Hello everyone, back again after a while(Believe it or not I've been able to fix some stuff on my own ;) Anyways my Domestic Americana is not cooling as well as it should, particularly the fridge. The freezer is still keeping things frozen but my ice cream is soft, always a sign it's not as cool as it should be. However the refrigerator is only mildly cool and I'm going to have so food going bad if I can't figure this out. I switched it over to propane as I usually find that works better but it didn't make much difference. I also just removed both exterior vents and everything looks clear.When I took them off though it occurred to me that I haven't heard the fan run in a while. Usually when it's hot out I can hear the little buzz of it running and I can't remember the last time I heard it. Is there a way to confirm the fan isn't working? Any particular fan I should replace it with? Is the fan being broken enough to cause this? I read the fan can increases efficiency by 40% somewhere so if that's true I'd think it could. Will leaving the vents off in the meantime help?Well thanks as always for all the help and if you have anything else you think it could be or anything I should check please fire away ;)

My old Dometic had a sensor that was pushed onto the fins toward the right side. This sensor is able to slide up or down on the fins to adjust the temp. The only fan that mine had was added by me and inside the frig to move air.

rjxj above is correct. Try sliding the thermeister UP on the fin for cooler adjustment. It might look something like this or similar....inside the frig at the top along the back wall.

Yes, I have one of those also and have had it up at the top ever since I found it. Unfortunately that's not the problem. It was keeping it colder before but since the temperature has come up, not so much.The fan I'm talking about is not in the fridge. If you go outside to where the vents for the fridge are, remove the top vent, and look down you can see it. Now whether that is a standard thing or not I don't know but I unscrewed mine to take a look at it and it's a Domestic part so I'd say it came installed. I could usually hear it run when it gets real hot out but haven't noticed it lately. The point of it is to circulate the air around the heat sink. Whether that's enough to cause the fringe to be warm is something I'm wondering.

If it is in a slideout, with 2 sidewall vents, it needs the fans, and if they are not running, it will not cool nearly as well.The thermistor will adjust the temperature a bit- slide up for colder-

I already have that thing adjusted to the top and it has been since it bought the fifth wheel.It is in a slide out however I just disconnected the fan and hooked it straight up to my batteries and it ran just fine. So much for that idea...Please keep the ideas coming.

Refrigerator Not As Cold As It Ought To Be | Good Sam Community

BJean
Explorer
Aug 10, 2017
Thanks for all info. My factory fan and switch were working but as I have
the ref in slide it was not able to cool properly. Added new fan and switch
at top vent and freezer is now 0 or below. Will add a 12V fan to inside to
keep ref temp steady.
Larryect
Explorer
Jul 14, 2017
dougrainer wrote:

I guess I did not explain it correctly. The FREEZER has NO way to control its temp. It will get to 0 to 10 degrees regardless of the Temp set. The design of an RV absorbsion refer is such that the Freezer coils are the FIRST coldest section of the tubes. Then it goes down to the lower refer section. This lower section is what is controlled by the tstat. Both Dometic and Norcold operate the exact same way. This is what confuses novices. They buy a used RV and the seller shows how COLD the freezer is and they assume the refer is at operating spec. They go home and then find that the lower section does NOT get below 40 degrees because the refer is partially blocked. A defective/blocked refer will still get the freezer below 10 degrees because the blockage is past the freezer coils. If you are having a problem with getting the freezer below 10 degrees, then you either have a incorrectly sealed cooling unit to the box or there is a lack of the correct amount of Transfer Mastic on the freezer coils. That is why I asked if the Cooling unit had ever been replaced. Long shot would be a defective freezer door seal, but those are rare. Doug

I have a Norcold N811 which is about 3 years old, never rebuilt. Mounted in the slide. Currently 100 degrees outside 80 inside.

The freezer is at 6 degrees and the fridge is running 43. Temp selector is at 5. Sounds like fans are running. Have not visually confirmed. Added a small 110 desk fan blowing up inside the back of the unit - don't think it is helping. Last night the fridge got down to 31 but not the really doing well when 95+ outside.

Any suggestions?

Edit to add: I have a small internal fan (e-bay) blowing over the coils at the thermistor.
pnichols
Explorer II
Jul 07, 2017
marcsbigfoot20b27 wrote:
In short you cant change the delta of the fridge and freezer.
Well, not in terms of setpoints anyhow. You may be able to change it by using an internal fridge fan increasing efficiency, but the fridge temp thermister and control board cycles the whole unit on and off.

When on, your freezer gets full "Coldness" or heat absorption for lack of better explanation, what is left goes to the fridge compartment. Working as designed you probably see a 30-35 delta so 0 freezer and 30-35 in the fridge on a good working unit. If you want it colder you can fool the thermister by thinking it is warmer, (I have a Dometic adjustable thermister box) and the cooling unit AC or propane will stay on longer. Then the freezer will get a few degrees colder and so will the fridge, mostly at the same delta.
The experts can chime in if Im wrong.

Note, mine is a Dometic Americana Rm2652 that is not "adjustable" there is no numbers to select, just the fin thermister.

Thanks for your excellent clear and detailed explanation!

Using the highest setting on our refrigerator ("5"), our freezer section is around 0 degrees and the refrigerator section is indeed 30-35 degrees ... so it looks like our Norcold is working as it should. Using a setting of "5", I wish I could raise the refrigerator section's temperature a bit so, for example, milk doesn't freeze with the freezer section still kept around 0 degrees at a setting of "5".
marcsbigfoot20b
Explorer
Jul 07, 2017
pnichols wrote:
I know what the temp control does.

Some (many in the forums) say that sliding the thermistor up or down on the fin does something. Some say it doesn't. Neither have explained the why of their position ... they just want us to take them at their word or spend the time to run our own experiments.

I prefer to do neither without an explanation of the why of what's going with sliding of the thermistor.

What myself and many other RV propane refrigerator owners would like to know is: Can I use the temperature control to adjust the freezer temperature to what we want and then use the thermistor to then adjust the refrigeration section to the be as close as possible to the temperature that we want. It doesn't take a rocket science answer.

In short you cant change the delta of the fridge and freezer.
Well, not in terms of setpoints anyhow. You may be able to change it by using an internal fridge fan increasing efficiency, but the fridge temp thermister and control board cycles the whole unit on and off.

When on, your freezer gets full "Coldness" or heat absorption for lack of better explanation, what is left goes to the fridge compartment. Working as designed you probably see a 30-35 delta so 0 freezer and 30-35 in the fridge on a good working unit. If you want it colder you can fool the thermister by thinking it is warmer, (I have a Dometic adjustable thermister box) and the cooling unit AC or propane will stay on longer. Then the freezer will get a few degrees colder and so will the fridge, mostly at the same delta.
The experts can chime in if Im wrong.

Note, mine is a Dometic Americana Rm2652 that is not "adjustable" there is no numbers to select, just the fin thermister.
pnichols
Explorer II
Jul 07, 2017
I know what the temp control does.

Some (many in the forums) say that sliding the thermistor up or down on the fin does something. Some say it doesn't. Neither have explained the why of their position ... they just want us to take them at their word or spend the time to run our own experiments.

I prefer to do neither without an explanation of the why of what's going with sliding of the thermistor.

What myself and many other RV propane refrigerator owners would like to know is: Can I use the temperature control to adjust the freezer temperature to what we want and then use the thermistor to then adjust the refrigeration section to the be as close as possible to the temperature that we want. It doesn't require a rocket science answer.
SidecarFlip
Explorer III
Jul 07, 2017
The Thermister controls the cycling of the control board which controls the propane delivery or the heating element(s). The temp control set the control board parameters to run longer, thus getting colder.

I think Doug is tired of your abstinence. Told you do. If, in fact you heed his advice is up to you....
pnichols
Explorer II
Jul 07, 2017
Well Doug ... you never did explain in detail what the thermistor controls and how that control is affected by it being lower or higher on the cooling fin. You also never acknowledged whether or not the temperature control switch merely sets the cooling unit's ON/OFF duty cycle.

Maybe that's why you felt that your responses were not getting anywhere.
dougrainer
Nomad
Jul 07, 2017
pnichols wrote:
Doug,

Here's a cut-and-paste quote from Page 6 of the owners manual of our Norcold Model 611 2-Way propane RV refrigerator:

"The temperature switch (2) controls the temperature adjustment
of the freezer and the fresh food compartment."

This tells me that low numbers of the 5-position temperature switch mean average warmer temperatures for both sections of the unit and high numbers of the 5-position temperature switch mean average lower temperatures for both sections.

Then ... what does sliding of the thermistor do ... over-ride the switch settings, OR MORE LIKELY, change the refrigerator compartment temperature in relation to the freezer compartment temperature?

Thanks I appreciate this:B 38 years and still an RV tech, and both Dometic and Norcold factory training and I have to be schooled by an RV'er:h I wonder, If you move your HOUSE(residential home) Wall Tstat UP 2 feet or DOWN 2 feet, will the house get warmer or colder, regardless of what you set the Tstat at????????? Just wondering,I KNOW the answer:) NO CHANGE that you could measure. I am done with this thread. You can do and believe what you want. Your mind is made up. AWW, the wonders of the Internet. Cheers, Doug
pnichols
Explorer II
Jul 06, 2017
Doug,

Here's a cut-and-paste quote from Page 6 of the owners manual of our Norcold Model 611 2-Way propane RV refrigerator:

"The temperature switch (2) controls the temperature adjustment
of the freezer and the fresh food compartment."

This tells me that low numbers of the 5-position temperature switch mean average warmer temperatures for both sections of the unit and high numbers of the 5-position temperature switch mean average lower temperatures for both sections.

Then ... what does sliding of the thermistor do ... over-ride the switch settings, OR MORE LIKELY, change the refrigerator compartment temperature in relation to the freezer compartment temperature?
pnichols
Explorer II
Jul 06, 2017
buylow12 wrote:
If it was blocked though wouldn't the refrigerator be warmer not cooler?

I don't know anything about how your Norco works but generally you slide the thermistor up for colder and down for warmer. Just slide it down and see what happens. I mean what's the worst that can happen? That it does nothing?

Thanks!

From what I have read in these forums over the years concerning RV propane refrigerators, we are one of the fortunate ones to have an excellent refrigerator so far. I has always served us well in high or low outside temps and when partially full or full. I just want to tweak it for better balance between the temperatures in both sections. As I said earlier I haven't called Norcold yet but from what you say above, probably just sliding it's thermistor down a bit on the fin will give me a refrigerator section averaging close to 38 degrees while at the same time a freezer section averaging close to 0 degrees if use a temperature switch position of 4 or 5.