Refrigerator in slide out not cold enough

[Dave5w]

I have used my present rig for 10 summers with the refrigerator in the slide out not being cold enough. For 10 years various mechanics have tried to "fix" the problem without success. My wife and I are at the point of wanting to replace the refrigerator. Dometic still makes the exact same model as our present refrigerator at a cost of around $ 1,300. My mechanic tells me that improvements over the years have included greater amounts of insulation as compared to mine. My question to him is that if we spend all this money, will we still have a refrigerator that isn't cold enough?

My understanding through my mechanic is that manufacturers have stopped using traditional RV refrigerators in slide outs. They have gone to a household type electric refrigerator.

I have looked at a 10 cu. ft. household type refrigerator at Home Depot that would fit the opening where my present refrigerator sits. My mechanic has suggested that I could run the generator while on the road to keep the refrigerator cold. I'm not wild about this idea.

The other alternative would be to just not have the refrigerator run while we are traveling. On the days that we travel, our typical day is no more than 3 hours travel in the morning with a one hour stop for lunch. I normally put the generator on at lunch time. We will then travel no more than 3 hours in the afternoon. I'm wondering if the food would stay cold with the refrigerator off for these times. This option would be $ 1,000 less expensive.

Please don't suggest alternative fixes. I have tried many, many things an am no longer interested in seeing if this or that idea works.

[ckwizard777]

Listen to Rusty he gave you good advice.
I did this install in my Montana and got rid of that old fire breathing monster and put in a Whirlpool model fridge with black doors.
bought a 1500 watt pure sine wave inverter to power it while driving and never looked back.
In the future I will install some T105's for larger battery capacity.

[hanzfranz60]

We replaced our "notcold" in a 2006 Newmar 5th wheel with a residential fridge. We used it for five years after that. We had travel days of 8 hours or more and the fridge would only drop a few degrees. We kept the doors closed and did not open till we were plugged in. If you find that is not the case with your new fridge you could keep a solid block of ice in the fridge during travel to aid in keeping it cool.

[RustyJC]

Dave5w wrote:
My understanding through my mechanic is that manufacturers have stopped using traditional RV refrigerators in slide outs. They have gone to a household type electric refrigerator.a 10 cu. ft. household type refrigerator at Home Depot that would fit the opening where my present refrigerator sits.....My mechanic has suggested that I could run the generator while on the road to keep the refrigerator cold. I'm not wild about this idea. The other alternative would be to just not have the refrigerator run while we are traveling.

Most 5th wheels that use residential refrigerators will have an inverter as standard or optional equipment. The residential fridge in our unit is powered by a 1500 watt pure sine wave inverter while we're on the road. This inverter is powered by the 5th wheel's batteries, but those batteries are being recharged during travel by the truck's batteries and alternator through the trailer umbilical. So equipped, operating the residential fridge while traveling is no problem whatsoever.

Rusty

[midnightsadie]

buy a residental frig there your problem is solved, do some research before you buy. have a great trip.

[Dave5w]

Folks, I have already done things like added extra fans which run constantly. We have added baffels at the top. The entire cooling unit was replaced. The list goes on and on. I am not interested in your opinion about what to try next. Please, just answer my questions or simply don't post!

[BobKrogstie]

See if one of these guys are near you:

http://rvrefrigeration.com/rv-referral-network/

[laknox]

korbe wrote:

csamayfield55 wrote:
I have been doing a TON of reading on this the last few days. The problem with the refer in the slide is lack of airflow. The non slide units have a vent to the roof that allows cooling air to draft up and out.

Have you added extra cooling fans to the box? Did you check to see if there are any air flow restrictions?

If you are set on going to a residential get an inverter to run the fridge so it will stay running when you are going down the road

Chris

A campin neighbor explained how he was bummed that he can't dry camp much because his frig was in the slideout and it included an additional fan because it couldn't vent straight up and out.

Sure you can. Add batteries and/or solar. The FWs I'm looking at to replace my current one have the fridge in the slide, and this is exactly what I'm planning on doing, if there's no fan already in place. I've even thought about putting in a dedicated battery and solar panel for the job.

Lyle

[DownTheAvenue]

Pangaea Ron wrote:
My son's TT also has his refrigerator in the slide-out with less than desirable temps. His tech said that he should add a topper to the slide-out which he is doing.

The topper will have no impact on the refrigerator's cooling.

[DownTheAvenue]

csamayfield55 wrote:
I have been doing a TON of reading on this the last few days. The problem with the refer in the slide is lack of airflow. The non slide units have a vent to the roof that allows cooling air to draft up and out.

Have you added extra cooling fans to the box? Did you check to see if there are any air flow restrictions?

If you are set on going to a residential get an inverter to run the fridge so it will stay running when you are going down the road

Chris

This is an excellent post. The problem with a refrigerator in the slide out is no roof vent so any natural ventilation normally through the roof vent is greatly reduced with a wall vent at the top. Computer pancake fans run on 12 volts and draw very very little current. Install one at the base of the coils at the bottom of the refrigerator in the back to blow air over them. This will force air to exit the upper vent. Remember the refrigerator is merely removing warm air from inside the unit and expelling the air outside. if that heat removed cannot dissipate, then the refrigerator will not cool. That is why the fan works so well.

This is an easy, cheap fix. if your "mechanic" has not done this or suggested it, then you need another "mechanic." This is so eay you can do it yourself.

[Big_Katuna]

My Norcold is in the slide and hits -5 in the freezer, 36 in the fridge set on 6. Thats with a new Amish unit after my OEM died (2005 unit). But the old one was almost as cold.

Mine DOES have two fans in the back that run often in higher temps and I run a double fan setup inside I bought on Ebay that clips to the fins.

If you go residential, I would run a small inverter that would run while driving.

[Pangaea_Ron]

My son's TT also has his refrigerator in the slide-out with less than desirable temps. His tech said that he should add a topper to the slide-out which he is doing.

Others have said to use computer fans for the rear coils. Those made a significant difference on my previous MH.

You don't say which modifications that you tried?

[korbe]

csamayfield55 wrote:
I have been doing a TON of reading on this the last few days. The problem with the refer in the slide is lack of airflow. The non slide units have a vent to the roof that allows cooling air to draft up and out.

Have you added extra cooling fans to the box? Did you check to see if there are any air flow restrictions?

If you are set on going to a residential get an inverter to run the fridge so it will stay running when you are going down the road

Chris

A campin neighbor explained how he was bummed that he can't dry camp much because his frig was in the slideout and it included an additional fan because it couldn't vent straight up and out.

[csamayfield55x]

I have been doing a TON of reading on this the last few days. The problem with the refer in the slide is lack of airflow. The non slide units have a vent to the roof that allows cooling air to draft up and out.

Have you added extra cooling fans to the box? Did you check to see if there are any air flow restrictions?

If you are set on going to a residential get an inverter to run the fridge so it will stay running when you are going down the road

Chris

[wing_zealot]

If there is a difference between a refrigerator being in the slideout and a refrigerator not in the slideout, then the only difference can be higher then usual Heat Gain. So if the RV type refrigerator won't work properly because of higher than usual heat gain, then a residential unit will suffer similarly. Only difference being that while running, a residential refrigerator will operate much more efficiently. While not running, it is still going to be plagued by higher than usual heat gain.

[Golden_HVAC]

I guess that your mechanics have explained that running on gas you get about 50% more cooling capacity than running the ammonia refrigerator on the small electric heating element? I find that my RV requires that I run it on gas during warm days.

Many have installed a Samsung refrigerator, as they seem to tolerate a inverter power very well. You might want to look into that too.

Do you have a second refrigerator? You keep saying refrigerator in the slide is warm. Yes I have seen several toy hauler RV's with dual gas refrigerators.

There is no particular reason that a refrigerator in the slide out or not in the slide out would work better or worse than another one. Just that being mounted in the slide might cause it to be slightly more off level, or it might have a chance to 'rack' or twist side to side, allowing more air to get past the door gasket.

As for the electric refrigerator, the plan to leave it unplugged for 6-8 hours will work fine. If you have a problem, then move some blue ice packs from the freezer section to the refrigerator section when you plan on driving more than 4 hours in one day, it will keep it cool in the warmest days.

To meet the new energy standards most modern refrigerators have a lot of insulation. However I do not know if the gas RV type of refrigerator has improved on the sidewall insulation process or not. .

There are companies like Sun Frost that build 12 VDC electric refrigerators, and they are super insulated, designed for those who live in solar powered homes. But again it is a expensive option. I would rather have the 120 volt refrigerator and use ice packs on days that I travel more than 4 hours. Your refrigerator will not increase in temp significantly in 4-5 hours of time off.

The bigger problem would be finding some sort of a child safety latch system to keep the door closed while traveling.

Fred.