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Old 06-14-2010, 08:29 AM   #1
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How long does it take for fridge to get cold

I had my tt plugged in for a couple hours yesterday afternoon. I could feel the freezer getting cold but never could feel the fridge actually getting cold. How long does it normally take for it to get cold. The fridge has a sticker that says colder and warmer but no adjustment. The guy at the dealership when I bought it said it is set temperatures on the fridge and freezer. Am I doing something wrong or does it just take that long before you can feel any coldness in the fridge?
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Old 06-14-2010, 08:46 AM   #2
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Don't be alarmed, yet. If plugged in to electric, we turn our fridge on at least 24 hours before we put anything in it. The freezer will start to be cold in a few hours, but takes much longer for the refrigerator portion. I won't go in to theory and operation, but just say there isn't a fan blowing the cold air in like a home unit. There also isn't a compressor, or other stuff found in a home unit.

One word of warning, if you camp where it is hot, try not to open and close the refer a lot. Takes a while for them to cool down. Know what's in there, what you want, open the door, get it, and shut the door. Don't stand there with the door open looking for something to snack on, like a lot of people do at home.
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Old 06-14-2010, 08:52 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blake2727 View Post
...The fridge has a sticker that says colder and warmer but no adjustment
I have to admit the fridge operation is poorly documented. I guess they assume a lot...
Look on the metal fins right to where that label is inside the fridge on the right, and you can move the white plastic 'thingy' up and down - cold to much colder. It works like that on mine.

Regards,

Denis
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Old 06-14-2010, 09:02 AM   #4
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It takes the refrigerator at least 24 hours to cool down to its normal level. If the weather is hot, it may take longer.
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Old 06-14-2010, 09:22 AM   #5
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Also something to watch for, the plastic sliding thingy that goes up and down on the metal fin, there should be a wire that is clipped in to that make sure it hasnt fallen off. Ours did the first time and our fridge wasnt very cold. I was also told propane will get your fridge colder faster, than using electric.
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Old 06-14-2010, 10:00 AM   #6
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Thanks for all the info guy. I do have the little plastic thing on the metal fins and I pushed it all the way to cold I just didn't know how it worked. We are going on our first trip this weekend starting thursday night. I will plug the fridge in tomorrow afternoon and hopefully it will be cold by thursday. Thanks again for all of the help.
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Old 06-14-2010, 10:09 AM   #7
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There are three other things to note that affected me on our first operation of the fridge.
1. The fridge needs to be pretty close to level, or it won't work.
2. The AC power cord was not plugged in on my fridge from the factory. Therefore, it only worked on propane early on. Remove the exterior panel on the fridge and make sure it is plugged into the dedicated receptacle behind the same panel.
3. DC electrical power is always required by this fridge when it is operating, even in propane mode. If the interior light of the refrigerator is turning on and off when the door is open, it is telling you it doesn't have sufficient voltage from the battery to operate.
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Old 06-14-2010, 10:11 AM   #8
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Cold and Hot fridge

I found if you want to speed up the fridge getting colder, place a couple plastic "tubs" full of ice in the freezer after it has been on for a couple hours. Works for me!

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Old 06-14-2010, 10:11 AM   #9
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Living in Texas we have gotten to know the ins and outs of the TT fridge all too well. Here is our little bit of friendly advice...

1.) Propane. It works. I was told this numerous times from friends and last summer we really began to use it religiously. It makes a big difference and is especially noticeable when the weather is hot outside. (See #2)

2.) Your RV fridge works by heating up gas in its system and needs to have some pretty good air movement across its coils for it to be effective. You have a grate on the side of your RV behind the fridge, and then a vent on top of the RV. Behind the Fridge, there is a little heater (when on electric) or a burner (when on propane) that runs the system. Air comes in the grate and is carried up and out the vent. If you have a lower outside temp, then electric or propane can heat up the air and move it pretty well. But, when it gets above 90°F, propane does a much better job of heating and pulling the air up through the fridge stack. Recovery time is the biggest indicator you will see of this.

3.) A fridge fan. We bought a little unit at Wal Mart that is battery operated and circulates the air inside the fridge around the cooling fins. It helps greatly.

4.) A fridge exhaust fan. If you didn't get too lost in my ramblings on #2, then you will see that a small fan will help assist the convection that your fridge heater is producing. they are installed up at the vent, or in the grate, and push air up through the coils. They help a lot on a really warm day.

Sorry to be so long... I reccomend you try the propane first.. it only uses a very small amount of propane.
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Old 06-14-2010, 10:39 AM   #10
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Along the same lines as the tubs of ice idea, fill 2-3 Arizona ice tea jugs (or similar jugs) with water and freeze them.

Put them into the fridge to help cool down more quickly. You will have your hometown water to drink when thawed and your fridge is cold.
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Old 06-14-2010, 01:05 PM   #11
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I addition to all of the good advice already given, trying running the AC if it is really hot in the camper. Yeah, I know this sounds weird, but I am convinced that makes a difference after our last camping trip. We left the camper in the morning while it was cool, and didn't think about the AC. We got back and it about 90 in the camper, and 41 in the fridge.......I keep a wireless thermometer in there. I have the fridge set so it usually stays around 33 degrees. After getting the camper temperature down to 75 or so, the fridge temperature came right on down also. Apparently, the fridge door ain't insulated as well as I thought.
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Old 06-14-2010, 02:13 PM   #12
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I was wondering about that and it makes since to keep the camper cool.
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Old 06-14-2010, 04:47 PM   #13
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One trick we use is, before we hit the road, we put a couple of 2 liter pop bottles in there that we've filled with water and keep in our freezer at home. When we get to the campground, we take them out and use the water as they thaw out.
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Old 06-14-2010, 06:41 PM   #14
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As noted above ...


At least 24 hours ....

A) Keep perishibles on ice in a cooler until 24 hours after arrival
B) Use an additional fan
C) A bag of ice or frozen water bottles in the fridge/freezer is an huge help.

We usuallly count on eating out the first night we arrive in order to alllow the fridge time too cool down to safe temps & migrate the perishables from cooler to fridge/freezer the next morning.

I'd also recommend buying a cheap thermometer ($3.00 from ACE) and putting it inside yr fridge. "it feels cold enough" is probably a bad way to avoid food poisoning yourself on a camping trip
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Old 06-14-2010, 06:44 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blake2727 View Post
I had my tt plugged in for a couple hours yesterday afternoon. I could feel the freezer getting cold but never could feel the fridge actually getting cold. How long does it normally take for it to get cold. The fridge has a sticker that says colder and warmer but no adjustment. The guy at the dealership when I bought it said it is set temperatures on the fridge and freezer. Am I doing something wrong or does it just take that long before you can feel any coldness in the fridge?
About 15 min up here in canada in Jan.
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Old 06-14-2010, 08:04 PM   #16
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This is some good advice about using the propane. I had no idea that it would work better than electric. Thanks!
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Old 06-14-2010, 08:43 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by miatared View Post
I have to admit the fridge operation is poorly documented. I guess they assume a lot...
Look on the metal fins right to where that label is inside the fridge on the right, and you can move the white plastic 'thingy' up and down - cold to much colder. It works like that on mine.

Regards,

Denis
X2 on the fridge temp' adjustment.

Your advice is a couple of weeks late.

I had made ice cubes in my freezer earlier this year & incorrectly assumed the fridge was OK. I had been running the fidge on "auto" but it was still warm after a day. I saw the triangle marked warmer/cooler. The plastic "thingy" was near the bottom marked warmer. I moved the thingy up the fin & a couple of hours later the fridge was cold.
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Old 06-15-2010, 12:46 PM   #18
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Quote:
Along the same lines as the tubs of ice idea, fill 2-3 Arizona ice tea jugs (or similar jugs) with water and freeze them.

Put them into the fridge to help cool down more quickly. You will have your hometown water to drink when thawed and your
fridge is cold.

I turn on the fridge until the bottom of the freezer feels cold. Then I load all of my frozen items in the freezer that I am going to take with me. Then I load all of the cold things that i am taking for my trip in the fridge. Close the doors and leave them closed until I reach my destination and everything remains solid or cold as it should. This moves the cooling process time up a bit.

This works for me.
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