2021 Insignia Residential 20.9 Fridge Not getting cooler than about 43*F

Hi there. I am new to the forum.
We just got a new 2021 Heartland Big Country 3155RLS. We have all the new Insignia Residential Appliances Package. The Fridge which I found is discontinued, which is concerning since we just purchased this RV new. With a discontinued fridge. Needless to say, not happy at all about that.[h=1]Insignia - 20.9 Cu. Ft. French Door Counter-Depth Refrigerator - Stainless steel[/h]Model: NS-RFD21CISS0
We have been traveling a bit over 2 weeks now. We cannot seem to get the temp of the fridge below 43*F according to the fridge thermometer we put in it.
The freezer is no problem whatsoever. The ice cream is hard as a rock.
But the fridge just seems to keep the water and drinks cool, but not cold. I am afraid according to all the readings that I have done, that food 43-45* can spoil much quicker. That just scares the heck out of me. Especially since we eat eggs and natural sandwich meat daily. I surely do not want food poisoning.
The lowest temperature I can set it at is 35*, which would be fine if it actually cooled to that temperature. I have put a glass of water in there, I will check in the AM to see if it also registers 43-45* with a thermometer. If so, any other ideas to be able to cool it down some till we can get back to the dealership in May? Thank you so much!
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Hi Whippershnapper,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum.

I think most residential refrigerators cool the freezer and share some of the air from the freezer with the refrigerator compartment. If the ice cream is hard as a rock, then I would think the compressor and other cooling components are working well. But maybe the cold air from the freezer is not getting to the fridge compartment.

I'd suggest taking a look on the wall of the refrigerator compartment that adjoins the freezer to see where the air passes through. Make sure it's not blocked. If there's a fan on either side of the opening, check that it's working.

Another thing to check is the seal around the refrigerator door. An air leak can look like a cooling problem. If you close the door on a dollar bill and then pull the bill, there should be some drag. Check in several places around the door.

I'm not sure why you'd be bothered by a discontinued model. Refrigerator manufacturers frequently move to new models. TVs are the same way, and washer/dryers, and other appliances. If you've ever looked at Consumer Reports appliance ratings, and then tried to find the recommended model, you'll find they are rarely available. Despite these frequent changes, with the appliances in our homes, parts are available for many years.
 
Hey Dan,

Thanks. We did the dollar trick. I believe the center piece that is suppose to close and seal the doors, does not close completely all the time. So it loses air from that area. I have emailed Insignia asking for assistance. Hopefully they will get back to me and see about either sending new doors or a replacement center piece if just that can be done. Thanks for your advise! Have a great night.
 

carl.swoyer

Well-known member
Like Dan was talking about the pass through air. Check out your filter.
My home fridge has one in top shelf frig side. If you have one remove it and see if your getting colder.


Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Hey Dan,

Thanks. We did the dollar trick. I believe the center piece that is suppose to close and seal the doors, does not close completely all the time. So it loses air from that area. I have emailed Insignia asking for assistance. Hopefully they will get back to me and see about either sending new doors or a replacement center piece if just that can be done. Thanks for your advise! Have a great night.
With dual-door refrigerators, if there's a flap that rotates into place to seal the center opening, a bit of oil or grease on the pivot points may solve the problem. There was an old problem with Dometic 4 door gas absorption refrigerators where Dometic redesigned the guides for the pin that forced the flap to close. Lubricant isn't a permanent fix, but it might solve the immediate problem for several months.
 

Flick

Well-known member
Hi there. I am new to the forum.
We just got a new 2021 Heartland Big Country 3155RLS. We have all the new Insignia Residential Appliances Package. The Fridge which I found is discontinued, which is concerning since we just purchased this RV new. With a discontinued fridge. Needless to say, not happy at all about that.Insignia - 20.9 Cu. Ft. French Door Counter-Depth Refrigerator - Stainless steel

Model: NS-RFD21CISS0
We have been traveling a bit over 2 weeks now. We cannot seem to get the temp of the fridge below 43*F according to the fridge thermometer we put in it.
The freezer is no problem whatsoever. The ice cream is hard as a rock.
But the fridge just seems to keep the water and drinks cool, but not cold. I am afraid according to all the readings that I have done, that food 43-45* can spoil much quicker. That just scares the heck out of me. Especially since we eat eggs and natural sandwich meat daily. I surely do not want food poisoning.
The lowest temperature I can set it at is 35*, which would be fine if it actually cooled to that temperature. I have put a glass of water in there, I will check in the AM to see if it also registers 43-45* with a thermometer. If so, any other ideas to be able to cool it down some till we can get back to the dealership in May? Thank you so much!

Something that may help you out until you can get it serviced is to learn your refrigerator. Every refrigerator has colder and warmer spots that if you know where they are items can be stored accordingly. Set a thermometer in different areas and learn where it’s the coldest. I do this all the time to know where to store my adult beverages.

Good luck and like was mentioned, manufacturers change or upgrade models regularly.
 

BigZ

Member
Hi Whippershnapper,
We also have an Insignia french-doored refrigerator and it quickly developed the habit of not engaging and closing the flap between the doors. And yes, it did let a lot of cool air out with the open gap. I quickly and easily fixed the problem by locating the guide at the top center of the doors. That guide has a channel that engages the flap on the left door and moves the flap into the closed position. It turns out that the flap's pin was just missing the guide channel by a small amount. I unscrewed the guide channel, added a couple of washers on the screws (which dropped the guide down slightly) and reinstalled it. Problem fixed. Maybe this will work on yours.
Randy
 
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