Pathetic Dometic (fridge)

[austinado16]

We just got back from our maiden voyage in our '87 Starcraft Nova (with Dometic 2190 2 way fridge) where we went to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

Prior to leaving, I cooled the fridge on propane for about 18hrs.  I had just installed one of these nifty digital refrigerator thermometers (see my thread on the "Mr. Fix It" section) so I could monitor fridge temps without opening the door.  It was cooled down to the mid 30's prior to loading cold food and switching to 12v.  I'm at about sea level, temps are 65*F at night and maybe 85*F in the day.

Off we went, across central California....Bakersfield.....Tehachapi....The Mojave Desert...Barstow.....Needles and into Arizona.....Kingman....Seligman.....Williams...and then up to the Grand Canyon at 7,000'.

10.5hrs spread over 2 days with an overnight in the middle of nowhere in AZ.

Temps were well over 100*F the entire way during the day, and at night in AZ, maybe 80.  Cooler at the rim of the GC though.

Anyway, the fridge temps were in the mid 40's on the digital, and high 30's on the calibrated mechanical thermometer inside while towing on 12v.  I did pull over and wedge a bag of ice inside on the way there.

Once at the GC and we started opening and closing the door, the temps got to the high 40's and even low 50's.  Even at night, with outside temps down to 60*F and the fridge dial turned to 9, I wasn't getting the fridge to recover and get good and cold again.  I also had the little cube fan running inside.  The ice in the little ice try always stayed frozen and there was always frost on the coils, so it was definately cranking away......but no where near what I think it should do.

We were gone for 2 days hiking inside the canyon so the fridge stayed "on" and the door closed, temp setting on 9 for that entire time.  When we got back, the digital temp was reading 38*F, but as soon as the sun came around onto the back side of the PU, the temp was back up to the low 40's and that's where it stayed until we left this morning.  We had milk, meat, eggs, yogurt, non of which spoiled over the 5 days it was in the PU fridge......so that's good news.

One thing I will say after reading the advice here; we did have it crammed full, so circulation was definately an issue.  I don't have an external fan on the outside coils, or a sun shade, so those will be the next mods.  I have previously added a baffle to improve the air flow over the external coils.

I'll do a back yard test with it precooled, then loaded with ventilation space and the cube fan running, and see what it does over a 2-3 day time period.

[Dray]

Someone should design a better fridge.  Someone once told me something that I think applies to this situation.  They said, "If you walk up to a door and you PUSH when you should have PULLED, don't feel bad.  It's not you who is dumb.  The doorway isn't desing properly.  It should be intuitive when approaching a door whether to PULL or PUSH."  That's the way I feel about these fridges.  They should be easier to use.

[AustinBoston]

Someone should design a better fridge.  Someone once told me something that I think applies to this situation.  They said, "If you walk up to a door and you PUSH when you should have PULLED, don't feel bad.  It's not you who is dumb.  The doorway isn't desing properly.  It should be intuitive when approaching a door whether to PULL or PUSH."

I know exactly what you mean.  If you come up to a door with a horizontal bar, it should be a PUSH door.  If it has to be a pull door, it should have a pull handle, not a push bar.

I go through a number of very different doors in different buildings with different owners as part of my commute.  A couple are designed wrong.  I try to remember which ones are wrong, but there are still times I bump into a "pull" door with a push bar.  :confused:

That's the way I feel about these fridges.  They should be easier to use.

I bet they'd cost a whole $25 more (if that) to build with a thermostat inside.  Adding a 12V fan to the coils can be done for less than $10.

Austin

[punkmomto2]

well I was the dumb one who  even when it was plugged in for 12 hours prior to departure thought I could put warm bottles of water in there and think they would be cold ! DE DE DE!!!!

Now we take the big cooler and load it down with waters, juice, small cans of pop ( I'm amazed at the fact while camping none of us care about pop) and that kind of stuff and save the fridge for the meats and stuff. I make sure everything is already cold and or frozen before I put it in the fridge.

but now reading all of this I want one of those little battery operated fans..and can somebody tell me the best place to put this when I get it? And at what temperature is safe in degrees for like hamburger or pork?

[mountainrev]

but now reading all of this I want one of those little battery operated fans..and can somebody tell me the best place to put this when I get it?

Campingworld has them for about $15:  http://tinyurl.com/ozkpf

[Mike Up]

I've had missed results with mine. When I'm in a site that has tree cover. The fridge is about 46 degrees when it's 85 degrees outside. It goes to 40 degrees when outside temps are in the low 70s and goes under 40 degrees when outside temps dip below 70 degrees.
 
In a site that had no tree cover and was in the mid 90's outside, my fridge wouldn't get cold staying in the low 50's. Same fridge but different camper. I had a 2005 Rockwood 2290 then and now have a 2007 Starcraft 2406.
 
I now added the popular coil fan that's sold everywhere but bypass the themoswitch because the fan was to far from the coil to sense the temp.
 
I also now use an interior fan to circulate the air since I like to pack the fridge. Now my temps are under 40 degrees while outside temps are in the mid 80s. That's attained using an AC setting of only 5 out of 7.
 
Here's some pictures of the exterior fan mod
 
Have a good one.

[austinado16]

Excellent photo Mike! Thanks for sharing those.  My 2190 performs just about the same way, so looks like the fan mod is the only way to fly for me too.  What kind of amperage does that fan draw?

[Mike Up]

Surprisingly, it doesn't have an amp rating but it can't be but in the low milliamps with such a small motor.

 
Have a good one.

[austinado16]

Hi Mike,
Can you tell me where you purchased your fan?

[austinado16]

Hi Mike,
Can you tell me where you purchased your fan?

Nevermind, found it!

Valterra Refrigerator Fan $29.43

I see there is also a solar version for twice the price.

[austinado16]

I called Valterra (here in CA) this morning to get some specs on their fans.  They move 12CFM(cubic feet of air per minute) and draw .8amps of power by itself.  If you use the lighted switch that comes with their installation kit (included with the fan) then the whole shebang draws 1.5amps.

The little radioshack 1-9/16" square computer fan I just installed moves 7.7CFM and draws .13amps of power (1.56watts).  

Edit:  Had my amps info incorrect. Thanks for catching that Austin.

[AustinBoston]

I called Valterra (here in CA) this morning to get some specs on their fans.  They move 12CFM(cubic feet of air per minute) and draw .8amps(80milliamps) of power by itself.  If you use the lighted switch that comes with their installation kit (included with the fan) then the whole shebang draws 1.5amps(150milliamps).

The little radioshack 1-9/16" square computer fan I just installed moves 7.7CFM and draws 1.56amp(156milliamps) of power.  Wish I would have found the Valterra fans before wasting my money on the radioshack fan.

Just two nitpicks: 0.8 amps is 800 milliamps, not 80, and 1.56 amps is 1,560 milliamps.  the "milli" prefix means "1/1000."  So are the amps right, or the milliamps?

Don't confuse them with Millie amps, which were amplifiers used by a mostly forgotten rock star from the 80's.

Austin

[austinado16]

Just two nitpicks: 0.8 amps is 800 milliamps, not 80, and 1.56 amps is 1,560 milliamps.  the "milli" prefix means "1/1000."  So are the amps right, or the milliamps?

Don't confuse them with Millie amps, which were amplifiers used by a mostly forgotten rock star from the 80's.

Austin

[UPDATE INFO]
Oops, sorry about that.  Pulled the trigger before I had my info loaded properly!  I've corrected it as noted, thanks for catching that.  I even had to call them back and talk to someone who knew better what they were talking about.  Here's the corrected and updated information!

Valterra fan:
12.5cfm @ .11amps

Valterra Solar fan:
1.2cfm @ .10amps

Radioshack's little 1-9/16" fan:
7.7cfm @ .13amps

Radioshack's standard size computer case fan:
32cfm @ .15amps

Someone else posted info about an "Orion" case fan:
40cfm @ .18amps

I looked on the Orion.com site and they have another version:
22cfm @ .12amps
(This version almost seems like the best of both worlds.  It's almost double the cfm of the Valterra fan, at basically the same amp draw.  And it's probably $9)

[volzjr]

I have done both the baffle mod and the exterior fan mod. On a recent two week trip to Yellowstone, we ran the fridge on 120V when set up, and 12V on the road. Daytime temps ranged from mid 80's to high 90's, depending on where we were (spent some time in the Badlands & Black Hills as well) We ran the fridge on the "medium" setting. I have a wireless thermometer, and I was finding the fridge was typically around 22-25F in the morning, and would rise to about 28-32F during the day. We spent about four days in Cody WY on a totally treeless site, and this did not seem to have any effect on the readings.
I have the interior cube fan, and that definitely helps even out the temps throughtout the fridge. We also have a Coleman Powerchill, and we use that as well, for the stuff that is not so temperature critical. Having them both lets us spread the food items out for good airflow, which is important in both types of coolers.
My exterior fan was just a cheapie computer fan that I got for a few bucks from Best Buy. I usually stay on sites with electric, so power consumption wasn't a concern.  
Since this was all done on the medium setting, I think I have some reserve if I ever have to deal with hotter outside temps. I agree that the problem with these is not their design, but with the shortcuts taken by the trailer manufacturers when they are installed. A properly installed baffle + a little fan to assist with airflow can make these babies sing!  

[joe]

I replaced the frig in my 98 Coleman sunridge with a normal 120v mini frig. It is the best thing I did to my camper.

I replaced the 3 way frig because I got tried of trying of fooling around with and the cost of parts. I bought a mini frig for 100 bucks and spent about 20 dollars installing the unit. I have used it for 2 years without any problems.

I precool the frig before leaving and put a block of ice inside for the trip to the campground. I keep the food in a cooler on the trip to and from the camp ground. I use the cooler for drinks during the stay at the camp ground.

joe