Help! Low temps and Fridge stopped working :(

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wendimere

wendimere

Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2020
Posts
21
Location
West Coast, Intermountain West, and Hawaiian Islan
Got to new job site and temps dropped unseasonably cold to 9°F and my Norcold fridge said fuggitaboutit! Nights have warmed now to the mid to high 20°F's. The past 2 days our daytime temps are in 50s. I have now (belatedly) blocked outside vents. Hoping I didnt kill unit completely :/

My question is: do I shut unit off completely, while day temps warm up, or should I run the electric or propane to create warmth in the outside box?

In the attached photo the silver aluminum apparatus on the right is nice and hot. The black cylindrical component at top of photo (that has the Norcold name) is freezing cold. Assuming that's the part that needs to thaw out?

I'm still a newbie, and admittedly ignorant, and am worried I've ruined my fridge unit!
 
You haven't ruined your fridge, the way it works is a heat source (a small propane flame or an electric heating element) boils a water and ammonia mixture. The gasses then circulate through the system and cool the interior when the vapors condense back into liquid. When it gets too cold there isn't enough heat to boil the refrigerant and the process stops.

The solution is to either add heat to the back of the fridge or block part of the intake vents so the refrigerator's own heat can warm the area.

But don't overdo it, the cooling process can also stop if the air gets too hot - many RV refrigerators have trouble carrying away their waste heat when the temperatures get into the 90s and 100s.
 
Woohoo!! This just makes my day to know I haven't destroyed anything! Your explanation of the process was the simplest and most concise I had been able to find with my limited internet search ability currently. You have no idea how happy your response has made me. Thank you!
 
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When temps. drop below freezing, simply put an drop light in the outside lower frig. vent door. Taking all fire prevention caution of course. You may also use cardboard to cover the outside wall vents for the frig. until it gets above freezing.
 
Not an answer to your situation just a rant! 🤬

We often camp in single digit temps, often below zero and our control panel on our Dometic refrigerator goes blank occasionally! Pretty frustrating! Once the ambient temperatures get into the teens……it comes back to life!
I’ve thoroughly insulated the control panel area from the rear (outside access) of the refrigerator…..hasn’t helped!

It’s not the “end of the world”, as the outside ambient temps prevent the unit from getting too warm for the food…..it’s still frustrating!

Thank You…..Rant Over!

Good Luck with getting your refrigerator to working properly! memtb
 
FWIW, compressor fridges don't operate well in the cold either. Once ambient gets below the setpoint of the fridge compartment it will no longer run, and the freezer will warm to ambient. Putting a heat source inside will force it to run and keep the freezer cold. I guess in a perfect world they could be built with enough smarts to monitor both the freezer and the fridge compartments and cycle the compressor and defrost modes as needed, but I guess it's easier to just put a notice in the owner manual to not put the thing in a garage or outside porch. It can also be reasonably assumed that if it's at or below freezing around the refrigerator, one has limited need for a refrigerator...

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
 
Are you hooked up to shore power?

The silver vertical cylinder that you say is nice and toasty is the propane burner for the fridge. Your report indicates the fridge stopped running on AC power or never was in the first place.

Checked for a popped circuit breaker if in fact the fridge is running on propane.

Also I personally would not run the fridge until I got the refrigerator vent bay above freezing.
 
Mark is on the right path. Add a 40 or 60 watt incandescent light bulb in the boiler area. Worked for us when we full timed during cold winters.
 
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