mh fridge at a permanent Site

[Brian313]

This is the first year that we are using the mh at a permanent Site. My question is should I let the fridge turned on all week? Or would it be better to go over Thursday and turn it on so it's cold for Friday evening when we get there? We will only be using it on the weekends.

[vtwinwilly]

I used to leave my fridge on all the time. Wether in a campground or sitting at home in the driveway. That is until the fridge set itself on fire. Fortunately it happened while I was driving down the road and I got the fire out quick!

I now have a residential fridge and it is on all the time.

I would say if you trust your fridge not to set itself on fire, leave it on. I left mine on for years ... No problem up until the fire. BTW... I had a Dometic fridge which is less prone to go ablaze. If you have a 12## series Norcold you might not want to go off and leave it running.

[Brian313]

I'm not sure what model Norcold fridge it is when I've ordered parts the number that seams to work is 6162 I think that's the model number. After reading about yours catching on fire I think I will just turn it on when we get there and make sure it's off when we leave.

[450Donn]

Is there room to add a residential refer outside? A small residential refer can be bought for around 200 dollars and would be a great alternative. But if that is not an option, leave the refer on electric and you should be good. Full timers use then 24/7 for years at a time with no ill effects.

[Brian313]

I unfortunately do not the room outside (or inside no slides) for a domestic dorm sized fridge. What causes these fridges to Catch on fire?

[RedWing Nut]

RV fires

^^^ irv2 search results for RV Fires

[vtwinwilly]

Originally Posted by Brian313

I unfortunately do not the room outside (or inside no slides) for a domestic dorm sized fridge. What causes these fridges to Catch on fire?

Brian,

In my case it was an electrical fire. The unit was running on electricity at the time of the fire. It appears to have started when the 120v power cord overheated. A bunch of the wires on the back, including the power cord, were neatly bundled together with a wire tie. This bundle caught on fire.

The burning rubber of the bundled wires - right under the cooling unit - super heated the cooling unit and caused it to crack. This just added another fuel source for the fire.

With that said, I honestly believe this was a freak occurrence. I replaced the absorption fridge with a residential unit not because I was afraid of another fire, but because residential units are bigger and provide more consistent performance. ... And they're significantly cheaper$$$.

Just as a side note... Last year my MH was in a KOA in North Carolina almost the whole year. I was there working, and would fly home on the weekends. I never shut my fridge off the entire year.

If I were you I'd check with Norcold to see if yours is one of the notorious recall units. If not, you're probably pretty safe.