Frig and freezer

[maxwell18]

I tried to turned my refrigerator on today and it will not get cool, but the freezer is working fine. I thought the two worked together. It is on electric power from the house. I thought if the frig wasn't working the freezer would not also.

The only thing the air conditioning was not on and it was extremly hot in the trailer, but it still has not cooled up after about 4 hrs. the frig I mean. Any on got any ideals?? Need help leaving for trip in the AM.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by maxwell18

I tried to turned my refrigerator on today and it will not get cool, but the freezer is working fine. I thought the two worked together. It is on electric power from the house. I thought if the frig wasn't working the freezer would not also.

The only thing the air conditioning was not on and it was extremly hot in the trailer, but it still has not cooled up after about 4 hrs. the frig I mean. Any on got any ideals?? Need help leaving for trip in the AM.

Give it time, the freezer is the first in the cooling cycle. Remove the outside cover and put a fan on it. Will help considereably.

[bikendan]

there's no way it'll cool in only 4 hrs.!
especially on electric and especially the fridge.
one, propane cools faster than electric and the fridge is bigger than the freezer, therefore takes longer to cool.

do you realize that it cools by absorption and not by a compressor, like the one in your home? cooling by absorption will take all night to get cold, especially on electric. i usually allow for at least 12 hours.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by dunnnc

Give it time, the freezer is the first in the cooling cycle. Remove the outside cover and put a fan on it. Will help considereably.

Yep. 24 hours is about right on electric.
8 hours cool down on propane; much more efficient.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by bikendan

there's no way it'll cool in only 4 hrs.!
especially on electric and especially the fridge.
one, propane cools faster than electric and the fridge is bigger than the freezer, therefore takes longer to cool.

do you realize that it cools by absorption and not by a compressor, like the one in your home? cooling by absorption will take all night to get cold, especially on electric. i usually allow for at least 12 hours.

LOL
I owe you a coke...

[Mountainmanbob]

I agree
takes some time
usually I get ours up and running
24 hours befor leaving
a little frost starts to build up in freezer
I know it's cold
and
working for the trip

don't want to find a problem
while out on the road

Mountainman

[maxwell18]

Thanks everyone, was late getting started and in a hurry. I usually will crank up the air and the fridge about 2 days ahead of leaving. Thats what I get for getting in a hurry, thanks again. Oh the trip was great!!!!!

[TURBS]

I added one fan inside fridge and two in the vent stack mine now cools down to 32 degrees in the frIdge portion in less than 8 hours.
With the air off as well.

[B47]

Originally Posted by herk7769

Yep. 24 hours is about right on electric.
8 hours cool down on propane; much more efficient.

Herk and anyone else -

Our Dometic refrig has a cable on the aft right side (as you face it) that is routed though a slideable cover that is fitted over the most right side cooling fin. The cover can be moved up and down the lenght of the fin and the cable will touch the bottom of the freezer compartment above if so desired.

Someone told me that the cable should be touching the freezer bottom in order for the refrig to be coldest. This cable was thought to be some sort af adjustable thermostat. We did position ours so it touches the freezer bottom and it is much colder than before.

I cannot find any information about this cablemor have I seen it mentioned here.

Is this true?

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by B47

I cannot find any information about this cable nor have I seen it mentioned here. Is this true?

It has been mentioned several times actually. It is a thermistor and sliding it up and down alters the resistance of the semiconductor based on temperature at that point of the fin.

It is colder at the bottom of the fin and it gets warmer closer to the top. By sliding the thermistor towards the bottom the unit will run the refridgerator section "colder"; closer to the top of the fin, it will run it "warmer."

Set it at the location that gets the beer cold; yet won't freeze the eggs.

[B47]

Originally Posted by herk7769

It has been mentioned several times actually. It is a thermistor and sliding it up and down alters the resistance of the semiconductor based on temperature at that point of the fin.

It is colder at the bottom of the fin and it gets warmer closer to the top. By sliding the thermistor towards the bottom the unit will run the refridgerator section "colder"; closer to the top of the fin, it will run it "warmer."

Set it at the location that gets the beer cold; yet won't freeze the eggs.

Yes you are correct -if I had known what it is called I would have done a search.

What you say is 180 degrees from what I as told as far as up being colder and down being warmer, but I am going with what you say.

I guess this is just another little "RV Thing" you learn as you get more into it. I guess we will have to check the position of the thermistor from time to time.

Thanks for your help - Again

[TURBS]

Mines up for colder ?

[bob213]

Coldest part of refrig is low, raising thermister will sense warmer air thus telling the refrig to cool it. Mine says UP for cold.

[Herk7769]

Yup, checked the manual.

Up for cold.
The fin is warmer up there as I said so it calls for more cold.
Sorry for confusing you.

[B47]

Originally Posted by herk7769

Yup, checked the manual.

Up for cold.
The fin is warmer up there as I said so it calls for more cold.
Sorry for confusing you.

No problem - making a mistake here is not something you do often

Good to know that my dealer rep (who told me this) knows what he is talking about.

Thanks again to you and everyone else who came in on this.

[Herk7769]

Mine is perfect in the middle and have not had cause to move it for 3 years.
That memory cell was a casualty of a "Margarita Night."

[B47]

Originally Posted by herk7769

Mine is perfect in the middle and have not had cause to move it for 3 years.
That memory cell was a casualty of a "Margarita Night."

OK - I have another question now regarding this thermister - we have the cold control buttons on our refrig. Am I correct in assumming that the thermister is controlled by the setting of the cold button?

In other words, changing the cold button setting is the same as moving the thermister up or down without having to actually move it?

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by B47

OK - I have another question now regarding this thermister - we have the cold control buttons on our refrig. Am I correct in assumming that the thermister is controlled by the setting of the cold button?

In other words, changing the cold button setting is the same as moving the thermister up or down without having to actually move it?

I don't have that feature, but I assume you don't have the wire clipped to the fins either. My guess is that the buttons do what the wire thermistor does.

[B47]

Originally Posted by herk7769

I don't have that feature, but I assume you don't have the wire clipped to the fins either. My guess is that the buttons do what the wire thermistor does.

The thermistor wire is attached to the cooling fin via a slideable clip so it can be moved up or down. We also have the push button feature, so I am guessing that the button adjusts the resistance value of the thermistor

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by B47

The thermistor wire is attached to the cooling fin via a slideable clip so it can be moved up or down. We also have the push button feature, so I am guessing that the button adjusts the resistance value of the thermistor

No idea. What is the make and model? I will look it up.