Dometic 4 door 12cuft fridge not getting below 40 degrees

[Leatherneck2093]

We bought very rarely used like new 2019 Grand Design Reflection 28bh. We are on our maiden voyage check out trip. The dometic 4 door 12 cuft fridge, which is in a slide out, is set to 5 and doesn’t want to cool below 40. The freezer stays between 12-17 degrees. I can hear fans on the back of the fridge running from time to time. I don't see the thermistor clip on the inside fins that I can adjust. Daytime temps are running 90-96. We are in a nicely shaded spot so the fridge doesn’t see direct sun.

I have noticed that the cabinet around the fridge is really warm. That tells me that its not insulated and a lot of the heat from the cooling unit coil is filling that void. Is insulating that void around he body of the fridge something that would adversely affect its operation or would that be a good thing to do?

There is a baffle in the top vent that covers 2/3’s of the vent cover. That doesn’t make a lot of since to me either.

I tried searching for this but wasn’t successful.

Any help or direction to a previous thread would be greatly appreciated.

[Leatherneck2093]

Lwiddis wrote:
Temporarily try a battery operated fan in the fresh food compartment. Dry ice too. Then warranty service.

I installed a triple fin fan unit inside now I’m considering additional valterra fans outside in the top vent.

[Leatherneck2093]

valhalla360 wrote:
Does it have difficulty getting to 40F or does it get to 40F no problem but doesn't want to go lower?

40F is generally the recommended fridge temp, so it may be the thermostat limiting is set to 40F.

Of course those are hot conditions and if you are opening the door to check, absorption fridges don't recover as quickly after you let warm air in.

The freezer is a little warmer than the recommended 0F but other than ice cream not being rock hard, shouldn't be a major issue.

It seems to maintain between 39-41 but has run at 34-37. I have a triple fin fan unit in it now. The USDA says 40 is a max temp for safe food storage.

We keep our drinks in a 12v 54qt compressor freezer/fridge and our small fridge in our outdoor kitchen. This limits getting into the big fridge to meal times twice a day.

[Leatherneck2093]

Second Chance wrote:
There are several threads on this topic over on one of the two Grand Design forums (I forget which one). They specifically mention that baffle. Here are the two forums:

My Grand RV

Grand Design Owners Forum

IIRC, the threads are in the GD Owners forums.

Rob

Thanks a lot.

[valhalla360]

Does it have difficulty getting to 40F or does it get to 40F no problem but doesn't want to go lower?

40F is generally the recommended fridge temp, so it may be the thermostat limiting is set to 40F.

Of course those are hot conditions and if you are opening the door to check, absorption fridges don't recover as quickly after you let warm air in.

The freezer is a little warmer than the recommended 0F but other than ice cream not being rock hard, shouldn't be a major issue.

[Second_Chance]

There are several threads on this topic over on one of the two Grand Design forums (I forget which one). They specifically mention that baffle. Here are the two forums:

My Grand RV

Grand Design Owners Forum

IIRC, the threads are in the GD Owners forums.

Rob

[Lwiddis]

Temporarily try a battery operated fan in the fresh food compartment. Dry ice too. Then warranty service.