RV Refrigerator Not Getting Cold
The modern RV is a self-contained home on wheels, with all of the conveniences and potential problems of any stationary dwelling. RV refrigerators can experience all of the same failures that a home unit can, plus a few extra that depend on location and weather. Repair procedures vary depending on the particular make and model, but the causes for failure generally remain the same. Does this Spark an idea?
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Low Coolant
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Low coolant levels will reduce the performance of any refrigeration system, and your RV unit is no exception. Compressing a gas causes it it heat up; a refrigerator works by heating the gas through compression, cooling the hot gas with a radiator and then allowing it to re-expand into a radiator that cools the air. If the coolant level drops, the fridge can no longer compress the gas sufficiently to heat it up, which results in a lack of cooling.
High Outside Temperatures
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The regrigerator's heat exchanger requires works much like your car radiator in that it requires a constant stream of cool air in order to reduce the compressed coolant temperature. Household refrigerators rarely experience temperature-related failures because homes don't generally get hotter than 90 to 100 degrees. However, high outside temperatures can easily reduce the exchanger's efficiency to the point that the fridge stops working.
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High Altitude
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High altitude air is less dense than sea-level air; this has a direct effect on the heat exchanger's ability to shed thermal energy. Manufacturers generally build home units to function within a certain range, but the RV refrigerator's relatively small heat exchanger has an inherently lower tolerance for air density changes than its household cousins. This can be a serious problem for those who take regular trips to the mountains. Tolerances vary, but you can expect the fridge to begin warming up somewhere around 5,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level.
Lack of Ventilation
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If you're getting the impression that airflow is important, that's because it is. Airflow through the heat exchanger core may be fairly marginal as installed, so a dirty or clogged filter screen can have a disastrous effect on the heat exchanger's efficiency. If your RV has a filter screen behind the AC compartment's ventilation louvers, check it for debris. If the compartment temperature exceeds 95 degrees, you need to clean the louvers and consider installing an electric fan to bring compartment temperatures back down to around 80 degrees.
Icing
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Icing is more a matter of humidity than of exterior temperature, but can be a result of low exterior temperatures as well. The refrigerator's evaporator (the radiator that contains the expanding gases and cools the air) naturally collects a certain amount of condensation. Normally, this condensation will drain out of the fridge in a steady drip. However, very humid environments can cause excess condensation to build up on the evaporator. This condensation freezes into a thick sheet of ice, which insulates the evaporator and causes a rise in output temperature. Short of spraying de-icing fluid into the unit, the only thing you can do is to shut the refrigerator off and allow the ice to thaw.
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References
- Photo Credit rv,motorhome,motorcoach image by Greg Pickens from Fotolia.com
