Community Forums

rcnuts · 08-15-2018, 03:54 PM

Ok whenever we take off for a long weekend or a week or 2 Ive always lit the pilot on the fridge a day or 2 before departure. Our unit is older but the fridge was replaced before we bought it. I just started plugging in at home and put the fridge on auto. Wow what a difference in the time it takes to get cold! Way faster on electric. Is this what everyone else is doing?
Harris

twinboat · 08-15-2018, 03:58 PM

Yup, switched mine on to auto today, for a Friday trip.

Its usually plugged in.

nothermark · 08-15-2018, 04:08 PM

Usually put it on auto the night before the day before we are planning on leaving. That way we can start putting stuff in the day before we plan on leaving.

Bahamaniac · 08-15-2018, 04:14 PM

Yes electrical plugged in the day before is the best way to go.

Old-Biscuit · 08-15-2018, 04:17 PM

Pilot???

Both heat sources are very close in the amount of heat they transfer to boiler section
Propane typically will begin the process quicker cause of radiant heat but either heat source should preform about the same......

If one heat source preforms better then the other heat source should be checked for issues

Ret.LEO · 08-15-2018, 04:24 PM

Couple of 1/2 gallon milk jugs with frozen water will help cool it down in a hurry.

A32Deuce · 08-15-2018, 05:03 PM

Put mine on gas first thing in the morning and about 4 hrs later 32 degrees in the lower part. Then start filling slowly as to not loose too much cold.

Mudfrog · 08-15-2018, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ret.LEO

Couple of 1/2 gallon milk jugs with frozen water will help cool it down in a hurry.

I always start ours about 2 hours before we leave on a trip. I doubt it reaches set temperature in that time but it does get cold enough to add already refrigerated foods to it. Those cold foods seem to help speed up the cooling process even more.

As far as the OP having better luck on electric, that's not normal for most 2way refrigerators, at least in my experience. While they're pretty close, cooling down from a dead start has always been quicker with propane on the rigs we've owned.

tcg · 08-16-2018, 04:55 AM

Propane gets colder faster on mine. They both get cold pretty quick but propane drops into freezing a little bit faster.

What slows ours down is turning it on on a very hot day. It takes longer to get to temperature but once there it stays there.

Gary RVRoamer · 08-18-2018, 07:44 AM

Many years ago (I'm talking 80's and early 90's), LP was typically faster cooling than electric. The gas burner was hotter than the rather minimal-sized electric heat elements and produced a more steady cool-down. By the mid-late 90's, the electric heat elements were being sized larger (more watts) and the performance of the two sources evened out. But that's just a general overview - I'm sure all fridge models didn't get updated at the same time.

It's highly unusual for electric to be noticeably faster than LP, so I'm in agreement with Old Biscuit: something is wrong with your LP burner.

A question: You said "light the pilot". RV fridges have had DSI (direct spark ignition) since the early-mid 90's. Did you really manually light a pilot, or was that just an expression meaning you ran the fridge in LP gas mode? Granted, the gas flame is small and similar to a pilot in size, but few fridges have an actual pilot light anymore.

Teamfoxy · 08-19-2018, 06:30 AM

Look at the burner through the view port located behind the access panel on the outside of the coach behind the fridge. If not a bright blue flame as pictured in the manual, the burner needs to be cleaned or replaced. You can download the Norcold service manual online and probably Dometic's is also available.
I suspect this is your issue and you will also find that the fridge does not maintain its temperature on propane either. Also be aware that if the fridge is not cooling properly, for several hours, the lights on the front should start blinking. The pattern of the blinking is a code that indicates the problem and the troubleshooting information is in the service manual.

Whirrlly · 08-19-2018, 06:34 AM

electric 2 days before heading out, fill up that thing with good grilling meats

hardly ever use propane on fridge, very rare if we ever do

our on board genny helps us on that one also

gtsum2 · 08-19-2018, 08:02 AM

I usually use auto, but on mine, it definitely gets colder quicker when on propane

rcnuts · 08-19-2018, 01:40 PM

A question: You said "light the pilot".

I didnt mean manually light the pilot. Its got an electronic spark when switching from electric to LP. I already checked out the burner its nearly perfect as this fridge is a new unit that was installed prior to our purchasing this older coach. Im wondering if there is a birds nest or other debris in the vent. Ill be checking that out very soon. We did use the camper this weekend and the fridge worked perfectly.