New to the retirement and RV life

[Rnddvs]

Hello earlier this year my wife and I purchased our first every travel trailer, a 2020 Forest River Salem Hemisphere 271RL. Due to the Covid pandemic we got off to a later start than originally planned but we've now successfully completed 3 trips. We have discovered a few issues. First and fore most, our Dometic refrigerator is only cooling to ~45 F. The freezer works great but refrigerator not good at all. All our trips have been local here in Colorado so ambient temps are not that high so I would think the refrigerator would perform better than this. I've left messages with the dealer but so far they've been non responsive and we have a week long trip coming up in a couple weeks, does anyone have suggestions on how to get the refrigerator to work better?

[aceinspp]

Welcome to the forum. You may have a thermister located on the fin on the refg located maybe on right side. You can slide this up for cooler or down for warmer. Later RJD

[Wiscampsin]

Welcome from Wisconsin. Congrats and enjoy your 2020 Salem Hemisphere 271RL. I take it you've adjusted the slide thing on the fridge fins. Do you have a fridge fan inside to help circulate the air? Other idea would be to put fans in the exterior vents to help push/pull air across the back of the fridge.

[Mnflyboy]

My buddy just picked up a Salem Hemisphere and he is complaining about the fridge only cooling to 45 deg, too. He says his is a 12 volt only fridge (residential??) so following this thread.

Jaye

[tomkatb]

My dometic gas electric is currently at 35 degrees.

One must be careful loading it. Need an air space in the middle. And a 12 volt fan.

Also takes a long time to stabilize. Adding a case of beer will be an issue. We try to add small amounts of hot stuff to it. We carry three gallons of frozen drinking water day one.

[Rnddvs]

Originally Posted by aceinspp

Welcome to the forum. You may have a thermister located on the fin on the refg located maybe on right side. You can slide this up for cooler or down for warmer. Later RJD

Yes, its up as high as it will go but not all the way to the top of fin it's probably 2/3 up the length of the fin.

[Rnddvs]

Yes, I've adjust as high as it will go (probably 2/3 the length of fin), no do not have any fan(s) inside or out.

[Rnddvs]

Originally Posted by Mnflyboy

My buddy just picked up a Salem Hemisphere and he is complaining about the fridge only cooling to 45 deg, too. He says his is a 12 volt only fridge (residential??) so following this thread.

Jaye

Has he taken in to the dealer for them to check it out?

[Rnddvs]

We do not have a fan inside it. Our last trip I ran refrigerator ~24 hours prior to putting anything in it (did not get very cool). We packed 2 one liter bottles of frozen water, and all the items (very few items) we put in were refrigerated. Most of our food was in a Yeti ice chest.This still didn't improve the temperature.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Rnddvs

Yes, I've adjust as high as it will go (probably 2/3 the length of fin), no do not have any fan(s) inside or out.

Check the temp in the freezer. If it's down near zero the refrigerator itself is probably working just fine.

The "thermistor" is usually the problem.

Some things I found on mine that once fixed cured my issues:

Thermistor not seated in the plastic holder properly. Mine had slipped out of the mount and was just hanging. Reinstalled in plastic bracket and secured with some Duct Tape at the end the wire was connected.

Mounting bracket was loose on fin and would slide down when traveling down the road and hitting bumps. Cured by placing a paper clamp on the mount wo it would grip the fin more tightly.

Air circulation in the refrigerator was inadequate, especially when filled with fool that restricted normal air convection. Added a Camco fan that operates on a pair of D-Cell batteries for a month or so. Placed it on the bottom shelf and make sure I don't "crowd" it with food containers or packages.

I spoke yesterday to another forum member who found his thermistor wire too short to allow it to be moved high enough. He carefully pulled more wire through and now he can adjust it high enough. UP means colder and down means warmer. Once you make an adjustment it takes hours for things to change so be patient when adjusting.

The key is whether or not the freezer is working. If not, there is a problem that needs "professional attention. If it is then it's just a matter of getting air to circulate and the thermistor adjustment in the refrigerator section.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Rnddvs

Yes, I've adjust as high as it will go (probably 2/3 the length of fin), no do not have any fan(s) inside or out.

Check the temp in the freezer. If it's below freezing the refrigerator itself is probably working just fine.

The "thermistor" is usually the problem.

Some things I found on mine that once fixed cured my issues:

Thermistor not seated in the plastic holder properly. Mine had slipped out of the mount and was just hanging. Reinstalled in plastic bracket and secured with some Duct Tape at the end the wire was connected.

Mounting bracket was loose on fin and would slide down when traveling down the road and hitting bumps. Cured by placing a paper clamp on the mount wo it would grip the fin more tightly.

Air circulation in the refrigerator was inadequate, especially when filled with fool that restricted normal air convection. Added a Camco fan that operates on a pair of D-Cell batteries for a month or so. Placed it on the bottom shelf and make sure I don't "crowd" it with food containers or packages.

I spoke yesterday to another forum member who found his thermistor wire too short to allow it to be moved high enough. He carefully pulled more wire through and now he can adjust it high enough. UP means colder and down means warmer. Once you make an adjustment it takes hours for things to change so be patient when adjusting.

The key is whether or not the freezer is working. If not, there is a problem that needs "professional attention. If it is then it's just a matter of getting air to circulate and the thermistor adjustment in the refrigerator section.

[Rnddvs]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Check the temp in the freezer. If it's down near zero the refrigerator itself is probably working just fine.

The "thermistor" is usually the problem.

Some things I found on mine that once fixed cured my issues:

Thermistor not seated in the plastic holder properly. Mine had slipped out of the mount and was just hanging. Reinstalled in plastic bracket and secured with some Duct Tape at the end the wire was connected.

Mounting bracket was loose on fin and would slide down when traveling down the road and hitting bumps. Cured by placing a paper clamp on the mount wo it would grip the fin more tightly.

Air circulation in the refrigerator was inadequate, especially when filled with fool that restricted normal air convection. Added a Camco fan that operates on a pair of D-Cell batteries for a month or so. Placed it on the bottom shelf and make sure I don't "crowd" it with food containers or packages.

I spoke yesterday to another forum member who found his thermistor wire too short to allow it to be moved high enough. He carefully pulled more wire through and now he can adjust it high enough. UP means colder and down means warmer. Once you make an adjustment it takes hours for things to change so be patient when adjusting.

The key is whether or not the freezer is working. If not, there is a problem that needs "professional attention. If it is then it's just a matter of getting air to circulate and the thermistor adjustment in the refrigerator section.

Thanks! The freezer seems to be working great keeps everything we've put in there frozen. I've even thrown in a couple of beers out of the frig and and put in there and they're nice in cold within and hour.

My thermistor is securely on the fin and so far had stayed in place. However it does not go all the way to the top of the fin. I will see if I can pull more wire through so I can adjust it higher. Also sounds like I need to add a circulation fan. Do you know how much temperature gain I should expect with a circulation fan?

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Rnddvs

Do you know how much temperature gain I should expect with a circulation fan?

You really don't "gain" much temperature from the fan as much as you more evenly distribute the air in the Refrigerator. Cold air settles and warm rises. The idea behind the temp control in these refrigerators is that when the warm air rises the thermistor tells the control board to "make more cold air".

When the air circulation is impaired in the refrigerator with everything that's put in it, the normal convection is interrupted and a cold pocket of air can hang out around the thermistor.

The small "cube fans" merely make sure that cold air is everywhere and no pockets of warm air form.

Most modern residential refrigerators cool by circulating cold air as necessary. RV Propane/Electric units rely on just natural convection.

A note: If you have a habit of placing things in the refrigerator in plastic bags or like to pack containers as snug as possible, natural circulation is almost impossible. Would be a good idea to leave openings from level to level rather than tightly packed layers.

[ForestWalker]

Having the rig as level as possible solved the problem for me.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by ForestWalker

Having the rig as level as possible solved the problem for me.

X2^^^^^
If that doesn't work and your rig is still under warranty, take it back to the dealer, and independent shop or a mobile mechanic that will honor your warranty. You don't want to do anything that will void the warranty.

[Rnddvs]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

You really don't "gain" much temperature from the fan as much as you more evenly distribute the air in the Refrigerator. Cold air settles and warm rises. The idea behind the temp control in these refrigerators is that when the warm air rises the thermistor tells the control board to "make more cold air".

When the air circulation is impaired in the refrigerator with everything that's put in it, the normal convection is interrupted and a cold pocket of air can hang out around the thermistor.

The small "cube fans" merely make sure that cold air is everywhere and no pockets of warm air form.

Most modern residential refrigerators cool by circulating cold air as necessary. RV Propane/Electric units rely on just natural convection.

A note: If you have a habit of placing things in the refrigerator in plastic bags or like to pack containers as snug as possible, natural circulation is almost impossible. Would be a good idea to leave openings from level to level rather than tightly packed layers.

Thanks! We will keep your suggestions in mind.

[Rnddvs]

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

X2^^^^^
If that doesn't work and your rig is still under warranty, take it back to the dealer, and independent shop or a mobile mechanic that will honor your warranty. You don't want to do anything that will void the warranty.

I have made sure the trailer is as level as I can get it but still doesn't improve it. I am cautious about doing anything to it so I don't void the warranty. My dealer, so far, has been worthless. Think I'll try your suggestion and find a independent shop or mobile mechanic that will honor my warranty.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by Rnddvs

I have made sure the trailer is as level as I can get it but still doesn't improve it.

Make certain that when you are leveling, you are leveling for the refrigerator not the entire trailer. Still, it sounds like that is probably not the problem. Good luck.

[aceinspp]

Buy the 12 volt fan as mentioned and it will improve the temp should hold right around 35 degrees. Make sure you have a good thermonetor . i check ming against the one I have in the house frig. Later RJD

[Rnddvs]

Originally Posted by aceinspp

Buy the 12 volt fan as mentioned and it will improve the temp should hold right around 35 degrees. Make sure you have a good thermonetor . i check ming against the one I have in the house frig. Later RJD

Thanks!