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1fanman's avatar
1fanman
Explorer
Jun 07, 2015

Refrigerator

Greetings fellow RV'ers 1fanman here with a question, I would like to ask some of you seasoned RV'ers if it makes a difference in whether you keep the refrigerator on when the RV is in storage, I have been leaving mine on and set to the lowest setting but recently had to have some serious repairs made to the coils. What are your thoughts on this. Thanks and all responses will be appreciated. 1fanman (AKA Del)
  • I store my 'C' in a building that I own that has a 30A power receptacle and its own gas furnaces. the 'C' is plugged in all the time. When not on the road, I turn the fridge off and prop the door open. I turn it on a couple days before I head out. I also have an upright freezer in the building for easy transfer before pulling out.
    Here's a tip: Before I take off on a road trip, my upright freezers at home and the building get a plastic glass of water placed on the shelf a few days before departure. The day I leave, I put a quarter on top of each frozen cup. If that quarter is on the bottom of the cup when I return, everything in that freezer thawed and re-froze while I was gone.
  • There's no difference with leaving it on all the time while in storage or living in the RV full-time and it's on 365 days X years.
  • Gjac's avatar
    Gjac
    Explorer III
    My thinking about this is if you leave it on all the time and your driveway is just slightly of level and the damage is cumulative over time why take a chance. I leave it off with the door slightly open when not in use. The Norcold is 19 years old and still cools well except for 100 degree days.
  • Ron3rd's avatar
    Ron3rd
    Explorer III
    Allworth wrote:
    I turn mine off and open the doors a crack. Turn it on 24 to 36 hours before starting to load for a trip.

    (Storage is in the back part of the property. I can walk from the patio.)


    That's what we do.
  • Thanks to all that responded, I think off is the best solution.. Thanks again and keep it between the ditches. 1fanman (aka Del)
  • Doesn't really seem to be any reliability gains/losses with leaving it ON or turning it On/OFF.


    What really matters is only turn it ON when fridge is level......off level operation (even for 15-20 mins) will kill an absorption fridge.
  • 1fanman wrote:
    Greetings fellow RV'ers 1fanman here with a question, I would like to ask some of you seasoned RV'ers if it makes a difference in whether you keep the refrigerator on when the RV is in storage, I have been leaving mine on and set to the lowest setting but recently had to have some serious repairs made to the coils. What are your thoughts on this. Thanks and all responses will be appreciated. 1fanman (AKA Del)


    when we were able to store at home and had access to 120VAC we left the fridge on all season. no ill effects were experienced.
  • I turn mine off and open the doors a crack. Turn it on 24 to 36 hours before starting to load for a trip.

    (Storage is in the back part of the property. I can walk from the patio.)

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