fridge temperature

[Chocolat]

Hello,

I am a new owner of an airstream. We went out this week and when we were on the road the fridge temperature was increasing by several degrees .. I tried in automatic mode or propane mode. it did not change anything. Tell me what I don't understand?

Thank you for your answers

[SteveSueMac]

Sometimes (I’m not sure why) shutting it off completely for 5 seconds and re-starting on Propane helps me. It also depends on how you prep it for a road trip. I start it the day before I’m about to leave because it takes overnight to cool off. It helps to put those blue pack ice blocks in the freezer and fridge so it cools down faster. There are many threads in the forums about cooling down the fridge. Hope this helps a bit. Good luck!

[Foiled Again]

If ypu are not hooked up.to electricity, obviously the refrigerator must have propane. AUTO is supposed to switch automatically - handy during a power outage at a campground, but occasionally it fails to switch, so I always manually switch it over before leaving on a day's trip. If your propane is low, or you have turned your bottles OFF, then only the mass of your food in the unit will help to hold the temperature.

Things to check. Does the propane light up and stay lit? Some older Airstreams must have their pilot lighted manually, most now have an automated system, read the manual to decide if ypu need repairs. Is your regulator putting out enough gas pressure? Are ypur propane hoses more than 5 years old?... replace even if not an immediate problem.
Is there any obstruction in airflow that will cause the.flame to go out? Air intake from the back or floor (check your model manuals) or exhaust thru the chimney (leaves, bird or squirrel nests, wasp nests are common.)

[Dan Everett]

We are also having this problem. The fridge will not cool below 40 degrees. Our trailer is a Flying Cloud 19. But at the factory we met several with different models that had the same problem.

[Al and Missy]

Look on the cooling vanes on the inside at the rear of the fridge compartment. Mine has a clip-on sensor. If yours does, move it up to the top of the vane. This will set the fridge for maximum cool.


Al

[Josephine517]

Originally Posted by Chocolat

Hello,

I am a new owner of an airstream. We went out this week and when we were on the road the fridge temperature was increasing by several degrees .. I tried in automatic mode or propane mode. it did not change anything. Tell me what I don't understand?

Thank you for your answers

I have a 2017 23D. We had the same problem. In hot weather the refrigerator interior temp would go into the 40s. I took the trailer in twice to have the refrigerator checked but each time the dealer said it’s working as design. Reading this forum I added another exhaust fan blowing heat out the upper vent and mounted the fan thermostat a few inches below the fins. Fan only run when the temperature in the back goes above 90 degrees. I now have the refrigerator set on it’s warmest setting and rarely does the interior refrigerator temperature go above 32. I now have a refrigerator that’s too cold but that’s a better problem than too warm. I may have to lower the exhaust fan thermostat a few more inches.

[SilverWind]

We've had three Airstreams this decade, one 50 years old. Their fridges all seem to have cooling challenges in warm/hot weather.

In warm weather try to keep the fridge side of the trailer out of the sun. If you have an awning on that side put it up as soon as you set up camp. Avoid opening the fridge door unless you absolutely have to and then very quickly until ambient temperatures go down.

As mentioned in an earlier post. Regulators and hoses should be inspected regularly. On trailers more than 4 or 5 years old regulators and tank hoses should probably be renewed. They are relatively inexpensive and fairly easy to replace. Also, we've found that when a propane tank gets low it tends to affect fridge cooling.

Finally, like most Airstreamers, we run the fridge when driving.

[rjack]

You may be experiencing pilot light blow out en route due to gusts from above or the access door to the fridge.. this was dealt with in later models by a baffle at the top vent. On my ‘08 model I put a small sheet of perforated aluminum across between the pilot light and the outside access door. This worked

[bweybright]

I had a similar problem when driving with my trailer. To solve the issue I went to a hardware store and bought some random green in color furnace filter material that I could cut easily and put if in front of the fridge service door. It blocks the highway wind, but allows a lot of air through when parked. It solved the problem...as previously mentioned my problem was blowout of the fridge when driving.
The nice thing about the green furnace filter stuff is it is cheap and I throw it away and cut a new piece when I see a lot of road grime building up on the material. Although this takes a lot of miles - I have 30,000 on ours and have had to replace it maybe 3 times.
Good luck.
Bob

[pteck]

Several potential tips. Each may help to ensuring the overall performance of the fridge.

1) Thermostat in the fridge should be clipped to the end fin as high as possible. If you're missing a clip, a binder clip works well here.
2) Already mentioned but the fridge performance is sensitive to propane pressure. Older propane regulators may weaken and not supply enough propane pressure. Fridge performance can be boosted a bit by incrementally more pressure. The regulator can be adjusted for a bit more pressure ideally with a manometer. One could arbitrarily turn the pressure adjuster up by 1/2-1 turn clockwise and see if it makes a difference. This also helps with gas appliance stability to higher altitudes.
3) Pre-cooling with ice/frozen bottles of water helps for especially hot days. I usually keep 2-4 bottles frozen, and will rotate another set of frozen bottle into the fridge on especially hot (95*+) days. Don't put anything frozen next to that internal thermostat as that will tell the fridge it's falsely too cold.
4) Add a chimney fan behind the fridge to evacuate hot air. Best to install it near the top of the chimney to pull hot air up and away.

[Daquenzer]

I would suggest getting a small circulating fan and putting it in the fridge. These refrigerators are noted for not having even cooling. When you are parked in the sun during the day and it is on the refridge side the temp goes up to 40 on ours. At night it drops to 36. So I did some research and found this below. Bought a small fan at Camping World for about $13.

https://www.amazon.com/slp/rv-refrig...f9wtcyhhrmq58j

https://blog.gorving.com/2018/01/rv-...r-tips-tricks/

It circulates the air and makes things more efficient.

We bought the battery operated one that is easy to turn off. And our refrigerator isn’t that full we can’t reach it. But you can put more permanent fans in if you want. The one I saw for about $80 was helpful to keep frost of the fins on the back.

Cheap fix was the $13 with the switch

[waninae39]

the std fridge MUST be level to work properly

see the owners manual

[Chocolat]

Hello,
Thank you for your answers. The problem was related to an electric wire. I explain to you ... I bought this trailer used last May. As soon as we started using it the problem appeared. I look for the cause of the problem. After several tests and readings on the electrical operation of the trailer, I found that the end of the GFCI white wire breaker was too long without sheath. There was a power leak that was blowing up the GFCI breaker. The refrigerator was still in propane mode. I adjusted the length of the end of the white wire and there was no problem. I have the bizarre impression that the electric wire was in this state since the construction of the trailer. He could not enter the breaker more than if he was reduced.

Thank you all