Frost build up in Refer

wingfoot

Well-known member
MY Dometic NDM1062 has a frost build up problem in the freezer. I have the thermostat a level 4. I am getting a considerable frost on the back wall. In the fresh food area the metal plates are frosting up to the extent I think it's impacting cooling. I will get frozen frost/Ice half way down the plates. The "slider" control on the last fin is at the half-way point. This icing up has got to effect cooling. We do have an interior fan as recommended by the dealer. Really don't know whether that helps or not...

Any suggestions?
 

jnbhobe

Well-known member
Maybe your running the thermostat too cold. I run ours on 3 all the time and have never had to make it any cooler, even in Delaware when the outside tempetures were way over 100*
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
How long does it take before it ices up? Sometimes you just gotta defrost em.

Peace
Dave
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
A week sounds kinda short. Have you checked the door seals for leaks?
We never defrost ours. I know some that do it once a month.

Peace
Dave
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
We have the NDR1062 with the icemaker. Pretty much anywhere we've been in the country, we have frost issues. Our freezer will develop enough frost to cover the rear plastic panel in about 3 weeks. In the same amount of time the fins at the rear are packed pretty full also. After using several different methods to defrost, we found the easiest was to turn off the fridge, empty out the freezer and leave the lower fridge door closed. The freezer door stays open and we sometimes blow a small fan (No heat) blowing into the freezer compartment. We leave the fins in the lower section defrost & drip into the tray.
This has been a problem for us since day 1. We've replace the doors because Dometic doesn't do just the gasket. I've pulled the reefer to insure the compartment was well insulated. I've also taken steps suggested by an authorized Dometic Service Tech. Nothing has really solved the problem. Since the fridge works so well, I've decided to live with the frost. We can maintain 30 to 34 degrees in the fridge and 0 to -5 in the freezer. This is with the setting on #3. Any numerically higher setting and we have a 10 cubic foot freezer.:eek:
 

wingfoot

Well-known member
Here is an update..we defrosted the fresh area fins and the ice maker started to work..There obviously a correlation between the frost build up and the ice maker functionality..If your ice maker quits working check the frost build up. Only thing I can figure is the feed line froze-up.
 

larryanddonnakeever

Past Oklahoma Chapter Leaders (Founding)
We have the 4door w/ icemaker never had to defrost all summer. There is a correlation between freezer temp and ice maker working it must be cold enough to freeze the water. When there is frost build up in the freezer the temperature will rise. There will be lite frost at times. since there is no circulating in the freezor area there will be frost.. Remember the old ice boxes.. I know some of you do, be honest. I usually keep the temp control on 4 or 5 with no frost build up.. Like cookie said check door gaskets, also make sure door is closing and sealed allthe way around. I had that probem early on and couldn't get temp below around 45 degrees.. Good luck
Larry and Donna Keever
Oklahoma City
 

Rickhansen

Well-known member
We intentionally run ours on the cold side too. Refrigerator temp is always 32 to 38 degrees. We have to defrost every 1 to 3 weeks. It's clearly a function of temperature and moisture inside. The humidity inside your rig and the number of trips in and out are relevant. Every time you open either door a big gulp of warm, moist air is sucked in and replaces the colder and drier air inside. The moisture then condenses on the coldest surfaces.

You could possibly have a door alignment problem or a leaky door seal. Seals should be visually checked and cleaned periodically, and you can do the "dollar bill" test verify.

In our case, we make a pot of iced tea with an iced tea maker about once per day. The 3-quart pitcher of iced tea is usually a bit warmer than room temp when put into the fridge. That is certainly the source of our excess moisture.

I defrost with a hair drier. I use the high fan, low heat setting. Defrosting takes about 5 minutes. Since we are full time, every couple months I shut the fridge completely off for a few hours. You can get frost or moisture building up in the insulation surrounding the inner walls. This gives it a chance to thaw / evaporate out.
 

elwaller39

Evans & Lana
It will also depend on how often you open the door of your freezer can cause ice build up and how long you have the door open to get what you need or what you are putting into your freezer.
 

TXBobcat

Fulltime
We have the 2 door Reefer. I had to have the door replaced because the hindge on the bottom broke and the door would almost fall off. This never caused a problem with the Reefer even when the door was bad.

We have some frost build up on the back of the freezer, but never get any more than a bit of moisture on the fins. We defrost the freezer maybe once a year.

Our Reefer is not in a slide. I think this is one of the advantages that we have no problems with the Reefer.

BC
 
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