I am having problems with my dometic FRIDGE and I called the manufacture. They told me that normal temps are 15-freezer and 43- FRIDGE. FDA guidelines for safe food storage 0 degrees in the freezer and under 40 degrees in the fridge ,so is our food safe? I also called Norcold and they said there refrigerators operate at the same temps as the Dometic ones. My freezer fluctuates between 5 degrees and 25 degrees, La Mesa RV in Tucson said this is normal.
ARE RV REFRIDGERATORS SAFE
- Thread starter dptile
- Start date
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Lawrence M
Well-known member
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- May 7, 2015
- Posts
- 144
Do you have temp control? If you do adjust it. I don't ever recall checking a fridge temperature, I always figured if it froze it was good if it was cold it was good.
Maybe there is an expert on this site. It will be interesting to hear from somebody else.
Maybe there is an expert on this site. It will be interesting to hear from somebody else.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
The temp the FDA cites are for more extended storage periods. Most RVs freeze stuff for a weekend or a vacation timeframe, so getting to zero is not a concern. But if living in the RV for longer periods, I would avoid keeping frozen foods more than a few weeks. Given the modest size of most RV fridges, that's probably not a concern!
Variability of the temps in an RV can be a problem for longer term storage as well. Wide fluctuations can cause loss of flavor and frost build-up in the package. Again, the answer is "don't store the food for long periods".
For what its worth, my Norcold 1200 runs between 0 & 10 in the freezer and 32-38 in the fridge. Most don't do that well, though.
Variability of the temps in an RV can be a problem for longer term storage as well. Wide fluctuations can cause loss of flavor and frost build-up in the package. Again, the answer is "don't store the food for long periods".
For what its worth, my Norcold 1200 runs between 0 & 10 in the freezer and 32-38 in the fridge. Most don't do that well, though.
kenb1023
Well-known member
I have never had food spoil in my RV refrigerator or freezer except for when the power went out and I had the battery disconnect off so the LP did not kick in and some burger meat spoiled. . Then again it does not hold a lot so we eat it before it can go bad. I have had meat in the freezer all summer and it was just as good when we finally cocked it as it was when fresh.
My last TT had the reverse problem: it was so cold the fridge would (eventually) freeze everything but beer or wine. Being I like cold beer it didn't bother me much. But it bothered the DW so I got a replacement thermistor from here: http://www.snip-the-tip.com/
Make sure when you check the temperature the door has been closed for a good 12 hours with all food already cold (i.e., don't check two hours after opening and closing door while adding warm water or whatnot).
My current Dometic fridge works well does drop temperature when switching between lp and electric, exacerbated if opening and closing door. So if setting up at a site with full hookups, where we need to stock fridge or remove items, I force it on gas before connecting and don't switch back to auto mode till the door has been closed for a couple hours. One other thing this fridge seems sensitive to is voltage when running on a/c: I can run the air conditioner when at home and connected to a 20a circuit. However with the air conditioner on the voltage drops (not to otherwise unacceptable levels) and there is a coincident drop in fridge temp. Switching to lp mode prevents this from happening. Didn't have this issue with my last rv fridge.
Michael
Make sure when you check the temperature the door has been closed for a good 12 hours with all food already cold (i.e., don't check two hours after opening and closing door while adding warm water or whatnot).
My current Dometic fridge works well does drop temperature when switching between lp and electric, exacerbated if opening and closing door. So if setting up at a site with full hookups, where we need to stock fridge or remove items, I force it on gas before connecting and don't switch back to auto mode till the door has been closed for a couple hours. One other thing this fridge seems sensitive to is voltage when running on a/c: I can run the air conditioner when at home and connected to a 20a circuit. However with the air conditioner on the voltage drops (not to otherwise unacceptable levels) and there is a coincident drop in fridge temp. Switching to lp mode prevents this from happening. Didn't have this issue with my last rv fridge.
Michael
8Muddypaws
Well-known member
I have one of the infamous Norcold 1201LRIM refrigerators. Mine was like yours, barely cold enough at the best of times.
I tried Snip-the-tip made for Dometic and figured out what resistance I needed to add to it to fit the Norcold curve. It worked OK so I contacted the owner of snip-the-tip and convinced him that there was an untapped market of unhappy Norcold owners out there. I was his beta tester for several months as he ironed the kinks out of the Norcold product.
Ironically my particular refrigerator doesn't respond well to having the thermistor mounted on the refer wall and not on the fin. In the end I found a simple solution. Search 'Muddypaws Mod' on this site, or Google - it's on a couple of others as well. Cheap, as in free.
Months later I added 4 muffin fans to draw air through the system and I have been amazed at how well it works now. I run it on setting 2 or 3 and the refer is 34F and the freezers are -18F. Ice cream, the benchmark of RV freezer performance, is rock hard. Beer is at the perfect temp for an IPA. ;D
I tried Snip-the-tip made for Dometic and figured out what resistance I needed to add to it to fit the Norcold curve. It worked OK so I contacted the owner of snip-the-tip and convinced him that there was an untapped market of unhappy Norcold owners out there. I was his beta tester for several months as he ironed the kinks out of the Norcold product.
Ironically my particular refrigerator doesn't respond well to having the thermistor mounted on the refer wall and not on the fin. In the end I found a simple solution. Search 'Muddypaws Mod' on this site, or Google - it's on a couple of others as well. Cheap, as in free.
Months later I added 4 muffin fans to draw air through the system and I have been amazed at how well it works now. I run it on setting 2 or 3 and the refer is 34F and the freezers are -18F. Ice cream, the benchmark of RV freezer performance, is rock hard. Beer is at the perfect temp for an IPA. ;D
John From Detroit
Well-known member
NOT the question I anticipated from the header.
One other difference in RV fridges is they are smaller Thus food is rotated out faster and does not have as long to spoil.
That said..It's going on time to buy milk by the half gallon for a while since the gallons spoil if I do not make dairy type desserts (Which I do tomorrow)
One other difference in RV fridges is they are smaller Thus food is rotated out faster and does not have as long to spoil.
That said..It's going on time to buy milk by the half gallon for a while since the gallons spoil if I do not make dairy type desserts (Which I do tomorrow)
Mopar1973Man
Well-known member
Last time I check my fridge I could pull down to 35*F in the food area and nearly to 0*F in the freezer. I've got a Norcold.
mdbass
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2008
- Posts
- 559
As some of you know I have been fighting a recalcitrant Norcold N821. The thermistor was changed, the igniter was changed, the coil(s) fan and thermo switch were changed and a internal fan was added. All that, plus the cooling unit itself was changed. I am seeing temps in the low 20's on the fridge coils and a fairly consistent 12-14 degrees on the freezer plate; taken with a heat gun. An air thermometer shows between 33 and 45 degrees in the fridge and the freezer won't freeze water overnight or keep ice cream at all. It is a typical summer in south Texas; with the heat of the day soaring to 90 to 100 degree plus ambient temps. We have no shade and I have put an extra fan behind the fridge to keep air moving. BTW it's in a slideout, so it has no roof vent. Is this the best performance I can expect? Any suggestions?
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
Probably. Your cooling unit seems to be performing as well as can be expected (low fin temps), so I suspect the basic problem may be sloppy installation technique, allowing heat to enter around the sides and warming the box. Having the fridge in a slide is a decided drawback as well - they rarely perform well there due to the limitations of the air flow path.
You seem to have a disconnect between the freezer plate temp and consistent freezer temperatures. Have you checked to make sure the freezer door seals tightly? If the door seals well, then it seems likely that hot air is surrounding the outside of the box and preventing the freezer when achieving a stable low temp. As I recall, though, somewhere around 10 degrees is the best you can expect from a model 8xx freezer. That model never kept ice cream well.
Have you placed a fridge thermometer in the freezer to get an actual temperature read? Sounds like it is staying above 32, since it won't freeze water. It should if the plate reads 12-14.
Mopar1973Man
Well-known member
Just providing shade for that area of the fridge using a tarp or similar could improve performance greatly. People think that Idaho is much cooler. Like in Riggins, ID we can see temps as high as 117*F like this summer. So providing even cheap shade from a tarp could help a bunch.
