refrigerator

Refrigerator, stove, furnace, water pump, air conditioner, microwave, water heater, fans, lighting
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sparky
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refrigerator

Post by sparky »

I am curious about the internal temperatures of RV refrigerators. I have been experimenting with different temperature settings. I would set it and wait 24 to 48 hours and see what the temperature differential was. This being the temp difference between outside the refrigerator and internall temperature. Most of the time the camper was inside a garage with a constant temeprature. It seemed like the temparature differential would be 30 to 35 degrees at settings 1,3 and 5. external temp of 68 internal would get to 31. Right now it is on max and external is 82 and internal is 41. I am going to Texas over the 4th with temperatures at around 100. It seems as though my refrigerator won't cool enough. I do use an internal fan. I have been wondering if my thermostat is not functioning correctly. Done a lot of internet research but nothing about temerature differential. And maybe this is how they operate. Although seems like I remember reading that someone had changed their thermostat. How come? If I don't have ice cold Leinenkugels at the end of the day, I won't be a happy camper. Pun intended. Thanks for any help
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skater
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Post by skater »

Mine will freeze your drinks at the higher settings (mine is marked 1-7 and Max). I usually end up at 3 or 4 for 35-40 degrees in the refrigerator compartment.

If yours isn't achieving that, there are a couple things to check:
1. If it's hot outside, especially if the sun is on that side of the camper, the fridge just isn't going to work as well. It's an absorption fridge; no moving parts, but it relies on the temperature difference between the coils and the air. I don't know what year you have, but earlier B190s like mine didn't have a roof vent for the fridge, which hurts the airflow for them. A previous owner installed a fan above the coils in mine to help air flow on hot days, but I haven't used it since I put the new fridge gasket in (see #2).

2. How is the fridge gasket? I replaced mine a while back, and since then the fridge has worked extremely well.

3. There may be something wrong with the fridge. Sometimes the refrigerant can crystallize in the tubes, reducing efficiency. The best fix for this is to replace the fridge, unfortunately.
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
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sparky
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Post by sparky »

Mine is 1995. It has the upper vent. It just seems that no matter what the ouside temp is the frig will be x# of degrees cooler. Doesn't maintain at say 35. Inside temp flucuates with outside temp. Maybe that is the nature of the beast. My Gasket seems to be in good shape. No gaps or tears. Thanks.
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skater
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Post by skater »

sparky wrote:Mine is 1995. It has the upper vent. It just seems that no matter what the ouside temp is the frig will be x# of degrees cooler. Doesn't maintain at say 35. Inside temp flucuates with outside temp. Maybe that is the nature of the beast. My Gasket seems to be in good shape. No gaps or tears. Thanks.
Check the temperature of the freezer section...
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
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sparky
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Post by sparky »

2 degrees in the freezer. Frigerator section was at 50. I am going to try hot wiring the thermostat. Been doing a lot of internet searching. Once again I can never seem to get a clear answer to a problem. But freezer temp from what I have read seems normal.
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skater
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Post by skater »

sparky wrote:2 degrees in the freezer. Frigerator section was at 50. I am going to try hot wiring the thermostat. Been doing a lot of internet searching. Once again I can never seem to get a clear answer to a problem. But freezer temp from what I have read seems normal.
If it's 2 degrees in the freezer, I'm tempted to think the unit is working correctly. I'm not entirely certain how the cold air is supposed to move from the freezer to the refrigerator, but I'd check that the metal vanes at the back of the fridge compartment (at least, mine has them) are clean and not bent.
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
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craigmar
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Refrigerator

Post by craigmar »

After reading all this stuff, I'm glad I don't have to go through all the hoops for something cold to drink or eat. The previous owner installed a home unit that runs on A.C. (see previous post, Refrigerator Info June 11, 2009). He probably went through some of the same things others are going through now so he might have been ahead of the game. We certainly don't need to worry about which side is facing the sun, opening and closeing the door etc. By doing a few pre-trip items like pluging the van in the night before we leave, maybe running the gen set for a few minutes every couple of hours while on the road, etc. we have not had a problem. Maybe not the answer for everyone but for us and being in a desert state and surrounding areas, it works just great.
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skater
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Re: Refrigerator

Post by skater »

craigmar wrote:After reading all this stuff, I'm glad I don't have to go through all the hoops for something cold to drink or eat. The previous owner installed a home unit that runs on A.C. (see previous post, Refrigerator Info June 11, 2009). He probably went through some of the same things others are going through now so he might have been ahead of the game. We certainly don't need to worry about which side is facing the sun, opening and closeing the door etc. By doing a few pre-trip items like pluging the van in the night before we leave, maybe running the gen set for a few minutes every couple of hours while on the road, etc. we have not had a problem. Maybe not the answer for everyone but for us and being in a desert state and surrounding areas, it works just great.
Yeah, I know a couple people that have done that, and even some new campers are coming that way. It's fine as long as you don't ever plan to camp away from an electrical hookup.

You have to keep in mind the fridges in these campers are ~20 years old, while you're comparing them to a newer fridge.

For an apples-to-apples comparison, our new camper has a relatively new Norcold absorption fridge that works exceptionally well - it gets cold within a few hours, and I don't think it's going to have any problem staying that way on the road even without power (we'll find out this weekend on our first long trip). Given how well it seems to work, I wouldn't want to give up the gas option. (Another advantage of this fridge is that if the power goes out, it'll switch over to gas automatically.)
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
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craigmar
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Refrigerator

Post by craigmar »

Skater, your probably right on, I don't know what the costs are for either one if a person was looking for a replacement and whether or not you would recoup the cost over the time used. I do know that we have not had a problem and most of our camping is done in "primitive" or slightly improved sites or just where we can find a place to park and get the kayaks out. The genset is used for a few hours depending upon the temp, time of day etc. We have used a regular campground a few times and have enjoyed the stay but they are not really our cup of tea, so to speak. I guess if the unit we have goes out, I will have to look at the new 3-ways as it sounds like the new generation is extremly improved over the older years.
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skater
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Re: Refrigerator

Post by skater »

craigmar wrote:Skater, your probably right on, I don't know what the costs are for either one if a person was looking for a replacement and whether or not you would recoup the cost over the time used.
I'm certain the one like you have is much cheaper than the absorption fridge. It's basically a dorm fridge, and I don't think those are more than a couple hundred dollars. A new Norcold 5.5 cu ft 2-way fridge is $920 at pplmotorhomes.com (I'm not sure what size is in the B190, so I just picked that one).

A friend of mine with a compressor fridge in his Airstream likes to say that absorption refrigeration is Civil War era technology. He's got a point, but like I said, the new one we have seems to work extremely well and I wouldn't give it up just because it's "old tech". :)
I guess if the unit we have goes out, I will have to look at the new 3-ways as it sounds like the new generation is extremly improved over the older years.
I'm not sure I would bother with a three way (assuming they even make them now - I'm not sure) if it's more expensive - I never felt like the 12 volt mode was all that effective, even for just helping it to stay cold (which is all it's supposed to be good for in the first place).
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
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