Residential refrigerators

[chev]

We have a two door Frigidaire refrigerator in our 2008 Patriot Thunder. The freezer works fine but the refrigerator side stays a constant 43 degrees. We had a frigidaire service man check the appliance and he said it is working fine, but not cooling correctly. He suspects our problem is the lack of air space around the unit. It is a very tight fit in the cabinet with about 1/2 inch clearance on the sides and top. He is suggesting we cut the overhead cabinet to assist with cooling. Has anyone else experienced similar problems and found alternative solutions?

["007"]

chev, many of us have had problems with Norcold's & Dometic Rv refrigerators and some have added 12v fans in side wall vent openings. It sounds like you have no outside vent areas so maybe a bigger problem for you.
If your upper cabinet over fridge can be abandon you could place a metal screen vent where the door is located and cut slot in floor of cabinet or have a cut down size of your cabinet so you have a vent slot on top of fridge.
Your fridge should vent from bottom and air would be drown down from added vent on top of fridge.
If you knew where your studs are in outside wall behind fridge maybe a shop could add a outside vent if you have none now.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Hard to say without viewing your installation, but yes, residential fridges need air flow over the heat exchange grid/coils. Generally that air is brought in under the front and goes up the back and out around the sides or over the top. If you don't have any place for the air to go, it won't cool properly. If you have some space but notenoughflow, adding a fan canhelp. They make fans for absorption-type RV fridges that could be used, but an inexpensive 12v computer case fan ought to do the job nicely too. You can also get 120v powered cooling fans if that is easier than 12v.

[lanwangeek]

I replaced my RV fridge with a residential fridge last year. To help with cooling, I took the two 12v fans off the RV fridge and wired it up above the fridge. Now when I turn the fans on, it pulls the air from below the fridge, up the back and out the top. I found if I turn the fan on for 30-60 minutes a day, the fridge does a real good job of cooling. Anthony

[jcthorne]

Many residential compressor style fridges have the condenser coils built into the sides and top of the cabinet and are not intended for built in installation. These types are not appropriate for RV use. You need one with condenser coils either at the bottom with vents, or down the back.