Defrosting RV Fridge

[mudshark]

Hi All
We have been on the road now for over a month. The freezer on our Dometic fridge is filling up with "snow".
Does anyone know of a way to defrost it without losing all the food inside?
Thanks

 

[regval]

What works for me is to put the frozen food in an ice chest and cover it with ice. Get out a hair dryer, turn the refer off, lay a towel in the freezer and blow hot air on the freezer coils until the frost is gone. Wipe out the freezer, turn the refer back on, let it cool down and replace the frozen food.  Since it's quick, even my ice cream remains frozen when I put it back into the freezer.

Good Luck

 

[ChasA]

The wife does the same with our norcold.

 

[John From Detroit]

Well first I have two freezers. 2nd I really need to go shopping.

I started by putting all the "Ice Packs" (Refreezable cold packs my med's come packed with) in the freezer last evening. This morning I moved them to the Fridge. Put what little remained in Freezer one into Freezer two (NOT an "Coleman Cooler" can be used) and pressed the off button.

NOw I know it says do not use sharp objects.. But once the ice in the bottom had started to melt I took a 4" wide putty knife and a 5 Quart ice cream tub and moved much of the frost to the tub. Dumped it in the sink.  Then I started up the back where it was real real thick. Being careful not to damage the freezer I sliced a couple inches off at a time and moved it to the tub. Then Sink.

I waited between each pass for the stuff to soften a bit more.

Finally the rest of it (about 4") came loose from the junction between Frost and Freezer melting enough.

Then I cleaned, And Restarted.

I still need to go shopping.

 

[Arch Hoagland]

What works for me is to put the frozen food in an ice chest and cover it with ice. Get out a hair dryer, turn the refer off, lay a towel in the freezer and blow hot air on the freezer coils until the frost is gone. Wipe out the freezer, turn the refer back on, let it cool down and replace the frozen food.  Since it's quick, even my ice cream remains frozen when I put it back into the freezer.

Good Luck

We've done exactly that twice on long trips especially back east where the humidity is high.

 

[mudshark]

Thanks Guys!
I will try these tricks.
Jim

 

[jims94vmx]

i wouldn't use a hair dryer.....seen many pros say not to.  We are running a fan in the fridge as an experiment for that and it works extremely well......i can lower my temp setting down a notch and the freezer seems to not be icing as fast.......will get a real fan with the led lights soon.....this one is a temp trial one i had laying around.....

 

[cpaulsen]

Been using a hair dryer for years.....does the job very quick and have no problems.

 

[Arch Hoagland]

jims94vmx said "i wouldn't use a hair dryer.....seen many pros say not to."

I wonder what their reasoning is....I can't imagine it doing any harm.  Of course I'm not a pro, only been RVing for 40 years. 

 

[Rene T]

jims94vmx said "i wouldn't use a hair dryer.....seen many pros say not to."

I wonder what their reasoning is....I can't imagine it doing any harm.  Of course I'm not a pro, only been RVing for 40 years.

I suppose if you left it at one spot for 1/2 hour, it may soften the fridge wall.

 

[catblaster]

I leave the fridge on, open the freezer door and remove ice and frozen goodies to the refrigerator part. Then put a fan inside the freezer, come back and replace the ice tray and frozen goodies. Never a problem unless the ice maker has a big block of ice from filling and freezing then it takes longer.

 

[John From Detroit]

Melted the drip tray in my Dometic.. Now I have a new one on order. but occasionally I have to empty a container of water out of the Fridge.. or 2,, or 3

 

[JudyJB]

The concern is that the hair dryer will melt the plastic something-or-other.  Just keep it moving and don't put the nozzle too close to anything.  I have done this for years, also, with no problems and no melted plastic.  The only mess is the melted water needs to be mopped up with something.

And mine gets done so fast, I just put all the frozen food on the kitchen counter.  It only stays out maybe 20 minutes. 

I also use a hair dryer on the metal fins in the refrigerator.  Since the water in mine collects in a tray and drains outside, I don't even have to remove the food.  Takes just a few minutes.

 

[Foto-n-T]

Here's the quick fix.

Place all items from the freezer into the kitchen sink and cover with a bath towel, they're frozen and they won't thaw in thirty minutes.  While you're doing this and discovering things stored in the freezer that you hadn't seen in months put a two to three quart pan of water on the stove to boil.  Once the water is boiling lay another towel on the floor of the freezer and place the pan of boiling water on it and close the door.  After about fifteen minutes open the door and most of the ice will be either laying on the bottom or easily plucked off the sides.  Once you've got everything wiped out return the items from the sink to the freezer and you're done.

If you're like me and ignore the problem for too long you may need to put the pan back on the stove and reheat the water once but overall it's the easiest way I've found to do the job.  My late wife educated me to the ways of saving time and not damaging the freezer years ago.

 

[jims94vmx]

Here is a video I stumbled upon....
https://youtu.be/gRlKLD_IniQ

Just an fyi, do what you want.....

 

[mudshark]

Success!!
The hair dryer and a plastic burger flipper did the trick. Don't think it took us more than a half hour.
Thanks to all.