help

[ccarr113]

going camping today..... emergency.  1998 norcold 3 way fridge not getting cold.  I assumed it was working because heat was coming out of the upper vent for the past few days.....but when I went to load items inside today it wasn't cold. The place where the wires connect is too hot to touch. I am running on AC, what happened?

[wavery]

going camping today..... emergency.  1998 norcold 3 way fridge not getting cold.  I assumed it was working because heat was coming out of the upper vent for the past few days.....but when I went to load items inside today it wasn't cold. The place where the wires connect is too hot to touch. I am running on AC, what happened?

Is the camper level? :confused:

Did you put anything inside the fridge while you had it plugged in? Sometimes, it's hard to judge whether it is really cold or not if there isn't anything in it.

Did you put your hand on the cooling plate, inside the fridge to feel if it is cold?

[ccarr113]

Is the camper level? :confused:

Did you put anything inside the fridge while you had it plugged in? Sometimes, it's hard to judge whether it is really cold or not if there isn't anything in it.

Did you put your hand on the cooling plate, inside the fridge to feel if it is cold?

No the camper tung is way down to allow water to drain off.  also  the cooling fins inside the fridge are not cold to the touch.  do you think if I level the trailer it will correct itself.  Or do you think I did permanent damage by having it this way for 3 days

[wavery]

No the camper tung is way down to allow water to drain off.  also  the cooling fins inside the fridge are not cold to the touch.  do you think if I level the trailer it will correct itself.  Or do you think I did permanent damage by having it this way for 3 days

The fridge must be pretty level to operate properly.

There is a possibility that you may have damaged the fridge , running it that long, out of level.

Turn it off and allow it to cool. Level the camper and try it again. If it doesn't work, you may want to take it in and get it checked.

http://www.nh3tech.org/absorption.html

[flyfisherman]

Storing popup campers with the tounge raised or lowered is quite common.

Just level the camper, fire the 3-way back up again and I'd bet it will perform once again. They (the frig) simply will not operate out of kilter.


Fly

[ccarr113]

How long should I let it cool down for before tryin again?  do you think it will have a chance to get cold for departure at 4:00?  I will only load precooled items.  


also thanks for your quick replies. Im sure you guys have rescued many camping trips over the years.

[flyfisherman]

How long should I let it cool down for before tryin again?  do you think it will have a chance to get cold for departure at 4:00?  I will only load precooled items.  


also thanks for your quick replies. Im sure you guys have rescued many camping trips over the years.

Obviously the 3-way will operate on 12V enroute ... correct?
And when you arrive you will change over to propane ... correct?

If it 'twere me ... I'd sure enoungh load pre-cooled items, as cooled as possible, and even if the 3-way was not workinging the items would stay cool probably for the travel time at least. Should, per chance, it not be working when you get there and you cannot get the thing operational ... don't forget to take along an ice cooler.  Ice coolers have saved many a dysfuctional 3-way frig day!

Since you have run out of time on this late Friday afternoon and plans are already made ... keep the faith!  AND ... don't forget to level the PU once you get to the site!


Good luck ~


Fly

[wavery]

How long should I let it cool down for before tryin again?  do you think it will have a chance to get cold for departure at 4:00?  I will only load precooled items.  


also thanks for your quick replies. Im sure you guys have rescued many camping trips over the years.

I doubt that it will cool down by 4 (not knowing what time zone you are in).

It's best to let the coils get back to air temp before re-lighting. That could take a couple hours unless you put a fan on it. A fan could cool it down in 30-45 minutes.

I would then light the propane part of the fridge. It cools much faster and colder.

Normally, it's best to turn your fridge on about 12-24 hours before loading it with pre-cooled items. the fridge is not meant to cool down room temp items in the best of times.

Just to be safe, you might want to put some ice in zip-lock bags and stuff every open space in the fridge with ice. It may be a good idea to bring an ice chest (just in case) if you are bringing meat.

Here's another tip for you campers........if you can buy non-refrigerated eggs (hard to find), they will keep for 2-4 weeks without refrigeration. Once the egg has been refrigerated, it must stay refrigerated or it may spoil.

When I made long ocean passages (up to 60 days at sea) we would bring 5-10 dozen eggs. Sometimes, we would have eggs that lasted 30-40 days. After about 2 weeks, we started testing them by putting them in a glass of water. If they sink, they're good. If they float, they are developing gasses inside and are bad.

Once an egg has been refrigerated, it must stay refrigerated. Cold shrinks and heat expands. When an egg is cooled, it shrinks in size. As it warms, it increases in size and that causes a vacuum to occur inside the egg. That vacuum will cause outside air to penetrate the shell and bacteria will come in with the air. As long as the egg is not refrigerated, bacteria cannot enter the shell. It is bacteria that causes the egg to spoil prematurely.

[ccarr113]

fins are cold to the touch already.  I ran the upper exhaust fan for about a half hour until the heater could be touched with a bear hand.  then I plugged it back in to shore power.  It seems to be functioning again.  thanks again guys.

[austinado16]

Nice save!
As a rule, a fridge won't work if it's more than half a bubble out of level. Hopefully it isn't damaged on the inside from the amonia pooling in one place.

Great info about the eggs!!!!  I'll remember that forever!

[wavery]

Nice save!
As a rule, a fridge won't work if it's more than half a bubble out of level. Hopefully it isn't damaged on the inside from the amonia pooling in one place.

Great info about the eggs!!!!  I'll remember that forever!

He'll be really lucky if that fridge ever works right again. Boiling that thing for 3 days, out of level is a lot.

Read the last part of this page:
http://www.rvmobile.com/TECH/TROUBLE/COOLDOC.HTM
-----------------copy & paste-------------------------------
Out of Level. If the cooling unit is operated in a stationary, out of level position (on any heat source), it will eventually become permanently damaged. Before we go any further, there is one more ingredient inside the cooling unit: sodium chromate. The ammonia solution inside the cooling unit is a mild corrosive, and sodium chromate is mixed with the ammonia solution (ammonia and water) to neutralize the corrosive effects of the solution, protecting the inner pipes of the cooling unit.

Since the cooling unit depends greatly on the effects of gravity for moving the liquids and gases inside, running it off level and stationary causes these liquids and gases to collect in unwanted areas and not be recycled back to the boiler. The liquid level inside the boiler begins to drop and become weaker. Eventually, the water in the ammonia solution begins to vaporize with the ammonia and leave the boiler. At some point, the boiler becomes dry and the temperature rises rapidly inside. The sodium chromate which was once in solution with the ammonia solution is left behind and begins to burn and permanently change state from a powder into a sort of sludge that will eventually plug the perk tube. If left to cook long enough, the sodium chromate will become as hard as steel. If the cooling unit were "saved" from this out of level condition by being leveled, or the heat source turned off, any sodium chromate that had changed state would not return to a powder in solution with the ammonia solution. This makes it possible to ruin a cooling unit a little at a time.

The new style boiler (see above) helps to prevent this cooking of the sodium chromate, but it can still happen. More often than not, however, the liquid inside the outer shell of the boiler vaporizes, causing the pipe that makes up the outer shell to become super heated and crack, thus ruining the cooling unit. So, although the double boiler effect of the new style boiler may help prevent the perk tube from becoming plugged, it only gives the user a little more time to recognize and correct a problem.
----------------------------------------------------

[trumpet87]

I doubt that it will cool down by 4 (not knowing what time zone you are in).

It's best to let the coils get back to air temp before re-lighting. That could take a couple hours unless you put a fan on it. A fan could cool it down in 30-45 minutes.

I would then light the propane part of the fridge. It cools much faster and colder.

Normally, it's best to turn your fridge on about 12-24 hours before loading it with pre-cooled items. the fridge is not meant to cool down room temp items in the best of times.

Just to be safe, you might want to put some ice in zip-lock bags and stuff every open space in the fridge with ice. It may be a good idea to bring an ice chest (just in case) if you are bringing meat.

Here's another tip for you campers........if you can buy non-refrigerated eggs (hard to find), they will keep for 2-4 weeks without refrigeration. Once the egg has been refrigerated, it must stay refrigerated or it may spoil.

When I made long ocean passages (up to 60 days at sea) we would bring 5-10 dozen eggs. Sometimes, we would have eggs that lasted 30-40 days. After about 2 weeks, we started testing them by putting them in a glass of water. If they sink, they're good. If they float, they are developing gasses inside and are bad.

Once an egg has been refrigerated, it must stay refrigerated. Cold shrinks and heat expands. When an egg is cooled, it shrinks in size. As it warms, it increases in size and that causes a vacuum to occur inside the egg. That vacuum will cause outside air to penetrate the shell and bacteria will come in with the air. As long as the egg is not refrigerated, bacteria cannot enter the shell. It is bacteria that causes the egg to spoil prematurely.

One is NEVER too old to learn! You have lots of interesting/useful facts here! I didn't know all that about eggs...  :confused:

[ccarr113]

well, the fridge worked well all weekend.  But after reading Wavery's latest info I guess I'm not out of the woods yet.  Only time will tell.  If it does stop working does anyone know what my next plan of attack should be?  Can it be serviced or "recharged", or do In bring it to the scrap heap?

[wavery]

well, the fridge worked well all weekend.  But after reading Wavery's latest info I guess I'm not out of the woods yet.  Only time will tell.  If it does stop working does anyone know what my next plan of attack should be?  Can it be serviced or "recharged", or do In bring it to the scrap heap?

Hey.............if it works, don't sweat it....you lucked out. :sombraro:

If it were going to crack a tube or something, I think it would have done it in the 3 days. Maybe you weren't all that far off level.