Fridge on the fritz?

While camping at a dog agility trial this past weekend, we had problems with our fridge. It would not run on LP and had limited performance running off shore power. It was rather humid with daytime temps in the 80s. We have an interior fridge fan and that was running too.

I've reviewed the archives and got some hints on the propane issue but am wondering.....why would the fridge only get to 60 degrees overnight (ambient temp at the time) while on shore power?

It was cold enough to re-freeze some water in ziploc bags in the freezer but the thermometer only read 60. The trailer was within an inch of being level so I can't imagine the fridge is that sensitive to variations in level. Anyone have any ideas?


Thanks,

[Bill]

I'm not sure I'm understanding your question. The temperature in the box was 60 degrees, but it was cold enough to freeze water? Those don't go together - I'm missing something.

Bill

Bill,

I know it sounds impossible but that's exactly what happened. The fridge thermometer was resting on the top shelf and it read 60 degrees. Even if the "water bags" were still partially frozen, how could they remain frozen when the interior temp was so high?

Sally

Sally, where the water bags already frozen when you put them in the fridge? If they were not previously frozen and became frozen in the fridge that means that the freezer part of the fridge was at least -32 degrees .. then I would suspect your thermometer is not correct. Did you feel any of the items in the fridge or try drinking a beverage from the fridge? Did they feel cold enough? This is a vexing situation....

[Denny_A]

Originally Posted by Gwenzilla

-------snip--------
that means that the freezer part of the fridge was at least -32 degrees .. then I would suspect your thermometer is not correct... This is a vexing situation....

Now that is cold!

Reminds me of refueling our plane in Greenland with the OAT at -40 Degrees(Fahrenheit or Centigrade, take your choice).

Denny_A

[dcrdark]

We have about the same problem, it doesn't mater if the fridge is on AC,DC, or LP. the fridge takes these wide swings in temp. It could be fine then the next time I look the temp is climbing or the temp is decending. It doesn't matter if I run the fan or not it's the same. I have been searching the board and manuals hoping it's an adjustment, but haven't found anything yet. Any Ideas?
Dave

Originally Posted by Gwenzilla

.....was at least -32 degrees....

Oops! how did that "-" get in there. Denny has correctly caught my boo boo. I think the closest to -32 degrees that I have experienced is when my spouse gave me the cold shoulder for being stupid enough to buy her scale for her birthday (a whole long story I will spare you the details of)

Originally Posted by Gwenzilla

Sally, where the water bags already frozen when you put them in the fridge? If they were not previously frozen and became frozen in the fridge that means that the freezer part of the fridge was at least -32 degrees .. then I would suspect your thermometer is not correct. Did you feel any of the items in the fridge or try drinking a beverage from the fridge? Did they feel cold enough? This is a vexing situation....

The water bags had started out as bags of ice cubes which then melted and finally refroze. Items already in the fridge were not cold enough and we moved the truly perishable items into the fridge of our friends' RV.

This weekend, we used the fridge on shore power and it worked fine. The only problem was keeping the interior temp stable. Depending on the ambient temps, the interior temps ranged from 31+/- and 46 degrees.

[Bill]

Here's a couple thoughts - not necessarily good ones, but I'm coming up dry otherwise.

As I recall, the cold surface is the floor of the freezer. In other words, this is where the refrigeration mechanism introduces coldness into the box. Therefore, the coldest part of the whole thing is the freezer floor. The refrigerator compartment gets chilled because a bit of the cold in the freezer is intentionally conducted down through the freezer floor and into the refrigerator compartment. This process is aided by a set of aluminum fins at the top rear of the refrig compartment. If air circulation around these fins is blocked by food (did you pack a lot in there?) or by ice on the fins (you said it was really humid), then the refrig compartment won't chill properly.

Another possibility - the door wasn't quite closed. If something in the refrig is just slightly too big - a carton of juice on the refrig shelf, for example - the door presses against whatever it is, and opens just a crack. I've done this on a couple occasions, and it's very hard to spot. To avoid it, I've taken to rotating the locking tab every time I close the door.

Finally, the thermostat has a sensor somewhere inside the box. It looks like the end of a rather thick aluminum wire. I've forgotten exactly where it is located, and my TM is in storage across town - but I suppose it could have gotten shoved out of place or iced over. This could explain wild swings in temperature.

Sorry not to be more help.

Bill

We had the same problem once - couldn't get the fridge to get cold. My husband took off the outside panel behind the fridge and found that the insulation had completly fallen off. He put the insulation back in place and everything was cold within an hour.