Refrigerator moisture

[wildwoodrver]

We are in East Texas and experiencing temps around 100. Humidity is of course fairly high. Being from the West Coast, this is all new to us.

The refrigerator in our '05 is holding 40 degrees consistently and the food in the freezer is solid. All seems normal, but there seems to be quite a bit of moisture on the things in the fridge. We tried the dollar bill test on the door gasket and are unsure if the resistance we feel is enough (there is slight resistance). We felt a leaky gasket would allow warm moist air in that would create moisture.

So for you folks that live in these hot and humid places; is it normal to pull damp things out of the fridge? Are we trying to create a problem where none exists?

Thanks.

[Mr & Mrs S]

Originally Posted by wildwoodrver

We are in East Texas and experiencing temps around 100. Humidity is of course fairly high. Being from the West Coast, this is all new to us.

The refrigerator in our '05 is holding 40 degrees consistently and the food in the freezer is solid. All seems normal, but there seems to be quite a bit of moisture on the things in the fridge. We tried the dollar bill test on the door gasket and are unsure if the resistance we feel is enough (there is slight resistance). We felt a leaky gasket would allow warm moist air in that would create moisture.

So for you folks that live in these hot and humid places; is it normal to pull damp things out of the fridge? Are we trying to create a problem where none exists?

Thanks.

I live in East Texas and we camped about 12 days at the lake last month. If we were in and out of the fridge a lot I would notice some moisture. I installed a small fan inside the fridge to help move air around and seemed to help keep things normal. Welcome to the Texas heat and humidity.

[wildwoodrver]

Thanks for the tip on the fan. We used to have one of those little cube fans. Maybe time to try another one. Thanks for the tip. I think I may have talked myself out of spending too much more time worrying about this. As we are emptying out the fridge to a more normal amount of food (we left the house with too much stuff) the problem seems to be going away! I love problems that go away. Thanks again.

[clancy_boy]

I put a small computer fan inside mine and ran the wires out the back through the drain line to get 12v power. Never worry about a "C" cell battery when camping and have to go to the store. Just wire tie it to the bottom of the wire shelf - its about a 2"x2"x1/2" fan and takes up no space.

[texascanuk]

I had that idea also. Haven't we all got an old computer to tear down and recycle? I'm glad I read this thread first though because I was wondering how to run a wire, There's already a hole in the cabinet. My other thought was to run a ribbon wire through the door seal somewhere but I'll get some small guage wire to feed through the drain tube.

My reasoning for the fan is that the cooling fins are building up with ice and I've been thawing it out every 4 weeks using a blower. After a couple of hours the ice buidup starts again. Always heaviest at the top right of center part of the fins.

[richinny]

there might be a switch on the fridge to reduce condensation.

one member here used the condensation drip line in the back to run the wires.

[clancy_boy]

That's what I did - I also replaced the condensation drip line with TYGON tubing - clear plastic sold at HD instead of the brittle ribbed white plastic line. I added some extra electrical tape on the wire to insulate against chafing at the back of the fridge and pushed them both through. Seal the backside just like factory with a big glob of silicone sealant. Works great - I added a switch in the back to control it but generally when the fridge is on the fan is on.