I recently purchased a 1982 TT with a refrigerator which was not the original. I cannot find a part number anywhere but it is an older domestic brand 120v/12v/propane model without electronics. When running on any fuel, the piping gets warm an it cools to 40° in the fridge and 20° in the freezer but soon raises back up to 60°. When I bought it, the space above the fridge was open with a board covering the opening. I put a board in the back of the dead space to keep the "ventilation shaft" contiguous all the way up which I can see the roof vent from the access hole in the side. I also placed a small fan inside that shaft pointing up to help increase airflow in through the louvers in the access panel and out the roof vent, yet the problem continues. Once the fridge heats back up it never cools back down. Does anyone have any more ideas? The door seal is not great but only has a very small gap in one of the bottom corners. A new 3 way fridge is out of the question, that will cost more than the trailer.

Have you removed the board you replaced and tried it?Sounds like it may be picking up heat from the air around the box perhaps.

I would double check to make sure there's no insulation or other obstructions (dust, trash, paper) near any of the rear coils. Not sure how these older units are designed, but the "baffle" (the wall that faces the entire rear of the frig) on the newer units should be no farther than 1/2" - 1" from the rear coils. This small space creates a "venturi" effect and actually increases cooling when temps rise.What kind of fan, CFM, and where is it installed? I wouldn't ignore that small gap in the door seal. If the door seal won't hold a piece of paper then I'd seal it with something.

I tried it with and without the boards in place. There are 2 now, where there was only 1 before. Right now it is a dead space on top of the box with a board on either side of it. Initially there was only 1 board on the inside, for cosmetic purposes. I then added the one on the back "flue" side. I didn't think about it picking up heat from the dead space above. Maybe some insulation laying directly on top of the box will help?The fan I added was from the old converter/load center I replaced, unknown cfm, just hot wired to run all the time and assist. There is no insulation on the top coils, I reached up and pushed it back and can feel the top of all the piping which is warm but not hot.

How close did you position the "boards" (baffle?) to the rear of frig? Have no idea what's appropriate for older units, but most of the newer units the baffle must be less than 1" away from the coils.Does this baffle extend just above and below the lowest and highest part of the coils on the rear of the frig? If not, it should.Was the area between this baffle and the exterior wall of your TT open? If yes, I believe this should be blocked off with insulation or something to prevent this open area from interfering with the overall air flow from bottom to top on the frig side of the baffle.Not sure if that fan you're using is being effective or not. Sounds like it's too small. You may want to try using a regular 110v portable fan positioned at the bottom vent as a test (blowing in). If it improves cooling substantially, then at least you know the frig is capable of cooling better.BTW, what are the ambient temps in your area?

This may be a long shot but we had an older motorhome in which the frig did the same thing. Took it in for service and it turned out to be one of the old flouresent lights that was interfering with the thermostats. Like I said a long shot but might be worth looking into.

dometic refrigerator not staying cold | Good Sam Community

14 Replies

otrfun
Explorer II
Oct 02, 2013
How close did you position the "boards" (baffle?) to the rear of frig? Have no idea what's appropriate for older units, but most of the newer units the baffle must be less than 1" away from the coils.

Does this baffle extend just above and below the lowest and highest part of the coils on the rear of the frig? If not, it should.

Was the area between this baffle and the exterior wall of your TT open? If yes, I believe this should be blocked off with insulation or something to prevent this open area from interfering with the overall air flow from bottom to top on the frig side of the baffle.

Not sure if that fan you're using is being effective or not. Sounds like it's too small. You may want to try using a regular 110v portable fan positioned at the bottom vent as a test (blowing in). If it improves cooling substantially, then at least you know the frig is capable of cooling better.

BTW, what are the ambient temps in your area?
medic8ted
Explorer
Oct 02, 2013
I tried it with and without the boards in place. There are 2 now, where there was only 1 before. Right now it is a dead space on top of the box with a board on either side of it. Initially there was only 1 board on the inside, for cosmetic purposes. I then added the one on the back "flue" side. I didn't think about it picking up heat from the dead space above. Maybe some insulation laying directly on top of the box will help?

The fan I added was from the old converter/load center I replaced, unknown cfm, just hot wired to run all the time and assist. There is no insulation on the top coils, I reached up and pushed it back and can feel the top of all the piping which is warm but not hot.
otrfun
Explorer II
Oct 02, 2013
I would double check to make sure there's no insulation or other obstructions (dust, trash, paper) near any of the rear coils. Not sure how these older units are designed, but the "baffle" (the wall that faces the entire rear of the frig) on the newer units should be no farther than 1/2" - 1" from the rear coils. This small space creates a "venturi" effect and actually increases cooling when temps rise.

What kind of fan, CFM, and where is it installed?

I wouldn't ignore that small gap in the door seal. If the door seal won't hold a piece of paper then I'd seal it with something.
Gale_Hawkins
Explorer
Oct 02, 2013
Have you removed the board you replaced and tried it?

Sounds like it may be picking up heat from the air around the box perhaps.

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dometic refrigerator not staying cold

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