Refrig Question

[kevin46]

We've been in Florida enjoying the weather for three months and our fridge coils are totally covered in frost. How do fulltimers cope with this? Are we doing something wrong? Is this going to create a problem keeping food cold?
Thanks,
Kevin

[SteveC7010]

Are you talking about the coils on the back of the fridge in the vent area? Or the cooling fins inside the fridge itself?

[Bob Landry]

Assuming you are talking about the evaporator, AKA freezer, yes it can cause a problem if allowed to accumulate. Ice is actually a very good insulator and if you get enough of a buildup, it restricts the amount of cool air that is allowed to drop into the bottom of the fridge and that's how the bottom gets cooled. An ice buildup is almost always caused by an air leak, or in some cases, just going into the fridge too much. I would start with replacing the door seals. They aren't very expensive and are usually the culprits. You can order them from any dealer that sells your brand, either Dometic or Norcold. If you have a problem locating what you need PM me and I can help. If that doesn't fix it, you'll need to go to the rear of the box and look for any place where tubing or wiring goes into the box. These are usually sealed with plumber's putty, but after several years it can get hard and break, letting air into the box. If you have trouble getting what you need, PM me and I can help you out.
The other option is to frequently defrost the unit and a lot of people opt for that rather than working on the box or paying someone to do it. There's nothing wrong with doing that. Defrost it with a pan of warm water, and you can use a hair dryer to loosen the use, just not a heat gun. Don't use anything to remove the use. I make a ton of money from people who got impatient and tried to chip ice out of the evaporator or used a scraper.

[kevin46]

Thanks for responding.
Yes, this is the ice forming inside the box. Our camper is only 2 years old, and I suspect it is because we open the door so often, between my XYL and I. I appreciate the hear blower suggestion to defrost. That should only take a few minutes so we'll just have to put the coffee milk on ice or in the freezer for that time. I think everything else should be OK.

[Festus2]

kevin46 -
You might want to look into placing a small, battery-operated fridge fan inside. It keeps the air circulating and is said to make the fridge operate more efficiently. They are available at CW and other RV suppliers for around $15. I think CW sells two different models.

[hankaye]

kevin46, Howdy;

You didn't mention which make or model
so here is a Manual for several Dometic
Models.;

http://www.dometic.com/31a5c621-4a0e-4bd0-bbc8-006ba0f165f1.fodoc

If it has been HUMID, look into the Climate Control Switch...

Good Luck and please let us know what you found.

hank

[kevin46]

Good morning y'all,

Thanks again for all of your help. I think I've found many 'culprits' that are adding up to create our problem. Among them are:

We seem to open the door VERY often, HOT food containers put in frequently (only 2 of us with packaged meals made for 4 usually) compartment probably overfilled to cut down on shopping trips, and batteries in our fan needing to be replaced.

Looks like mostly I am the cause of our problem . . . ooops . . haha

[rjsurfer]

A fridge fan really helps. If you keep the air moving inside the fridge it balances out the moisture inside and keeps it from freezing and condensing on the fins.

Ron W.

[ThePressureIsOn]

We have one of these refrigerator fans and it does a great job and is easy to install. We are not full timers and have only camped for as long as two weeks, at one time, without any buildup of frost.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DOMETIC-NORCOLD-REFRIGERATOR-FAN-FOR-RV-BOAT-12V-/200831657441?pt=Motors_RV_Trailer_Camper_Parts_Acc essories&hash=item2ec27fe5e1&vxp=mtr

[smiller]

I installed a 12-volt computer fan connected to the refrigerator light (before the switch, so that the fan runs whether the door is open or closed.) I added a resistor to get the speed down to a very gentle breeze. Very effective and totally maintenance-free, no batteries to replace.

[kevin46]

We have one of these refrigerator fans and it does a great job and is easy to install. We are not full timers and have only camped for as long as two weeks, at one time, without any buildup of frost.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DOMETIC-NORCOLD-REFRIGERATOR-FAN-FOR-RV-BOAT-12V-/200831657441?pt=Motors_RV_Trailer_Camper_Parts_Acc essories&hash=item2ec27fe5e1&vxp=mtr

Thank you, that fan looks really good. I'll be ordering one as soon as we get back home.