To Run The Fridge all the time or not

[aujmr1970]

I have been told by several people that you should leave your fridge on all the time when plugged up to a power source. Other people say no turn it off when not in use and leave the doors cracked. Which is better for the life of the fridge?

[familycamper76]

i do not know which is better, but i leave mine plugged in for the camping season.

[Old car]

I run mine all the time. The house fridge runs non stop from the time you buy it so why not the trailer fridge? When I winterize and put away for the season I will turn it off.

[Herk7769]

Well, we don't need the extra fridge space so we shut it off between trips and put the blue door tabs in the door to keep it cracked open. Most of the condiments and stuff come in and get used all the time. That way nothing is discovered "expired" in the middle of nowhere.

[crocus]

If you don't have anything in the fridge, why have it running?
As soon as we get home from a camping trip, the fridge gets turned off, cleaned, and the doors left open.
We had our previous fifth for 15 years and not one problem with that method. So I figure, why mess with success?

[hockeytownmom]

I turn it off when I won't be using it for an extented amount of time (2-3 weeks). We got home from camping yesterday and I'm taking the kids camping on Friday, so it's on to stay cold.

[dlhoppe]

We shut ours down and keep the doors ajar. Although that's not because I think it will extend the life of the fridge. We just don't need to be wasting energy with nothing in it.

Maybe a technician will chime in and tell us the real effects on coolant and sealed-system life of these two approaches.

[ilovecamping]

We turn ours on when DH de-winterizes it and we load all the condiments and such in. We turn it off when DH winterizes it and bring everything in, clean it and prop open.

[lindy]

We leave ours on most of the time. With time intervals of less then 2 weeks between trips we leave the fridge/freezer stocked so as to not have to keep hauling the stuff back and forth. With the fridge running there are no moving parts etc like with a house fridge to wear out, so leaving it on won't shorten the life of the fridge. The converter used more power when plugged in at home then the fridge will.

[buckeyefan]

We use ours as our Lake house from April to October.
It sits on a seasonal site so we leave it turned on with all our frozen food and cold items we are OK with losing.

Uncooked steaks always come home as they add up quickly if the unit fails or there is a power outage..

[MtnGuy]

I turn mine off between trips. I think it depends on the particular situation. For a seasonal camper that visits the camper everey couple of weeks, then leave the fridge running and stocked. A seasonal camper that doesn't expect to be back for a month or more, unload the fridge and cut it off until you return. For those that travel every couple of weeks, then cut that puppy off.....unless it is being used as a overflow for the regular fridge. If you camp travel every weekend, then it might be better just to leave it on, instead of recooling 4 days after you cut it off.

[longarrow]

If mine is not going to be used for a week 5-7 days, I turn it off, clean it and use the tabs on the door. Your frig" in the camper is NOT anything like the one in your house. Here we've had as many 100+ degree days as we have double digit days!! That frig' works extra hard in the super heat!!