Too cold for my refrigerator??????
I am new to having a RV style refrigerator. While reading my owner manual (yes, I'm one of those that actually read the manuals) for my Norcold N61X I notices a section titled "Effects of Freezing Tem...
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It sure can affect the operation to the point it will totally stop cooling if the temps stay really cold for an extended period of time. Generally it takes more than just down to freezing but once you start hitting teens and below it can shut down/stop cooling.
We had our unit freeze when we fulltimed parked beside the barn in our home location...the temps dropped into sub-zero and it shut down and did not warm up enough to thaw it naturally for over a month. We had it running on electric but even running on gas it would not thaw out.
You can indeed put items that need to be cold outside in a cooler but frozen items won't stay frozen unless you have zero temps. We were newbies at the time, did close off part of the vents but did not put a light in until we finally heard about the fix. It did indeed work and the unit began functioning normally.
One other item is especially vulnerable unless you add heat to the refrigerator back...the icemaker valve is plastic and it will indeed freeze, crack and start leaking when the temps drop below freezing and with that piece it did not take sub-zero to do it...2 days at 28 did that job! We removed the ice maker valve and have never replace it again! It is so much easier to just buy a bag of ice whenever we need it.
The fix is fairly simple...close off part of but not all of the outside vents on the back of the refrigerator but never the top roof vents. Next...put in a drop light or install an electrical outlet to plug in a 60W incandescent bulb for the coldest days. Try to park the rig so the refrigerator vent is not into the wind or it will force the colder air into that space.
Good luck...if you follow "the fix" it should work with no worries.
We had our unit freeze when we fulltimed parked beside the barn in our home location...the temps dropped into sub-zero and it shut down and did not warm up enough to thaw it naturally for over a month. We had it running on electric but even running on gas it would not thaw out.
You can indeed put items that need to be cold outside in a cooler but frozen items won't stay frozen unless you have zero temps. We were newbies at the time, did close off part of the vents but did not put a light in until we finally heard about the fix. It did indeed work and the unit began functioning normally.
One other item is especially vulnerable unless you add heat to the refrigerator back...the icemaker valve is plastic and it will indeed freeze, crack and start leaking when the temps drop below freezing and with that piece it did not take sub-zero to do it...2 days at 28 did that job! We removed the ice maker valve and have never replace it again! It is so much easier to just buy a bag of ice whenever we need it.
The fix is fairly simple...close off part of but not all of the outside vents on the back of the refrigerator but never the top roof vents. Next...put in a drop light or install an electrical outlet to plug in a 60W incandescent bulb for the coldest days. Try to park the rig so the refrigerator vent is not into the wind or it will force the colder air into that space.
Good luck...if you follow "the fix" it should work with no worries.
