When to Shut the Fridge Off

[stevemorris]

we all know(or should anyway) that rv fridges don't like being out of level except when moving
So when do you shut it off?

I shut ours off whenever we're parked and its not level. shopping, fuel stops, campground checkins etc etc

at campground checkins, the fridge is off until we're parked and the trailer is levelled

maybe im paranoid, but my 10 yr old fridge and the two before it in other trailers are working great still

[stevemorris]

Bert Ackerman wrote:

owenssailor wrote:
The specs are for haw far the fridge can be off level. The fridge is about 2 feet deep. My trailer is 8 feet wide. So to have the fridge off level by 3 inches the trailer would have to be off level side to side by 12 inches. That is a Lot! Front to back it is even more extreme. If the fridge is 2 feet across the front our 30 foot trailer would have to be off level by 80 inches.

If you are comfortable in the RV the fridge should be fine.

We have ours on for the 4 months we travel with the exception of going onto a ferry.

The manufacturers spec is 3 degrees, not 3 inches. 3 degrees is about 5/8" per ft. Not as drastic but still fairly uncomfortable to have a rig 3 degrees out of level in any direction.

I watched a guy take 35 minutes leveling his rig. Put a 2' level on A frame, pull up add block, back up place level, pull up remove block, add thinner one, back up place level. In camper with level, come out and pull up again. Made me dizzy. After about 12 manuevers he tells his furious wife, who has been sitting at picnic table watching while letting loose with colorful conversation in a loud manner "There you go Honey, we need not worry about the fridge".

I should of asked him if he accounted for frame camber. I assume he was reading fridge leveling threads on some RV board. Whatever floats it for you I guess.

I caught that 3 degrees vs 3 inches too, it was edited!
I use a 2 ft level on the back bumper for blocking under the wheels, then unhook and level with the tongue jack(level inside the front door).
then I turn the fridge back on
its surprising how much a trailer frame twists and bows(camber)

[Bert_Ackerman]

owenssailor wrote:
The specs are for haw far the fridge can be off level. The fridge is about 2 feet deep. My trailer is 8 feet wide. So to have the fridge off level by 3 inches the trailer would have to be off level side to side by 12 inches. That is a Lot! Front to back it is even more extreme. If the fridge is 2 feet across the front our 30 foot trailer would have to be off level by 80 inches.

If you are comfortable in the RV the fridge should be fine.

We have ours on for the 4 months we travel with the exception of going onto a ferry.

The manufacturers spec is 3 degrees, not 3 inches. 3 degrees is about 5/8" per ft. Not as drastic but still fairly uncomfortable to have a rig 3 degrees out of level in any direction.

I watched a guy take 35 minutes leveling his rig. Put a 2' level on A frame, pull up add block, back up place level, pull up remove block, add thinner one, back up place level. In camper with level, come out and pull up again. Made me dizzy. After about 12 manuevers he tells his furious wife, who has been sitting at picnic table watching while letting loose with colorful conversation in a loud manner "There you go Honey, we need not worry about the fridge".

I should of asked him if he accounted for frame camber. I assume he was reading fridge leveling threads on some RV board. Whatever floats it for you I guess.

[jleamont]

When you are done with your trip and are putting the RV away, don't forget to turn off the RV refrigerator (also close the propane tank valves ) and leave the doors to the freezer and regular compartment open. If you don't, then as the unit warms up, moisture will condense on the inside. That will be perfect for mold to grow on everything. The mold can stain some plastics and be difficult to remove. It can also be a health problem. So prevention is the key. Leave the doors open when the RV refrigerator is not being use."

[owenssailor]

The specs are for haw far the fridge can be off level. The fridge is about 2 feet deep. My trailer is 8 feet wide. So to have the fridge off level by 3 inches the trailer would have to be off level side to side by 12 inches. That is a Lot! Front to back it is even more extreme. If the fridge is 2 feet across the front our 30 foot trailer would have to be off level by 80 inches.

If you are comfortable in the RV the fridge should be fine.

We have ours on for the 4 months we travel with the exception of going onto a ferry.

[DFord]

I treat mine like the OP does theirs. RV refrigerators are way to expensive to mistreat. It's best to follow the recommendations of the mfg conservatively. That way, they'll last a long time.

From the owner's manual:

CAUTION: The refrigerator is made to operate within 3° (3 degrees)
off level side-to-side and 6° (6 degrees) off level front-to-back (as
looking at the front of the refrigerator). Operating it at
more than these limits can cause damage to the cooling
system and create a risk of personal injury or property
damage. Make sure the vehicle is level before you
operate the refrigerator.

(On edit - clarified the figures are degrees not inches)

[IAMICHABOD]

dougrainer wrote:

IAMICHABOD wrote:
If treated properly what is the life expectancy of a fridge ?

At least 20 years. As others on this thread that have posted misinformation-----OFF level stationary will cause extremely small problems. OVER TIME, those few minutes build up until the refer cannot cool correctly and you think it just happened. NOT SO, it was all those years of those short unlevel times. BIGGEST problem is, some forget for 24 hours or so and then when they cannot see the lower lack of cooling they think no big deal, just another wives tale. AS to others that think OLD refers had to be perfectly level and newer ones do not. Kind of true for CERTAIN BRANDS. The Old Servel's and Instamatics had to be extremely level to function correctly. Dometic and Norcolds have more tolerance. Doug

Thanks Doug,a good and concise answer as usual from a real Tech.The canned responses that usually come up in these threads are all the same,all doom and gloom.

This gives me a base line to work from,my Former Rental is 13 years old,the first 5 years were as a rental,so we know that it didn't get the best of care.

The Dometic DM2652 fridge works just fine,plugged in for about 4.5 to 5 hours it will get to 0 in the freezer and 35 in the lower compartment,measured with a very good instant read thermometer in a glass of water.

I have had no problems with it maintaining correct temperature even in hot weather.

I always level the RV by using This T Level laying on the floor of the freezer never more than 1/4 bubble off in any direction

[dougrainer]

IAMICHABOD wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Off level operation...even for as little as 15 minutes....causes overheating
Overheating causes the sodium chromate to crystalize and plate out.
Plating out causes obstructions which inhibits coolant flow which causes more overheating ---repeat the damage cycles over and over and over

Off level damage is accumulative and PERMANENT (crystals do NOT go back into solution)

Old fridges, new fridges....doesn't matter.
Process is the same.

ARP real time monitoring shows just how quickly the boiler temp WILL increase due to off level operation.
Plain and simple. It happens and it causes damage.

If treated properly what is the life expectancy of a fridge ?

At least 20 years. As others on this thread that have posted misinformation-----OFF level stationary will cause extremely small problems. OVER TIME, those few minutes build up until the refer cannot cool correctly and you think it just happened. NOT SO, it was all those years of those short unlevel times. BIGGEST problem is, some forget for 24 hours or so and then when they cannot see the lower lack of cooling they think no big deal, just another wives tale. AS to others that think OLD refers had to be perfectly level and newer ones do not. Kind of true for CERTAIN BRANDS. The Old Servel's and Instamatics had to be extremely level to function correctly. Dometic and Norcolds have more tolerance. Doug

[IAMICHABOD]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Off level operation...even for as little as 15 minutes....causes overheating
Overheating causes the sodium chromate to crystalize and plate out.
Plating out causes obstructions which inhibits coolant flow which causes more overheating ---repeat the damage cycles over and over and over

Off level damage is accumulative and PERMANENT (crystals do NOT go back into solution)

Old fridges, new fridges....doesn't matter.
Process is the same.

ARP real time monitoring shows just how quickly the boiler temp WILL increase due to off level operation.
Plain and simple. It happens and it causes damage.

If treated properly what is the life expectancy of a fridge ?

[Old-Biscuit]

Off level operation...even for as little as 15 minutes....causes overheating
Overheating causes the sodium chromate to crystalize and plate out.
Plating out causes obstructions which inhibits coolant flow which causes more overheating ---repeat the damage cycles over and over and over

Off level damage is accumulative and PERMANENT (crystals do NOT go back into solution)

Old fridges, new fridges....doesn't matter.
Process is the same.

ARP real time monitoring shows just how quickly the boiler temp WILL increase due to off level operation.
Plain and simple. It happens and it causes damage.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

Damage to the fridge may happen in as little as 15 minutes. I do have the ARP unit--but still choose to turn off when parked "out of level", even for short periods of time.

craig7h wrote:
The short time you are at the places you listed does not make that much difference. Would you turn the frig off if you were stopped in traffic on a hill?

[miatared]

Yes, I do think you're wasting lots of time for nothing.

Mine is OFF only when in storage, between trips. Going on 10 years of RVing.

My new RV has the new MorRyde stairs and it's a pain to open for a minute or two...

You have more important things to worry about, trust me.

You'll develop ulcers soon if you keep it up...

[BB_TX]

Mine is in AUTO from the time we leave home til the time we return, whether 3 days or 3 weeks. 12 years old and still works fine.

[Vintage465]

"RV Fridges of old" had to level....no if, ands, buts, or discussions about it. If you didn't have it darned level and ran it for 20 minutes, it would lock up and you'd have to pull the fridge out and turn it upside down for 24 hrs. The new fridges that we are currently enjoying aren't nearly as temperamental as those old geezers of yesteryear. I worked for many years in an RV repair shop and must have pull out a hundred fridges and flopped them on their head......including one I was using when we went to Grass Valley CA. camping! I should have known! In my current rig, I seldom turn it off when we park to go in a grocery stores or stuff like that. If it is visually off level I just flip the switch. So easy now days!

[Mickeyfan0805]

We don't have space at home, so it's a pretty simple equation for us... If it's in the storage lot, it's off. If it's with us, it's on! Even when loading at home the night before a trip, at which point it is not sitting level, I run it with no issues.