FRIDGE below 50 degrees
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Forum Name: Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks
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URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=4118
Printed Date: 07 Jun 2025 at 9:18am
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Topic: FRIDGE below 50 degrees
Posted By: TrinityTurret
Subject: FRIDGE below 50 degrees
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2013 at 2:25pm
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I was reading my new Dometic refrigerator instruction book...and it said to put the 'winter cover' on the outside vents if the air gets below 50, and when washing the trailer. Hmmm no 'winter cover' included, and Dometic just told me that the 'winter cover' is not available in the USA....AND...that if I try to use my Dometic fridge below 50 degrees, the coolant will gel up. Huh? Does that mean I can't use my refrigerator below 50 degrees? What happens when we're driving along with the fridge on battery, and the temps drop into the 40's? What happens when it's 65 daytime, and 42 overnight? SURELY we aren't going to have refrigerator problems if we have it turned on and the outside air temperature drops?  I continued googling for more info...and just ran across this that is v-e-r-y interesting! Your RVs Refrigerator is very vulnerable in cold weather. Your RVs refrigerator has chemicals in the cooling unit that will gel up like diesel fuel if the outside temperature gets down too far. This will stop your refer from working properly. There needs to be a certain amount of heat in the vented compartment behind the refer for it to operate as it should. For that reason, it is important to park your RV so the back of the refrigerator gets as much southern exposure as possible. While this will not guarantee that your refer will continue to work, this will help. If that is impossible to do or if it is extremely cold, you can open the access door on the outside of your RV and add a bat of UNFACED FIBERGLASS INSULATION to cover the vent holes in the lower compartment access, thereby slowing down the circulation of air through the compartment and keeping some of the heat in. A single bat of unfolded and unfaced R11 should be good enough.You are not trying to completely block off the vent... you Just want to slow down the movement of air through the compartment on the backside of your refer. NOTE: Use only UNFACED fiberglass insulation as it is not adversely affected by heat sources or open flame. AS a suggested rule, place the bat in the compartment when the outside temperature gets down to and stays below 15 degrees... just remember to pull the bat out the next spring or the refrigerator will run too hot and will stop working as well. NEVER cover or block the upper vent. In conjunction with the UNFACED fiberglass bat, I've seen the use of a small shielded 60 watt bulb in the bottom of the compartment to help further provide heat to the cooling unit in cold weather as well. Just insure if you use the bulb, place it in a drop light socket with shield and place it away from wires or anything else it may come in contact with. THE MAJOR REFRIGERATOR MANUFACTURERS FROWN ON THIS PRACTICE SO, IF YOUR REFRIGERATOR IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY, YOU MAY WANT TO FIND AN ALTERNATIVE MEANS TO KEEP YOUR FOOD COOL. The major manufacturers provide for no preventive maintenance in this area. It was explained to me that an RV refrigerator goes in an RV... Following that thought, an RV is what it is... a RECREATIONAL VEHICLE, and the use of their product was not intended for extreme cold weather operation. Thus so, the procedure for a frozen cooling unit is to remove it from the RV and let it thaw in a heated garage or room for at least 72 hours or more and then retest it for operation before re-installing it. Why wait for it to freeze in the first place? Preventive maintenance is the key. As a note, I've also seen owners fill the outside of the refer access panel with the grey or white split styrofoam pipe wrap. They just cut them to length and fill the three vents, so commonly seen on Dometic and Norcold access panels. These syrofoam tubes fit snug and, because they are on ther outside of the access panel, they make more room for a drop light and are seen easily so, come spring... you will remember to remove them. So ,how do you know when your refrigerator is froze up? It is a pretty good indication that the chemicals have gelled up is when: The outside temperature has been below 15 Degrees F or less for several days The refrigerator has stopped cooling on the inside Touching the Chimney (Commonly a silver vertical tube on the right side of the back of the fridge behind the access panel) is warm while at the same time, the absorber vessel ( a big grey or black horizontal canister sitting the middle of all of the tubes in the back of the fridge, also behind the access panel) is cold. To prevent damage to the cooling unit, immediately TURN OFF YOUR REFRIGERATOR AND CALL A SERVICE TECHNICIAN. NOTE: AFTER your refrigerator is froze up, the ONLY thing an RV Technician can do is remove the unit and place it in a warm place for 48 to 72 hours to let it thaw out. He must also test it for proper operation before re-installing it in your RV. (source of this info is this forum page: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f425/extreme-cold-affecting-fridge-72206.html) ------------- There's only one way... |
Replies:
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2013 at 2:40pm
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Interesting, I've used mine at much colder temps w/o a problem. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
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Posted By: P&M
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2013 at 2:42pm
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I have camped in the Pod when temps dropped to 26 degrees at night, and stayed around 45 for the entire weekend, and I have used it several other times when the temps were below 50 degrees. Used the fridge all the time during those trips and never had a problem. ------------- P & M ... and Comet too! 2012 171 -- The Monkey Pod 2018 Ram 2500 |
Posted By: TrinityTurret
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2013 at 4:42pm
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Well...all I know is what the lady on the phone at Dometic told me. She also said alot of campers get some kind of HEATER rigged up to keep the outside panel of the fridge warm.... Hmmmmm using a heater to make the refrigerator cold, LOL.... ------------- There's only one way... |
Posted By: asreichler
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2013 at 5:21pm
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what model and what year? Allen ------------- 2014 178 TV 2004 Dodge 2500 deisel |
Posted By: TrinityTurret
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2013 at 5:24pm
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2014 ...Dometic lady did not ask for any specific model number, she made the 'blanket statement'. Ours is RM 8___ ? ------------- There's only one way... |
Posted By: CharlieM
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2013 at 7:30pm
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Just got back from a 5+ week trip to Colorado. Nighttime temps were typically in the 30s and 40s. One night it got down to 26 degrees F. No problems with the fridge running on gas.
------------- Charlie Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
Posted By: dsmiths
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2013 at 8:38pm
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we ran ours up in brown co Indiana yesterday and it was 44 d/f this morning and the fridge was ok, good and cold inside. ------------- Dane and Donna Smith 2011 RP-172 2008 Chevrolet Trailblazer 4X4 lift kit prodigy wireless brake controller |
Posted By: David and Danette
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2013 at 4:35am
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Perhaps as long as it is running it generates enough warmth in the back of the fridge to keep it from freezing up. Maybe if you were to turn it on in very cold weather it would not work. Living in south Fla. I don't think about it being to cold, being to hot is more of a problem. David
------------- 2018 Vista Cruiser 19BFD (2018- 2012 Vibe 6503 (2014-2019) 2009 r-pod 171 (2009-2014) Middle Tn 2014 Ram 1500 Quad cab |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2013 at 8:15am
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I MIGHT ALSO NOTE>> The Linked text says 15 degrees.. Not 50.. big difference. If it "gels up" (which I have never heard of happening)The "fix" is for it to warm up.. No big deal, and I would guess no real damage/problem. People use RV fridges all over this country.. even in Alaska where even in the summer it is often freezing at night, my father takes his to the high Sierra where it snows in July (totally freaked my wife out) and I have never heard of it. So my guess is.. it *can* happen.. so can being eaten by an alligator while walking your dog.. ------------- |
Posted By: HuronSailor
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2013 at 8:21am
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We've used our fridge when the outside temps have been in the low 40s with no issues. I wouldn't worry about it. Has anyone on this forum ever had personal experience with this happening? ------------- .: Mark & Beth :: Silverado 5.3L :: 2018 rPod 180 :. |
Posted By: kymooses
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2013 at 9:24am
^This is very pertinent. That box is hotter than hades at times when the fridge is running. Your aux fan flip on switch has a 105 degree sensor that it has to hit in there before your fans kick on. And plenty of us know there are times when those fans run. So yes, freezing cold outside it isn't going to get 105 in there, but it also isn't going to get to 15 in there by the time it heats up and you have heat from inside the pod keeping partial amounts of the fridge at warmer temps also. ------------- https://calendar.google.com/calendar?cid=cnBvZC5zcG90dGVyQGdtYWlsLmNvbQ - RPod Rallies https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1W1foQXGtrjf8aYly1uh0b-bHPfI&hl=en_US - RPod Owner Map |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2013 at 10:21am
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I've NEVER heard of issues with "gelling". I just looked up the freeze point of ammonia and it is -108 F (-77 C). Anyone around here camp at -108 F? There is also some hydrogen gas, which doesn't freeze until you get close to absolute zero...
I just read through some user manuals on the Dometic web site. There is no mention of ambient air temperature restrictions - hot or cold. I'm calling BS on this, sorry. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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Posted By: kymooses
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2013 at 1:57pm
campfires are very nice at -108. perfect temp range!  ------------- https://calendar.google.com/calendar?cid=cnBvZC5zcG90dGVyQGdtYWlsLmNvbQ - RPod Rallies https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1W1foQXGtrjf8aYly1uh0b-bHPfI&hl=en_US - RPod Owner Map |
Posted By: Sleepless
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2013 at 2:52pm
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[QUOTE=furpod]
I MIGHT ALSO NOTE>> The Linked text says 15 degrees.. Not 50.. big difference. So my guess is.. it *can* happen.. so can being eaten by an alligator while walking your dog.. /QUOTE] We have had several dogs being eaten by alligators while walking here in Florida. (Sorry, I could not resist). ------------- 2014 R-Pod 178 (OUR POD) 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche |
Posted By: Keith-N-Dar
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2013 at 6:11pm
Not in Wisconsin thank God! ------------- Keith-N-Dar Boris & Betty (Boston Terriers) 2011 R-Pod 177 2010 Ford F-150 |