Temp in a Dometic Refridge

[rich2118]

I have a 2014 3610RL. The small temp window in the upper right corner starts off at about 35 degrees in the morning. It's now 10PM and the temp in the window is 46. It was 47 a while ago. We are traveling in 90 to 100 degree temps. We did go shopping today and the fridge doors were open while putting food in the fridge. Is there something I should be looking for or is this normal?

[DarMar]

46 or 47 is not cold enough for proper food storage. If your fridge is set on the highest 5 setting then I would say you definitely have a problem.

After a year of such nonsense we just had our fridge replaced. We start the day now at 34/35 and it will hold 37 during a hot afternoon while set on the 3 setting.

[1retired06]

That was what our Dometic was doing, and then it stayed at 47/48 and would not get colder. Cooling unit was replaced under warranty.. New one runs 34/35 on number 3 temp setting. It will creep up to 38/40 in the afternoon in really hot weather, with an average through the day of 36/37, back down to the low 30s when we get up in the morning. outside heat does affect the operating temp. 47 is not good. What we did to reduce the temp variance was to get two battery operated internal refrigerator fans which sit on the bottom shelf and seems to have really helped. There is also a hard wired unit that attaches to the internal fins and hooks into the frig light for power. No personal experience with that one. Since yours is 35 in the morning, maybe it is the excessive heat you are experiencing, but it needs to cool back down for sure. Would double check the door seals. Would also check to make sure the vent fans outside (4 in our unit) are working.

[leemedic]

Now our 2013 came with a Norcold. This thing is awesome. It has 1-9 cold settings. We keep it at 5, and the thermometer we have setting inside shows about 32. The ice cream in the freezer is nice and firm.

We live in Florida and it gets pretty hot down here.

[DarMar]

During our year long process we had a cooling unit replaced last year and after that not solving the problem we asked for a complete fridge replacement, which we finally got.

They did some things to our unit to improve air flow and cooling last year. First they added some flashing metal in the upper outside cabinet to eliminate any pockets that allowed for dead air space. A FIFTH cooling fan was added to the top cabinet facing outside to get even more air flowing.

And finally and perhaps the most important I think is a repositioning of the thermo switch that asks the cooling fans to start up in the first place. Two techs explained this in detail to us and when our new fridge arrived they did the repositioning before they even installed the new unit. On these fridges the thermo switch is installed on the end cooling fin to the right in the top cabinet.

Our switch is now wired directly on the the black tube top left BEFORE it enters the fins. When your fridge is running you can put your finger on the old location and hold it there but when you then touch the left cooling tube it is hot enough that you CAN'T do that. Therfore now our thermo switch will call for cooling fans much sooner than from the factory. Apparently if the cooling solution ever cooks a christalization takes place and then all those particles floating around start to cause blockages.

It's a long story but it's my story and our problem appears to be solved. We wish you good luck with a solution to your's

[Virginia Young]

Ours was doing the same thing as the OP's. An electrician friend of ours told us to turn the refrigerator off for about 20 minutes, then turn it back on. We had to do this about three times, but it finally worked loose whatever was stopping it up and now it works great. It used to be set on 5, now we keep it on 4 and the cream is firm. It was always soft before, on setting 5.

[richfaa]

Ours failed in the 2013 3402 Big sky within 6 months had it replaced under warranty and the freezer will keep Ice cream frozen solid and the fride temp is around 35/38 on 3.

[1retired06]

quote:Originally posted by DarMar

During our year long process we had a cooling unit replaced last year and after that not solving the problem we asked for a complete fridge replacement, which we finally got.

They did some things to our unit to improve air flow and cooling last year. First they added some flashing metal in the upper outside cabinet to eliminate any pockets that allowed for dead air space. A FIFTH cooling fan was added to the top cabinet facing outside to get even more air flowing.

And finally and perhaps the most important I think is a repositioning of the thermo switch that asks the cooling fans to start up in the first place. Two techs explained this in detail to us and when our new fridge arrived they did the repositioning before they even installed the new unit. On these fridges the thermo switch is installed on the end cooling fin to the right in the top cabinet.

Our switch is now wired directly on the the black tube top left BEFORE it enters the fins. When your fridge is running you can put your finger on the old location and hold it there but when you then touch the left cooling tube it is hot enough that you CAN'T do that. Therfore now our thermo switch will call for cooling fans much sooner than from the factory. Apparently if the cooling solution ever cooks a christalization takes place and then all those particles floating around start to cause blockages.

It's a long story but it's my story and our problem appears to be solved. We wish you good luck with a solution to your's

Your thermistor switch is nothing like ours. Attached to the top of the ref, with the wiring going out thru the back. No connection to the cooling fins at all.

[DarMar]

Mike: This is not the interior thermistor that I am talking about which calls for more cold to the fridge inside but rather a thermo switch located on the outside top of the fridge which calls for the cooling fans to come on that are located on the outside back of the fridge.

[1retired06]

Will have to check that out. Thanks

[Hooker]

On our last MH, the refer was in a slide. I put a small AC powered fan at the top of the refer inside the cover outside the refer. It helped cool it down. It was controlled by a remote on/off switch from inside the RV.

[rohrmann]

Our Norcold 1210 failed while at Quartzsite this past January. Had the cooling unit replaced in Las Vegas. It failed again a couple weeks ago, just before arriving at Jackson for the rally, this time leaking the yellow stuff. The new cooling unit should be delivered before the end of the week. This time, I have purchased the ARPrv control that is supposed to provide more precise temp control to the cooling unit to prevent overheating and the resultant failure. This ice chest thing is too much like roughing it.

[DarMar]

quote:Originally posted by rohrmann

Our Norcold 1210 failed while at Quartzsite this past January. Had the cooling unit replaced in Las Vegas. It failed again a couple weeks ago, just before arriving at Jackson for the rally, this time leaking the yellow stuff. The new cooling unit should be delivered before the end of the week. This time, I have purchased the ARPrv control that is supposed to provide more precise temp control to the cooling unit to prevent overheating and the resultant failure. This ice chest thing is too much like roughing it.

Thanks for your post about the ARP rv control, a very interesting read. Two things that really stuck out: one, the addition of two extra cooling unit fans. The top addition that we now have that helps to suck air out of the cavity and a second one at the bottom vent facing in that pushes air in to the cavity( a great new thought).

Secondly this link confirms to us that if these external cooling fans don't call for cooling soon enough, or shut down completely, the cooling unit ends up being cooked.

We are thankful for the repositioning of our thermo switch reiterated by two of our dealers road service techs.

When I think of the thousands of dollars Keystone/Dometic have spent on our fridge alone, one would think better temp control and in/out air fans would be a small price to pay from the factory.

This past weekend our friends new Cougar fridge stopped cooling(thermo switch) they added another fan and moved thermo switch of course. When I suggested to the shop foreman that it should have been addressed before they took possession two weeks ago he said Keystone/Dometic will only pay for a service call after a problem arises not before it leaves their lot. Good logic, HUH!!!

[rich2118]

Wow. Thanks for all the great info. I took the lower cover off and wiggled some wires and found that if I wiggled the wire with the inline fuse in it, I could actually start and stop the fridge fans. I squeezed the inline fuse holder together and the fridge has been working fine for the last 9 days. Hope that's all it was.

[dorsjerry]

I have a 2015 High Country 310RE with a Dometic refrigerator. We bought the unit new and for the past 6 months the frig temps have been in the high 40s to low 50s. They put in a new demister and we installed additional fans and they installed material to channel the how air out the top vent. We take it in to have it checked and it never fails they say there is nothing wrong with the frig. I have had it read 34 degrees F. and open the doors for a few minutes and it still reads 34. If I shut off the power and turn it back on the temp jumps up to 60 degrees. I think it is a power module issue? It is back in the shop now after spending 3 weeks at Myrtle Beach. I had to buy a small electric refrig to finish our vacation. Any additional ideas would be welcome.

[1retired06]

I mounted a 4inch ac fan in the lower outside frig vent pointed up to push heat up so the upper fans can clear the heat easier. Has helped a great deal re cooler operation.