Newbe Refrigerator Question

[RetiredUSPS69]

I have read about the refrigerator has problems cooling when temps reach over a 90 degrees.And operating temps in slide out far exceeds 130 degrees. Alot of retailers state high operating temp cut down on unit life. They also put thermostats for fans set to turn on at 130 degrees!
We have a slide out And I replaced the thermo or snap switch with 85 degree n/o switches.Before refrig did not cool all that well, Now with thermostat set midway freezer stays about 8 degrees below and refrig stays in lower 30 degrees.

Also the exterior fan was never mounted and the ground wire never hooked up.If I'm correct why have fans turn on at a high temp. When you keep moving air over coils at a lower temp would improve cooling and life of unit. Just my thoughts seems to work for me.

 

[danemayer]

Hi RetiredUSPS69,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum.

What year/model/floorplan is your trailer, and which refrigerator make/model?

 

[RetiredUSPS69]

I have read about the refrigerator has problems cooling when temps reach over a 90 degrees.And operating temps in slide out far exceeds 130 degrees. Alot of retailers state high operating temp cut down on unit life. They also put thermostats for fans set to turn on at 130 degrees!
We have a slide out And I replaced the thermo or snap switch with 85 degree n/o switches.Before refrig did not cool all that well, Now with thermostat set midway freezer stays about 8 degrees below and refrig stays in lower 30 degrees.

Also the exterior fan was never mounted and the ground wire never hooked up.If I'm correct why have fans turn on at a high temp. When you keep moving air over coils at a lower temp would improve cooling and life of unit. Just my thoughts seems to work for me.

Hi the Trailer is a 2016 Prowler Model 33BHS
Dometic DM- 2852
My son purchased it used previous owner sold because grand kids didn't like camping, They trade it for a small class A. We have found a few flaws and did a few upgrades. Changed Faucets,Removed panel from bottom of stove there is alot of storage space and its carpeted. Dog claimed it for its home awayfrom home. Changed outside fans for refrig and added one inside refrig.I put interior and exterior fans on snap swiches/ thermostats 85 degs. Wired them to toggle switches with indicator lites on refrig eyebrow.Now able to shut them off if temps are low or when sleeping.Wires are pulled thru hole for Eyebrow cable.
I have more thing I did.but running out of time.

 

[wdk450]

I have added extra fans outside and inside the refrigerator. I am thinking about a shade structure for the refrigerator slide, and maybe even a very small air conditioner that I could place outside the lower vent blowing in, for when the Central California summer goes over 100 degrees every day for about 3 months.

 

[RetiredUSPS69]

I have added extra fans outside and inside the refrigerator. I am thinking about a shade structure for the refrigerator slide, and maybe even a very small air conditioner that I could place outside the lower vent blowing in, for when the Central California summer goes over 100 degrees every day for about 3 months.

Sounds like a good idea a shade barrier. Our refrig is on the side with awning on it.Maybe instead of air cond get one of those window fans with expandable sides and mount to top or bottom vent. Maybe leave top vent cover off and zip tie to top vent opening. Window fan would move alot more air. You could also use bottom vent same way.Air cond seems like over kill. you can add bigger fans to back of refrig, I'm using (20)120 mm fans and switched out thermostats aka snap switch to 85 degrees. They cut in alot sooner. I got them on ebay from china where else I think pack of 5 was $ 6.00!!!!! OEM run about $12.00 each Fans were off ebay also $19.00 for 2. If you use window fan maybe you could put a thumb roll switch on cable so you would'nt have to unplug. The window fans usually are reverse able so you could also see where it works best top or bottom. Hope this helps you some these are just my thoughts.

 

[Gary521]

It is better to have Additional fans at the vent openings than to change the thermostats. The additional fans can have their own thermostats. If you have the "snap" thermostats set at 85 degrees, they will run almost constantly even when the refrigerator does not need the cooling affects of the fans. The problem with the fridge in the slide is that the top vent does not allow adequate airflow thus trapping some heat behind the fridge. There are several youtube videos showing how to add the additional fans.

 

[wdk450]

Sounds like a good idea a shade barrier. Our refrig is on the side with awning on it.Maybe instead of air cond get one of those window fans with expandable sides and mount to top or bottom vent. Maybe leave top vent cover off and zip tie to top vent opening. Window fan would move alot more air. You could also use bottom vent same way.Air cond seems like over kill. you can add bigger fans to back of refrig, I'm using (20)120 mm fans and switched out thermostats aka snap switch to 85 degrees. They cut in alot sooner. I got them on ebay from china where else I think pack of 5 was $ 6.00!!!!! OEM run about $12.00 each Fans were off ebay also $19.00 for 2. If you use window fan maybe you could put a thumb roll switch on cable so you would'nt have to unplug. The window fans usually are reverse able so you could also see where it works best top or bottom. Hope this helps you some these are just my thoughts.

This summer I got a set of 2 powerful 12 volt axial fans like the following off of RVCoolingUnitWarehouse:

I installed them into the Refrigerator vent covers without a thermostat switch, The bottom vent fan is installed vertically sucking in outside air and blowing up into the refrigerator heat transfer tubing, and the top vent fan is installed horizontally sucking in the hot venting air and blowing it out to the atmosphere. Even with these I had a hard time keeping interior refrig temps below 4 degrees C. (39.2 degrees F) in the summer heat. Part of my daily routine in the summer was to move a pair of blue ice blocks from the freezer to the refrigerator side at about noon, and then moving the blocks back to the freezer at bedtime.

On edit: I also found that propane gas operation provides lower inside refrigerator temperatures on very hot days, and so ran the refrig on Gas during the hot day, and on (RV space free) Electric during the cooler nights. I bought a new heating element in case the original ones (I have 2) weren't working correctly. I had some overhead obstructions, and would have had to disconnect the refrig and shove it in a few inches inside the trailer to get the clearance to change out the heating elements. Before going through all that, I measured the current draw on the original heating elements and compared that to the current draw on the new heating elements (temporarily wired to power). Since the current draw was the same for both sets of elements, I opted to keep the old ones in place.

 

[RetiredUSPS69]

Yes I know they will run longer, But I have them hooked up to toggle switches in the power line before the thermostats.That way i can over ride the thermostats turning them off when the temps are cool and fans would not run anyway. Also I moved the stats off the fins to a conduit hanging bracket so they are actually and inch above the refrigerator piping. I would rather have them on early than late.We don't do any camping and run off the batteries so that is not a problem. With interior thermostat set to about mid way freezer runs about -3 degrees and refrig about 34 degrees. That was on a upper 90 degree day with sun on slider and no awning to block sun. Interior and Exterior are on separate circuits with fuses each controlled by its own switch and pilot light. Maybe this setup is not for everyone but to each his own.

 

[RetiredUSPS69]

Boy did I make a mistake!!!! I said I used a thermostat set at 85 degrees. Correction it is set to on at 113 Degrees. Still about 15 degrees lower than OEM. Maybe that is why it works better and also shuts off. I was never good at conversions from c. to f.

Purchased on E bay 5 for about $5.00 still better than OEM. Sorry to anyone who used the info.