Freezer problems

[Coach-man]

We are now into our 3rd month full timing, DW decided she would "save" some money by buying a lot of meat and freezing it. Since then the ice cream has gone soft, and the freezer is just barely "freezing. It is a Dometic electric/propane fridge. I think the problem is that it is over whelemed, the freezer compartment is FULL. Is there anything I can do or are we stuck until either we eat the meat or it goes bad? PS, I have the fridge set to the coldest setting.

[Coach-man]

Update, We are now in Maine and the fridge is getting worse! Talked to an RV repair guy at East Coast RV, he walked me thru a couple of things that seem to have fixed the problem, I will know better Tommorow! First, I got a ladder and remove the side panel from the top of the "chimney". It seems when they built the unit they skimmed the inside with ¼ " panel and forgot that the outlet should be clear of obstructions. There was only about an 1 ½" at the top, got my saw and trimmed it so the full panel was open. Next, there is a thermostat in the fins to activate the chimney fans, I have one at the bottom which pulls cool air in, it was working ok. The fans at the top were not working even though the fins were hot. I By passed the thermostat and the fans run constantly. A couple of hours later I have solid ice cubes in the freezer. Monday I will go and purchase a new thermostat and replace the bad one! Much better than spending $5K for a new fridge!

[TXiceman]

Nutinelse2do wrote:


Tip... For coldest ice cream, put it in the back, bottom left of the freezer. That is the coldest spot.

That is the trick.


Ken

[GACamper]

pianotuna wrote:
Are there cooling fans in the chimney? If so, are they working? If not, add them.

This is a good point. Check your cooling fans to make sure they are coming on and cycling. Our frig has two fans on the backside. I did upgrade one fan to a larger CFM. I took one fan out and replaced with with Model #AFC1212D. Frig works a lot better since I did that.

[midnightsadie]

X2 thats a great idea.

[stickdog]

We purchase large quantities of meat at Costco. I cut pork loins into chops and DW wraps them in meal size portions, same with bulk ground beef and steaks. Always place then on the bottom of the freezer along the back wall per Dometic User Manual.
We do not purchase these together but on alternate trips so we don't load up the freezer with too much that needs freezing at one time. I have noticed that those on the bottom if they must be stacked will freeze solid before those higher up and will rotate them to the bottom at that time.

[Greene728]

Probably overloaded and needs defrosting. If you've been FT'ing for three months and a considerable amount of opening and closing, I'd bet there's frost build up in the freezer and on the backside of the fins inside the fridge.

[Old-Biscuit]

Overloaded freezer.

Freezer cools by convection.
Large mass will take time to get frozen

[Coach-man]

bpounds wrote:
How long has the meat been in there?

I'm guessing it was a matter of putting too much in at one time. And assuming it wasn't frozen, just cold, when you put it in.

You could give it more time. Or maybe you could move half of it to the refrigerator section for a couple of days, and see if the freezer recovers. Then add it back in.

Doesn't sound right though.

I was thinking of adding a bag of dry ice in the freezer, I guess I could take some meat out and add the dry ice!?

[midnightsadie]

no problem I,ll be over at 6pm like my steak medium .

[YC_1]

If the refer is in a slide one or more fans on the back side may have failed.

[pianotuna]

Are there cooling fans in the chimney? If so, are they working? If not, add them.

[Nutinelse2do]

Since you probably can't see it, take a look at the back of the freezer.
There could be tons of frost, which will decrease the cooling.

I usually have to defrost mine every two months or so, especially in humid climates.

Tip... For coldest ice cream, put it in the back, bottom left of the freezer. That is the coldest spot.

[bpounds]

How long has the meat been in there?

I'm guessing it was a matter of putting too much in at one time. And assuming it wasn't frozen, just cold, when you put it in.

You could give it more time. Or maybe you could move half of it to the refrigerator section for a couple of days, and see if the freezer recovers. Then add it back in.

Doesn't sound right though.