How cold does your fridge get?
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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=6577
Printed Date: 19 Jun 2025 at 3:19am
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Topic: How cold does your fridge get?
Posted By: marspball
Subject: How cold does your fridge get?
Date Posted: 06 Jul 2015 at 2:28am
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Hi everyone,
My dometic fridge on my 182G won't get any colder than 55F. Is this normal? I've read that the ideal temp for a fridge should be below 40F. Thx. |
Replies:
Posted By: shroomer
Date Posted: 06 Jul 2015 at 7:17am
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Not normal. Mine gets to zero in the freezer and 30's in the main part. ------------- Larry and Debbie w/Rosie the mutt. Old: '13 177, '06 Silverado V6 New: '15 Whitehawk 20MRB '14 Silverado V8 |
Posted By: Leo B
Date Posted: 06 Jul 2015 at 7:39am
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Mine is same as shroomers!! ------------- Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |
Posted By: JohnBG
Date Posted: 06 Jul 2015 at 9:04am
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On my 2010 RP-171 with the refrigerator running on electric and turned up all the way, it almost freezes things in the refrigerator section. Before going camping, I plug it in a day or two before as it takes a while to get that cold. I haven't tried it on propane yet. ------------- 2010 R-Pod RP-171 2010 Honda Ridgeline TV |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 06 Jul 2015 at 9:24am
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Ours hovers around 37F most of the time... Frozen stuff stays frozen, ice can be made.
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Posted By: TigerPawd
Date Posted: 06 Jul 2015 at 9:37am
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Down here in south Texas, daytime temperatures are running 93° and more. The freezer does all right but we're lucky if we can get below 50° in the lower section in the afternoon. This is our second unit too. The original did about the same. The Dometic fridge in our old FR Surveyor generally got at least 10-15° cooler when it's this hot. ------------- Joan, Jerry and the two Pugs 2015 R-Pod 179 |
Posted By: Leo B
Date Posted: 06 Jul 2015 at 1:46pm
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We did have a little trouble back when we had our 171 and was camping down in Florida when the temps were between 90-95 degrees. Seemed to never completely cool. Then all was find when we got back up north an outside temps were a lot cooler. ------------- Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |
Posted By: podenvy
Date Posted: 06 Jul 2015 at 4:51pm
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We camp regularly in near 100F dry heat and the fridge keeps bottles of liquid to the almost freezing point when cranked up. We discovered plugging in the pod at least 24 hours before the trip and keeping the pod as level as possible really affects fridge performance. If you can't do 24 hours, then use the blue cooler blocks inside and that will help. We got leveling blocks for the wheels and a small level guide lives stuck to the area in front of the propane tank. ------------- 2013 FJ Cruiser + 2015 rpod 179 HRE |
Posted By: Podster
Date Posted: 06 Jul 2015 at 11:51pm
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I'm in San Antonio and usually run between 37 and 41 degrees. Initial cooling take 24-48 hours. Recovery is slow. Every time the door is opened, the temp goes up 1 degree. The ammonia absorption fridge has no moving parts and gravity plays a key roll making level operation critical when sitting still. To determine if the unit is level place a circular bubble lever inside the bottom shelf of the freezer. It doesn't have to be level when driving because the bouncing around ensures things keep flowing. Good ventilation is another key element. Some folks have reported better performance in the heat by removing the outside grills allowing more free air flow.
------------- Cliff & Raelynn Ranger 4.0/178 (1/2 ton 5,800lb tow capacity) |
Posted By: TigerPawd
Date Posted: 07 Jul 2015 at 1:32pm
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Hmm. Two defective Dometics in a row? Not impossible, I guess. We have had TTs with Dometic fridges for 25 years and this is the first little one - also the first to give us trouble. It's definitely level. In the hot afternoon most days, the vent side is shaded. I have left the fridge on for a week at a time, with 48° being the very best on a cool morning. I can hear the little fan(s) running when it gets warm outside so I know they are working. We have resorted to taking along some freezer bags and alternating them from freezer to fridge section. We keep an indoor-outdoor thermometer in the Pod with the remote inside the fridge, so we don't have to open the door to see what's happening. I have been chalking our problems up to the single door design, which is different from our previous bigger units. Maybe I need to head back to the dealer. Thanks for the feedback. ------------- Joan, Jerry and the two Pugs 2015 R-Pod 179 |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 11 Jul 2015 at 11:55pm
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We left the freezer compartment out of ours so it was all fridge, and we always measured around 35 F. Upper 30's in the fridge in our Salem with the freezer compartment down to 12 F. 104 outside on the way to camp today and when we pulled in the fridge was reading 38. ------------- 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: Q7-retired
Date Posted: 12 Jul 2015 at 6:13pm
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I'm struggling with propane operation, and learned that the dealer must measure fridge temp with a thermometer in water. Air warms quickly, water more slowly, so they take the temp with a water bath making it temporally stable. My fridge on electric easily gets to 37 degrees with outside temps in the 90's. I haven't measured the freezer compartment. ------------- Best regards, Jim 2015-RP178 TV 2015 Audi Q7 TDI and 2017 Ford F150 At home in "Our Pod" |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 13 Jul 2015 at 12:12am
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Hate to say it but that is bull. I had a service manager try to tell me that last year. Fridges - of all types - cool the air, which then cool the contents. Any air temperature gauge will give you an accurate reading of how cool it is inside the fridge, and many many campers use the wireless thermometers to keep an eye on the fridge while going down the road. Reading the temperature of a cup of water gives you a delayed reading of how the fridge is operating - so it can be warming up and you'll think it is still cool (or think it is too warm when it really did cool down to 35 fairly quickly). ------------- 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: furpod
Date Posted: 13 Jul 2015 at 7:55am
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Doug is exactly right. OH, and it's going to be a bit problematic to test a cup of water after it sits for a day in the freezer.. it will be frozen, unless there IS a problem with your fridge.. we track ours like so: This was on a 90F day, air conditioning on in the pod, interior temp around 72F, fridge on 120v.  ------------- |
Posted By: Q7-retired
Date Posted: 13 Jul 2015 at 9:03am
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Folks, I completely agree with you. However, when the dealer says Dometic requires this as the diagnostic method, then I have the choice of working with it or thinking the dealer a liar. I am not going to have any trouble showing that the fridge does not hold temperature over a four to six hour drive, as time-stamped photos of the thermometer in the water bath will prove it. In support of the method, it is true that absorption (compressor-less) refrigerators do not respond quickly to changes in external conditions, and air temperature will change rapidly. I also have a digital thermometer hanging in my fridge. Both the air and water thermometers will be in the pictures. We'll just make sure easily perishable food is in an ice chest/ cooler, where it won't spoil, until this is settled. The next long trip is from NC to the MI UP -- does anyone know a GREAT dealer around East Jordan? again, thanks! ------------- Best regards, Jim 2015-RP178 TV 2015 Audi Q7 TDI and 2017 Ford F150 At home in "Our Pod" |
Posted By: kindell
Date Posted: 13 Jul 2015 at 9:04am
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Ours gets colder and the freezer keeps icecream! Love that. ------------- Art & Kindell Cooper the Super Dog 2017 Keystone Bullet 265 2013 Chevrolet Silverado 1/2 ton Former 2015 RPod 179 |
Posted By: marspball
Date Posted: 13 Jul 2015 at 12:00pm
| Hi everyone, i now have a new fridge problem. The fridge is conpletely off and it is still connected to both AC and DC power. None of the lights on the control panel is on and pressing the power button doesnt do anything. I checked the breakers and the fuse and they are both ok. Power cord is plugged in into the receptacle in the back. I dont know what else to check. Hope you can help. |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 13 Jul 2015 at 4:38pm
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Did you press the power button, OR press and hold? Press and hold is how you turn it on/off.
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Posted By: marspball
Date Posted: 13 Jul 2015 at 5:47pm
| Pressing and holding the power button doesn't do anything. The unit is completely off with all the power connected. |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 13 Jul 2015 at 10:11pm
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Furpod, looks like the inside of our fridge with Pepsi, root beer and a small tub of Land O Lakes!
Q7, sorry you are having issues, I was there last year with my pod. We threw out milk and meat twice. Sounds like you will have plenty of proof. Marspball, with 120 at the outlet and 12 on the DC supply, next try to find a service manual for your model and look for any internal fuse on the diagrams. ------------- 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: marspball
Date Posted: 14 Jul 2015 at 12:40am
| i looked at the manual and you're right, it appears that the on-board fuse is blown. do you know the best way to access it? it's right behind the paneling and in between the two opening to the compartments. Do i have to remove the fridge from the front? |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 14 Jul 2015 at 10:11am
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I think you can get to it after you pull the front control panel housing.
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Posted By: marspball
Date Posted: 14 Jul 2015 at 12:25pm
| I pulled the front control panel housing and there's no fuse there. |
Posted By: Pooterpod
Date Posted: 14 Jul 2015 at 8:13pm
| [QUOTE=Q7-retired] I have the choice of working with it or thinking the dealer a liar. /QUOTE]Dealers never lie............lol..... |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 15 Jul 2015 at 10:43pm
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On mine there was a control module on the back of the fridge, easily accessible, are you sure that isn't where the fuse is? ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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