converting to residential refrigerator

[LouG]

Good day All,
I own a 2019 Minnie Winnie 26a with a Norcold N8XRT. Currently the frezzer work as it should, (-5), but the fridge only gets to about 49 (after a couple of days). I have had a service company look at the fridge, NOT a good experience, no help.
Has anyone converted their 26a Norcold to a residential fridge? If so, is their guidance anywhere on the internet? Or a recommendation of a service center in Florida?
thank you,
Lou

[gurroz]

LouG, out of curiosity what is the out side temperature? I live in the grater Phoenix area and when it is 115 degrees outside the refrigerator struggles to get to temperature. An RV tech recommended installing a fan behind the frig to move air over the coils. As soon as we get out of the desert heat the frig temps drop to normal levels and stay there. I am leaving next week for another 3 week trip and plan on going by our storage unit and turning on the frig two days prior to loading. We have always done it 24 hours prior so we will see if that helps.

[LouG]

Thank you gurroz, it has been averaging around 95 with high humidity every day!! I always park the RV with the A/C set at about 84. the techs said the same thing, which I understand, but why is the freezer reaching the correct operating temp in just a few hours?
When you are out of the heat, can you open the fridge door for more than a few seconds without losing 20 degrees?
I am leaning toward trying to replace with a residential.

thank you very much for your response, I do appreciate it.
Lou

[gurroz]

We use a AcuRite 00986 Refrigerator Thermometer with 2 Wireless Temperature Sensors to monitor temps. If we open the door the temps do drop but also recover quickly. My wife constantly monitors the temps and adjust the frig accordingly, if it is on 3 and and she opens the door she moves it to 5 for awhile. I think one of our problems is she packs too much food so when she retrieves something she has to keep the door open for awhile.

[LouG]

Thanks gurroz,
I understand about ensuring not to pack too much into the fridge, and only packing stuff that is already cold, but no techs have been able to answer why the freezer can be at -5 degrees and the fridge at 50+!!

Thank you again,
lou

[bobmac]

A Res Fridge will prove to be the best addition you will ever make to your RV. I wasted $1200 trying multiple solutions to get the Norcold really cold. Finally ..... and I should have done it sooner, added a Samsung 33" wide res fridge and have never looked back.

[Reniram]

Seems like the unit is working okay but it is frustrating you cant hold a good temp in the main compartment..Have you tried the dollar bill trick of carefully closing the door all around the gasket door seal to make certain the door was installed properly?Sometimes especially around the hinge you might find a gap in the gasket...

[al1florida]

I would assume that since the freezer is at minus 5 degrees that your temperature selection setting is at max.

The fridge is designed so the freezer gets the coolant first so it will cool a lot better than the fridge.

Is the cooling the same on gas as it is on elect?

Is the fridge in a slide out so the upper vent is in the side of the wall rather than the ceiling? If so, are there fans in the upper part of rear of compartment located above the coils at the back of the fridge. Are they working.

I have a 12 cu ft fridge that is vented through the roof and in 95* temps it would struggle to keep the fridge temp below 45-50*.

I installed 2 six inch 12V computer muffin fans just below the vent in the roof. I ran the wires down to the back of the fridge to pick up 12V and wired in an on/off switch so I could turn the fans off in cool/cold weather. Now the fridge temp is in the mid to upper 30's in 95* temps.

It was not fun to remove the vent hood and wire mesh screen and mount the fans. Removing and reinstalling the mesh screen was a pain. Also working in such a small area mounting the fans while being sure not to drop tools/screws, etc was difficult.

[BobC]

LouG-

I don't see where you mentioned whether or not you boondock or otherwise camp without shore power. Running a residential fridge without shore power will require using your generator a lot or a very large solar system and battery bank. I

On the other hand, I'd keep the Norcold and follow al1florida's advice of adding some fans to your Norcold. A fan in the refrigerator section is also a good idea.

You can do this completely on your own with inexpensive 12v "muffin" fans or using one of the many available kits:

https://rvcoolingunit.com/-Cooling-P...5.aspx?sid=298

There are also numerous videos on YouTube.

Additionally, based on my experience, cooling on LPG is superior to cooling on 120v AC.

[DavidM]

I would encourage you to add a vent fan to exhaust all possibilities of getting your absorption fridge working right. DC compressor fridges draw significant power and if you do any dry camping you will have to find a way to replace that power: solar, generator, running the chassis engine, etc.

David