Refrigerator door latch-WARNING

[Oaklevel]

Originally Posted by RGrimm

I agree, especially on a thread like this one that has moved in a different direction from Mandog's original post/subject about the door latch issue on the Everchill 12V (residential style) refrigerator.

To the original thread subject (refrig door latch), I attached a black 1/2" wide elastic strap. The strap has a loop on the latch end that slides over the upper latch handle and stretches to the hindge side of the refrig. When at our day's destination I unhook the strap and it just hangs down out of the way. I'll post a photo soon.
-Russ

We have always had good dealers and always been warned about the possibility of a refrigerator door popping open while going down the road even with our first new trailer in 1988.

Even a strap holding our TV was recommended. Which we still do today.

[RGrimm]

as I said I'd do in my post #20, here are a couple photos of the strap setup I use. While my Everchill Refrig is basically new and the T handle safety latch has a bit of friction to move it, I know in time that friction will go away. So, this is a very simple fix to prevent the T handle from vibrating to the left and allowing the refrig doors from accidentally opening during travel. I do appreciate Mandog's original post sharing his experience with a loose latch.

Oaklevel - I agree a good dealer is important and as you I will always use the strap for the TV when we are traveling. How's it go, " An ounce of prevention ...."
-Russ

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Mike72

Thank you for the reply . My trailer battery was mostly dead when I picked it up . Do you know if the inverter needs to be charged before it will be able to work ?

Mike, you need to go to the Forum Library and read through "the 12 Volt Side of Life".
It will help you understand the two different RV electrical systems and how they work.
You don't "recharge" an inverter nor a converter. And most tow vehicles only provide a trickle charge at best so it may not keep a single battery charged while driving.

[Mike72]

Thank you for the suggestion. I’m heading to look there now .

[Mandog]

Originally Posted by SlowrideHD

It is helpful to quote the post that you are replying to. It's less confusing to others. Sometimes it is difficult to sort which comment is directed where.

Sorry!!

[Mandog]

Originally Posted by RGrimm

When I brought the Vibe home from the dealer (May 15th) the refrig was already on and down to temp and it has been running ever since. I have 50 amp service at home where I store it and always leave the coach plugged in, refrig running and AC set to 78. So I can not talk to how long it took/takes to get cold. But for me it isn't a problem since it will always be on even when not traveling. So my Everchill has been running for almost a month at home while we load and customize the camper and I have had no problems with the refrig. Shortly after I brought it home and had my digital thermometers in the refrig box and freezer I noticed the temps rise from the normal of 38 and -2 to 45 and 25 (freezer) for about an hour which concerned me so I started to keep an eye on it. This same type of increase seemed to occur every 3 to 5 days. I assume at this point it is the refrig going into its auto defrost cycle. Since we are not traveling the refrig is basically empty inside other than 2 - 12 packs of root beer. I suspect if the refrig box and freezer were loaded for travel that the cool and frozen contents would prevent the refrig temps from hitting the 45 and 25 degrees I saw, as the refrig/freezer contents would help maintain the temps during defrost cycles.

So, I am very happy with my decision. Before my Vibe I had a Class A DP that had a Norcold refrig, now that refrig took 24 hours plus to cool down and because of the Norcold's Fin defrost cycle every 49 hours and its slow recovery we lost a lot of food. During a defrost cycle the Norcold would ecentually be OFF for about 4-5 hours. I removed the Norcold and replaced it with a Whirlpool Residental refrig and never had any problems with it for the remaining 4 years (30,000 miles) that I owned the Coach. It was the best DYI I had done.

So I am use to residential style refrigs in RVs, they work great for my style of travel.

Russ

This is my model. We love it so far. Heck in 3 hours it’s down to 40 deg inside and 8 deg in freezer. I place several frozen water bottles in The freezer with a plastic gallon ice Cream tub full of ice cubes. This really helps get it down as well. It was my safety latch that I had to have a solution for. I’ll be running a 50 amp service in my. 2cnd garage where I park the camper to run everything needed. Right now I just use a #12 drop cord And dog bone adapter to run the fridge...It’ll
Be nice to have the AC units running when working inside also....
Ever Chill model WD-282FWDC 12volt unit

[RGrimm]

Originally Posted by Mandog

This is my model. We love it so far. Heck in 3 hours it’s down to 40 deg inside and 8 deg in freezer. I place several frozen water bottles in The freezer with a plastic gallon ice Cream tub full of ice cubes. This really helps get it down as well. It was my safety latch that I had to have a solution for. I’ll be running a 50 amp service in my. 2cnd garage where I park the camper to run everything needed. Right now I just use a #12 drop cord And dog bone adapter to run the fridge...It’ll
Be nice to have the AC units running when working inside also....
Ever Chill model WD-282FWDC 12volt unit

We have been pleased with our Everchill so far. For us, since we had upgraded our MH to a Residential Refrig from a Norcold, we preferred a residential style refrig. So our Vibe having an Everchill was a selling point for us. I did add a second 12v house battery (for those Cracker Barrel stops when we travel.)

I have a 50 amp pedestal at home (all our previous RV's were 50 amp units) so just use a 50 to 30 adapter to connect the Vibe. So the Everchill is always on and the AC is set for 78-79 just to keep the humidity down inside the RV. If I'm working on it inside I'll lower the AC.

Mandog - again thank you for starting this thread. It was what motivated me to address the latch issue sooner than later.
-Russ

[CampNHeims]

Originally Posted by RGrimm

as I said I'd do in my post #20, here are a couple photos of the strap setup I use. While my Everchill Refrig is basically new and the T handle safety latch has a bit of friction to move it, I know in time that friction will go away. So, this is a very simple fix to prevent the T handle from vibrating to the left and allowing the refrig doors from accidentally opening during travel. I do appreciate Mandog's original post sharing his experience with a loose latch.

Oaklevel - I agree a good dealer is important and as you I will always use the strap for the TV when we are traveling. How's it go, " An ounce of prevention ...."
-Russ

You are amazing Russ! Luck to have your contribution on the site. Thank you!