How to make your fridge last a long time

[mprokop87]

I just bought a new fridge for my Argosy and I know these things are fairly fussy. What is the best way to give this thing the longest life possible?

I know to only operate it when it's level but I've also heard that only using the fridge a few times a year can be harmful to the cooling unit and cause a premature clog. Since I leave my Argosy plugged in at home 90% of the time, would it be a good idea to leave the fridge turned on? It would make a nice beer fridge.

Any other suggestions? These aren't cheap so I would like to avoid buying another for a while.

Thanks!

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[Aage]

This cooling unit re-manufacturer does a good job explaining how fans make a big difference, including aiding longevity.

Dometic Evaporator Fan Greater inside Cooling Deluxe Model - RV Cooling Unit Warehouse

[Protagonist]

Don't run it when it's empty. Any fridge, whether electric or propane, runs better when full. It's more efficient cooling liquids and solids than it is cooling air. You should only leave enough air space in it to allow the cold air to circulate between the other items. If you don't have enough stuff to keep it full, add bottled water or something to fill the void spaces.

But don't put anything warm in the fridge, either. Pre-chill items in your home fridge before putting them in the trailer fridge.

And just to monitor the freezer portion, put Dixie cup of ice in the freezer, with a penny on top of the ice. As long as the penny remains on top of the ice, you know the freezer hasn't thawed. If you ever find the penny INSIDE or UNDER the ice, you know that you've had a thaw and you'll have to throw out all of the meats and other perishable items that can't safely be re-frozen.

[overlander63]

That's one of the few times a penny tip is a good thing.

[Tincampers]

I read somewhere on this forum that the new fridges are not so sensitive to being run when out of level. Any comments on that?

[dznf0g]

They're not very sensitive. I've never had any issue parked either way off front to back or side to side for even several hours at a time while at an attraction for the day.

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[Ray Eklund]

We dry camp remote locations 90% of the time and use our leveling blocks to maintain some sense of "level". The roads we travel upon are never close to level, once off the paved roads. Even an overnight rest at some incline has never been an issue for our fridge operation.

While camped with a reasonable and tolerable "level" we have never had a problem with the fridge operating properly. Just the thermo couple issue, discussed on another topic.

If you can sleep at the "level" you are at... the fridge works. If you need to reset the "check light" and it is the single thermo couple system... make the bending of the thermo couple over the propane flame to take care of that issue.

Our theory... if you awake, finding yourself sleeping on the floor of the trailer, you have slid out of it due to the steep angle... check the fridge... it might or might not need attention. Otherwise... I see no issue of "level".