Refer coils icing up

[Bobby A]

Does anybody know if its normal for the coils to ice up in the back of the refrigerator. We live in our coach full time and it has been on non stop since we took delivery of the coach in early April. Its the Dometic RM3962. Our last SOB which was a Norcold we had to defrost ever 3 or 4 months. I'll be doing a quick defrost this weekend. Thanks

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Bobby A, are you referring to the aluminum fins on the inside of the refrigerator section? Above the drip tray? If so, yes, ours get thick full of frost and we have to defrost about every 3 weeks. I don't think it's normal and I have a call in to a local service guy to see why. We have a different model NDR1062 with ice maker. It's been this way ever since Holmes on Wheels installed a resistor kit to make our fridge colder. I thoughtit was something we would have to live with but now I'm beginning to think it's not right. I know there are cold reefers out there with no frost on the fins, only in the freezer section.

 

[jmgratz]

Ours has always had the frost on the fins as the unit is NOT frost free. It is back to the "good old days" of defrosting periodically.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Ours has always had the frost on the fins as the unit is NOT frost free. It is back to the "good old days" of defrosting periodically.

I hear ya Jim, but every 3 weeks? And I mean thick full of frost. TXBobcat was just here for a week and we talked about this and he said he seldom has frost on those fins and his reefer is plenty cold. How often do you defrost? I guess if it's normal, I'll accept that, but if it's not, I'd sure like to know one way or another. Also, this consition exists no matter where we are. At first I thought it was from being on the Gulf. We've even tried using one of those little dehumidifier tubs. No change in frost and no moisture in the tub thingy.

 

[itsbeertime]

My last refer was a Norcold and I could go all season with out defrosting with no problem. We'd get a little frost buildup on the back wall of the freezer and maybe a tiny bit on the fins in the fridge, but that was about it. And my daughter is in and out of it ALL the time. We'll see how the Dometic is. Haven't had one in awhile now.

 

[CrazyScotsman]

Bobby... That wee thing attached to the last coil fin on the right, is it all the way up at top of fin ?
If it is, slide it down a wee bit, I think that thing has something to do with temp inside fridge.
Is the fridge staying cool?

 

[SmokeyBare]

Another tip is to always wipe off the moisture... sweat on the bottles of condiments and other items before putting back in the Fridge. The less wet that goes in the box... the less ice that can form on the fins.

 

[Bobby A]

Thanks to all who replied, Ray, three weeks is defintely way to often to have to defrost, we have gone 3 months and are defrosting as we speak. How does your seal look on the door ?? does the door close real tight ?? You can always do the dollar bill test on the seal/door.

Ken, yea, the fridg does stay cold, between 36 and 40 degrees, I had the temp set on 4, I think I'm gonna cut back to 3 this time, that white thing on the right side of the fins was about 3/4 of an inch from the top, since you mentioned it, I lowered it a wee bit as you said. Will see how long it takes to build up ice now. Thanks again everybody

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Thanks to all who replied, Ray, three weeks is defintely way to often to have to defrost, we have gone 3 months and are defrosting as we speak. How does your seal look on the door ?? does the door close real tight ?? You can always do the dollar bill test on the seal/door.

Ken, yea, the fridg does stay cold, between 36 and 40 degrees, I had the temp set on 4, I think I'm gonna cut back to 3 this time, that white thing on the right side of the fins was about 3/4 of an inch from the top, since you mentioned it, I lowered it a wee bit as you said. Will see how long it takes to build up ice now. Thanks again everybody

We had the whole lower door and the cooling unit replaced last Winter in Rockport at Camper Clinic. The seal started separating at the top and had mold inside the seal where it was cracked. We even use the climate control switch to prevent the moisture that collects around the frame. I did the $1 bill test recently and it's OK. We have been using the #2 setting and our reefer temp is between 32 and 36 but the freezer is only at about 10 degrees. If we set it at 1 the reefer runs around 36-38 but the freezer goes up to 17. At 3, the lower part of the reefer becomes a freezer. When we defrost we keep everything cold in a big cooler and wipe everything dry before reloading. We have an extra freezer in the closet so the frozen stuff stays that way. I'm still waiting for a response from a service guy.

 

[TXBobcat]

We have never had frost on the inside fins. We do get about a quarter inch of frost on the very back of the freezer. We only defrost about 2 times a year. We just defrosted last week at Wisconsin Rapids. The previous time was in 2008. We keep the button on the outside on 3 and the white thing on the fin almost all the way to the bottom. We get moisture on the fins and it drips on the tray below the fins.

BC

 

[Bobby A]

Ray,
After I defrosted, cleaned and restarted the refer, I put the temp to 5 to get the fridg cold than I turned it back to 3 and its maintaing 40 degrees.
WOW !! Yours sure does get cold !!

Txbobcat,
What is the temp on your fridg ??

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

The service guy I was waiting for just happened to be at our park yesterday doing a repair to an awning motor. We talked about my reefer after he was done. His Dometic Service manual (very classified info to us users) gave me some hope. I have to shut down the reefer, get it to room temperature & dry. Run a small bead of silicone around the entire perimeter of the white liner where it meets the black metal frame. Next I have to pull the reefer out. I have to do this anyway to replace the blankity blank ice maker line. Anyway, there is a insulating fiber board around the sides of the reefer, I have to use aluminum flashing tape and secure the front edge of this board to the black metal frame around the entire reefer. He's also thinking that because the ice maker line is leaking at the top, it may be adding moisture somewhere that it doesn't need to be. If I want, he'll come out and help me and give me a break on labor since I have all the materials needed. As soon as I tackle this project I'll take some pics and post a report.

 

[lhetsler]

Web site for service manuals for Dometic refers

http://www.gasrefrigeration.net/dometic_manuals.htm

Here is a web site I found that has the service manuals for dometic refer. May come in handy.

 

[cowsrout]

I was going to ask for opinions and help on what was "normal" for these RV fridges, but started reading this post since I am having similar problems. We have a 2010 3670, the fridge has an icemaker. We have to defrost every 5 - 6 weeks. Frost builds up in the freezer and the ice quits making. The fins ice up very thick in the back of the fridge. Has happened this way every 5 - 6 weeks since picking the unit up in Feb. I defrosted on Friday afternoon, followed all the directions in the manual that came with it, and the control has been set on 5 every since then. The fridge is only down to 44 degrees and now it is late Sunday night. I can't find any info. on the piece that slides on the fin, should it be up for colder temps or lower? Does it adjust the temp in the fridge only or does it have something to do with the freezer too? Any ideas, suggestions?

 

[lhetsler]

Refer

I would say 5 to 6 weeks is good. These refers are not frostless. You do have to defrost and probably monthly is good. I am not full time and I only camp for about 3 weeks at a time and start to get a frost build up, so I imagine by 5 to 6 weeks I would have to defrost. Maybe some full timers will speak up.

 

[CrazyScotsman]

cowsrout... That piece on the fins. ( Thermister ). If slid all the way to top of fin, it is for cooler temp, slid down, the temp rises.Don't think it has anything to do with freezer, only the fridge.
We had a heck of time getting fridge to cool Friday afternoon, found out that DW put a lot of stuff in it that was still at room temp. Learned from our mistakes.
cowsrout ... are you still out East or back in MO ??

 

[wdk450]

We had a heck of time getting fridge to cool Friday afternoon, found out that DW put a lot of stuff in it that was still at room temp. Learned from our mistakes.

Scotsman:
I suggest filling as much unused space in freezer as possible with blue ice bags and/or packs. Also keep a medium sized ice chest with you. When you want to defrost, you can move your cold stuff to the ice chest with the blue ice on top. If your fridge gets too warm, move the frozen blue ice to the top shelf of the fridge (Cold air sinks down) until the cooling unit recovers. Excess blue ice you currently don't have freezer room for can be stored in the ice chest.
The blue ice/cooler also comes in handy for cold drinks on your day trips, as the icemaker doesn't make that much ice daily.

 

[CrazyScotsman]

Bill. We have a bunch of these ice pouch thingies you talk about. DW and I were talking about the fridge temp, and I just happened to ask her if any of the items she had put in were cooled off. Her reply was " NO ", heck we had 1/2 dozen warm Cokes, a Box of Vino Collapso ( probably biggest culpret there all that warm cardboard ) and a bunch of other stuff.
Told her from now on, anything that's not precooled goes in a ice filled cooler till it is cool enough to go in fridge, plus soda and other drinks will stay in cooler so we are not constantly opening the fridge.

 

[cowsrout]

cowsrout... That piece on the fins. ( Thermister ). If slid all the way to top of fin, it is for cooler temp, slid down, the temp rises.Don't think it has anything to do with freezer, only the fridge.
We had a heck of time getting fridge to cool Friday afternoon, found out that DW put a lot of stuff in it that was still at room temp. Learned from our mistakes.
cowsrout ... are you still out East or back in MO ??

CrazyScotsman - thanks for the reply. Actually, got transferred to Florida. Been here about 6 weeks now. Would the location have anything to do with it? We are in Miami so it is very hot here. Getting ready to leave here and go to Dallas which won't be any better! The BigHorn has been in full time use since picking it up in February. It is just taking so long for the fridge to cool down. It has been 3 days now since I defrosted it. The first day the temp read 60 all day. The manual said when it reads 60 that it is too hot to register a temp, so... Now in the low 40's. I was wondering if the norm was to run in the 40's, but the fridge at home is always colder. The ice maker is working again, and the fridge has dropped a temp or two today.

 

[CrazyScotsman]

Heat and high humidity play a big role in how long it takes to cool the fridge plus if it's in a slideout, may take even longer. The fridge in your RV works nothing like your sticks and bricks fridge.

Cowsrout... I need a job like that where I work and stay someplace for a few weeks then move on. I can handle Miami, DW hates it there.