Should I turn off my fridge for a few minutes if not level

[CavemanCharlie]

I often RV at the same place. On the way home I stop to visit a friend. The only parking places are very not level. Should I shut the fridge off for the 15-30 minutes that I stop there ? The food inside would stay cold for that long. Would this help the fridge to last longer ?

[Bobbo]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Unless fridge is 'sideways' as in my 5vr.
Set cockeyed ----not side to side or front to back

I have two levels mounted on 5vr
One on pin box that I can see and use for side to side when parking 5vr on site
Then another one for front to back next to front landing gear controls

Set both for level and done

Fridge is turned OFF anytime we are stationary and NOT level.

In that case, I would use a 3 degree figure for both length and width, and use those numbers.

There is ALWAYS the exception to the rule. 😛

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Real world talking here:

One of my trailers is 32 years old. I have only vacationed in the summer. Usually 90+. It was turned on in the beginning of my vacation and never turned off until it was in the barn again.

Some of the parking lots I have parked in would make a goat think twice about climbing it.

The cooling unit was replaced once in 32 years.

Do what you want. 🙂

[Old-Biscuit]

Bobbo wrote:

wa8yxm wrote:
How unlevel is 3 degrees?

Trailer wheel base 8'
Rise of 5" on one side (5 Inches off level)
2.98 Degrees per an online calculator

That is VERY off level. I like to keep the difference to 1.5 or less.

For SHORT periods. (IE: stopped for lunch) even greater angles won't matter.

But as you dricwe look for a 5% grade (you can find em in the nountrains
3 Degrees is 5.24 percent

You are correct. Except. The 3 degrees off level is the refrigerator's left to right. Since the refrigerator is sitting with the door facing side to side in the RV, the refrigerator's left to right corresponds to the RV's front to back. Do your calculations again using the RV's length instead of its width. For your calculations, the amount of off level that Dometic quoted is 6 degrees.

Unless fridge is 'sideways' as in my 5vr.
Set cockeyed ----not side to side or front to back

I have two levels mounted on 5vr
One on pin box that I can see and use for side to side when parking 5vr on site
Then another one for front to back next to front landing gear controls

Set both for level and done

Fridge is turned OFF anytime we are stationary and NOT level.

[Bobbo]

wa8yxm wrote:
How unlevel is 3 degrees?

Trailer wheel base 8'
Rise of 5" on one side (5 Inches off level)
2.98 Degrees per an online calculator

That is VERY off level. I like to keep the difference to 1.5 or less.

For SHORT periods. (IE: stopped for lunch) even greater angles won't matter.

But as you dricwe look for a 5% grade (you can find em in the nountrains
3 Degrees is 5.24 percent

You are correct. Except. The 3 degrees off level is the refrigerator's left to right. Since the refrigerator is sitting with the door facing side to side in the RV, the refrigerator's left to right corresponds to the RV's front to back. Do your calculations again using the RV's length instead of its width. For your calculations, the amount of off level that Dometic quoted is 6 degrees.

[wa8yxm]

How unlevel is 3 degrees?

Trailer wheel base 8'
Rise of 5" on one side (5 Inches off level)
2.98 Degrees per an online calculator

That is VERY off level. I like to keep the difference to 1.5 or less.

For SHORT periods. (IE: stopped for lunch) even greater angles won't matter.

But as you dricwe look for a 5% grade (you can find em in the nountrains
3 Degrees is 5.24 percent

[CavemanCharlie]

For those of you that want me to define Off-Level. When I am parked on the street in front of my friends house I have a hard time getting into the camper because it leans front to back so bad that the door slams shut quickly and you don't want to have you leg stuck in there,, or anything else.

Because the street is this steep it has a big crown on it (for water drainage) and is very un-level side to side too.

I will keep shutting it off. That is what I thought. I just wanted to check to make sure that I wasn't being overly cautious.

[Bobbo]

delwhjr wrote:
The refrigerator should not be more than 3 degrees unlevel left to right, or 6 degrees unlevel front to back.

Let's put this into a form that everyone can grasp.

The refrigerator needs to be no more than 3 degrees off level left to right. Since the refrigerator is sideways in the RV, that means it can not be more than 3 degrees off level from the front of the RV to the rear of the RV. My RV is 24 feet long. That means I can not have my RV off level by more than 15 inches, front to back. I am not comfortable in my RV if it is anywhere NEAR 15 inches off level front to back.

The refrigerator needs to be no more than 6 degrees off level front to back, which corresponds to my RV's side to side. My RV is 8 feet wide. That means I can not have my RV off level by more than 10 inches, side to side. I am not comfortable in my RV if it is anywhere NEAR 10 inches off level from side to side.

The lesson to take away from this is to level the RV so that you are comfortable living and sleeping in it, and it will be good enough for the refrigerator.

(If math makes you dizzy, stop here.)

The math: The Sin(angle) is the height it can be off level (opposite) divided by the length of the side that is at that angle (hypoteneuse). So, you take the Sin(angle) and multiply it by the length of the side in inches to get the height.

Sin(3 degrees)=0.05233595624
Multiply 0.05233595624 times the length of your RV in inches.
(For my RV: 0.05233595624 * 24 * 12 = 15.07275539712 inches.)

Sin(6 degrees)=0.10452846326
Multiply 0.10452846326 times the width of your RV in inches.
(For my RV: 0.10452846326 * 8 * 12 = 10.03473247296 inches.)

Question for the OP: Just how unlevel did you say the RV was while you were visiting?

[fireman41]

So I level my TT using a 3 foot level. So when I level out,I put the level in the center of the camper for the front to back. Than I have it set just ahead of the dinette seats for side to side. Also long as i get the bubble I between the lines I figure that I'm good. Or should I be trying harder to get it move level.

[wnjj]

mosseater wrote:
I turn ours off is it's too unlevel. Cheap insurance.

Unless you forget to turn it back on...then it may cost a bit. 😉

[mosseater]

I turn ours off is it's too unlevel. Cheap insurance.

[LarryJM]

delwhjr wrote:
Direct quote from Dometic about being level:

"Thank you for contacting Dometic. The refrigerator should not be more than 3 degrees unlevel left to right, or 6 degrees unlevel front to back. We do not recommend having the unit unlevel for more than 1-2 hours as this can increase the chances of a blockage. However, we do recommend if you can, have the unit level at all times."

IMO that statement by Dometic is fairly useless since it bases it's recommendation on "BLOCKAGE" not some crystalization which can accumulate a little at a time and eventually create a "BLOCKAGE". I have also read that damage from being even somewhat off level can drive the ammonia mixture to exceed safe temp after about 15 to 20 min starting the permanent damage to start.

Larry

[MrWizard]

Maybe not
But for my 1997 Dometic if parked, 8" off level at the curb it will defrost
It does not cool correctly
Did it one time while waiting for a curbside rear hydraulic jack replacement to arrive at UPS store
After 2 hours of not being cold enough and starting to defrost, I turned it off
I won't take that chance again

[4x4van]

Define off-level. The manual on my Norcold says that it is safe to run at up to 3 degrees side-to-side or 6 degrees front-to-back (looking at the front of the fridge). That calcs out to about a 19" difference front to back (bumper to bumper), and/or a 10" difference left to right side in my RV (based on my RV's length and width). Anything less than that and it is not necessary to turn it off.

[delwhjr]

Direct quote from Dometic about being level:

"Thank you for contacting Dometic. The refrigerator should not be more than 3 degrees unlevel left to right, or 6 degrees unlevel front to back. We do not recommend having the unit unlevel for more than 1-2 hours as this can increase the chances of a blockage. However, we do recommend if you can, have the unit level at all times."