Let's say I have our (Norcold) fridge temperature set on level 5 and the temperature is holding steady. But if the outside temperature goes up or down the fridge temperature does too. If it goes up, I have to change the level to 6 or 7 to keep the fridge temperature from getting too high. If the outside temperature goes down, I have to lower the setting to 4 or 5.How does one deal with this situation without constantly playing with the level setting?

It is possible to get a replacement sensor that has a "dial" on it. I have not tried this--but apparently they give better results that the eyebrow buttons.I have a twelve volt fan that helps circulate the air which helps.In summer time it is important to use the drain tube in a manner that creates a "trap". That prevents warm outside air from comming up the drain tube.

This does not make sense, for a correctly operating refer. You set at 5 and lets say that gives you a temp of 38 degrees. REGARDLESS of the outside temp, the refer WILL RUN to keep that temp of 38 degrees. Setting it to a lower (8) will NOT make the refer maintain the 38 degrees faster. Unless you are opening and closing the refer too much, but even so, the temp set of 5 will still maintain 38 degrees. ALL the temp setting does is run the refer until the set temp is reached. I hope you are not like my wife and think that when it is 80 degrees in our house, setting the AC at 65 will cool the house down quicker than setting at 70 degrees:B Changing the set temp on an RV refer will not decrease the time it takes to reach set temp. I will bet you have some sort of digital temp sensor readout? Now, I would replace the Temp Thermister. Cheap to do and a BAD Thermister will still OHM out and test good. Doug

Some (all?) Norcolds have a diagnostic thing you can do as explained in their manuals. You can check for a thermistor fault etc.

Hi dougrainer,If I understand you correctly, #5 setting is (for example) 40 f. So the fridge will be in cooling mode until the fins are 40 f? Then it cycles " off".But the sensor clips onto the cooling fins. They cool the fridge by convection of the air inside the cavity. So adding a fan may help to even out the temperature in the fridge?I'm always grateful for your insights into these items. I do know that the Norcold from my 1987 RV appeared to work better than the Dometic in my 2005 RV.

Our Norcold which is usually set at 6 will vary between about 33 and 38 with no correlation to outside temp. (No way to explain it as due to outside temp variations.) I replaced the thermistor, but that had no effect. A couple of years ago, it was getting up into the low 40's so I called a mobile tech. He installed baffles in the rear of the fridge which should have been done when I bought the new trailer and the dealer swapped out the residential for the Norcold. That improved the performance during hot weather and kept it below 40. Since then, have learned to live with the inside temp variations.

Fridge temperature depends on ambient | Good Sam Community

ajriding
Explorer II
Jun 23, 2020
red31 wrote:
ajriding, your 442 is supposed to have a capillary tube thermostat that would cause the flame to go into low flame mode when cold enough.

supposed to? Maybe it did, but still would freeze things. Seems the flame was always what I set it on.
red31
Explorer
Jun 22, 2020
ajriding, your 442 is supposed to have a capillary tube thermostat that would cause the flame to go into low flame mode when cold enough.
ajriding
Explorer II
Jun 22, 2020
Dougrainer... I am curious what you are talking about... I guess I don't fully understand the by-pass you are talking about.
I have owned 3 or 4 fridges and none were automatic, and all would freeze the lettuce at lower outside temps. Just so happens one of my fridges lost the nameplate, I have it here on my desk, it was a Norcold model 442. I have had Norcold and Dometic ones.
Though all mine were older fridges, they all only worked manually. The user adjust the flame and that is how the flame (or electric element) burns until the gas runs out.
These all had thermocouple safety switches, but nothing else that I knew of...
thanks
Edd505
Explorer
Jun 22, 2020
dougrainer wrote:
Edd505 wrote:
What model? There is an issue with the 4 door models.

OK, what is the issue? Doug

Doors don't close properly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMsPpc3DDx0
BarabooBob
Explorer III
Jun 22, 2020
I have had 2 way fridges that have automatic thermostats and also one that you changed the flame setting to change the fridge temp. The second type did change internal temps due to external temps.

With the automatic (thermostatically controlled) units, I us a battery operated fan inside the fridge to circulate the internal air. It helps greatly. It also helps cool the unit faster when I turn it on.
red31
Explorer
Jun 21, 2020
sorry Doug but my info comes from the MANY PUs out there (www.popupportal.com/) that need to turn their fridge down at night to not freeze the lettuce, didn't take me anytime at all to understand their issues of no burner thermostat & bad installs like mine etc. The RM 2193 only has a therm on AC not gas or batt! The norcolc 323, 206 NO GAS THERM. Yes the PU folks appreciate being oddballs, they get that stuff all the time, lessor campers as you know.

we've been through this before.
dougrainer
Nomad
Jun 21, 2020
red31 wrote:
As a manual reader I've seen this in both norcold compact and dometic

Maybe the OP could share what fridge is in his truck camper?

You take 1 or 2 oddball models and claim it is standard. I have WORKED on RV refers for 41 years small and large and NONE from the OEM's have NOT had a mechanical or Bypass tstat. State what models you are talking about. Have you ever OWNED one of those models? Doug
dougrainer
Nomad
Jun 21, 2020
Edd505 wrote:
What model? There is an issue with the 4 door models.

OK, what is the issue? Doug
hedgehopper
Explorer
Jun 21, 2020
Edd505 wrote:
What model? There is an issue with the 4 door models.
Norcold Model N641.3R Two door; 3-way
ajriding
Explorer II
Jun 21, 2020
Interesting comments.
On the ones I have owned there is no sensors. You set the dial to a number that just adjust the height of the flame (or the heat of the electric element, though I do not use electric much).

The fridge will cool down, but the outside temps will tend to heat the fridge box back up, so turning the dial to cooler counters this. In the desert where temps range 40-60 degrees difference day to night you have to be careful to not freeze the fridge compartment at night. On cold night I have to just turn the fridge off.

The freezer always stays frozen even 110 degrees outside, but the fridge box will vary quite a bit on the ones I have owned.

If you look at the fridge compartment as a sideways cooler, then suddenly it does not look very well insulated, and this is why it is hard to keep such a big cooler at a constant temp.
I think that the unit works by freezing the freezer then that provides cooling to the fridge below through the fins.
Factor in the above comments about air circulating around the fridge fins and you get a less-than-ideal cooling system.

So, I have noticed two problems with units that have manual only controls: outside air heats the box, and inside air is not allowed to circulate.

Also there is always the issue of outside air needing to flow past the hot cooling unit at the back of the fridge.