unlevel refrigerator question
I had to camp at a few spots that I could not get even close to level, the refrigerator seemed to work fine but does using it when it is completely "outside the bubble" have a cumulative affect?
Forum Discussion
Carl n Susan wrote:
I wouldn't be overly concerned about being level. Newer Dometic (and Norcold) refers operate at up to 3 degrees off level side-to-side and 6 degrees off level front-to-back (http://dutchmen.com/image/data/documents/parts/Norcold_1200_Series_Refer_Manual.pdf Page 18). If you are comfortable walking about inside, the refer will be fine.
Question:
A RV which is off-level by 3° degrees is how many inches side to side?
Answer:
1 degree = Pi/180 radians, so 3 degrees = Pi/60 radians. The width of the RV is typically 8’. Therefore the arc length (the curved distance traveled (close enough for our work)) is radius times the angle as measured in radians. So arc length = 8(Pi/60) feet and Pi is roughly 3.1416
Solving the formula gives:
8(3.1416/60) = 8(0.05236) = 0.4188’ = 5.02656"
I suspect most of us would be very uncomfortable if one side of the RV was 5" lower (or higher) than the other.
I believe that most RVs have refrigerators installed so that the front to back of the fridge faces across the 8 ft width of the RV. The side to side dimension of the fridge is related to the front to back of the RV. This means that Norcold's allowable 6 degree out of level front to back of the fridge is more like a 10 inch side to side tilt for the RV. For the 158 inch wheelbase of our Minnie, the allowable 3 degree off level for the fridge corresponds to an 8 inch off level front to back tilt of the RV.
That said, we try to keep our Hoppy levels in both directions within 2 inches of dead level. We never go over 3 inches out of level with the fridge running.
