Norcold freezer cold, refrigerator not so much

[2lgdterrier]

Good info, no wonder I can’t find one. I’ll check it out, many thanks.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by 2lgdterrier

The odd thing is last year on way home, final trip both area’s cooled wonderfully. So I thought ahhhaaa fixed, not so this year.

By any chance were you on LPG on the way home and 120V AC shore power the rest of the time? In addition to something being wrong with your 120V heating system, LPG is generally acknowledged as doing a better job of cooling.

[NormD]

For what its worth; on my previous RV we experienced 105 degrees average daytime high temperature for over a month. The Norcold kept the ice cream solid and the refrigerator temperature remained under 40 degrees. I had enough room to install an 8-inch 120 volt AC desk fan at the base of the chimney, which moved a major blast of air past the coils.
Not having that much room in my current RV's chimney, I added a 6-inch 12 volt computer-style fan and a thermostat at the base. The freezer remained at 4 degrees and the refrigerator was at 38 degrees with an ambient of 88 degrees.
More air flow is a good thing.

[2lgdterrier]

Thank you while camping I was on shore power 110V and on way home frigerator was on 12V power. Was working perfectly freezer and refrigerator.

[BarryLS]

The helpers have been busy while I was away

A comment about the thermistor - I have checked it and it is fine. I have also run the system with it unplugged which is the same as getting a signal to keep cooling, no change. The last test was done by connecting the 120vac directly to the heating coil, which bypasses the thermistor and the control board entirely. So it's not a problem with either of those things.

"1. Pour some water down the the drain at the rear of the refrigerator section until you see water coming out of the drain hose on the exterior. These refer drains, like household drains, have "P" traps in them. If your rig has sat a while it's likely that the water sitting in the trap has evaporated and warm outside air is entering your fridge..."

That's something I had not considered or even thought about. It's been sitting quite some time so I'm sure any water in the P trap is gone.

I'll get back to the fridge a bit later. I know I can freeze things

Thanks greatly for the suggestions and pointers!

[BobC]

Originally Posted by BarryLS

"1. Pour some water down the the drain at the rear of the refrigerator section until you see water coming out of the drain hose on the exterior. These refer drains, like household drains, have "P" traps in them. If your rig has sat a while it's likely that the water sitting in the trap has evaporated and warm outside air is entering your fridge..."

I'm skeptical. My MH is in outside storage in the CA sun for months at a time and I've never had this problem. On the other hand, you have nothing to lose.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by BobC

I'm skeptical. My MH is in outside storage in the CA sun for months at a time and I've never had this problem. On the other hand, you have nothing to lose.

I was gonna leave this alone because there are different modes of refrigerators, but I agree with you. The only drain I have is off the fins from defrosting. The way I understood it is it flows into a tray in the back and one of the fans just blows away what does not evaporate.

But the point that air could be lost through that very small tube could be valid, but I doubt it is measurable difference. If OP wanted to do anything it would be simply enough to plug or cover the drain to verify no difference.

[BobC]

I think you'll find that the tray connects to a drain hose. Here's a video from a 2008 Itasca. Note that there's no P trap:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjdmS-kn81o

[Bobn1957]

I was concerned about my fridge last year during the heat dome but with the ARP system installed the freezer is cold and the fridge is as well! Have a look at https://www.arprv.com/ The ARP system has fans in the chimney and fans in the fridge!

[BarryLS]

"I'm skeptical."

I've looked, and looked in both the installation and service manual and no drain is present in my model.

As noted, next I will clean the flue (it's supposed to get a yearly cleaning anyway) and check the seals in the backside, then if that doesn't provide the result I need I'll add a cooling fan to put more air through the condenser. Also I'll test on propane to see if it really makes any difference.

If that doesn't satisfy me then I'll convert to a compressor operation. I may take that route eventually anyway as the AC power required would go from 300 to 100 - 120 watts while running. Quite a difference if one is operating off of solar.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by BarryLS

"I'm skeptical."

I've looked, and looked in both the installation and service manual and no drain is present in my model.

Look at exploded parts list and find a drip cup (drain tray). It may not show the drain hose or the drain hole in Fridge but the defrost has to go somewhere. It does not drain outside to ground but into a drip tray that will evaporate or be blown away by fan or wind.

Regardless that ain't your problem and there is no P trap.

[BarryLS]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

Look at exploded parts list and find a drip cup (drain tray). It may not show the drain hose or the drain hole in Fridge but the defrost has to go somewhere. It does not drain outside to ground but into a drip tray that will evaporate or be blown away by fan or wind.

Regardless that ain't your problem and there is no P trap.

You are right. I missed it because the operating manual tells you to remove the interior drain tray and empty it. No mention of a drain connection to it. In fact you cannot remove it since the hose is attached to it, just not visibly until you try to pull it out like I just did. I saw the hose in the back but forgot about it. I'm going to chalk up that memory issue to youth

And yes, it doesn't have a P trap nor is it large enough to cause a cooling issue.

Thanks!

[rebrobin]

We had the same issue with our Norcold for a long time, just dealt with it. Finally the cooling unit crapped out, and our RV shop was going to replace the cooling unit. when they opened up the back, they found it had been replaced once and not properly sealed to stop air from getting in around the back, and had lots of mold where condensation had occurred. We put in a brand new 4 door Norcold and it worked great. Possibly yours has had a unit replaced and has the same issue. We had everything on our old one checked twice by knowledgeable rv techs and all was working perfectly.

[BarryLS]

I'm going to check the back seal and fit when I remove the unit to clean the flue. Thanks for the headsup on your issue rebrobin.