Another Refrigerator Solution - Page 3 - Escape Trailer Owners Community
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×

Go Back   Escape Trailer Owners Community > Escape Tech > Problem Solving | Owners helping each other
Click Here to Login
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 06-13-2016, 01:27 PM   #41
Senior Member
 
Jim Bennett's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Trailer: 2017 Escape 5.0 TA
Posts: 15,532
Any RV shop can adjust a regulator for you. You can adjust it yourself, but only if you possess the proper tools like a manometer, which is very easy to make. In fact it is a good idea to get it tested every once in a while to ensure it is operating at the correct pressure.
__________________
2017 Escape 5.0 TA
2015 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5L EcoBoost
2009 Escape 19 (previous)
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” — Abraham Lincoln
Jim Bennett is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2016, 01:57 PM   #42
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Juneau, Alaska
Trailer: 2015 17A - Ready for more Maiden Voyages ....
Posts: 881
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Bennett View Post
Any RV shop can adjust a regulator for you. You can adjust it yourself, but only if you possess the proper tools like a manometer, which is very easy to make. In fact it is a good idea to get it tested every once in a while to ensure it is operating at the correct pressure.
So Jim ... how do you make a Man-O-Meter anyways? I could use one of those as my column inches seems to be set too high.
__________________
Consciousness: That confusing time between naps
StarvingHyena is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2016, 02:09 PM   #43
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Juneau, Alaska
Trailer: 2015 17A - Ready for more Maiden Voyages ....
Posts: 881
On a more serious note ...that charred baffel above someones refer really concerned me. I realize now that I need to learn more about propane installations.

Anyone know of a good reference for further reading? I don't want to go to propane school .... just need to be better informed.

Do our refers / furnaces / water heaters have an overheat shut off sensors / valves?

Tom
__________________
Consciousness: That confusing time between naps
StarvingHyena is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2016, 02:21 PM   #44
Senior Member
 
cpaharley2008's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
The water heater has a high pressure relief valve in case of water getting too hot.
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
cpaharley2008 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2016, 02:22 PM   #45
Senior Member
 
escape artist's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: St. Thomas not BVI., Ontario
Trailer: 2014 Escape 5.0TA / 2016 Ram Eco Diesel 4X4
Posts: 8,035
Quote:
Originally Posted by StarvingHyena View Post
So Jim ... how do you make a Man-O-Meter anyways? I could use one of those as my column inches seems to be set too high.
Hi: StarvingHyena... Depends on your "Altitude"!!! LoL Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie
__________________
Quote Bugs Bunny..."Don't take life too seriously, none of us get out of it ALIVE"!!!
'16 Ram Eco D. 4X4 Laramie Longhorn CC & '14 Escape 5.0TA
St.Thomas (Not the Virgin Islands) Ontario
escape artist is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2016, 03:47 PM   #46
Senior Member
 
Ron in BC's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: North Van., British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19, sold; 2019 Escape 21, Sept. 2019
Posts: 8,743
Quote:
Originally Posted by StarvingHyena View Post
On a more serious note ...that charred baffel above someones refer really concerned me. I realize now that I need to learn more about propane installations.

Anyone know of a good reference for further reading? I don't want to go to propane school .... just need to be better informed.

Do our refers / furnaces / water heaters have an overheat shut off sensors / valves?

Tom
The hot exhaust gases from the furnace and water heater exhaust directly to the exterior. The hot exhaust gas on the fridge is dumped out behind the fridge near the plywood baffle. This may be typical for North American installations but it isn't typical for the rest of the world. Dometic does make a flue kit that exhausts the hot gases directly to the exterior. For some reason it's not available in North America. I think the direct vent is good for two reasons; one, it keeps the hot exhaust away from the back of the fridge probably increasing the fridge performance and secondly, most obviously, keeps the hot exhaust away from the plywood baffle.

I tried to buy one from Dometic Australia when I had my fridge out but it wouldn't have reached me soon enough. So I designed my aluminum baffle to have a channel for the hot exhaust gas to flow up and out without heating up the back of the fridge.

Ron
Attached Images
 
Ron in BC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2016, 04:14 PM   #47
Senior Member
 
Greg A's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Trailer: 2015 Escape 19 "Seventy Degrees"
Posts: 3,495
A pattern we're noticing with our fridge is that it can be squirrelly on the temps for about 24-36 hrs, then it seems to settle in and stay rock solid regardless of the outside temps. When we have a trip planned now, we start the fridge up a good day or two ahead in storage and it seems to operate better once it clears that first day.
Right now it has been running for over a week, isn't fluctuating much at all, is well within acceptable ranges and it has been mostly empty this week.
Greg A is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2016, 05:35 PM   #48
Site Team
 
rbryan4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Canyon Lake, Texas
Trailer: 2015 19 "Past Tents", 2021 F150 Lariat 2.7L EB
Posts: 10,222
We've noticed similar Greg. Once I figured out that it took a good day or two for the temps to stabilize, I stopped monitoring it and worrying about it altogether. Works for us.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
__________________
"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy an RV. And that is pretty close."
rbryan4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2016, 05:41 PM   #49
Senior Member
 
KarenH's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Bellingham and Glacier, Washington
Trailer: 2013 Escape 15A
Posts: 2,051
Send a message via Skype™ to KarenH
Quote:
Originally Posted by rbryan4 View Post
Once I figured out that it took a good day or two for the temps to stabilize, I stopped monitoring it and worrying about it altogether.
This applies to the big home refers, too. I recently had real issues with both refrigerators (home and cabin) and stewed and stewed over the temps after the issues were resolved. It is amazing how even with the bigger refers, holding the door open trying to decide what to eat can drive up the ambient temp in there; recovery time can be longer than one might think. And putting in half-warm food in a big refer really changes things. So I, too, have stopped worrying about it. If my milk is cold, I'm good.
__________________
Karen Hulford
2013 Escape 15A, "Egbert"
'93 Ford 150 XLT or
'22 GMC Acadia Denali
KarenH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2016, 05:46 PM   #50
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Southwick, Massachusetts
Trailer: None, sold my 2014 5.0TA
Posts: 7,124
I've wondered if the fridge in my old trailer was any better. Thing was I never paid it any attention, as far as I knew it was fine. The RMD would probably be too, if I hadn't put in that thermometer.
__________________
Happy Motoring
Bob
padlin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2016, 05:51 PM   #51
Senior Member
 
cpaharley2008's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
gives new meaning to the phrase "ignorance is bliss"....
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
cpaharley2008 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2016, 06:32 PM   #52
Senior Member
 
escape artist's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: St. Thomas not BVI., Ontario
Trailer: 2014 Escape 5.0TA / 2016 Ram Eco Diesel 4X4
Posts: 8,035
Quote:
Originally Posted by KarenH View Post
This applies to the big home refers, too. I recently had real issues with both refrigerators (home and cabin) and stewed and stewed over the temps after the issues were resolved. It is amazing how even with the bigger refers, holding the door open trying to decide what to eat can drive up the ambient temp in there; recovery time can be longer than one might think. And putting in half-warm food in a big refer really changes things. So I, too, have stopped worrying about it. If my milk is cold, I'm good.
Hi: KarenH... If my milk has lumps I've probably grabbed the Butter Milk !!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie
__________________
Quote Bugs Bunny..."Don't take life too seriously, none of us get out of it ALIVE"!!!
'16 Ram Eco D. 4X4 Laramie Longhorn CC & '14 Escape 5.0TA
St.Thomas (Not the Virgin Islands) Ontario
escape artist is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2016, 06:52 PM   #53
Senior Member
 
KarenH's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Bellingham and Glacier, Washington
Trailer: 2013 Escape 15A
Posts: 2,051
Send a message via Skype™ to KarenH
I've always figured my nose and eyes were the best barometer of food safety. (Never could do buttermilk, though.) Still alive and kicking...
__________________
Karen Hulford
2013 Escape 15A, "Egbert"
'93 Ford 150 XLT or
'22 GMC Acadia Denali
KarenH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-14-2016, 03:27 PM   #54
Member
 
runnergirl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Trailer: 2017 5.0 TA Sold
Posts: 73
Wow, I have to confess that reading this thread and others like it I am not getting a warm fuzzy about the refrigerator in an Escape trailer.

Full points to everyone who has adjusted / adapted to the peculiarities of the fridges but I honestly never thought that, having purchased my dream trailer I would still be hauling blocks of ice and Coleman coolers around. Or worrying about doors popping open, contents shifting and spilling. And worrying about temperatures in the fridge.

Are all these cases the exception or the rule? Because if they're the rule, I'm not sure I see value in having the fridge at all.
__________________
Candace and Garry

Sometimes not having any idea where we're going works out better than we could possibly have imagined. Ann Patchett
runnergirl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-14-2016, 03:30 PM   #55
Senior Member
 
cpaharley2008's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
Candace and Garry,
Not sure of your historical experience in towing but when you traverse some of the roads these days with a 2 ton house, regardless of unit there will be some disarray happening. It is a nature of physics. Escape is no worse off than Airstreams or other luxury trailers, trying to make freezing temperatures with propane heat has it's limits.
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
cpaharley2008 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-14-2016, 03:31 PM   #56
Senior Member
 
gbaglo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Trailer: 2009 Escape 17B 2020 Toyota Highlander XLE
Posts: 17,136
You are unlikely to find people posting that their beer was cold or that their door has never fallen off despite seven years of driving on washboard.
__________________
What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
- Bertolt Brecht
gbaglo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-14-2016, 03:32 PM   #57
Senior Member
 
cpaharley2008's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
Exactly, the normal never gets recognition, just the abnormal....
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
cpaharley2008 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-14-2016, 03:48 PM   #58
Senior Member
 
Patandlinda's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ventura County, California
Trailer: 2013 19 Escape
Posts: 7,204
Quote:
Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
Exactly, the normal never gets recognition, just the abnormal....
Here you go in 35 years of RVing with this is number 3 Dometic frig never had door come off . We keep the lock on this current frig which means you have to push down buttons on top for it to open . Never have lots of stuff in door . Yes there has been cooling issues with the new Dometic , but they can be solved as long as you understand these frig's are not the compressor type you use at home . You can get small compressor type's if you like , truckers use them all the time . But these use propane which is very useful if you don't have hookups . If I ever find door comes off then I will take steps as others have to secure it . Just have never had that happen . Actually starting to like this frig better after a few tweeks . Pat
Patandlinda is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-14-2016, 03:48 PM   #59
Senior Member
 
BCnomad's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: O town, British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21 "Lightning"
Posts: 1,467
The 2017 fridge will be better matched to warm/hot summer camping. The demo at the rally had a massively improved latching system as well (imho).
BCnomad is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-14-2016, 03:51 PM   #60
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Trailer: 2015 5.0 TA, 2014- RAM HEMI 8 spd
Posts: 447
Quote:
Originally Posted by gbaglo View Post
You are unlikely to find people posting that their beer was cold or that their door has never fallen off despite seven years of driving on washboard.
I don't even try to get my beer cold in the fridge, I always keep it on ice in the cooler. After all, this is camping in my view. One thing that helps is to start your fridge the night before leaving, and then put in your frozen and chilled items before departing the next day. This has served us well.
Scuba55 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off




» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Escape Trailer Industries or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:53 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2023 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.