How close must you be to true level to not harm refrigerator

dave17352 wrote:
Another rule is 3 degrees front to back and 6 degrees side to side which is a lot more than you might think.

I see this a lot, but always wonder what is "front to back" and "side to side"? If the refrigerator is along a side wall of the RV, the refrigerator's front-to-back is actually the RV's side-to-side.

So what does the "front to back" refer to--the RV or the refrigerator?

Bordercollie wrote:
I wonder how much effect, if any, there is in operating a modern fridge, in hot weather, slightly off kilter, for extended periods, without driving.

How slight is the slightly off kilter?

If it's well within the spec limits for the fridge, it should be perfectly fine. If it's well outside the spec, it's not fine at all. One degree off level won't cause any problems; the pipework has enough slope that the fluid still flows properly by gravitation.

Bordercollie wrote:
I wonder how much effect, if any, there is in operating a modern fridge, in hot weather, slightly off kilter, for extended periods, without driving.

What do you mean by 'modern fridge'?

IF it is an absorption fridge ........off level operation causes overheating, overheating causes crystallization of sodium chromate, crystals plate out which causes blockage, blockage interferes with gravity flow causing more overheating, more crystallization, more plating , more blockage-------

Damage is accumulative and permanent. 20 minutes of off-level operation can cause overheating.

I wonder how much effect, if any, there is in operating a modern fridge, in hot weather, slightly off kilter, for extended periods, without driving.

Strabo wrote:
I can tow our hauler up hill with propane running the fridge,and down hill. No problem.

The same can be said using electric heat source via generator of inverter.

Source of heat has no bearing on function

kyhawk wrote:
As long as you keep your camper rocking while you're set up, you don't have to be level.

Just don't come knockin'!

As long as you keep your camper rocking while you're set up, you don't have to be level.

olcoon wrote:
Here is something for you to think about. How many of us leave the fridge running while traveling down the road? I know it can be dangerous, especially when stopping to refuel. But many of us do it, especially when making a long drive from one campground to another & it's in the summer when temps are hot. Is your fridge level then? Can't be for more than a second or two.

RV Fridge Mfgs address that very issue in their owners manuals.

One only needs to understand HOW an absorption fridge functions to grasp the concept of why operation while in transit is not an issue and being stationary AND off level IS

Rear the owners manual for info.

I can tow our hauler up hill with propane running the fridge,and down hill. No problem.

X3