Fridge Condensation?

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ruthandken CDN

ruthandken CDN

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Joined
Aug 7, 2007
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831
Location
Ontario, Canada
Is it normal to have condensation on the 'ceiling' on the fridge?  I have a Norcold 4 door, freezer is fine, it's the fridge section.  I checked all the seals, washed them down, tried the paper trick, it pulls out but doesn't fall out.  The humidity level here is fairly high.  It's not all the time but if I think about it I suppose it's worse when the humidity level is higher outside.  I have not noticed it before, but that's not to say it wasn't there and I just haven't noticed.
Thanks for any input...
Ruth
 
Hmmm...I'm not an expert by any means but I was thinking that if your level was off a bit it might screw up the drainage back towards the fins and the condensation tray.

We too are in a VERY humid area (Coastal Bend Texas). We haven't had any condensation issues other than the freezer of course getting loaded up a bit, although it was almost two months before my wife did the defrost on it.  I'm thinking that it's probably just the humidity in your area, the fact that your fridge is condensing moisture means it's working. Those big double door refrigerators have considerably more surface area as well as volume inside providing quite a bit of potential for condensation. Design wise the moisture is supposed to travel to the rear of the fridge where it can go down the fins and into the condensation tray which will drain to the outside.  Are your fins freezing up badly?

If you do a lot of cooking indoors with the rig closed up your humidity levels inside will be much higher than they are outside, not to mention the amount of moisture generated when showering, doing dishes etc.  I would recommend using your exhaust fans whenever possible when performing tasks like dishes and showering. I have actually gotten up in the morning and found "dew" on the dining room table!!
 
Alright, this is gonna sound stupid but....

Make sure that the light is turning off when you close the door.  Trip the switch with the door open and make sure the light turns off.

Are the fins loaded up with ice??  In high humidity areas the fins will almost always have some on them but it shouldn't be loaded.
 
Foto-n-T said:
Make sure that the light is turning off when you close the door.
Click to expand...

Having the light stay ON with the door closed should, IMO, reduce the amount of condensation due to the small amount of heat produced by the light. I would remove the light fixture and make sure that the area where the wires come through the "ceiling" of the frig contains insulation. There could be "cold" transfer from the freezer compartment which is making the area colder and hence a spot for condensation to occur.

Richard
 
Yup, lights go off when the door close.  The fins, particularly when the thermostat is on the fin, that side, does get heavier with ice, but not bad.  And this fridge automatically defrosts itself about every 48 hours so it doesn't really get a chance to accumulate.  I'm not so electrically inclined so getting the light to stay on when the door closes is more than I can handle.  I just wondered if this is a normal thing to happen, and as I said, now that I've been monitoring it, it appears to be worse when the humidity level inside/outside is higher.  Maybe that's the reason.
 
Check in the back to make sure everything is clean where the compressor is and all coils there are free of dust and dirt...Also it is getng fresh air in there....
 
Get 1 or 2 of the little D Cell air recirculators and put 1st on the bottom shelf and the 2nd one in the middle if yours is a big fridge like it sounds like. And, do you have a summer=humid-winter=dry switch that wasn't switched over?
 
Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll try and answer them.. I always make sure the food has cooled before I put it in the fridge, I never put hot food in there.  The back of fridge, I assume you mean when I take the panel off outside, is clean and free from debris and dust.  I have one of those little fans, keep it in about the middle.  I don't know anything about a summer/winter switch.  Nothing in my manual about that and I don't see one anywhere.
Next??? ;)
 
Bob Maxwell said:
Get 1 or 2 of the little D Cell air recirculators and put 1st on the bottom shelf and the 2nd one in the middle if yours is a big fridge like it sounds like. And, do you have a summer=humid-winter=dry switch that wasn't switched over?
Click to expand...
X2 on the mini DD fan unit.  Since we started using this little guy we don't notice all that condensation and the unit definitely is more efficient and cools down quicker when starting.  I always try and separate the contents of the fridge a bit, allowing flow from the bottom shelf to the top.
 

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The cold air is at the bottom, the warmer air rises to those vents.

Move the old up, put the vegies/fruit at the top and what needs to be cold in the drawers and bottom shelf. Think about it. :)
 
Ken, just had the same problem on my 1201 Norcold.  Did the same things you did with no luck.  My frig is a 2007 model.

There are two heaters (not the cooling unit heaters) in your frig, one between the freezer and cooler compartments and the other in the Sealing Flapper between the cooler doors (mounted on the left door).  The purpose of these heaters is to reduce condensation,

If you look at at the lefthand inner side of the left cooler door you will see either 2 or 3 spring loaded plungers (2 on older models and 3 on newer) which mate with the the 2/3 contacts on the left inner wall of the cooler to provide 12vdc to the heater in the Door Flapper when the door is closed and the thermistor calls for cooling.

Measure the resistance between the outer plungers on the Left Door to insure continuity of the heater.  Measure voltage between outer contacts on the inner left wall of the cooler with the door switch operated and the thermistor calling for a cooling cycle.  It should be 12+vdc.

My problem was extended due to, what I believe is an error in the Service Manual, in that the SM says the resistance of the Flapper Heater should be between 42 and 47ohms.  My heater was reading 44ohms and I thought I was golden.  The SM says that the flapper should feel warm to the touch during a cooling cycle, it didn't.  I jumped the heater to a 12v battery and it didn't get warm, notwithstanding my 44ohm reading.

After working on the problem intermittently for a couple more weeks I measured the Flapper resistance of 4 other 1201 (2 newer and 2older than mine) Norcold's here in the Park and they each measured 28ohms.  Called Norcold Customer Service and they would do nothing but refer me to the local Authorized Dealer because of liability exposure.

The net of it is that I ordered a new Flapper from PPL, replaced and problem is resolved (the resistance of the new Flapper is  28ohms).  Do not use PPL internet as they do not do Special Orders.

Norcold Service is a complete disappointment as they seem to shifting all responsibility and liability to their Dealers.
 
some fridge condensation is normal and to be expected. that's why they put those drains in there. are you getting excessive amounts or maybe just notice it more because it's not draining? take a can of compressed air and blow out the drain lines....

and make sure the door seals are clean and sealing well  :)
 
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