Fridge Not Cold Enough

[8Muddypaws]

My Norcold 4 door is 'quirky' about the setting. If I set it for anything over 4 it has a paradoxical effect of making the interior warmer. 2 or 3 is best for normal outside temps but 4 is usually required for really hot weather.

I added 4 (quiet) 120mm computer fans to draw air through the heat exchangers. The fans are controlled by a button thermostatic switch mounted on the same fin as the domestic installed one.

I tried a snip-the-tip adjustable thermistor but it didn't work well for me because of the Norcold defrost cycle timing. Your refer probably doesn't have that problem.

Mine stays under 35 and the freezers are usually -18 unless the doors are open too long.

 

[Dan_Frisbie]

My Norcold 4 door is 'quirky' about the setting. If I set it for anything over 4 it has a paradoxical effect of making the interior warmer. 2 or 3 is best for normal outside temps but 4 is usually required for really hot weather.

I added 4 (quiet) 120mm computer fans to draw air through the heat exchangers. The fans are controlled by a button thermostatic switch mounted on the same fin as the domestic installed one.

I tried a snip-the-tip adjustable thermistor but it didn't work well for me because of the Norcold defrost cycle timing. Your refer probably doesn't have that problem.

Mine stays under 35 and the freezers are usually -18 unless the doors are open too long.

Interesting…
I put the fans in the pic on the bottom blowing up through the condenser(?), the outside coils…
I put a few bottles of ice inside for testing, because I know that it’s not good to run a fridge empty…
Setting is 9 (as cold as it goes)
On electric, it went down to 50 degrees which is barely acceptable, on gas down to 45. It’s been running on gas all day.
Just now, I went and checked and it’s back up to 60 on gas.
I changed the setting to 4 as @8Muddypaws posted and we will see what happens next.
@8Muddypaws , in a weird way, your post makes sense. Maybe the reefer is just working too hard?
What model is yours? Mine is a 2118.

 

[8Muddypaws]

Mine is a 1202LRIM made around 2006.

 

[Dan_Frisbie]

New and important data!
My refrigerator thermometer (which is only 10-12 years old), is not accurate at all….
I bought a couple on new ones from Wally-world and the freezer is 18F and the fridge is 40F.
Not ideal for the fridge, but it’s also empty other than a couple of bottles of water.
The fans are definitely doing the job of cooling it down.
Oh, and I turned the T-stat down to “4” as @8Muddypaws explained.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Rv absorption fridges don't have forced air circulation inside the box, so inside temperatures are uneven, sometimes radically so. Especially if mostly empty because there are no objects to help stabilize temperatures. The recommended way to measure interior temperatures is with a thermometer in a bowl of water and allow several hours to stabilize. In the freezer, add some automotive antifreeze to the bowl of water (or salt or glycerol or whatever) so it doesn't freeze right away.

 

[Onyrlef]

Hmmm, my wife thinks if you eat at the refrigerator with the door open the calories don't count might be something to look into.

Most people don't know that or that broken cookies have no calories.

 

[Dan_Frisbie]

We just spent 10 days at the Indian Point Campground in Missouri using the reefer on electric.
Ice cream was not frozen solid, but was frozen. Shrimp, sausage and ice stayed frozen and water froze in the freezer.
The fridge was full of food and drinks and kept everything cold enough. Not as cold as out home fridge, but safely cold at about 45-50 degrees.
The outside fans definitely helped as did turning the t-stat down to 5.
Thank you for all your help, advice and ideas.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Glad to hear it's good enough to be usable, but that is still bad performance. That fridge should easily maintain 0 in the freezer and 38 in the fridge.

Given your recent experience, I'd guess the fridge was not properly insulated and vented when originally installed, which is an all-too-common a problem. If you look at the Norcold install info, it has very strict requirements for sealing off the sides and top and placing baffles to channel air up the "chimney". That's even more critical if the fridge is a slide (side ventilation instead of roof). The fridge has to be pulled out to fix that.