Fridge at 50

[rbrdriver]

Maybe I need to change my model number on my fiver from 3700FL to 3701FL because that's the one that does come with a residential fridge from the factory, hmmmm.........

[NMRandy]

I have a 2020 Fifth wheel with a Norcold 2118 Polar Max. From the beginning the freezer would get to 0 deg F and the fridge would get over 40 deg F during the day, when it got over 90 deg. It would get down to 33 deg by 8:00 A.M., on setting 7. It worked an little better on AC power, than propane.

I read the posts here and checked the basics, (door seal, fan operation, level Ect.)

My unit is gray with black graphics, the fridge covers are black, the fridge is in the slide, and the sun is on that side in the afternoon. All not great for the fridge cooling well.

I seriously considered replacing the unit with an Amish unit, but decided to try to add some ventilation to the outer fridge cabinet prior to spending $1200+.

I bought a 12 volt fan with an all-weather grille, off E-bay for less than $30, and installed it in the upper fridge vent cover, blowing outwards. I wired it to run constant with the fridge on.

Now the fridge does not get over 40 deg, (unless we open the door a lot), and the freezer is at -5, and will keep ice cream. It does better with food in it, as far as the temp being stable.

[rbrdriver]

Is your fridge in a slide? Our was and that was part of the problem. With both vents in the side instead of one on the roof it is difficult to get proper circulation. We tried all the methods I heard of such as putting in extra fans, etc., but just was never all that great. After putting up with it for quite a while we finally said screw it and swapped it out for a residential.

[Mroe67]

I added the Fridge Defender as I was concerned about overheating. I got the kit that had the two extra fans for the condenser (heat output side) it made little difference. I have no blockages airflow and my door seals are fine. It' just when it hits over 90 the fridge won't cool lower than 50. When I get to a destination that is cooler it works fine. BUt still slow to recover after having it open. I want to go to a domestic fridge, but hate the headaches for the figuring out what unit to get and the install.

[rbrdriver]

By domestic do you mean residential? Anyways the hardest part of course is getting the original unit out of the rig and putting the new one in. We had to take the doors off of both fridges so as to get it through the coach door. I also had some able-bodied boys to do a lot of the lifting phase, thank God! I already have a 2000 pure sine-wave inverter in the rig, with 3 outlets on it we just rigged a decent extension cord to the original receptacle there by the fridge, and set it up so one outlet is tied into the inverter, and the other is for when we are on shore power (which we are 90% of the time anyways), so when we do travel we just move the fridge plug from one to the other and flip on the inverter. Also capped off the propane line, no biggie there, and left the outside part of the vents in place for looks, but internally we blocked them off, as the new residential unit cools from the bottom front anyways. Also tied into the water system for the ice maker, etc., and it works great. The exterior of the fridge is about the same size as the original unit, but internally quite a bit bigger. Love that part too! Also you could just about buy 3 of the residential units for the price of a new Norcold, so don't mind that part either. I also like the part about being able to travel with the propane off and still have a fridge! I was never crazy about traveling with it on anyways.

[Mroe67]

Yes I meant residential fridge. What fridge did you use. I have a 3021 if I remember correctly anyway the RV fridge was standard so how do I figure out which one to use, just measure I guess

[Ribtip]

Although we haven't had any problems with are 2017 327res it just seems like are old 1998 winni motorhome always had a cold fridge and we could make it snow in there with the ac units. Never had a prob with that thing and it was 25 when we got rid of it. We owned it for 16yrs of its life. New High efficiency stuff just isn't as good.

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by Mroe67

It' just when it hits over 90 the fridge won't cool lower than 50. When I get to a destination that is cooler it works fine. BUt still slow to recover after having it open. I want to go to a domestic fridge, but hate the headaches for the figuring out what unit to get and the install.

The more of these types of complaints I read, the more convinced I become that poor refrigerator performance is more a factor of the individual unit than the model line. It's as if out of ten owners with identical rigs, nine of them have no refrigerator performance problems and one has chronic problems.

I'm wondering how likely it would be to solve your problem if you just got your fridge replaced with an identical fridge.

[Javi]

Originally Posted by LHaven

The more of these types of complaints I read, the more convinced I become that poor refrigerator performance is more a factor of the individual unit than the model line. It's as if out of ten owners with identical rigs, nine of them have no refrigerator performance problems and one has chronic problems.

I'm wondering how likely it would be to solve your problem if you just got your fridge replaced with an identical fridge.

Very likely... we were very happy with the Dometic in our Cougar and it was in the slide. We're in Texas and temps above 90 are the norm , our fridge would freeze lettuce and vegetables in the crisper if we weren't careful. And still would when we sold it after 6 years.

[rbrdriver]

Originally Posted by Mroe67

Yes I meant residential fridge. What fridge did you use. I have a 3021 if I remember correctly anyway the RV fridge was standard so how do I figure out which one to use, just measure I guess

We bought a Whirlpool side by side with ice maker. We just measured the space we had for the refrigerator and then went to Lowe's with a tape to make sure we could get the biggest one that we could by with.

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by rbrdriver

We bought a Whirlpool side by side with ice maker. We just measured the space we had for the refrigerator and then went to Lowe's with a tape to make sure we could get the biggest one that we could by with.

I'm a bit taken aback by this approach. People who do this don't create weight or balance issues? These things must be much heavier than an RV fridge.

[rbrdriver]

I wondered the same thing. I was able to pull up the specs on the original fridge as far as weight, but have never been able to find the weight on the Whirlpool. I did compare the specs on the 3701FL Alpine and compared that to my 3700FL and it shows the dry weight to be about 200 pounds less than what I have. The only difference between the 2 models is the 3701 comes with a residential fridge where ours (3700) has the rv fridge. So going by that it sounds like the residential must be lighter. I haven't run the rig over any scales yet since we switched, although I did previously after we bought it and loaded up, etc. When I do I'll see what we got for sure.

[LHaven]

That would be quite a trick, as a refrigerator compressor (which your old fridge doesn't have) weighs around 25 lbs. all by itself...

[Javi]

Google is your friend.. 18cuft French door Samsung is 231 pounds.

[rbrdriver]

Originally Posted by Javi

Google is your friend.. 18cuft French door Samsung is 231 pounds.

There you go then. The specs on the Norcold 2118 is supposed to be around 330 pounds.

[Mroe67]

A new year and still not fixed. The people from Fridge Defender were surprised that their unit didn't fix my problem. I sent them the data I retrieved from their unit to see if "maybe" I have a setting wrong. But I still don't see how this unit can do nothing more that protect my boiler from overheating and turn on my exterior fans, (which have not helped in the AZ heat) So will see. I put dry ice in my fridge to bring it down till we can get up to Greer where it's cooler and the unit will then work fine. Wish I would have gotten a domestic version fridge. Oh well, will see what they say when I get back next week.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Mroe67

A new year and still not fixed. The people from Fridge Defender were surprised that their unit didn't fix my problem. I sent them the data I retrieved from their unit to see if "maybe" I have a setting wrong. But I still don't see how this unit can do nothing more that protect my boiler from overheating and turn on my exterior fans, (which have not helped in the AZ heat) So will see. I put dry ice in my fridge to bring it down till we can get up to Greer where it's cooler and the unit will then work fine. Wish I would have gotten a domestic version fridge. Oh well, will see what they say when I get back next week.

Headed up to Greer hopefully you have a spot close by. IIRC they have like 3? lakes there? Don't remember the names of the little lakes but man oh man, I've caught a lot of trout there.

[mcomeaux]

On our Norcold we did the Amish upgrade and going on 2 years no problems whatsoever! Best part wife is happy and no more stressing out.

[Mroe67]

Waiting to see what Fridge Defender has to say. Then if all else fails. Fridge swap out to either Amish unit our regular fridge as I have added a 2000 watt inverter already to run it. Where did you get your Amish unit

[mcomeaux]

I purchased direct from the guy that mfg them.
Units side by side definitely big difference in build and weight. When you get closer to deciding your path of remedy I'll provide you the info. I have it in my trailer and it's stored. I never run mine above #1 on cooling setting and my freezer is at 0 and lower maintains 33-37 consistent