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Old 12-05-2009, 07:36 AM   #1
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Do you keep the refrigerator on or off? We kept the one in our last tt on all the time because we had it plugged in at home all the time without any problems. With our 30sk and slides in the kitchen I read that keeping therefrigerator on is NOT a good idea while plugged in at home.Sometimes our slides are in and sometimes we keep them out with cold drinks in the fridge. Whatdaya think?...Don't want to cause any damage...
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Old 12-05-2009, 07:39 AM   #2
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We leave ours on for the camping/traveling season. It's plugged into land power also.

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Old 12-05-2009, 11:31 AM   #3
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I leave mine on all the time while at home. My last trailer was 5 years old when I sold it. The fridge still looked like new.

It gets real hot in the Texas summers, and with trailers that I did not leave running, after a few years the interior of the fridge would start to discolor and the plastic would start to distort.

Think about how refrigerators at home can last for years, while many rv refrigerators have to be replaced around the 8 year mark. They are very expensive!

I would really be interested in hearing why a manufacturer would suggest turning unit off when not using.


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Old 12-05-2009, 01:10 PM   #4
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I leave mine on until November or when winterized and than turn it of and defrost it and wait for March.I usually have some ice buildup in the freezer and it needs defrosted anyway.
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Old 12-05-2009, 11:11 PM   #5
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We've never had an issue with leaving the fridge on with the slide closed on out CF30SK. The one thing that we make sure of, is that the trailer is level front to back.
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Old 12-06-2009, 01:34 AM   #6
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Every RV I have owned for the last 20 yrs, I have turned the frig off after every trip, removed all the food and left the doors open. I turn in on 24 hrs before each trip. Never had a problem. Guess I don't see the value in consuming more electricity with no benefit.



More recently, in the last few years with the issue of frig. fires I see even less reason to leave it on. Just before Christmas last year, the neighbor's motorhome was destroyed due to a frig. fire. They believed in leaving it on all the time even though they used it only a couple times each year. They were also upside down on their loan due to the economy so it was a financial loss as well. It took them 10 months to get everything resolved and they now have a truck and fiver instead. I doubt they still leave the frig. on all the time. In one respect, they were lucky, they were at home and the MH was not close to the house or other structures, so no other damage. In my case, the RV port is attached to the garage and then the house and I'm in a rural area, if I was gone for a few hours, then everything could burn. Why risk it.
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Old 12-06-2009, 08:38 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dayle1
Every RV I have owned for the last 20 yrs, I have turned the frig off after every trip, removed all the food and left the doors open. I turn in on 24 hrs before each trip. Never had a problem. Guess I don't see the value in consuming more electricity with no benefit.

More recently, in the last few years with the issue of frig. fires I see even less reason to leave it on. Just before Christmas last year, the neighbor's motorhome was destroyed due to a frig. fire. They believed in leaving it on all the time even though they used it only a couple times each year. They were also upside down on their loan due to the economy so it was a financial loss as well. It took them 10 months to get everything resolved and they now have a truck and fiver instead. I doubt they still leave the frig. on all the time. In one respect, they were lucky, they were at home and the MH was not close to the house or other structures, so no other damage. In my case, the RV port is attached to the garage and then the house and I'm in a rural area, if I was gone for a few hours, then everything could burn. Why risk it.


you make some very good points. i only turn mine off when my trailer is winterized. next season i think i'll turn it off when we are not using it. one year i had it plugged in at home and i had a problem with my previous outlet. (i've since installed a 30 amp outlet)it tripped and i did'nt know it so it switched to propane and emptied one tank.
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Old 12-06-2009, 09:46 PM   #8
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We leave ours on. It is plugged in to shore power at home so it pretty much stays on all the time. It is actually off right now because it needed defrosted but it will be turned back on in the next day or so. It seems like refers that are turned off end up not restarting because oflocked up compressors. I am basing a lot of this on the little "college" refrigerators. Mine is 24 years old and still going strong but it was never turned off for more than a few hours at a time. I knew a lot of people who turned theirs off in the summers and they did not last. May not be "apples to apples" but it is all I have to base it on.

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Old 12-06-2009, 11:51 PM   #9
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Like Dayle1, we turn our frig off after every trip. Is there an argument for leaving it on? Does something where out from repetitive on/off cycles?

Our previous 5er was a 1975 "Me Too" and the fridge was always turned off after each use and it was still working fine after 30 years.
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Old 12-07-2009, 12:01 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by Chuck N. Wined
It seems like refers that are turned off end up not restarting because ofÂ*locked up compressors.Â* I am basing a lot of this on the little "college" refrigerators.


There is no compressor in an RV frig. so that is a non issue.
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Old 12-07-2009, 12:08 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by Dayle1
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck N. Wined
It seems like refers that are turned off end up not restarting because oflocked up compressors. I am basing a lot of this on the little "college" refrigerators.
There is no compressor in an RV frig. so that is a non issue.






There ya' go! I am basing my decision on "junk science". What are the "moving parts" in the rv refer?

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Old 12-07-2009, 12:12 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by Korbe & Diana
Is there an argument for leaving it on? Does something where out from repetitive on/off cycles?


Seems like if there was an issue with repetitive on/off cycles, owners would not want to store their RVs in storage lots lacking shore power, or even the entire RV concept of it being an occasional use item.
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Old 12-07-2009, 12:16 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by Chuck N. Wined
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dayle1
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck N. Wined
It seems like refers that are turned off end up not restarting because ofÂ*locked up compressors.Â* I am basing a lot of this on the little "college" refrigerators.
There is no compressor in an RV frig. so that is a non issue.




Â*

There ya' go!Â* I am basing my decision on "junk science".Â* What are the "moving parts" in the rv refer?

Lonnie


There are no moving parts in an RV frig. unless you have one of those aux. fans. Heat converts the ammonia (sp) liquid to gas and it expands thru the pipes, that is about all I know.
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Old 12-07-2009, 05:34 AM   #14
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Dayle's right, no moving parts in an RV frig. It's all heat and heat exchange. The heat generator is your propane flame or electric heating element.

I have read many pro's and cons on leaving RV frig's on or off. There doesn't seem to be any cosensus on which is the better method. It seems the average life span of an RVfrig is somewhere in the 9-11 year range if you use it fairly often.



I know several full time RV'ers who have their refers on all the time and their failure rate falls right into that 9-11 year range. My personel experience includes a Dometic refer failing (ammonia leak) at 9 years. I always turn mine off when I am not using it.

So given that I can see no advantageto leaving it on and a few minor disadvantages as listed above, I still turn mine off when not in use.We use the Cruiser about 5-6 months per year.
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Old 12-07-2009, 07:30 AM   #15
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Off for me too...Keeping it off means we will never forget that we left something in there (and one less thing to draw electric while plugged in).



I have also heard that it does not impact the life span but my own logic stills says that if it isn't on, it can't break (and shouldlast longer)...
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