Refrigerator Failing To Cool While Driving

[Fox hunt]

we are talking about the external fridge fan correct? i was thinking i should get it on my new trailer.

[cpaharley2008]

Yes and no, there is a fan that is attached to the refrigerator and supposedly thermostatically controlled, however it seems that the thermostat was set too high, so some of us manually operated the fans. These issues were on the older style units.
The 2nd generation models with the new style supposedly works better. Not sure what fans are attached from the manufacturer. What Escape does is attach an auxiliary fan, that is on the option list Exterior Fridge Fan$175.00 and they install a switch which you can manually turn on or off if the outside is hot and the refer is struggling to cool down.

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by fudge_brownie

Mike,
You add an interesting angle to the failure to cool down while driving. With both sources of power it seems more like venting or door leak. I thought in the scheme of cooling performance the 12 volt was quite far below 120 volt and propane. Can that account for the difference?

Paul,
Are you still happy with your vent mod? I'm about to do the same thing. My only concern was if the new metal grid will get too warm in the propane exhaust. The existing wire grid doesn't have much mass to retain heat, but the decorative grid might.

Also, my fridge does work okay on 12V when the trailer is parked and the fans are running, contrary to what I said before. I had a disconnected wire that Camping World reconnected when they serviced my fridge, and today I let it run on 12V all day and it stayed cool. My only problems are when I'm towing, so I intend to install the grid in the roof vent.

[fudge_brownie]

Still experimenting. Georgia hit 90 degrees today while driving, some good test conditions. Now, if I could just control all the other variables like packing the fridge, keeping the door closed and location of the temperature sensor.

[m&k]

How do you handle the food safety issues in the refrigerator when the temperate is in the mid 40's and it temperatures outside was in the mid 70's. This week it is going to hit mid 90's as we start out for another short trip. Seems like keeping the beer cold got the most coverage - but what about potato salad, lunch meat, milk - what is the "Throw the food out temperature". Put the fan switch in, have not done the grid exchange on the roof. Did read somewhere to put insulation inside fridge in the door panel - Did that help....

[padlin]

1st time we ran into the fridge getting up into the 50's we tossed out all the items that could spoil, milk, eggs, and such. We now carry a cooler just in case and keep an eye on the temps. Hasn't happened since we went to the 2 door fridge. Of course we haven't been out in the high temps we hit that first trip either.

We really don't carry much that'll go bad, as long as the freezer stays frozen, which it always has, we wouldn't loose much. If needed I'll get some ice for the cooler and move what needs cooling.

I don't worry about the temps till the fridge gets up into the high 40's. There is a magic number if you do a search for it, think it's in the lower 40's, I;m sure someone will pipe in with it.

For me, short trips have never been a problem, just the long ones.

[m&k]

Thank you Padlin. Phoenix summers used to cool down at night, not so much any more. Guess we'll be getting up with the chickens for trips in July and later.

[m&k]

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Motorhome Facts -> AutoTrail Motorhomes
Author: wp1234,
Location: Isle of Anglesey

PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 10:10 am Post subject: Dometic RMD 8555 not cold enough
Hi All,

Has anybody had probelms with a Dometic RMD 8555 fridge not being able to cope with outside temps of 35 deg plus.The fridge seems to work very well in 'normal' UK outside temps and takes the internal temp down to about 3-4 deg but in France we had iinternal fridge l temps up to 12 - 14 deg at times .

Is fitting an electric fan to the vent system the answer to this problem as some tell me?If so where do I get one of the fans from and are they easy to fit ?



Thanks for any advice in advance
Author: bognormike,
Location: Sunny Bognor

PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 10:19 am Post subject:
it may well be that there is insufficient ventilation for it to work well. Other peopel have mentioned fridge fans, and I fitted one to our Pilote. A doddle to do, get a computer fan from maplins or maybe a "dead" computer, a length of 2 core wire and a small switch. Run 12v from a nearby lighting circuit, and fit the switch in line. I had the switch in a locker, and turned it on when on site in hot conditions. The fan fitted in the top ventilator grille, and worked well by sucking more air through the back of the fridge, to get the temperature down.
Author: TheNomad,
Location: Costa Blanca North, Spain.

PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 10:51 am Post subject:
Yep.
Just fit a fan.

Solves the problem every time. They really should be fitted from new to all MH's!!


We live in Spain. It gets VERY hot here in summer.

I've fitted a twin fan with auto thermostat kit inside the upper external vent for a large size 3-way fridge freezer. It draws almost zero power, and almost impossible to hear when running. It has got an on/off switch, and a manual override switch which will make both fans operate all the time.
It cost about 50 euros from a motorhome accessories shop in France.
Took no more than half an hour to fit, including its little control panel and attaching live and neutral 12 volt power from leisure battery supply.
But if you are handy, then any little 12 volt fan for computer use, plus a little switch, would do broadly the same job for less money.

Ever since then our fridge and freezer have been utterly brilliant.
I have also found as an unexpected by-product that we now use quite a bit less gas (we almost always wild-camp or use Aires rather than campsites with EHU, so fridge is on gas almost all the time we are parked up)

This is the type of thing that I fitted:


Very very highly recommended for every motorhome.
Author: Easyriders,
Location: north Wales

PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 11:12 am Post subject:
We also fitted a fan, and it does help. But all absorption fridges (which is what 3 way fridges are) struggle to get more than 20 or 25 degrees C below ambient temperature, even with a fan. A fridge needs to be at 4C ideally, so if the temperature is above 30C you are in danger of food poisoning. In Portugal where we were a month ago it was 43C.

Positioning the side of the MH the fridge is on facing north helps a bit.

We got fed up of throwing food away the first time we went abroad and invested in a Waeco fridge/freezer, about the size of a large coolbox. It's brilliant! It works off 12v or mains (not gas because it's a compressor type), and it's very quiet. We run it as a freezer all the time, and always have at least 2 blue freezer blocks in it, which we put in the MH fridge to lower the temperature.

Invest in a fridge thermometer and try the fan route first, but f you want peace of mind and travel regularly to hot climates, consider a Waeco or similar compressor type. Expensive, but we think it's well worth it.
Author: VJP,
Location: The last place I looked

PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 3:18 pm Post subject:
Take the outside grill off and remove the mesh. Others don't bother putting the grill cover back.
Author: kenp,
Location: south shropshire

PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 4:28 pm Post subject:
Lots of good advice here:

Or type " refrigerator fans" into the Search Forums box.

kenp
Author: sideways,
Location: N Lincs

PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 5:07 pm Post subject:
Just back from 3 weeks in Germany staying on stellplatz it was 98 in the van some days, the fridge was on gas and defrosted the ice box we had to resort to electric and it improved things my van is 10 years old and my mate who was with us has a 3 year old van they never struggled with the fridge. i thought it was an age thing so will try the fan trick and see if it works.
Author: Techno100,
Location: Leeds up North

PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 7:40 pm Post subject:
TheNomad wrote: ‹ Select › ‹ Expand ›
Yep.
Just fit a fan.

Solves the problem every time. They really should be fitted from new to all MH's!!


We live in Spain. It gets VERY hot here in summer.

I've fitted a twin fan with auto thermostat kit inside the upper external vent for a large size 3-way fridge freezer. It draws almost zero power, and almost impossible to hear when running. It has got an on/off switch, and a manual override switch which will make both fans operate all the time.
It cost about 50 euros from a motorhome accessories shop in France.
Took no more than half an hour to fit, including its little control panel and attaching live and neutral 12 volt power from leisure battery supply.
But if you are handy, then any little 12 volt fan for computer use, plus a little switch, would do broadly the same job for less money.

Ever since then our fridge and freezer have been utterly brilliant.
I have also found as an unexpected by-product that we now use quite a bit less gas (we almost always wild-camp or use Aires rather than campsites with EHU, so fridge is on gas almost all the time we are parked up)

This is the type of thing that I fitted:
Only registered users can see links on our Forum
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Very very highly recommended for every motorhome.


Much cheaper outside of EBAY from same seller. Less than £39 delivered
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Author: Rapide561,
Location: Derby & Lake Garda

PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 7:39 am Post subject: Fridge
Hi

I agree with "Easyriders" - we too park the fan with the fridge on the easterly/shaded side when in hot places. It makes a big difference.

Russell
Author: teensvan,
Location: England France Germany & Spain.

PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 3:45 pm Post subject:
Hi wp1234.

I fitted 2 90mm dia computer fans to the cooling fins of the fridge 3 years ago when we were in Germany. Worked very well. They are about £6/7 in maplins. Just use tywraps to fit the fans to the cooling fins. Just wire them up to the leisure battery via a 3amp fuse and switch. I have seen kits for this in Spain

steve & ann. ----------teensvan
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[Mike Lewis]

For the past 2-3 weeks my trailer has been parked in my yard with its RMD 8555 fridge on. Most of the time it has been on propane, but I've also had it on 12V for a day or two, and line voltage earlier in the period. I made Paul's mod to the roof exhaust and shorted the wires to the fridge fans so that they run all the time. I've measured the temperature with a SensorPlus hung by a wire below the lower shelf. Ambient temperatures have ranged up to 90 F. After turning the fans on the refrigerator has performed well sitting still, regardless of power source.

Two days ago I left for a trip out West. On the first leg of the trip, from my home in Florida to the Beaumont, Texas area, I had the fridge on 12V. Traveling west the fridge is on the south side of the trailer. Its temperature climbed to 50 degrees F. Last night while camping I had the fridge on line voltage, and this morning I switched it to propane. Again the temperature climbed out of bounds, this time to 54 F. On both days ambient temps were in the mid-80s.

My conclusion right now is that the fans help when the trailer is stationary, but nothing so far helps when it is moving. Tomorrow morning I'm going to shop for a 12V plug-in cooler to store my food on travel days.

In Kerrville, Texas.

[Mike Lewis]

To clarify-- the second day, on propane, was also a travel day. Kerrville is a day's drive west of Beaumont.

[cpaharley2008]

Mike, while on propane, are you blowing out your flame. several of us with the RMD model installed some furnace filter material on the bottom part of the refer vent, to alleviate flameout caused when traveling.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Mike, while on propane, are you blowing out your flame. several of us with the RMD model installed some furnace filter material on the bottom part of the refer vent, to alleviate flameout caused when traveling.

Great point Jim. Happened to be looking at the manual for our RM2510 and saw this note about flame blow out. If this is happening it seems that a temporary trick as suggested by Dometic could be to set the thermostat at max cooling.

[Parker]

I like the warning about "foodstuffs in the cabinet will freeze." That's one of the more optimistic statements I've heard lately.

[skiman]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

To clarify-- the second day, on propane, was also a travel day. Kerrville is a day's drive west of Beaumont.

Mike,

Do you run with your roof vent/fan open? I quit that due to fear of pulling warm air through the frig. Just a thought.

Also did the furnace filter thing to protect the flame on propane. Trying to cover all bases.

[elongest]

Has anyone tried the Camco universal Frig, vent cover? With the pointed nose it should change the airflow during travel.
https://www.amazon.com/Camco-42160-R.../dp/B00192KY22

[Parker]

Originally Posted by elongest

Has anyone tried the Camco universal Frig, vent cover? With the pointed nose it should change the airflow during travel.
https://www.amazon.com/Camco-42160-R.../dp/B00192KY22

I posted that same question several days ago in this thread and am still hoping for an answer. I have one here and plan to install it in the next few weeks.

[Kountrykamper]

Originally Posted by Parker

I posted that same question several days ago in this thread and am still hoping for an answer. I have one here and plan to install it in the next few weeks.

I installed it a few years back. It sits up about 3/4 higher than the Dometic because of the adapaters needed to connect it to the existing base. It is also much larger than the Dometic. I found no improvement and ended up removing it.

This picture is it just sitting on the Dometic vent showing the size difference.

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by Parker

I posted that same question several days ago in this thread and am still hoping for an answer. I have one here and plan to install it in the next few weeks.

Hi: Parker... I'm going to cut a piece of furnace filter used in the hammock style filters and zip tie it to the wire screen in the roof vent. I already use a piece on the inside of the lower vent where it prevents "Blow outs". If one works two should work twice as good!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[Parker]

Hi Tom....I didn't know you had actually installed one. I think I'd still try it if it didn't overhang the molded-in contour for the Dometic one. In this case, I think I'll let it go. I have heard of folks making a little dam of sorts by attaching an aluminum strip to the bottom leading edge of the existing cover. If (and a big IF) air is blowing down from above, maybe that would help.

Alf, you're probably on the right track, but I'm not sure how to execute that upper filter idea. I'm uncomfortable with things that permanently add to blockage of the airflow. Parked in the sun for example, I'd be worried about overheating without some way to control it. Keep us posted! If you're sure the one in the lower screen prevents blowouts, I think I might try that first. I think Tom had some success with that in his first Escape, along with many other mods to get his smaller fridge working better.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Parker

I like the warning about "foodstuffs in the cabinet will freeze." That's one of the more optimistic statements I've heard lately.

Actually with the thermostat set too cold we have froze stuff in refrigerator compartment of the RM2510.