I am at a show in Sacramento and the high yesterday was 124 degrees - yes really. It was still 100 degrees at 9pm last night and was 78 degrees when I got up this morning at 5am. Its just past noon and above 90 degrees already today.
I know I shouldn't be surprised, but the fridge in my trailer isn't cooling. I have the A/C running in the trailer almost 24/7, and its probably 75 inside or so, but my fridge just won't cool down. I live in the Pacific Northwest where a normal high temperature would be 80 degrees or so. 124 is just off the charts. What kind of performance should I expect from my fridge in this heat? Is there something wrong with it or is it just overworked?
Posted 2007-08-30 2:58 PM (#66855 - in reply to #66853) Subject: RE: RV fridge in extreme heat
Expert
Posts: 2958 Location: North Carolina
Sounds like something else is wrong with the fridge. The fridge is in your LQ .. right? The trailer ac unit is cooling the LQ right? So the fridge is in an area that's 70 degrees ... not 120 degrees
Some possible issues. The fridge is against a trailer wall that is getting hot (uninsulated, sun burning in, etc).... The fridge's coils are blocked to air flow and not getting cooled....
The compressor is failing and not cooling...very bad
Posted 2007-08-30 3:08 PM (#66856 - in reply to #66855) Subject: RE: RV fridge in extreme heat
Elite Veteran
Posts: 736 Location: Western WA
Yes, the fridge is in the 70 degree LQ area. The awning shades the area where the fridge is on the outside wall, but when its 124 shade doesn't matter much. The vent to the fridge isn't blocked and was working fine earlier in the week so I don't think the coils are blocked - but I'll go out and open the cover and take a look.
Posted 2007-08-30 3:49 PM (#66859 - in reply to #66853) Subject: RE: RV fridge in extreme heat
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 383 Location: Texas
I haven't had a problem with mine when it was 120 or so inside the trailer and around 105 outside temp. Sounds like something isn't working right..... is it running on electric or propane? If propane then there could be something clogging the burner causing it to not heat the coolant right or if it's running on electric then the coil that heats the coolant might be bad. Might try switching to whatever it isn't running on now to see if that fixes the problem.
Posted 2007-08-30 4:56 PM (#66867 - in reply to #66853) Subject: RE: RV fridge in extreme heat
Member
Posts: 43 Location: Cheyenne,Wy
An rv frig work by heating up an amonia soulition . as the amonia cools down it pulls the heat out of the frig. If all the back of the refer is hot or the same temp the amonia wont cool down so the refer wont cool down. The best fix is to put a small thermostat controled fan behind the refer . any rv shop should have one .
Posted 2007-08-31 12:05 AM (#66888 - in reply to #66868) Subject: RE: RV fridge in extreme heat
Elite Veteran
Posts: 736 Location: Western WA
Yep trailer is level. Was guessing the problem might be that its so hot the fridge just can't cool. Will look into a fan, but I hope to never be in 120+ degree heat ever again. Let me tell you its miserable to show in this heat.
Posted 2007-08-31 1:12 PM (#66922 - in reply to #66853) Subject: RE: RV fridge in extreme heat
Regular
Posts: 88 Location: Youngstown, OH
sounds like you better get the fridge checked out by an RV service tech. If the freezer is cooling & the fridge isn't, it has nothing to do with the outside temp. Often you can get a service call at a big show if there are local RV places. Hate to be a bummer, but when I've seen this happen in the past the frig needs to be replaced. Good luck!
Posted 2007-09-03 1:20 PM (#67072 - in reply to #67057) Subject: RV fridge in extreme heat
Elite Veteran
Posts: 736 Location: Western WA
LOL! Got to the barn last night about 6:30pm after leaving Sacramento at 4:45am. At one point I was driving with the windows part way down and it was 85 degrees and that felt cool in comparison to the 100+ temps every day last week. The fridge isn't working any better now that its in more reasonab temps so it will be going in to an RV place this week.
Posted 2007-09-03 8:18 PM (#67092 - in reply to #66853) Subject: RE: RV fridge in extreme heat
Elite Veteran
Posts: 736 Location: Western WA
I'm back home to balmy 75 degree days and the fridge started cooling again today after I switched it back from gas to AC. I think I may still take it in to an RV place to have it looked at, although I don't know what they will find since it is cooling again.
RV fridge in extreme heat
