difference when your RV is your home. Camping is using your RV occasionally. If you are full-timing or any-timing then you RV may be your home. :)

Camping or living in it full time--the things has wheels, go find a warmer place.:rolleyes:

I grew up up north and now live in the south. The closest I want to get to winter is a Norman Rockwell picture of kids ice skating on my coffee cup.

Stay warm and enjoy the snow from inside. ;)

Oh, and thanks for the fridge info, Alan... never knew that but it makes perfect sense. I hope I never need to put a light bulb behind my fridge.
 

2010augusta

Well-known member
Camping or living in it full time--the things has wheels, go find a warmer place.:rolleyes:

;)
The house has wheels but the job don't, so we have to live where the job is.:cool: Unforunately that meant we spent summer in the South Texas heat and now winter in Central Washington. I'll take the cool weather over 105 degrees, anytime.
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
Seems like you got it backwards...you are supposed to be in the RGV in the winter and Washington in the summer. LOL :)
 

htneighbors

Unbelievably Blessed!
Yepper...gotta go where the job is! :) I certainly wouldn't have picked Wyoming last winter and northeast Nebraska this year. Duty calls!
 

jvblade

Canadian Member
I think you got it wrong...they are not camping ...they are living in their RV, A big difference when your RV is your home. Camping is using your RV occasionally. If you are full-timing or any-timing then you RV may be your home. :)

Yes you got that right Jim - it's not camping, it's living!! ;) Selling the house, planning on doing some travelling. :)Next year it will be Arizona. It's just not going to work out for now.:(
 

jvblade

Canadian Member
The Fridges require heat to work and if it is too cold or too hot outside the unit will stop cooling. A 100 watt light is enough to keep it going most of the time. and crank the temp to max so it will cool more and creat more heat on the back side.

Thanks Alan - I put some heat on the coils over the weekend and now have the lightbulb in the compartment. And the freezer is working again!:D Now I can move my food from the "outside" freezer to the inside freezer ;)

BTW we were a balmy -26 last night. Looking forward to the end of the week when it's supposed to get over 40 degrees. Love the chinooks!!
 

2010augusta

Well-known member
John, Thanks go to my neighbor here at the campground. He wintered in Kalispell MT last year and passed that trick on to me. Glad it is working for you. It is just strange to think that you have to heat the fridge to make it cool, but have to have somewhere to reject the heat to.
 

jvblade

Canadian Member
Yepper...gotta go where the job is! :) I certainly wouldn't have picked Wyoming last winter and northeast Nebraska this year. Duty calls!

Isn't that the truth! Work is overated I find though.

HT. I've read some of your other posts regarding your skirting. You're a familiar site to cold weather. I'll post some pics of my skirting when I get a chance to take a picture of it. I completed it just recently before all the cold weather hit. It sure makes a difference - the furnace runs half as much now!
 

jvblade

Canadian Member
One final note on this issue. I appears that once the temperature gets down to about -15 F the fridge is suspectible to the process 'freezing' up. The last cold snap we had the same thing happen because I didn't get my light bulb on soon enough. I put a heater on the compartment for a few hours without any luck until my wife shut off the power and back on. After that the fridge works like a charm. See I needed my wife for the last part because I'm too smart to think of that! ;)

My theory on this whole matter is that an absorption refrigerator uses heat to boil water and a mixture of weak ammonia. I believe that with frigid temperatures the water condenses too soon and freezes creating a blockage in the system. Very ironic that cold temperatures could stop a fridge from working. This whole experience is teaching me a valuable lesson - Get out of Dodge and down to Arizona buddy!!! :cool:
 
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