Refrig.

[jtjt]

After setting up at a site, and put the refrigerator on, it takes up to 4 hours to get cold. What do you think. Should it take that long.
jtjt

[t55watson]

Yes. Or longer. Start the frig before you leave home, even before loading the rig.

[slowmachine]

And only put already-cooled items into it. Absorption refrigerators do an adequate job of keeping cold things cold, but they are weak at making warm things cold. In very hot weather, I pre-cool warm stuff in an ice-filled drink cooler before it goes into the fridge.

[the_vfox]

We turn ours on at least the day before we leave. I verify its cooling, then we load it with cold or frozen stuff. Works great.

[dagmandt]

Ours is on as soon as we plug in the trailer at home to prepare for the trip and doesn't get shut off until we have unloaded after the trip. No need to wait until you get there.

[Waiter21]

Yup, As everyone said.

Start it up in the driveway a day or two before your trip. Put a couple frozen water bottles in the freezer.

[sprayman]

was told by the dealer to start up day before.

Jim

[caissiel]

We use to start it on the spring and shut it down before winterizing. Now it never shuts off as we are FT.

[Lifemember]

I do as others have said, start one or two days before trip then place a Tupperware container that is frozen just under freezer area. keeps it cold until I arrive and plug back in shore power. I have a regular refer in the TT that I replaced the two way with.

[JC2]

Originally Posted by jtjt

After setting up at a site, and put the refrigerator on, it takes up to 4 hours to get cold. What do you think. Should it take that long.
jtjt

Most NoCold or Dometic rv fridges, on average, will take 12-24hrs to get the freezer then the fridge box itself down to operating temperature.(0 degrees/38-40). As others have stated, turn fridge on to lp 1 day(maybe store a frozen container of water/ice in freezer) prior to leaving, store as many other cold/frozen items when ready to leave. Most rv fridges are notoriously slow to cool down when first turned on.

[09 harley]

Originally Posted by JC2

Most NoCold or Dometic rv fridges, on average, will take 12-24hrs to get the freezer then the fridge box itself down to operating temperature.(0 degrees/38-40). As others have stated, turn fridge on to lp 1 day(maybe store a frozen container of water/ice in freezer) prior to leaving, store as many other cold/frozen items when ready to leave. Most rv fridges are notoriously slow to cool down when first turned on.

If you check into three modifications that you can do to your fridge you will find that you can greatly improve it's performance. The first change is to add an ARP control to your fridge. Google ARPRV to see the advantages. Look at the model with the fan control option. Second change, add fans at top vent if you have one and if your fridge is in a slide out then add one on the lower vent and one at the top vent. The fans mounted on top blow out. The fans mounted in slide outs have the lower fan sucking in and the upper blowing out. Same idea on both. To make these fridges more efficient you need to improve airflow. Third change is to add a Fridge-Fix to the inside of the fridge. This is a great unit that circulates the inside air and eliminates the need to defrost the fridge because the moving air prevents ice build up.
The fan control can be wired up to control both the exterior fans and the interior fans. They will operate only when refrigerant is being produced which is the only time they need to run. If the unit is not cooling then there is no excess heat to remove.
On my RV I added 2 Corsair 120mm fans that do a great job exhausting the excess heat. Not that difficult to remove the upper vent cover on the roof and install the fans and wire them to the ARP.
When I left home last Tuesday I didn't turn on the fridge a day or two early, I turned it on at noon and it was down to normal temp by 4PM. This is the new normal. The cycle to keep the unit at the set temp is also shorter because the internal Fridge-Fix circulates the air and speeds up this portion of the cooling process.
I have posted several posts similar to this one and I am a believer in these products. If you add them you will experience similar results. You can add them in stages if cost is an issue. I think the total cost for all three was about $300 maybe slightly less depending where you purchase.
Give these a try and you won't regret it.

[RVGuy1966]

I found the best process is as follows:

turn on your fridge a day before.

bring a cooler with dry ice if you can get it or just load with ice at home just before you leave for the trip.

load the cooler with extra frozen items and store under a seat or where ever you store your cooler.
-this does not get touched until you have your first meal.


load fridge before leaving with fan to circulate on, any food like milk and such that doesn't get frozen.


when you arrive you should be good.....

adjust temp as needed so it doesn't freeze over.

before leaving campsite, clean out fridge and turn off.

when you get home or back to storage it will be warm enough to wipe out with kleenex or eqv.

thats how I do it........

[09 harley]

Originally Posted by RVGuy1966

I found the best process is as follows:

turn on your fridge a day before.

bring a cooler with dry ice if you can get it or just load with ice at home just before you leave for the trip.

load the cooler with extra frozen items and store under a seat or where ever you store your cooler.
-this does not get touched until you have your first meal.


load fridge before leaving with fan to circulate on, any food like milk and such that doesn't get frozen.


when you arrive you should be good.....

adjust temp as needed so it doesn't freeze over.

before leaving campsite, clean out fridge and turn off.

when you get home or back to storage it will be warm enough to wipe out with kleenex or eqv.

thats how I do it........

If you actually follow your information you must be tired before you even reach your destination. You may not agree with my post but to ignore it and suggest a 10 step program to operate your fridge doesn't make sense. Who would go out and buy dry ice to put in a cooler to store their food in and then do all the rest. To turn off your fridge and empty it out for the trip home is silly. Run it on propane until you get home and then you will be in line with what 99% of us do.
We are supposed to be on vacation not actively trying to creat more work.

[dagmandt]

Originally Posted by RVGuy1966

I found the best process is as follows:

turn on your fridge a day before.

bring a cooler with dry ice if you can get it or just load with ice at home just before you leave for the trip.

load the cooler with extra frozen items and store under a seat or where ever you store your cooler.
-this does not get touched until you have your first meal.


load fridge before leaving with fan to circulate on, any food like milk and such that doesn't get frozen.


when you arrive you should be good.....

adjust temp as needed so it doesn't freeze over.

before leaving campsite, clean out fridge and turn off.

when you get home or back to storage it will be warm enough to wipe out with kleenex or eqv.

thats how I do it........

Way more work than necessary. Plug it in a day in advance, run it on propane while traveling.