Hot refrigerator coils...(Fun Finder)

Sounds love she has a refer in a slide, and therefore the two vents. A non slide unit has one side (lower intake) vent and the exhaust vent on the roof.

The roof vent facilitates convection, while the two side vents usually have a fan to promote air flow.

By the way is the refer on propane?

I thought the top coils were the hottest? If the fridge is working I call normal.

She's on electric.

cannesdo wrote:
She's on electric.

it still gets hot, that's the point of its operation.
It can be, and should be the same temp in the boiler regardless of the heat source

How is the frig's inside temp doing? If it can't keep up with the heat there are a couple of things you can try.

In hot weather I always popped off the top vent to help the hot air escape and improve air flow.

Or you can add a computer fan.

Or park in the shade, or at least keep the frig in the shade. If it's in a slide, get a slide awning.

WNYBob wrote:
Sounds love she has a refer in a slide, and therefore the two vents. A non slide unit has one side (lower intake) vent and the exhaust vent on the roof.

Not always. A fridge will have an exhaust vent out the roof if it's positioned in an elevated location in the trailer, which most are. However, in those cases where the fridge may be located closer to the floor with an open space above the fridge - as was the case with my own non-slide KZ Spree 240BH - the fridge exhaust will be located on the sidewall of the trailer above the intake below it. Obviously any fridge that's located in a slide will exhaust through the sidewall as it can't be vented out the slide roof which when stored is within the trailer body itself. :R

With 2 sidewall vents, it requires fans.

No matter if its normal to be that hot, with a side vent for the hot air of the frig coils, i would advise to put in a small 12V computer fan on the top vent blowing outward to promote the natural convection effect of the hot air. Hot air does not like to rise and then have to take a 90 degree turn to go out ;). My first camper was a pop up and i put a thin sheet of aluminum in the top vent to help make a curve to the outside for the hot air and added a smal computer fan to push the hot air out. It made a huge difference.

time2roll wrote:
I thought the top coils were the hottest? If the fridge is working I call normal.

Second: Even on electric.. Believe it or not this fridge (Absorption cooling unit is the formal name) runs on HEAT, Yes it has heaters in it.

How it works
Heat, be it from a propane burner or an electric heat element, causes some chemicals to seperate. they then travel via different paths through the outside heat exchanger giving off heat, then they come together again inside the Cold box.. When they come together the term is "Endothermic Reaction" means they Absorb heat, Hence the name "Absorption cooling unit) then the mixture travels down to the boiler where the burners (Gas or electric) cause it to seperate again and round and round we go.

If it is that hot perhaps a fan or 2 will help.. I added a pair of 4" computer fans I got cheap (less than a buck) blowing up and it does seem to help. You can also put 'em in the top vent sucking up and blowing OUT.

As mentioned, the refrigerator runs off heaters. Sounds kind of backwards but it's a simple concept when you get into the physics behind it. When not on propane, the two electric heating elements in my Norcold 18cf side by side fridge draw 600 watts of electric heat so there is actually quite a bit of heat that ends up being dissipated by the cooling fins at the end of the process. Those coils are heat exchangers and rely on convection airflow for cooling for the system to work right. As others have mentioned, adding fans to aid the airflow can improve the functioning of the refrigerator.

The option I went with to improve cooling was to add a device called an ARP. It has a couple of temp sensors to kick on cooling fans to help out with the heat when needed, and a sensor it uses to shut off the heating system when it overheats due to being off level, or should you have other issues.