RV Refrigerator Basics

RV Refrigerators are marvelous contraptions.  They are built in such a way as to be able to operate in the absence of electricity, allowing your food to remain cold while you are on the road or while you are parked somewhere without electric hookups.  An RV Refrigerator will run off of either electric OR propane (some will also operate using 12V electric power).  RV refrigerators come in many different shapes, colors and sizes but they all operate in the same basic way.

     

Before we talk about how to improve your RV refrigerator efficiency we need to have a basic understanding of how an RV refrigerator works.  An RV Refrigerator is different than the refrigerator in your house.  The RV Refrigerator  does not use a compressor or any moving parts for that matter.  It works off of the principle of absorption.

Instead of applying cold directly, the heat is drawn out, or absorbed..when there is no heat, there is cold.  The heat is applied  to an ammonia/water solution located in a boiler assembly.  The heat causes the solution to boil and the ammonia vapor makes it's way to the top of the cooling unit, where it is cooled back to a liquid state.  When this occurs, the ammonia is extremely cold.  The liquid ammonia then trickles down the walls of the evaporator assembly in order for them to freeze and transfer the cold into the fridge and freezer compartments.  The liquid ammonia flows down to the bottoms where it is collected and the whole process starts again.

Tips & Tricks 
The initial cool down period for an RV refrigerator takes about 4-6 hours.  Many people find that it is best to start their refrigerator the day before leaving on a camping trip.  Also, when you put your food in the refrigerator, you should make sure that the food is already cold.  Adding cold food to a refrigerator , rather than adding warm food, lets the refrigerator work less to stay cool.

For your refrigerator to work most efficiently, it needs to be level.  This is something that is often overlooked and can lead to permanent damage to your RV fridge. In order to make sure that your fridge is level, we recommend using a small level and setting it on the floor of the fridge or freezer once you have set up your camper at the campground.  Just because your camper is level, does not necessarily mean that your fridge is level.  It is ok to be off level by 3-5 degrees.  And, as a side note, traveling with your fridge running will not harm it even though it is not level during travel.  This is because the constant movement during travel keeps the ammonia moving and does not allow it to settle in one spot.

One common mistake RV'ers make is to overload their fridge with food.  Make sure that you leave enough room between your food items for air circulation.  You may also want to install a 12 volt, thermostatically controlled fridge vent fan.  One of these little fans can improve refrigerator performance by up to 40%.

Extremely hot weather will effect your refrigerators performance.  During extremely hot weather, try to park your camper so that the fridge is on the opposite side of the afternoon sun.

Try to limit the number of times you open and close the fridge door.  Each time it is opened in hot weather it will lose a degree or two...it won't take long for the temperature inside to creep up and food spoilage can start as low as 40 degrees F.

And, in closing...just to reiterate, Running a Refrigerator out of level is the most common reason for premature cooling unit failure.  A new refrigerator cooling unit will cost between $900-$1800 plus installation, so make sure you take the time needed to level your refrigerator each and every time you camp!