Cold Weather Warning for Residential Refrigerators

[wjell]

We have a residential refrigerator in our Class A. During a recent cold spell (-2F) we lost all of our frozen food due to spoilage. We also lost the stuff in the refrigerator compartment. It seems when the external temperature get colder the unit calls for less and less cooling. The freezer is affected first and the most. I have a PARTIAL solution posted on my blog here:

http://olderthandirtandsurviving.wordpress.com/2014/01/10/cold-weather-rv-lesson-1/

The main point is MONITOR your freezer/fridge temps closely. The results of having food thaw and then refreeze can be...well... unhealthy.

[Gdetrailer]

wjell wrote:
We have a residential refrigerator in our Class A. During a recent cold spell (-2F) we lost all of our frozen food due to spoilage. We also lost the stuff in the refrigerator compartment. It seems when the external temperature get colder the unit calls for less and less cooling. The freezer is affected first and the most. I have a PARTIAL solution posted on my blog here:

http://olderthandirtandsurviving.wordpress.com/2014/01/10/cold-weather-rv-lesson-1/

The main point is MONITOR your freezer/fridge temps closely. The results of having food thaw and then refreeze can be...well... unhealthy.

RV absorbsion fridges also suffer problems from extreme cold weather which can shut them down so it is not really just a residential fridge issue...

[MrWizard]

wjell wrote:

MrWizard wrote:
Really it's a no brainer, you treat a residential fridge just like in the S&B , no open outside vents
Fridge should be exposed only to Inside temps

Well, yes and no. It has FAR more exposure to the outside than the inside. I'll post some pics tomorrow. All that is exposed inside are the doors. It fits tightly into a "shelf". MUCH MORE EXPOSURE for the compressor to the the unheated outside with just a thin aluminum access door to protect it.

That is problem

the exposure should be to the inside temps

its a residential fridge, should have circulation around and under from inside the house
unless it is supposed to be an enclosed model, those usually included venting and fan for air circulation from bottom to top, underneath to over the top
maybe change your edge trim/molding to something that is plastic vent like and Seal off the outside vents

[wjell]

marcsbigfoot20b27 wrote:
To make sue the temps are safe and to see the high low history, I got this.......it even has alarms.

http://www.acurite.com/digital-freezer-refrigerator-thermometer-with-temperature-alarms-00986.html

Pretty much what my link points to, except I use a weather station that can utilize 3 separate remote sensors. I am currently using 1 for the water compartment and 1 for the fridge/freezer. The next 1 I will use for outside temp.

[wjell]

MrWizard wrote:
Really it's a no brainer, you treat a residential fridge just like in the S&B , no open outside vents
Fridge should be exposed only to Inside temps

Well, yes and no. It has FAR more exposure to the outside than the inside. I'll post some pics tomorrow. All that is exposed inside are the doors. It fits tightly into a "shelf". MUCH MORE EXPOSURE for the compressor to the the unheated outside with just a thin aluminum access door to protect it.

[MrWizard]

Really it's a no brainer, you treat a residential fridge just like in the S&B , no open outside vents
Fridge should be exposed only to Inside temps

[marcsbigfoot20b]

To make sue the temps are safe and to see the high low history, I got this.......it even has alarms.

http://www.acurite.com/digital-freezer-refrigerator-thermometer-with-temperature-alarms-00986.html

[wa8yxm]

Gee.. With my Dometic when I saw the temps were going to hit "Below teens) 11 was delivered) I jumpered across the light switch and ..> Everything was good.

Some RV type have a switch labeled LAT (mine does not) What does it do.. Read the first paragraph.. That's what it does.. I am going to add one.

On the residential.. If it were that cold, I think I'd block the lower vents on the outside.. This SHOULD help... (Assuming they are not already closed off) a simple sheet of corrugated paper should do it (What most folks improperly call card board.. Card board is what Greeting cards are made of.. Corrugated paper is what storage and shipping boxes are made of).

[time2roll]

I don't think this issue is just residential compressor fridges.
My Dometic absorption fridge has done same where the freezer does not stay below freezing as outdoor temps approach zero (F) and beyond.

[Jim-Linda]

wjell wrote:

Jim-Linda wrote:
Puzzled, our Whirlpool is installed as it would be in a S&B. The exterior grill is blocked and insulated, the roof vent is blocked and insulated. Using an IR gun, the space on the sides and rear of fridge and the same as interior of trailer.

Do you still have an open rear grill?

Jim

Great thinking. Yes, we are still open (for now) side and roof for three reasons.

#1 I just figured this out a little over a week ago.

#2 I wanted to get and idea were the "tipping points" were temperature wise. (Seems to be at about 25 degrees)

#3 During warm weather I want that ventilation to keep the unit from having to work too hard. Here in Asheville temperature swings can be pretty wide. We could easily go into the 60's with the next week.

So I need to figure out a solution that doesn't require constant installation/de-installation of insulation. Thought I try a little additional heating via an incandescent bulb first. I will probably go to a 75 watt now.

That being said, insulating the exterior side panel access door would be easier to "maintain" than the roof vent.

I really don't see the need to agonize over your #3 plan and adding heat. If the unit is installed correctly, the ambient in the trailer is going to affect the fridge, just as is does in a HOUSE. It doesn't need added heat. Your concern that the access panel and roof vent "needs" to be maintained, to me, is a little anal. You are not re-inventing fridge installs, there are a ton of them in use without all this effort.

Jim

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Loved freezing weather. Unplugged the refrigerator freezer. Used milk crates. At the back door the temp was minus F. Great for frozen food, two feet away was 35F perfect refrigerator.

[wjell]

Golden_HVAC wrote:
The 75 watt light bulb will make at the most about 3 Btu's per watt, or 225 Btu's. That is not much heat, and the open grill with 25F air entering it will take away all that heat. Also the warmer the compartment is, then the more air will draft through it. So air that is 25F warmer than the outside air will flow up to the top vent faster than if only 10F warmer than the outside air.

By blocking the side compartment with aluminum foil, or plastic wrap, then you will not have a large volume of air quickly entering the vent. Then the 75 watt light heat will stay in the compartment.

One problem is that the condenser is colder than the inside temperature. Normally a 100F condenser requires about 110 PSI freon to change over to a liquid, and this high pressure liquid flows through the tiny tubing into the evaporator because that pressure is less, say 0 - 4 PSI. When the condenser is 50F, then the pressure is only about 50 PSI, and less will flow into the indoor coils. At 10F, then very little freon will flow inside, the tubing is sized more to flow the correct amount while the outside temp is at least 70F and the pressure difference is over 60 PSI.

Good luck,

Fred.

You nailed it. I upped it to 135 watts and the compressor is functioning again. Temps are dropping.

Now to figure out an easy on/off insulating material to block the grill openings in that panel on the inside. Reflectex on Velcro?

Thanks,

Bill

[TurnThePage]

Hmmm... I've had a residential fridge and freezer in my unheated garage for twenty years now. Neither has ever had a problem with keeping the contents at the appropriate temp. It's been below zero F this year already with no issues, just like virtually every previous year. They are up against the wall that joins to the house. Maybe that makes a difference.

With that said, I believe a residential fridge is intended to perform in typical household temps around 70F. I would permanently block and insulate those outside vents and run it like it's designed. In the heat of summer I've never noticed excess heat coming off our fridge in the sticks and bricks. I used to imagine how great it would be to vent the excess heat to the out doors, but now I just don't think there is enough to worry about.

[therink]

I have a residential fridge in my garage at home (upstate NY). I solved this problem by bypassing the door light switch and running a 25 watt bulb in the fridge light socket. Keeps the fridge compartment warm enough to keep the compressor running and keeps everything cold and freezer frozen.
In the summer, I remove bypass on light switch.

[Golden_HVAC]

wjell wrote:

Jim-Linda wrote:
Puzzled, our Whirlpool is installed as it would be in a S&B. The exterior grill is blocked and insulated, the roof vent is blocked and insulated. Using an IR gun, the space on the sides and rear of fridge and the same as interior of trailer.

Do you still have an open rear grill?

Jim

Great thinking. Yes, we are still open (for now) side and roof for three reasons.

#1 I just figured this out a little over a week ago.

#2 I wanted to get and idea were the "tipping points" were temperature wise. (Seems to be at about 25 degrees)

#3 During warm weather I want that ventilation to keep the unit from having to work too hard. Here in Asheville temperature swings can be pretty wide. We could easily go into the 60's with the next week.

So I need to figure out a solution that doesn't require constant installation/de-installation of insulation. Thought I try a little additional heating via an incandescent bulb first. I will probably go to a 75 watt now.

That being said, insulating the exterior side panel access door would be easier to "maintain" than the roof vent.

The 75 watt light bulb will make at the most about 3 Btu's per watt, or 225 Btu's. That is not much heat, and the open grill with 25F air entering it will take away all that heat. Also the warmer the compartment is, then the more air will draft through it. So air that is 25F warmer than the outside air will flow up to the top vent faster than if only 10F warmer than the outside air.

By blocking the side compartment with aluminum foil, or plastic wrap, then you will not have a large volume of air quickly entering the vent. Then the 75 watt light heat will stay in the compartment.

One problem is that the condenser is colder than the inside temperature. Normally a 100F condenser requires about 110 PSI freon to change over to a liquid, and this high pressure liquid flows through the tiny tubing into the evaporator because that pressure is less, say 0 - 4 PSI. When the condenser is 50F, then the pressure is only about 50 PSI, and less will flow into the indoor coils. At 10F, then very little freon will flow inside, the tubing is sized more to flow the correct amount while the outside temp is at least 70F and the pressure difference is over 60 PSI.

Good luck,

Fred.