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Old 11-25-2010, 03:58 PM   #1
K&Gs3400RL
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Refrigerator quit working

Yup it got down in the 20's the past few nights I took care of everything I could think of that might freeze but I forgot the fridge. Any Ideas for me to try or am I [/////=> ?
 
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Old 11-25-2010, 06:26 PM   #2
Rondo
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George-- take off the cover that is on the outside of the camper for the back of the refrig and see if there is any yellow residue around the area. If there is, the frig has bit the dust-sprung a leak in the system. There has been several recalls out for both manufacturers and that may be covered under those. Since your unit is a 2010, I would think that the unit is under warranty yet and your dealer, Keystone, or the refrig manufacturer/s should take care of it. If there's no residue check your breakers. I'm assuming it does not work on either electric or gas?!!?
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Old 11-25-2010, 07:08 PM   #3
HamRad
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George,
I agree with Rondo. In addition you might find that when it warms up some that the fridge will work just fine. Since I have zero experience in weather that cold I can only guess that the cold weather may be causing the problem.

Hopefully you are still under warranty if the thing is actually broken. I don't think there is any "winterizing" protocol for the fridge but don't know for sure.

Good luck and let us know what happens.
Dennis
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Old 11-26-2010, 12:39 AM   #4
Drifty1
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George, Is the fridge working,or are you asking if you should of did something to prevent any possible damage before it turned cold? I don't believe there is a thing to do with the fridge before the weather turns cold. I believe if there was any preventive maintenance that we would of heard it many time on this forum. I guess I might need to do a little surfing the web to see if a cold weather plan on Dometics web site.
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Old 11-26-2010, 12:49 AM   #5
camper4
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Mine is hard to start on gas when it is cold out. I usually plug in and start it on electric. After it gets close to temp. it will start on propane. My previous '05, 2955 acted the same way.
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Old 11-27-2010, 05:10 AM   #6
K&Gs3400RL
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Thanks for the replies, I ment to get on here and answer some of you questions but have been busy. There was no yellow residue, We had it on electric to save on propane and after it went out I tried switching it to propane but it still dident work So I turned it off as stated to do below and waited. So the Good News I got the fridge working using a drop light with a 100watt bulb, at least I think thats why. Here is some info I found on the net I hope it helps everyone else using your rigs in cold weather.

Of Special Note: Your RVs Refrigerator is very vulnerable in cold weather. Your RVs refrigerator has chemicals in the cooling unit that will gel up like diesel fuel if the outside temperature gets down too far. This will stop your refer from working properly. There needs to be a certain amount of heat in the vented compartment behind the refer for it to operate as it should. For that reason, it is important to park your RV so the back of the refrigerator gets as much southern exposure as possible. While this will not guarantee that your refer will continue to work, this will help. If that is impossible to do or if it is extremely cold, you can open the access door on the outside of your RV and add a bat of UNFACED FIBERGLASS INSULATION to cover the vent holes in the lower compartment access, thereby slowing down the circulation of air through the compartment and keeping some of the heat in. A single bat of unfolded and unfaced R11 should be good enough.You are not trying to completely block off the vent... you Just want to slow down the movement of air through the compartment on the backside of your refer. NOTE: Use only UNFACED fiberglass insulation as it is not adversely affected by heat sources or open flame. AS a suggested rule, place the bat in the compartment when the outside temperature gets down to and stays below 15 degrees... just remember to pull the bat out the next spring or the refrigerator will run too hot and will stop working as well. NEVER cover or block the upper vent. In conjunction with the UNFACED fiberglass bat, I've seen the use of a small shielded 60 watt bulb in the bottom of the compartment to help further provide heat to the cooling unit in cold weather as well. Just insure if you use the bulb, place it in a drop light socket with shield and place it away from wires or anything else it may come in contact with. THE MAJOR REFRIGERATOR MANUFACTURERS FROWN ON THIS PRACTICE SO, IF YOUR REFRIGERATOR IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY, YOU MAY WANT TO FIND AN ALTERNATIVE MEANS TO KEEP YOUR FOOD COOL. The major manufacturers provide for no preventive maintenance in this area. It was explained to me that an RV refrigerator goes in an RV... Following that thought, an RV is what it is... a RECREATIONAL VEHICLE, and the use of their product was not intended for extreme cold weather operation. Thus so, the procedure for a frozen cooling unit is to remove it from the RV and let it thaw in a heated garage or room for at least 72 hours or more and then retest it for operation before re-installing it. Why wait for it to freeze in the first place? Preventive maintenance is the key.

As a note, I've also seen owners fill the outside of the refer access panel with the grey or white split styrofoam pipe wrap. They just cut them to length and fill the three vents, so commonly seen on Dometic and Norcold access panels. These syrofoam tubes fit snug and, because they are on ther outside of the access panel, they make more room for a drop light and are seen easily so, come spring... you will remember to remove them.

So ,how do you know when your refrigerator is froze up? It is a pretty good indication that the chemicals have gelled up is when:

The outside temperature has been below 15 Degrees F or less for several days
The refrigerator has stopped cooling on the inside
Touching the Chimney (Commonly a silver vertical tube on the right side of the back of the fridge behind the access panel) is warm while at the same time, the absorber vessel ( a big grey or black horizontal canister sitting the middle of all of the tubes in the back of the fridge, also behind the access panel) is cold. To prevent damage to the cooling unit, immediately TURN OFF YOUR REFRIGERATOR AND CALL A SERVICE TECHNICIAN.
NOTE: AFTER your refrigerator is froze up, the ONLY thing an RV Technician can do is remove the unit and place it in a warm place for 48 to 72 hours to let it thaw out. He must also test it for proper operation before re-installing it in your RV.
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Old 11-27-2010, 06:03 AM   #7
richfaa
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yes we are familier with those special notes that is why we decided to keep the Fridge in warm weather in the winter and come along to keep a eye on it...
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Old 11-27-2010, 10:36 AM   #8
ols1932
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When I lived in a travel trailer in freezing weather, I rigged up a light bulb circuit (100W) in back of the refrigerator. This made the refrigerator think it was warmer outside and the cooling unit worked. I didn't have anyone tell me this, it was something I tried and by golly it worked!

Orv
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