Turn of Norcold refrigerator when not using?

Ditto - Shut 'er down & prop the doors open after a good cleaning.

Now that I joined the choir, I'll add:

Do you have a Dometic? Did you get some blue plastic thingies about 2" by 3" with a U shaped slot & a small square hole? Not knowing what they were, did you discard them when you got your unit??

Our Norcold in the Four Winds has latches built into the handles to prop the door open about an inch.

The Dometic has the blue plastic thingies - snap the U shaped slot over the latch, then while closing the door, push in on the other end if it hits the jamb - the small square hole will latch on the catch that normally holds the door closed. These little widgets are pretty cool, but won't hold the doors in the hold-open position if you head out for a drive for winter warm-ups.... Ask me how I know. Bang! D'oh!

wnjj wrote:

maillemaker wrote:
My Norcold refrigerator has a Gas - Off - Electric switch. When I'm not using it, I turn it off.

Why wouldn't you turn it off?

I think old internet lore had suggested the heat cycling was worse for it than staying on.

That is strange lore indeed, since when it's off there is no heat cycling going on; but when it's on, the system is cycling on and off once or twice per day, or perhaps more frequently. The exception, I suppose, would be the old absorption fridges where temperature control is manual and actually adjusts the flame size, rather than having some sort of thermostatic control system.

I could see where, under a few specific conditions, the heat in the compartment from its operation could help prevent condensation and rust. But generally, non-operation is not going to cause the fridge to break down (and neither is operation, for that matter, assuming things are sufficiently level).

downtheroad wrote:
For 3 months.....complete shut down.
Wipe it out and leave the door open.

Ditto. For 3 days I'd leave it on but for anyting 1 week or longer They eat a fairly hefty amount of power (around 4-5 KWH per day).

maillemaker wrote:
My Norcold refrigerator has a Gas - Off - Electric switch. When I'm not using it, I turn it off.

Why wouldn't you turn it off?

I think old internet lore had suggested the heat cycling was worse for it than staying on.

My Norcold refrigerator has a Gas - Off - Electric switch. When I'm not using it, I turn it off.

Why wouldn't you turn it off?

Turn it off. If nothing else, you'll save somewhere around 200+ kWh of electricity, which for me would mean perhaps $50 worth.

As others said, clean it and leave the door ajar. Double-check that the interior light (assuming you have one) isn't staying on all the time with it shut off; if so, removing the bulb or the 12V fuse for the fridge should fix that.

I don't think there's any real benefit in terms of longevity to leaving it running. The fridge cycles on and off as it runs in any case.

3 months of NON-Use

assuming you are leaving town and won't be near the RV , turn it off

if you are going to be home, but unable to travel, you can stock it with drinks and leave it on

We are full-time, so ours is always on. 19 yrs old now and doing great. I have read opinions that say it will last longer if just left on - don't know if that is fact or not.

I tend to never cut off the fridge. I use it to keep extra soft drinks and beer cold. Also, I will use it on short notice as an escape pod, should power go out for a day or two.

If I have to cut it off, I make sure it's cleaned inside, and keep the doors open.

Like others I always shut mine down and leave the doors open. But if you want to leave it running I would load it with drinks. The extra mass will help the refrigerator stay cool and as a bonus you can hide out in the trailer and get a cold drink at the same time,