Winter usage

danemayer

Well-known member
We're planning a January ski trip to Breckenridge, Colorado - night time temps often approach 0 F.

The campground has cold weather tips for refrigerators that include blocking 2 of 3 refrigerator vents, putting a 100W lightbulb behind the access cover near the base of the coils, and draining the ice maker water supply, or wrapping it with heater tape.

For this type of winter usage, what steps are necessary with a Landmark to protect the refrigerator? We've got the RM1350 4 door refrigerator with icemaker and water dispenser.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Dan,

We cannot recommend the use of any blocking in the rear of the refrigerator. You will always want to winterize the ice maker when camping in ambient temps below 32 degrees F. Don't forget to empty the internal water tank in the refer if so equipped.

I just called the standard Dometic number since I couldn't find anything in any manuals we have online. Dometic told me that their technicians feel that operating the refrigerator in ambient temps below 40 degrees F is not recommended. To me, that seems a bit high. I sort of expected them to say something like below 20 degrees F. Oh well.

That all said, I and many others have successfully used Dometic refers below ambient temps of 32 degrees F while we were heating the inside of the RV. Your best bet is to get advice from product owners who have experience in this area as Heartland is only able to rely on and relay information we get from Dometic.

Jim

On Edit:
Not comfortable with what one Dometic rep gave me, I called Dometic's OEM Customer Service number and gave them the NDR1062 as my example. The answer given this time was vague but held out more hope for cold weather use. They would not give an absolute answer as there are too many variables (in a slide, not in a slide, insulated cabinet, not insulated, many openings of the refer door, few openings of the refer door etc., etc.). I was told that it's more a function of the freezing of the ammonia used in the system. When the refer calls for cooling, heat is generated in the back of the refer by the boiler. This heats the ammonia and keeps the system going. If your refer did not call for cold much, then there is less heat being generated in the back to keep the ammonia from freezing. What temperature F does ammonia freeze at? Good question. What is the concentration? I don't know. Best as I can figure, it's somewhere around 18 degrees F. So while not an official Heartland response, my theory suggests you may be able to use it in the teens. This all said, the risk is yours.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Dometic told me that their technicians feel that operating the refrigerator in ambient temps below 40 degrees F is not recommended.
Thanks for the feedback Jim. I did notice on p22 of the 1350 manual that "the refrigerator is equipped with a heater tape wrapped around the water solenoid valve and outlet water tube. During cold weather operation below 32 F the automatic temperature switch will turn the heater tape on automatically."

In the cold weather notes I've seen on the forum, I haven't seen anything about general refrigerator problems at low temps; mainly just concerns about the icemaker water feed line coming into the refrigerator.

The campground warning says:
[FONT=&quot]"The refrigerant in a propane/electric refrigerator is a mixture of distilled water, ammonia, sodium carbonate and hydrogen gas, all at 200 psi pressure. When the temperature drops below 20 degrees this liquid can turn to a gel and may permanently plug the coils of the refrigeration system."[/FONT]
This seems consistent with your 18 degree comment. So perhaps keeping the coils warm is necessary at low temps.

To those with experience using their units in single digit temps. Any refrigerator problems or tips?
 

caissiel

Senior Member
We are full timing and constantly use our trailer and keep the fridge on electric. Its warm in the room and the fridge is on all the time. we get temperatures of 15/20's before we head south for the winter.
The other trailer fridge was a Norcold and lasted 15Years without any problem and was like new when we traded it.
I spend one complete winter in it at temperatures of -20F and never had the fridge covered, never knew any better.

Whats the note about gelling in the winter, we never winterize the fridge for the winter storage. Must freeze for sure.

Most hunters here go out till late in the fall and never think about the fridge, maybe we should but no one does. And the fridges to me fail on lack of usage instead of usage. I see a lot of one to two time a year campers have trouble with their units.
 

westxsrt10

Perfict Senior Member
We use our frig. while outside temps are in the teens without any issues. It makes total sence to block most of the outside vents and or place a light bulb under the refrig when the weather is in the single digits.
 

grizzlygiant

Well-known member
We have used our refer (full-time living) for many winters on electricity with outside temperatures down to 0 F with no problems. No blocking, no lights.
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
We've stayed in Santa Fe twice and Ruidoso NM once in December. We've had snow and temps in the 20s. Not had any issues with our fridge during these trips, in the North Trail or the Elk Ridge.
 

RoadJunkie

Well-known member
I've also been down to the mid-teens with no refrigerator problems. I would surmise that Dometic is being conservative when quoting minimum operational temperature recommendations, which is not surprising. I guess one could turn off the refrigerator during the evening hours when the door would not likely be opened, but I'm not sure recycling the refer off and on is a good idea either. For me, I guess I'll just keep it running unless it gets to single digits. Wow, there seems to be endless issues to consider in the business of RVing.
 

atlal

Member
Inside the bottom refrig cover on my 2011 Grand Canyon, there is a red tag attached to the solenoid that indicates the unit needs to be winterized if the temperature drops below 0F/-18C. The water lines from the solenoid to the refrigerator have heat tape, but there is no heat tape on the water line that feeds the solenoid.

When DW complained that the carpet inside the RV was soaking wet, I traced the problem to a pinched plastic water supply line that fed the solenoid. I cut and spliced the pinched water line, and I'm considering installing heat tape on the supply line to keep it from freezing.

atlal (Atlanta Al)
 
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