Qick question

can't leave them plugged in all the time here in the summer. My neighbor tried this and after replacing 3 convertors he decided to unplug it and put a house fridge in his garage. Gets too hot inside the trailer when stored for long periods of time when ambient temps are consistently above 105+ in summer. I have owned 4 trailers in the last 15 yrs and never had a refer issue. Now that I have said that it will fail this weekend for sure. I'm going camping in Northern Az for 4 days. LOL

Has not been shut off for over 2 years.........

msiminoff wrote:

I have read reports from "refrigeration experts" who hypothesized that a cooling unit will last longer if the fridge is always on. This allows the anti-corrosion additive in the refrigerant to circulate and prevents sedimentation from depositing in the absorber and/or generator. I don't have any evidence to back this up, but it makes sense to me.

-Mark

For years this is what I recommended, for that exact reason, but.... Back in the 80's and 90's, refrigerator failure was nearly always a leak inside, or the unit getting plugged up. Now the common failure is a crack at the heating element pocket on the boiler tube, which is more likely the more the unit is run. This made me change my recommendation to "I 'm not sure".

Form what a cooling unit rebuild place told me, if your going to be using the fridge every couple of weeks or so it is best to leave it on because the thermal stress of turning it on and off is hard on the tubing. If it's going to be a couple of months or more then I would turn it off.
FWIW, I have calculated that it costs $5~7 a month to run the fridge.

msiminoff wrote:
... I have read reports from "refrigeration experts" who hypothesized that a cooling unit will last longer if the fridge is always on. This allows the anti-corrosion additive in the refrigerant to circulate and prevents sedimentation from depositing in the absorber and/or generator. I don't have any evidence to back this up, but it makes sense to me.

-Mark

This sounds logical to me. The fridge has no moving parts, so I can't see how it could shorten the life by leaving it on. Of course you do want the fridge level, any time it is on, other than while on the road.

My camper sat for at least seven years before I bought it. The fridge still had the factory tape inside to hold the ice trays and shelving. I showed no signs of the fridge having ever been used. Less than a year after I started using the fridge, I had to have the coils replaced. I think that lends support to Mark's post.

Wayne

msiminoff wrote:

Do you leave your refrigerator on electric at a moderate temp setting for the months it is not being used...

I leave my refrigerator on continuously for most of the summer and fall. However, if the camper is not going to be used for several weeks or more I turn it off, then defrost/dry the interior, and leave the doors open.

I have read reports from "refrigeration experts" who hypothesized that a cooling unit will last longer if the fridge is always on. This allows the anti-corrosion additive in the refrigerant to circulate and prevents sedimentation from depositing in the absorber and/or generator. I don't have any evidence to back this up, but it makes sense to me.

-Mark

This is why I subscribe to this forum. Thanks Mark!

Do you leave your refrigerator on electric at a moderate temp setting for the months it is not being used...

I leave my refrigerator on continuously for most of the summer and fall. However, if the camper is not going to be used for several weeks or more I turn it off, then defrost/dry the interior, and leave the doors open.

I have read reports from "refrigeration experts" who hypothesized that a cooling unit will last longer if the fridge is always on. This allows the anti-corrosion additive in the refrigerant to circulate and prevents sedimentation from depositing in the absorber and/or generator. I don't have any evidence to back this up, but it makes sense to me.

-Mark

24/7 always on.

Ken

Reddog1 wrote:
I always leave mine on, never turn it off. Sometimes on 120v and sometimes propane. I prefer to know if my fridge is having issues is having issues long before I go camping.

I typically use it as my beer cooler, and sometimes as an overflow for my house fridge. If no beer in it, I leave a couple of gallon jugs of water in the fridge. I do clean it out and wash it down a couple of times a year. I defrost it at least once a year.

This method has been working on this TC since 2004.

Wayne

Me too. Except in the dead of winter when the fridge doesn't work that well anyway (especially if the heat isn't on!)

Always ready to go is our standard procedure.

Thanks for the info guys.... Skip I will PM you in a day or two.

Dave