Leave on Fridge?

[cccougar]

When storing for the winter, if you can plug into power, is it best to leave fridge on? I thought I read somewhere that when left off for long periods of time, there are chemicals in cooling packs that become separated. Leaving on can keep it going for 15 years instead of 5 if turned off and on constantly. Any truth?

[Horizon170]

I have a 12 volt compressor driven refer in my "B" and only turn it on when in use, not parked at home. I leave the door slightly open with B&W newspaper wadded up inside and also have an open box of Arm & Hammer soda inside. No mold, no smell, no problems.

[Bordercollie]

We left our previous Dometic fridge on for long periods, slightly off level in the driveway. It died when about 10 years old. We don't leave the Norcold on. BTW, leave the door open to prevent mold when shut down.

[tommykelly]

My Dometic Royale was left on electric constantly from april 1999 until Dec. 2013 level ground...at which time it died

except to turn it off when defrosting.

I don't know if it would have lasted longer if I had turned it off
when not in use

[Arcticold]

It honestly depends on the model of refrigerator. Anything newer then 1998 I would recommend shutting them down when not in use. The new systems by both big manufactures have issues with the boiler area of the cooling unit. They switched to a thiner walled tubing and will eventually break open the weld at the bottom of the boiler tube or just above that where the heating element tubes are welded on to the boiler. By shutting the newer refrigerators down when not in use it will prolong the lifespan of the fridge.

The pre 1998 fridges, for the most part do not have the same issues. In the case of the older fridges it is going to be a corrosion issue on the evaporator head that causes failure. This is caused from the frost that builds up on the evaporator head during operation then melts when turned off, leaving water that is trapped on the steel tubes which causes corrosion. In the case of the older model refrigerators, it is best to leave the refrigerator on as much as possible as frost on the steel is better then pools of trapped water.

As someone mentioned above, it is very critical that in all cases the refrigerator is level when stationary and in operation.

I hope this information helps.

[pnichols]

I've never heard of leaving an RV's absorption refrigerator on all the time. I wonder where this idea started, anyway?

We keep our RV's Norcold refrig off until we make a trip and need it. We turn it on a day before we want to start stocking it. Our refrig is 8 years old and the Norcold still works just fine on camping trips. I wonder what the instruction manual for it says?

[ScottG]

pianotuna wrote:
Hi Scott,

I'll be getting one of these installed this spring.

ARPrv

ScottG wrote:
FWIW, they also told me that they have done tests and found that running a fridge out of level starts to cause irreversible damage after as little as 15 minutes.

Oh that is uber cool!
I'll be getting one too - thanks Pianotuna.

[pianotuna]

3 degrees.

Burnin' Fuel wrote:
How far out of level does the fridge have to be when damage will start?

[Burnin__Fuel]

How far out of level does the fridge have to be when damage will start?

[hotbyte]

We kept 5'er plugged in and fridge on during the 5 yrs or so we owned it and now same with MH going on about 5 yrs. We keep it running more as convenience to stay stocked with supplies and if we run low in house on something will often raid the MH fridge/pantry.

[pianotuna]

Hi Scott,

I'll be getting one of these installed this spring.

ARPrv

ScottG wrote:
FWIW, they also told me that they have done tests and found that running a fridge out of level starts to cause irreversible damage after as little as 15 minutes.

[tenbear]

pianotuna wrote:

korbe wrote:
Ours gets turned off and doors propped open each time we get home from our many campin trips throughout the season. I have yet to hear any arguments to the contrary that make any sense.

X2 (and in my case, no choice as the storage has no power)

X3 10 years and no problems.

[ScottG]

A local rebuilder of cooling units told me that it was the people that turn their fridges on and off between trips of every week or two that have the most problems with cooling units cracking and leaking (they quiz everyone that brings one in). They went on to tell me they believe it's the hot/cold cycling of the tubing that stresses it and by leaving it on it minimizes the fatigue.
FWIW, they also told me that they have done tests and found that running a fridge out of level starts to cause irreversible damage after as little as 15 minutes.

[the_trippers]

At $.20 per kwh in s. Cal the annual cost is way too high. Possibly over $300.

[pianotuna]

korbe wrote:
Ours gets turned off and doors propped open each time we get home from our many campin trips throughout the season. I have yet to hear any arguments to the contrary that make any sense.

X2 (and in my case, no choice as the storage has no power)