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Old 03-20-2018, 08:40 AM   #1
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Different type of fridge problem.

Noticed on this trip our freezer gets up to the high 20's when it's cold, like the low 20's outside. As the outside air temp goes up the freezer goes down, to below zero. The fridge itself stays in t he 30's throughout. It happened on the way south too, freezer warms up over night, drops back down during the day.

This is for an Rmd8555, old style, 2 door, in a classic 5.0TA.

The fridge worked perfectly for the last 8 weeks in the southwest when temp were on the warmer side.

I won't go into all the little mods done to this unit.

Anyone know of a reason for such? The only sure fire way of correcting it is to stay where it's warm, but Deb says we have to head home.
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Old 03-20-2018, 09:30 AM   #2
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My theory or WAG.
The 8555 does not have much insulation in the frig walls and frig. temps are (more) affected by outside temps more than other standard RV friges. The thermometer for the frig/freezer is in the frig box back wall. If the outside temps are keeping the frig. box below your frig setting (34-40F) there is no need for the frig./ freezer to cycle or operate and the freezer will not cool since it cooling loop is directly tied to the frig. Once the frig. box heats up and demands cooling then the freezer temp will drop. My guess is if you opened the frig door dumped some cold air and let warm cabin air in the freezer temp would start to drop.

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Old 03-20-2018, 09:43 AM   #3
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These absorption refers do not like cold, in fact the European version makes a cover for the external side vent to keep it warmer, similar to diesel trucks having the front radiator covered. Heat makes them work better, cold does not.
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Old 03-20-2018, 11:27 AM   #4
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These absorption refers do not like cold, in fact the European version makes a cover for the external side vent to keep it warmer, similar to diesel trucks having the front radiator covered. Heat makes them work better, cold does not.
Some guys online have also suggested putting a 100W light bulb in the rear fridge compartment when it is very cold. Apparently owners with fridges in slides have a bigger issue because the fridge gets that much colder. Sounds like the issue can start around 20F or so which is right about where padlin experienced the issue.

Google "too cold for rv absorption refrigerator" and there are some interesting discussions.
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Old 03-20-2018, 03:32 PM   #5
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I have experienced two unrelated problems with absorption refrigerators in low outside temperatures:

With the back side of the refrigerator exposed to the cold (sub-freezing) outside air, not much (if any) refrigeration action is required to keep the refrigerator at the set temperature. As a result, the refrigerator doesn't run enough to keep the freezer section cold, and it thaws out, as Eddie described. My guess is that this was Bob's problem.

Our Dometic Americana series refrigerator (with a replacement OEM cooling unit only a few months old) just stopped running in cold weather. The burner was working. I put in a heat source (incandescent light bulb), which didn't fix the problem, but when the weather warmed up the refrigerator started working again without any repair or adjustment. A service tech assessed this as freeing within the cooling circuit, and wasn't surprised; this appears to be a common problem.
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Old 03-20-2018, 06:39 PM   #6
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Thanks, gives me a couple things to experiment with on the way home.
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Old 03-20-2018, 06:53 PM   #7
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Thanks, gives me a couple things to experiment with on the way home.
Do not rush, your home state is getting more snow tomorrow and this weekend.....
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Old 03-20-2018, 07:02 PM   #8
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Padlin, when you heading home? We are from central NY. And the forth nor’easter this month is due to hit there. Temps still in the single digits this morning. We heading back on April 2nd. Hope it’s all gone by the time we get there. Plan on being home on the 27th. Save travels.
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Old 03-20-2018, 07:33 PM   #9
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We're taking 2 weeks for the drive, left Phoenix Sunday, just in time for snow in Flagstaff. Hoping to get home a week from Friday +/- after a stop in Santa Fe and York Pa.

On the original issue, opened the fridge door to get it up to 40, the freezer dropped from 28 to 18 in about an hour. Not something I'm going to fret over, I'm fine with it working the way it is. For the 1st time I had no issues with the fridge not getting cold enough this whole trip.
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Old 03-20-2018, 10:12 PM   #10
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Bob did you ever hear back from JC Refrigeration about the Amish cooling unit?


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Old 03-20-2018, 10:21 PM   #11
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I curious. Why do the Amish have such an affinity for refrigeration?
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Old 03-20-2018, 10:36 PM   #12
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I curious. Why do the Amish have such an affinity for refrigeration?
I don't think they do...lol. Dutch Aire and a couple other companies make the cooling units called "Amish". Some of their workers who build them are Amish. I think it's more of a marketing thing, because the Amish are deservedly known for being hard workers who build with quality.

Put a stock cooling unit next to an "Amish" cooling unit and it's readily apparent that the Amish unit is better built. Whether that translates to better cooling is anyone's guess, but there is evidence that their units leak less, which would then infer that they're safer.
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Old 03-21-2018, 01:05 AM   #13
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Bob did you ever hear back from JC Refrigeration about the Amish cooling unit?


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Nothing since they asked where they could get a fridge for measuring purposes.
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Old 03-21-2018, 05:54 PM   #14
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I curious. Why do the Amish have such an affinity for refrigeration?
Hi: gbaglo... In a strict Amish house the only refers used are propane fired due to their non connection to the grid.
We visited an Amish store in N.Y. state that powers it's meat/cheese slicer via a gen set. All fridges are propane powered there as well. Invoices are hand written and tallied in pencil. Alf
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Old 03-21-2018, 07:14 PM   #15
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Which brings me to my next question. At what point did they accept the wheel? Isn't that rather modern? Wasn't it rather modern at one time?
Humans are so weird.
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Old 03-21-2018, 07:40 PM   #16
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Which brings me to my next question. At what point did they accept the wheel? Isn't that rather modern? Wasn't it rather modern at one time?
Humans are so weird.
Have to agree. At what point do you draw the line between old and modern?

Having said that, they do add a bit of charm.
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Old 03-22-2018, 04:23 AM   #17
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The way I understand the Amish here in Pennsylvania is "no connection to the outside world" meaning no wires or electricity or public utilities. They have generators operating of propane and even cell phones. Their horse drawn carriages are seen on the highways and they have battery lights fore and aft for night time and a hand operated wiper. Those that operate a business will "lease" equipment such as freezers and credit card machines as a way to skirt the "ownership" of items connected to the outside world. There are several Amish operating farms in Lancaster, Pa, even some campgrounds where their way of life can be observed. Their food alone is worth the trip.
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Old 03-22-2018, 06:49 AM   #18
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Hi: gbaglo... In a strict Amish house the only refers used are propane fired due to their non connection to the grid.
We visited an Amish store in N.Y. state that powers it's meat/cheese slicer via a gen set. All fridges are propane powered there as well. Invoices are hand written and tallied in pencil. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie
The Amish people and their way of life is truly unique!!
I farmed close to an Amish Community located south east of Aylmer, ON
I had a close Amish friend, Dan, he was an excellent carpenter and farmer.
We used to visit their farm with our 6 children and became close friends with the family.
One day my wife and I landed our small plane in his hay field. Obviously, this raised a lot of interest from his children and the next farmer. When I asked Dan if he would like to go for a ride in the plane. His response was that their church Bishop did not approve of airplane travel or use...
Dan is no longer with us, I have many other Amish stories from our association with these very hardworking, industrious people. I apologize for going off topic. But I had to share a little of the Amish way of life and their strong work ethic and core family values.
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Old 03-22-2018, 07:39 AM   #19
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The Amish people and their way of life is truly unique!!
I farmed close to an Amish Community located south east of Aylmer, ON
I had a close Amish friend, Dan, he was an excellent carpenter and farmer.
We used to visit their farm with our 6 children and became close friends with the family.
One day my wife and I landed our small plane in his hay field. Obviously, this raised a lot of interest from his children and the next farmer. When I asked Dan if he would like to go for a ride in the plane. His response was that their church Bishop did not approve of airplane travel or use...
Dan is no longer with us, I have many other Amish stories from our association with these very hardworking, industrious people. I apologize for going off topic. But I had to share a little of the Amish way of life and their strong work ethic and core family values.
We have several Amish communities in Iowa. Their education, hard work, and general way of life is very interesting. If you ever drive across southern Iowa on Highway 2, there are a
couple Amish areas in SE Iowa. Stop in The Old Dutchman’s Store in Cantril, Iowa. Why? Unique products, reasonable prices and best of all, a huge candy selection, and 50 cent soft
serve ice cream cones you make yourself. Closed Sundays and very busy on Saturdays. They have a Website. Great birdwatching for warblers in the spring at Lacey Keosauqua State Park and some interesting Mormon history at Nauvoo Illinois, a few miles east across the Mississippi River. Here’s a couple pictures of the city campground in the tiny town of Cantril I took last month. Quite a fire ring setup, all donated. The round barn is a couple miles East of Cantril on Highway 2.
Iowa Dave
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Old 03-22-2018, 07:55 AM   #20
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Which brings me to my next question. At what point did they accept the wheel? Isn't that rather modern? Wasn't it rather modern at one time?
Humans are so weird.
Hi Glenn, I don’t know much about how the belief system was developed by the Amish, or the Menonites, both of whom live in our area, but I can tell you that I bought a nice Maytag gasoline engine at an Amish repair store years ago near Kalona Iowa. It’s two cycle, the ones you can still get today are four cycle Briggs and Stratton’s. It is also possible to get John Deere tractors on Steel wheels too. They do not use rubber with powered wheels. Not sure about the buggies but you see many many of them in the Amish areas. Picking corn, by hand, in the snow, with a team of horses and a wagon. Seen it many times. Never decide you have to have a matched pair of draft horses at the horse auction In Waverly, Iowa if the Amish are bidding on them. They have the bucks, in their pocket to cover their winning bid.
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