refrigerator use in cold weather

[fred]

Was wondering if anyone has any experience using there fridge in cold weather.We are having temps at 20 degrees during day and zero or below at night.Wanted to start fridge on weds to load on thurs for trip to florida on friday morning but keep reading they do not cool well in cold temps and wanted to know if anyone uses there unit in these temps. thanks for your help

[hankaye]

fred, Howdy;

Yep, I've used mind in -40*F temps. I also fulltime in mine and have not
(touch wood), had a problem in cooler or cold temps.

hankaye

[glenalt]

I've used mine this winter down to 3 degrees and it worked fine.

[larry337]

Too funny Fred! I just logged in to pose the same question! We're ate leaving for Florida next week also. We have a fridge in our garage and it doesn't work in extreme colds. The foods in the freezer begins to thaw so I was wondering how we should handle the fridge in the RV.

[hankaye]

fred & larry337, Howdy;

Why not plug in the trailers the day before you were planning to,
that way you can check the battery and heater for function and
warm up the interior of the trailer. Helps eliminate any other 'surprises'
and give the 'fridg a warm and friendly environment in which to awaken ...
Just a thought.

hankaye

[larry337]

Originally Posted by hankaye

fred & larry337, Howdy;

Why not plug in the trailers the day before you were planning to,
that way you can check the battery and heater for function and
warm up the interior of the trailer. Helps eliminate any other 'surprises'
and give the 'fridg a warm and friendly environment in which to awaken ...
Just a thought.

hankaye

The trailer is plugged in to my pole barn and the furnace has been run. Do you know of any specific info on warming up the interior just to run the fridge? I'd rather not waste a half tank of propane just to heat my camper for nothing the day before a trip. I would like to know if the fridge can run safely and effectively in cold weather both the night before and during my 1000 mile trip. Though we should see warmer temps the farther south we go obviously.

[hankaye]

larry337, Howdy;

Originally Posted by larry337

The trailer is plugged in to my pole barn and the furnace has been run. Do you know of any specific info on warming up the interior just to run the fridge? I'd rather not waste a half tank of propane just to heat my camper for nothing the day before a trip. I would like to know if the fridge can run safely and effectively in cold weather both the night before and during my 1000 mile trip. Though we should see warmer temps the farther south we go obviously.

No, I don't have any specific info about pre-warming the interior. I only
have my experience which was the trailer was warm, and fridge running
when the bottom of the thermometer dropped out. So ... that is what I
based that comment on. Fair enough?

hankaye

[abc40kids]

So I'm trading my 06 Cardinal in Momday on a Mountaineer. My Cardinal has had the frig plugged in since 2006 year round and we can get down close to zero at times, had no issues at all.

[larry337]

Originally Posted by hankaye

larry337, Howdy;



No, I don't have any specific info about pre-warming the interior. I only
have my experience which was the trailer was warm, and fridge running
when the bottom of the thermometer dropped out. So ... that is what I
based that comment on. Fair enough?

hankaye

Sounds good thank you! If it's not necessary I won't be running the furnace, partly because the roof has a layer of snow and I don't like the idea of melting and refreezing snow and ice up there any more then what would normally happen. Can't wait to leave this frozen tundra behind.

[hankaye]

larry337, Howdy;

You might want to brake out the push broom and ladder an knock the snow
off the roof before you leave. If it happens to unload itself onto a following
vehicle and do damage or cause an accident you may be held responsible.
Strange as it may seem, I've not had the heat from the trailer melt any snow
on my roof when I was in snow country. As far as a re-freeze, the snow acts
as an insulator and keeps the covered surface from going below
freezing. I used to keep the snow shoveled up above the skirting to help keep
the belly areas from freezing.

hankaye

[RedRover]

The problem with running a refrigerator in already cold temperatures is that the sensor that determines run or don't run is located in the lower section of the box and not in the freezer section. If the refrigerator is located in an already cold environment (cold trailer) the sensor is satisfied and the unit will not run. If the unit does not run then the freezer unit will not freeze and the ice cream melts.
The same thing happens in my plain household refrigerator in my unheated garage. Throughout the warm and hot summer months the freezer serves as a nice overflow for my kitchen refrigerator but in the winter it seldom runs and things in the freezer thaws.

[dave-g]

Originally Posted by RedRover

The problem with running a refrigerator in already cold temperatures is that the sensor that determines run or don't run is located in the lower section of the box and not in the freezer section. If the refrigerator is located in an already cold environment (cold trailer) the sensor is satisfied and the unit will not run. If the unit does not run then the freezer unit will not freeze and the ice cream melts.
The same thing happens in my plain household refrigerator in my unheated garage. Throughout the warm and hot summer months the freezer serves as a nice overflow for my kitchen refrigerator but in the winter it seldom runs and things in the freezer thaws.

+1 this is the problem- thermostat is in the refrigerator section not the freezer.

[larry337]

So that would support Hankaye's theory of warming the interior but what about when traveling? Is it even safe to run the furnace while moving? I would worry about drafts, fumes, pilot lights, open flames and all that!

[hankaye]

larry337, Howdy;

Not really recommended to run the furnace while on the road.
Once you get the 'fridge to your stabilized temp. that's with the
groceries loaded. You can then, when you're ready to roll, turn it off
and hit the road. It should keep everything nice and cold until you
settle in for the evening on your journey.
I use a 1/2 filled container (your choice), of frozen water (freeze in
upright position, lay horizontal for travel), as a "tattle-tail" in the
freezer so I'll know if it warmed up to much or not.
Travel safe...

hankaye

[Bill & Deb]

Originally Posted by fred

Was wondering if anyone has any experience using there fridge in cold weather.We are having temps at 20 degrees during day and zero or below at night.Wanted to start fridge on weds to load on thurs for trip to florida on friday morning but keep reading they do not cool well in cold temps and wanted to know if anyone uses there unit in these temps. thanks for your help

If your out door temperatures are that cold. Just leave the doors open for a few hours then load food ( Freezer Only). Then once you hit an area where the outside temperatures are above freezing you can stop and start the fridge on propane.


Cheers
Bill

[mark1228]

I think the problem that some of you may be referring to is the cooling unit gelling up. I am a dealer and we have cold temps. The newer fridges have a little different solution in the cooling unit and it can, in very cold temps, gel up and not cool any longer. My experience is the newer Dometic 1350 side by side does this often in temps below 0. We have seen other fridges do it as well and we have seen it in a little warmer temps, but most of the trouble we have had has been subzero.

Some of you made a great point that if the fridge is already cold, it won't call for cool so that can be a problem as well but even if you warm up the interior of the RV, the cooling unit is exposed to exterior temps. Another issue can be snow covering the roof vent(if yours has a roof vent) and not allowing heat to escape.

We are experimenting with some of our customers with heat tape on the cooling unit with a thermostat that turns on just above freezing and so far we have good luck with this.