Refer door sticking shut

[rattleNsmoke]

I have a 10cu ft Dometic refridgerator in the Beast and when it's half to full of groceries the door sticks shut. It feels like a vaccuum seal. Wifey and I have to yank perty hard to open the door. Does anyone have that same problem, or know how to remedy it?

[KyDan]

When you open the door warm air goes into the cold refer.
When the door shuts, the cold contents quickly cool the warm air.
This causes the air to shrink giving a slight vacuum to the interior.
This makes re-opening the door difficult for several seconds up to a few
minutes.

The remedy is don't open and shut the door repeatedly.....

Our freezer door is nearly impossible to quickly re-open both in our trailer
and our GE upright at home.
It's physics in action!

[dimurrrw]

I wonder - would not the drain/drip tube prevent a vacuum from forming in the first place as it is open to the outside?

[rattleNsmoke]

I can leave it shut for an hour or more after opening and it's a fight to open it again. This was not the situation with my old Jayco's Norcold refer.

[KyDan]

Close the door with a match stick in the gasket.
IF it opens easily later it's a vacuum.
If it's still hard to open the gasket must be sticky???

[dimurrrw]

If possible, open the door and lay the tines of a fork across the path of the door gasket to serve as a vacuum breaker. Close the door gently so as not to break anything and see what happens when you try to reopen it. This ought to prove or disprove the vacuum theory.

Most RV refrigerator doors that I have seen have a door latching mechanism to prevent the door from opening when going down the road. This is an automatic latch that needs to be released by squeezing a release lever located behind the front of the door handle. Are you doing this when trying to open the door? Alternately, some have suggested that the weight of goods stored in the door can cause the door to sag just enough to cause a misalignment between the latch and whatever it uses as a striking plate, again causing hard opening. Lift up on the bottom edge of the door, underneath the handle, while trying to open. The door may require adjustment if this works.

[rattleNsmoke]

All excellent idea's. I'll try the "vaccuum break" method first and if it still sticks, check the alignment. Thanks for the help!

[VinceU]

Originally Posted by rattleNsmoke

All excellent idea's. I'll try the "vaccuum break" method first and if it still sticks, check the alignment. Thanks for the help!

One other idea to try, apply a light dusting of baby powder to the rubbler gasket, promise it won't stick again for awhile.