Refrigerator Vent

[grashley]

Thanks to all of you, I believe I know what my refrigerator problem is.  I'm afraid I do not know exactly how to fix it.

Problem:  Norcold 1210  Not cooling well.  This weekend, freezer at 25?  Fridge at 45?.  Took off outside lower cover, temps dropped to  22? and 39?.  A year ago, it would hold 5? and  35? with the cover on.  Factory fan can be heard operating.  Switching from electric to gas made no difference.

The issue is a partial vent blockage???

Question:  Exactly where is the vent?  From the bottom, the boiler and LP flame is on the right with wiring and finned coils to the left.  On the top side (side vent), finned coils on the left and a large plate blocking all but the top few inches of the opening, so I can not look down into anything to look for any debris.
How do I clean what I can not see?

As always, thanks for the help!

 

[Wishbone51]

Is your fridge on a slideout?

 

[grashley]

Yes, it is in a slide, thus the side vent.

 

[xrated]

Yes, it is in a slide, thus the side vent.

Preacher.....those Norcold models, the one that you have and the 2118 (18 cu. ft. model) have a lot of issues with the rear cooling fans going bad.  They are pretty anemic to start with because they don't move much air, and then if one or both of them quit, the frig temps are going to go sky high.  That is the first place I'd check to make sure that they are in fact running when they should be.  Mine moved so little air (2118 model) that I've added additional fans to the upper vent on the inside...blowing outward.  After the install, I tested the unit.  I let it run for 20 hours on full cold (#9 setting) and with no food or drinks whatsoever in the fridge.  After 20 hours, I had 3 degrees in the freezer and 28 degrees in the frig compartment.  During the daytime while I was letting it run, the outside temperature that day was 92-93 degrees and the afternoon sun was on the frig side of the trailer getting direct sunlight on it.  Check the fans first and make sure they are working.

And even if you are tempted to remove that plate that is across the top vent, do not do it.  It is there to help force the air that is being moved across the coil.  With that removed, the air that is blowing upward would just exit out the top of the compartment and not be blowing across the heat exchanger.  Does your have two fans on the upper area like mine does (the 2118)?  Make sure that both are running.

 

[lynnmor]

Vent blockage can happen, my trailer had a large piece of fiberglass in the coils from the factory.  Use a flashlight and look up from the bottom and down from the top.  The baffling you see is required, but that doesn't mean it was done correctly.  Get the installation manual and make sure that everything was done right, for example mine had no baffle from the top of the condenser to the top of the vent.  Better fans might be needed as stated above,  but make sure yours is operating correctly first.  Now make a note to self: NEVER BUY ANOTHER RV WITH THE FRIDGE IN THE SLIDE.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Now make a note to self: NEVER BUY ANOTHER RV WITH THE FRIDGE IN THE SLIDE.

Unless it is a residential-style compressor fridge. 

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

There are basically two things that need venting.  One is the large condenser coil running cross-wise at the top that has to be able to shed heat; the other is the waste heat from the boiler & its burner/heater-element.  A major source of poor fridge performance is the condenser not shedding enough heat to fully condense all the vapor from the boiler.  The factory fans are located by the condenser for that reason.  If the waste heat from the boiler gets trapped in that area, it exacerbates the problem. Basically, you need good air flow from the bottom inlet vent out through the top or side vents. Baffles are supposed to help guide the airflow, but my be improperly installed or may have come loose. Critter nests and loose wiring are also know to be a contributor.  You just have to hunt through it the best you can.

 

[ChasA]

I take issue with what Lynnmor and Gary said. My Norcold fridge is in a slideout. And it works just fine. I think most of the problems with fridges in slides are due to improper installation as Gary said. We just got home after 7.5 months living in the coach.  No fridge problems at all.

 

[Lou Schneider]

My fridge isn't in a slideout so it has the lower side opening and the roof vent, which is how they were originally intended to be installed.  It works fine without a fan until it gets into the upper 90s as there's enough natural convection flow over the rear coils.

Above about 95 degrees the chimney effect breaks down and I set up a 6" clip-on fan set on low to blow air up the back of the fridge.  It doesn't take much airflow to restore the cooling.  My refrigerator is on the sunny side of the trailer, the high yesterday was 110 degrees and my fridge and freezer stayed nice and cold.

When it cools down a bit I'll replace the clip on fan with a 12 volt muffin fan.

 

[davismills]

I used this method to install two external very quiet fans on my upper vent cover.  Worked great.  My stock 12-volt fan was dead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wVTP89-Btg

 

[Rene T]

Nice job job.  Can you really feel the Air movement outside

 

[grashley]

So the area behind the fridge between the upper and lower vents is hollow?  Is that where critters hide?

I can hear a fan coming on and off, but to your point, that does not mean it is still moving enough air to be effective.

Davismills:  What fans did you use?  A quick Amazon search shows gobs of "computer style" box fans, but none like in the referenced video.

When it gets a bit cooler, I will go out with a mirror and flashlight.
Thanks everyone!

 

[lynnmor]

I take issue with what Lynnmor and Gary said. My Norcold fridge is in a slideout. And it works just fine. I think most of the problems with fridges in slides are due to improper installation as Gary said. We just got home after 7.5 months living in the coach.  No fridge problems at all.

Yes, mine now works OK after correcting the improper installation.  The reasons to not buy one in a slide is;  the cooling may not be good enough in extreme conditions, operating a fan that takes battery capacity when not connected to power, slide covers may not have a good place for attachment, and a loaded fridge is heavy which may cause floor sag.

 

[Rene T]

Davismills:  What fans did you use?  A quick Amazon search shows gobs of "computer style" box fans, but none like in the referenced video.

Gordon, the last 3 seconds of the video he indicates what fans he used

 

[xrated]

For anyone interested, here is the link to the fans that I purchased and installed on my Norcold 2118.  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F2K5GCW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is a twin fan package.  There are two 120mm fans side by side, a controller that mounts in the trailer, mounting clips for attaching to the upper vent cover, and a temperature sensor.  It's a bit of work to install but well worth it in my opinion.  The controller can be set to Auto or Manual operation (I use the Auto setting) and the fans have six speeds.  In the auto mode, the temperature sensor will turn the fans on when the compartment reaches 68 degrees....and will keep ramping the speed up if the temperature in the compartment continues to rise.  At 145 degrees, the fans are running at full speed, and moving a little over 120 CFM of air across the heat exchanger....if you installed it correctly.  At the end of your camping trip, you simply turn the fans off and there is no battery drain.  The hardest part of the install will be drilling a hole somewhere in order to run the wiring from the controller in the trailer to to the back of the frig unit.  The wiring can come out the back of the controller though, so you never see the hole or the wiring inside the trailer.....unless you choose to not drill a hole and just run the wiring on a wall instead of through the wall.

 

[davismills]

Nice job job.  Can you really feel the Air movement outside

Yes.

 

[davismills]

So the area behind the fridge between the upper and lower vents is hollow?  Is that where critters hide?

I can hear a fan coming on and off, but to your point, that does not mean it is still moving enough air to be effective.

Davismills:  What fans did you use?  A quick Amazon search shows gobs of "computer style" box fans, but none like in the referenced video.

When it gets a bit cooler, I will go out with a mirror and flashlight.
Thanks everyone!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009XERK6G/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&psc=1&linkCode=sl1&tag=chipncharlie-20&linkId=17830d94b2e09ae163099e3b07b8d559

 

[Rene T]

For anyone interested, here is the link to the fans that I purchased and installed on my Norcold 2118.  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F2K5GCW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I noticed in a couple of pictures that they mounted them on the bottom vent. Is that what you did? I would think that it would suck in water when it rains.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

So the area behind the fridge between the upper and lower vents is hollow?  Is that where critters hide?

Pretty much, but there are typically wires dangling and various fridge components protruding into it.  So yes, if some insect or animal decides to take up residence, that's the likley place.  Sometimes things winter there (RV not in use) and leave a mess behind when they move out in the spring. If you always have the louvered vents in place, I would not expect anything more than insect nests, but it's hard to predict. Mice, for example, can get thru tiny openings but build sizable nests.

The 1210 Installation manual will show you how it is supposed to look back there. It has separate diagrams and instructions for side vs top vent, so quite detailed.
https://www.thetford.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Norcold-Ultraline-1210-Installation-Manual-GE-Through-10-07-08.pdf

 

[Rene T]

Yes.

I was thinking would you get better exhaust if you could mount the fans in and away from the grill 3 to 4 inches that way you?d be pushing the hot air through more holes in the grill instead of just the ones directly in front of the fans. Just a thought.
If I still had a RV fridge I would most definitely do what you did but I got rid of mine and installed a residential fridge.