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Old 07-01-2014, 08:53 PM   #1
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Dometic 6.7 cf fridge performance

Had trailer parked in shade in a forest, outside temperature during day of 70 degrees F., fridge set to level 4, maybe 25% full, sparingly opened, running on propane, pre-cooled on propane for 48 hours before putting anything in it, drove with propane on. Fridge maintained temp of 41 degrees F. for 4 days of camping.

This seems like very poor performance to me. In such mild conditions I expected the temp would've been below the max "allowable" of 40 degrees. Am I mistaken - is this the performance to be expected? I could've set the fridge to level 5, but I wanted to see what happened at level 4. I figured level 4 would suffice, and level 5 would be necessary in hotter climes.

Any thoughts?
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Old 07-01-2014, 09:21 PM   #2
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Poor refrigerator maintaining a reasonable temp is HUGE on all the forums, includuing RV.net where some of the posters are spending HUGE bucks for their new "RV." The only reasonable solution I've read, is to do the best you can, keep the refer in the shade (while parked) and (if possible) put a chunk of ice (frozen in a water bottle) inside the refer... whether during travel or parked. Internal fans seem to help. Remember, your TT refrig is kinda like the refrig at your sticks 'n bricks home. The FREEZER does better packed, the stuff in the refrigerator does better when loosely packed (air space). That's the best I can tell you...

I put a frozen 1/2 gallon water bottle in my frig. And run an internal fan. Trade out the "frozen" water bottle to the one in the freezer when needed. YMMV

This is NOT an ETI build issue...
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Old 07-01-2014, 10:45 PM   #3
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I wouldn't worry about a 1 degree difference - it's not like the consumer versions of thermostats are truly calibrated like a laboratory instrument. I've found frozen lettuce in my 39 degrees F fridge.......
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Old 07-01-2014, 10:51 PM   #4
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Jamie, when you precool the unit it is good to put some load in it to cool with the unit so it helps it stay cold when the door is opened and closed. Have you installed an internal battery operated fan (or two) to move the air around? In your big unit I would use two fans. This helps significantly. My 19' had the gas pressure regulator set too low and it helped a lot when I upped the pressure to where it should be. That increased the flame size to improve performance. Either make a manometer to do this or take it to a service center for adjustment. You can search the forum on this topic. There are a lot of tweeks that people do to improve refrigeerator performance. Keeping the freezer loaded with frozen food helps the refrigerator stay cool. Donna is right about packing. Most of the time I run mine on the 5 setting and it operates between 34 and 38 degrees F. I also us digital temp sensors wth a digital display outside the unit. I can monitor the freezer and refrig without opening them. This info is also searchable. Good luck!!
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Originally Posted by jamie beers View Post
Had trailer parked in shade in a forest, outside temperature during day of 70 degrees F., fridge set to level 4, maybe 25% full, sparingly opened, running on propane, pre-cooled on propane for 48 hours before putting anything in it, drove with propane on. Fridge maintained temp of 41 degrees F. for 4 days of camping.

This seems like very poor performance to me. In such mild conditions I expected the temp would've been below the max "allowable" of 40 degrees. Am I mistaken - is this the performance to be expected? I could've set the fridge to level 5, but I wanted to see what happened at level 4. I figured level 4 would suffice, and level 5 would be necessary in hotter climes.

Any thoughts?
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Old 07-02-2014, 12:53 AM   #5
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My mom is a full timer and has been for many years. She recently told me about the Fridge Fix fans, which seem to work better than most other fans.

Fridge-Fix Rv Refrigerator Fan
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Old 07-02-2014, 11:42 AM   #6
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got this from Dometic. I know fridge performance is a bit of a quagmire, but thought I'd post their comments anyway just for the heck of it:

I understand your concern. Our standards state - that at 90 degrees outdoors - our refrigerators will have a maximum substance temperature of 43 degrees. You stated that on a mild day in the shade - that this is unacceptable - and yes we agree. If it is cooler than 90 degrees - you should be seeing temperatures lower than this.

A few causes of insufficient cooling can be the installation of the refrigerator, ventilation or even a cooling unit issue. We would recommend taking the coach to a local service center in order to have these issues checked out and the unit performance tested.
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Old 07-02-2014, 01:35 PM   #7
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There is another, very long thread about this fridge. Ours essentially stopped working altogether on LP this spring so I took it to an authorized service center for warranty repair. They were critical of the installation in that there is a lot of space (at least in our 19) between the back of the fridge and the outer wall. I've heard that this has been changed, but I don't really know. Anyway, they contacted Reace who advised them to check the LP system pressure and he authorized them to install a 12V fan to help move heat up toward the vent. The service center claimed the pressure was significantly low, which I find hard to believe since I had recently checked it with a water u-tube and increased it once already. The bottom line is the fridge is working great at this point, and I don't really feel like I understand the issue. I appreciate Escape doing the fan installation, but the fridge worked okay on 110V so I don't know how much that contributes to the solution. Maybe the added heat from the propane flame wasn't being evacuated sufficiently and the fan solved that problem, which would be unique to propane operation. It's working. Time to go camping.
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Old 07-02-2014, 02:31 PM   #8
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About the space between the fridge and outer wall, the Dometic installation manual specifies this gap should be 2.32-3.1 inches for the 6.7 cf fridge.

My understanding is that ETI used to install the 6.7 cf fridges with gaps of that size, but had cooling issues, so they changed to installing the fridges with a maximum 1" gap.

I guess the main thing is that your fridge is now working great!
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Old 07-02-2014, 05:40 PM   #9
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Robert... I think I'm going to purchase and install one of those Fridge-Fix units on my refrigerator. I'll try anything to improve my 5.0 size refrigerator performance and eliminate spoilage. I would be a happy camper in 70 degree temperatures with 41 on the fridge! July & August weather here equates to 90 degrees @10 PM with a 57 degree F. fridge temp.
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Old 07-02-2014, 06:34 PM   #10
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I looked at the link but the FridgeFix is listed only for multiple door Dometic units, not the 6.7, let us know which you you decide upon.
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Old 07-02-2014, 06:46 PM   #11
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Jim, I copied this from the FAQs on their website;

>>>>
How do I get 12 volt power to the Fridge-Fix?
We suggest two methods of providing power to the Fridge-Fix:
The interior light in the refrigerator. (Dometic single door units)
From the rear of the refrigerator, where the 12 volt power is hooked to the refrigerator.
​The instructions for how to source this power can be found on the installation page of our website. If you do not feel comfortable working with 12 volt electricity, we suggest you have the Fridge-Fix installed by a dealer. It should take them less than 15 minutes to do so.
<<<

This tells me that the unit will work on our Dometic units. I sent them an inquiry with my smaller model in the 19' to see if they have one to fit. From what I've read these are a really good addition and will probably help performance.

Steve

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Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
I looked at the link but the FridgeFix is listed only for multiple door Dometic units, not the 6.7, let us know which you you decide upon.
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Old 07-02-2014, 06:53 PM   #12
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Which one do you feel will work with ours, I'd like to try it. Can you p/m me or lead me to the install instructions to see how they are attached? thanx
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Old 07-02-2014, 07:05 PM   #13
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I sent them that exact question and will let you know if they have one that will fit. They use a velcro attachment to the bottom of the freezer compartment.

Steve
Quote:
Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
Which one do you feel will work with ours, I'd like to try it. Can you p/m me or lead me to the install instructions to see how they are attached? thanx
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Old 07-02-2014, 07:24 PM   #14
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I used a Velcro strip to attach a Spot-It light ( weighs nothing ) to the top of a cupboard. Velcro adhesive let go after a couple months ( maybe got too hot ).
I guess getting too hot wouldn't be an issue.
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Old 07-02-2014, 07:46 PM   #15
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I have the 6.7 fridge with the Texas fan option. Are these fans audible when running.
I hear no difference whether they are turned on or off.Are they that quiet? ( and my hearing
is good so it is not that !!!! )
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Old 07-02-2014, 08:19 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hotfishtacos View Post
Jim, I copied this from the FAQs on their website;

>>>>
How do I get 12 volt power to the Fridge-Fix?
We suggest two methods of providing power to the Fridge-Fix:
The interior light in the refrigerator. (Dometic single door units)
From the rear of the refrigerator, where the 12 volt power is hooked to the refrigerator.
​The instructions for how to source this power can be found on the installation page of our website. If you do not feel comfortable working with 12 volt electricity, we suggest you have the Fridge-Fix installed by a dealer. It should take them less than 15 minutes to do so.
<<<

This tells me that the unit will work on our Dometic units. I sent them an inquiry with my smaller model in the 19' to see if they have one to fit. From what I've read these are a really good addition and will probably help performance.

Steve
The Fridge Fix works in all the single door Dometics used by ETI regardless of capacity. It's dimensions are 17 3/4" long by 4" deep by 2" thick. It does secure with velcro, but if you prep the surface and make sure it's dry before installing it's not an issue.

As for powering it, here are some shots from their website showing power connecting to the fridge light as well as the back of the unit. There is also a grounding clip which should be attached to one of the fins inside the fridge.
Attached Thumbnails
fridge light.jpg   fridge back.jpg   fridge ground clip install.jpg  
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Old 07-02-2014, 08:38 PM   #17
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Oh, and Harley's right -- their website is a bit confusing because it calls the Dometic single door refrigerators double doors -- but according to the owner who I spoke with on the phone, they mean double door wide, such as is the case with the Dometic 6.7 and the 4.2 cubic foot models. The one at the link below WILL fit all double-wide single door Dometics, being 17 3/4" wide. Another sign it will fit is if the fridge light is on the side and not the top. If the light is on the top, it's location can interfere with the installation of the fan, but that is usually the case only with the narrower models.

Fridge-Fix RV Refrigerator Fan
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Old 07-02-2014, 10:34 PM   #18
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Gotta remember though when installing these that you may want a plug in 12v hookup in case you ever want to remove the freezer with these fans attached to the bottom.
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Old 07-02-2014, 10:59 PM   #19
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Quote:
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Gotta remember though when installing these that you may want a plug in 12v hookup in case you ever want to remove the freezer with these fans attached to the bottom.
A good point, but being velcroed in, couldn't you just pull it out?
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Old 07-02-2014, 11:52 PM   #20
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You would want to remove it from the bottom of the freezer and after the freezer unit is removed reattach it to the inside top of the refrigerator above the freezer coils. It would then blow air across the freezer and refrigerator coils. The power cord would be long enough to attach the unit in either location.

Steve

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A good point, but being velcroed in, couldn't you just pull it out?
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