Back Again: Dometic fridge!

[GallenH]

Back from Glacier. Smoke from fires limited the usual crisp view of distant mountains. But acceptable temps. So............Update! Fridge worked fine on propane even at high altitude. Always got into the 30s in the fridge. BUT it worked marginally on the only thing that I hadn't tested.............12v. Of course. There it would drift into the mid 40s. I plan to take a volt reading on the wires going in and then at the element post thermostat. Going to put the thermo on max and see how they compare. If they're the same, I'll disconnect the 12v element and check the resistance reading. BTW one of the 2 computer fans I installed got noisy and grinds to a stop. So much for $5 fans.

Made me wonder, though. How do people who have the 2 way fridges cope with temps when they're on the road? Run LP continuously?

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by jra3733

Yes i am going through the same thing at this time.my usual reliable RV repair shop is also stumped. My first time for LP problems was in the high altitude but since then it has never worked properly on LP.Plan on calling the maker this week to get help

Next week... I'm getting several little things done;

1. Fans on my Dometic 3 way fridge; they will be hard wired to work 24/7; IF they find that the regulator is bad.... I'll get that replaced too.
2. New macerator
3. New generator switch
4. Some cabinet latches

They have all the tools and parts for this.... reasonable repairs.

[SteveJ]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

Next week... I'm getting several little things done;

1. Fans on my Dometic 3 way fridge; they will be hard wired to work 24/7; IF they find that the regulator is bad.... I'll get that replaced too.
2. New macerator
3. New generator switch
4. Some cabinet latches

They have all the tools and parts for this.... reasonable repairs.

I'm using a couple of 4" computer fans with a built in lead with a thermistor to control the fan speed. Quite and effective. Bought on Amazon. Suspended 2-3" below the condenser coil with zip ties.

[Bud]

Originally Posted by GallenH

Back from Glacier. Smoke from fires limited the usual crisp view of distant mountains. But acceptable temps. So............Update! Fridge worked fine on propane even at high altitude. Always got into the 30s in the fridge. BUT it worked marginally on the only thing that I hadn't tested.............12v. Of course. There it would drift into the mid 40s. I plan to take a volt reading on the wires going in and then at the element post thermostat. Going to put the thermo on max and see how they compare. If they're the same, I'll disconnect the 12v element and check the resistance reading. BTW one of the 2 computer fans I installed got noisy and grinds to a stop. So much for $5 fans.

Made me wonder, though. How do people who have the 2 way fridges cope with temps when they're on the road? Run LP continuously?

Yes, they run on propane and 110 ac using the inverter. I never use dc, just not as much power/heat. I have found ac and propane to be about the same.

When I put the refer on ac from propane, it will use shore power if available then generator, then inverter - same for the tv.

Bud

[Doneworking]

Once the refrig is cold (in the 30s normally) and if we are driving a long way in a day to get somewhere (4 or 5 hundred miles) I usually run on 12 volts unless it is really hot outside 95+). The 12v will generally maintain the refrig cold but the temp will go up several degrees during the day, particularly if you get into it a time or two.

The advantage of the 12v going down the road is you don't have to turn off the lp when you pull in to buy gas. Most of the Class C folks just run down the road on LP and use the 110v when they have hookups. Personally, I have always found LP to be better performing than 110. You can run a small rv refrig a very long time on a small amount of LP.

My refrig is Dometic three way 5 cubic feet in our Roadtrek 210P. We bought late in the model year and were able to get the 5 cf as an option.

[GallenH]

Yes. I did do a few days running LP on the road, but it was unstable; often blowing out. I always pulled over in advance of getting gas to shut down. And like you, we were driving 4-500m/day. I did do a volt reading today. 13.1v with everything off; 12.4v when the fridge was turned on. The readings post thermostat were 11.7v..........and it didn't matter if i had the thermostat on max or halfway up......always 11.7. I could try a bypass of the thermostat and see how that reads. That would also bypass the switch (LP-12v-120v) so I'd have to put a switch in as well.

A big however: If you remember the beginning of my journey, I was reading in the 50s on both LP and 120v. I burped it. THAT appears to have had an effect. Now if it remains; ..... remains to be seen. I need to look at some better quality computer fans because the cheapies got noisy. Right now, I'm good.