427v8 said:
besides the obvious reason of it being nice to sit / sleep in a level motorhome is there really any reason to level it?
People have told me that the fridge needs to be level, but the refrigeration engineers I've spoken to say the fridge woulnd't care as long as it's not lying on it's side...
Thanks
Keith
Hi Keith:
An RV fridge works on a different principle than those your friends may have been thinking of. In order to increase the temperature of refrigerant, a home type fridge can use household electricity to run a compressor. When the pressure is released, and the refrigerant begins to evaporate, cooling happens.
The RVer does not want to use electricity to run a compressor so the RV fridge has no moving parts. It works generally on the concept of Ammonia ultimatly evaporating in a Hydrogen environment causing the same type of cooling. However, getting the Ammonia to a gaseous state and then condensed is done by heating it in a boiler (via propane or electricity) along with other liquids such as water so it will rise up a tube and then separate while the water returns to the boiler.
Here's a digram of the RV frig that explains this in detail:
http://www.rvmobile.com/TECH/TROUBLE/COOLDOC.HTM
Note the mention of the "Old Style" boiler vs. the "New Style" as it applies to need to be level. Also, note the tubes the liquids must pass through. Gravity moves these liquids downward -- so if the tubing (forward and backward) are tilted beyond a certain point, the liquid will not be able move, or move as fast.