Is it okay to leave your refrigerator on when your are at home and not camping?

[Jeffg24]

When we are parked under our carport at home, we are plugged into our electric and so we keep our refrigerator running. Is that okay to do or are we doing any damage to it?

[craftsman]

It's fine. It was made to run. just make sure it"s level.

[Andrew Selking]

The only time we turn ours off is long enough to defrost the freezer. It is a great place to store extra things you need to keep cold.

[Mikethefixit]

Ours runs all the time also. Just make sure the trailer is level , I keep cold tea in there now that its hot out and besides it saves me goin back into the house and lettin out the ac.LOL

[Pahaska]

Mine runs constantly while in storage and has done so for years. There is nothing to wear out, we can leave basic condiments ready to travel, and there is no cool down time needed. It is even provides an occasional extra space for holidays.

[TBRich]

We also run our fridge all the time when at home...but we try like the dickens to not let that (being home) happen for too long at one time...we'd rather be "on the road again"!

[sempi2]

Wow, never thought about running the fridge fulltime. We have a pad next to our house and usually keep the shore power hooked up. Have thought the fridge would be good for extra cool storage for holidays, but really like the idea that we could keep the usual items needing cooling in the frige rather than take them in and out over the camping season. Thanks for the tip

[pebbrb05]

Remember to check the fridge regularly. We park our 09 23FB remotely but connected to power. Last summer the GFI plug serving our fridge blew and once the propane ran out the fridge died. You have not lived until you clean up spoiled meat. Needless to say we now turn it off and leave the doors open.

[2airishuman]

another vote for letting it RUN IF electricity OR lp gas is readily available.

the fridge in my current stream has only been turned OFF 4 defrosting...

it's always stocked and ready for travel going on 6 years.

the fridge in my first stream was ON for almost 25 years without issues.

UNplanned defrosts can happen with power failures and melting ICE cubes make a mess.

so everything FROZEN gets double bagged or placed in solid container...

just in case of melt down.

and don't leave fresh veggies or milk products in the fridge...

they WILL get nasty and either grow or expand, with unsavory odors that are hard to remove.

also CLEAN the fridge door seals regularly and with a tiny bit of chlorine solution.

the condensation and darkness on the door seals are PERFECT places for molds to thrive.

and the black varieties will STAIN the door gaskets, so keep them sanitized.
__________

the fridge is a GOOD mouse proof place to store cereals, nuts, grains, oil, crackers or other basic food stuffs.

cheers
2air'

[Jeffg24]

thanks for the info-appreciate your help-jeffg-stream on!

[darryl97420]

I notice several people suggest keeping the trailer level. How level is level? My trailer is slightly off bubble and just quit working on electricity but I lit the burner this morning and the fridge is nice and cold. So is being slightly off bubble bad? the fridge I mean...I already know I'm slightly off bubble :-D

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by darryl97420

So is being slightly off bubble bad? the fridge I mean...

all u might want 2 know

and stuff no1 needs 2no on this topic...

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f464...tch-69490.html

cheers
2air'

[Grand Master]

Originally Posted by darryl97420

quit working on electricity but I lit the burner this morning and the fridge is nice and cold. :-D

My Dometic RM2514 just quit working on electricity but also works fine on LP. This refrigerator is less than one year old, and has run continuously (mainly on electricity).

It should be covered under warranty, but how about tips to diagnose the problem.

[NevadaGeo]

Originally Posted by 2airishuman

all u might want 2 know

and stuff no1 needs 2no on this topic...

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f464...tch-69490.html

cheers
2air'

Aha, wading through that thread I finally deduced that those of us not in a brand new 'stream have to pay attention to leveling the pretty flat plate inside the freezer to keep the cooling gods happy, but the cooling gods have somehow smiled on the new 'streams and they don't need to be near right side up with out problems, or maybe today's manual writer lawyers stopped them from printing the words "level the frig."

[RLS]

Just a little reminder to those that keep the trailer plugged in, make sure your battery charger is on a timer or turned off so you do not fry the batteries like I did

[cclarkego]

Do I have a GFI plug to my frig in a 1966 Tradewind? Is that the same as a breaker switch?

Carol

[Gene]

Carol, a GFI (also GFCI) plug (receptacle) has a test button (usually red) and a reset button (usually white) and is for a place where water can cause a shocking experience. I think the newest residential codes require them in bedrooms for reasons I don't understand unless someone thinks a water bed is problem. In newer trailers the bathroom and kitchen receptacles are protected.

I doubt a '66 would have any GFCI receptacles unless they were updated. I don't think our '08 has one for the fridge.

A 120 v. breaker can be turned on and off with what looks like switch. If there's a short or overload they will flip off, but the switch is not quite all the way off. Some breakers are GFCI and have the test and reset buttons, most don't.

If the breaker is GFCI it will protect the entire circuit. If a receptacle is GFCI it will protect that receptacle and every one after it in the branch circuit. The fridge circuit should only have the fridge on it and nothing else.

As GFCI's (Ground Fault Circuit Interupter) get older they tend to flip off more and more often with no reason. Then you replace them of you can't find a short.

They are to protect you when you have one foot in the toilet, one hand in the bathroom basin full of water and are using a hairdryer, although there are good reasons for it too.

With an older trailer, you have to assume someone has done electrical work on it and they may not have known what they were doing, or if they did, they may have done things somewhat differently than an electrician would.

Electrical work can be confusing and if you want to do it yourself, buy a book about it and start reading. I've been doing it for 45 years and still am learning and I am very, very careful.

Gene

[cclarkego]

Thanks for the info, but now that I think of it, my frig not working would not be the result of a blown GFI or breaker switch because when I pulled the refrig plug via the outside door and plugged a tiny portable frig in, then it turned on. Guess I'll just wait for the repair guy to come check it out tomorrow.

Carol

[jcanavera]

I think the thing you would need to consider the most is the fact that running the unit full time may affect the lifespan of the unit. When connected to shore power, heat is produced by an electric coil which initself will eventually fail and need to be replaced. The liquid circulating in the unit takes its wear and tear on the tubing which may eventually spring a leak. On my original SOB, my fridge lasted 14 years before the leak occured. I doubt I would have gotten half that life if that unit had been running 24 x 7.

[Gene]

Levelness: newer fridges need not be as level as older ones. I haven't seen anything saying how level is good enough for newer ones (how new? is another question). I do know every RV book used to say it was very important, but it appears not as important now.

Since I don't like bouncing off the walls or walking like a drunk around the trailer, there's more than one reason to keep the trailer pretty level.

I wouldn't keep the fridge running because as Jack says, parts wear out. Also, is it more expensive to have an RV fridge running than a household one running? The cost of wear and tear could make the difference aside from cost of electricity because RV fridges cost a lot more than small household ones.

Gene