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Old 08-12-2010, 12:45 AM   #1
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ive only heard this from one guy but i thought i would put it out here for "US"

since the fridge in our RV's isnt constructed like the one in our home, as far as internals this guy at our last outting said he leaves his on ALL the time to keep the chemical in there moving. because he had a friend who had to replace his fridge because the chemical sat dormant in the bottom of the lines and rotted everything out.

his logic makes sense because of how the fridge cools itself with the chemical, but ive never heard anyone have a problem with this....................?????
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Old 08-12-2010, 01:34 AM   #2
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I turn mine off when not in use. I am not well versed in the mechanics of the internal workings but have not had major issues with fridges. My last TT had a Norcold that lasted ten years before I replaced it. I have heard of some that have gone bad in 4-5. There are some here that leave theirs on all the time though. I am sure others will chime in.

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Old 08-12-2010, 02:49 AM   #3
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I'm not well versed in reefer technology but I've always been told the number one reason reefers die early is operation while the trailer is not leveled. When I towed I always turned mine off when not in use. Now that I have a season lease site it is on all the time. I didn't experience problems before it the lease site and I'm not expecting problems now that it is there and on.
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Old 08-12-2010, 02:59 AM   #4
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When we store our 5vr for the winter, we leave the fridge doors open to keep it dry and prevent mould from forming. It's not necessary have the fridge going 7/24 just because you store your trailer. The fridge can be stored indefinitely with it not operating.
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Old 08-12-2010, 04:04 AM   #5
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How long do refrigerators sit between the time they are manufactured and the time they are placed in service? A month? Several months? A Year? More?

Does that hurt them?



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Old 08-12-2010, 04:19 AM   #6
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We had an older 1996 Dutchman trailer with a Norcold refer. Fourteen years with it turned off a lot. We traded the trailer for our new Cruiser two months ago and it never had a problem.

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Old 08-12-2010, 08:11 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jeb
How long do refrigerators sit between the time they are manufactured and the time they are placed in service? A month? Several months? A Year? More?

Does that hurt them?
Nope!. The ammonia gas that is used in the fridge just sits there until you apply heat to get it flowing through the system. If there are no leaks in the system, then the fridge can stored pretty muchindefinitely until it's needed because there are no moving parts to dry out or fail.
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Old 08-12-2010, 09:17 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hamops
Quote:
Originally Posted by jeb
How long do refrigerators sit between the time they are manufactured and the time they are placed in service? A month? Several months? A Year? More?

Does that hurt them?
Nope!. The ammonia gas that is used in the fridge just sits there until you apply heat to get it flowing through the system. If there are no leaks in the system, then the fridge can stored pretty muchindefinitely until it's needed because there are no moving parts to dry out or fail.
There ya go. It won't hurt it to sit.


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Old 08-12-2010, 10:58 AM   #9
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I leave mine on all summer long. My thinking is the recent problems with Dometic and I think Norcold products is fracturing of the cooling coils in the back. Thermal cycling (turning on and off) will accelerate the expansion and contraction of these coils and possibly increase the possibility of cracking.



Leaving it on (hot) all the time will decrease the thermal cycling extreams.
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Old 08-12-2010, 12:00 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BipeFlier
I leave mine on all summer long.Â* My thinking is the recent problems with Dometic and I think Norcold products is fracturing of the cooling coils in the back.Â* Thermal cycling (turning on and off) will accelerate the expansion and contraction of these coils and possibly increase the possibility of cracking.

Â*

Leaving it on (hot) all the time will decrease the thermal cycling extreams.


Thermal cycling happens every time the burner or electric heater turns on and off. The difference is many more thermal cycles with a smaller temp change vs. fewer thermal cycles with a higher temp change if the frig. is turned off when the RV is in storage. In my past life, we did equipment life testing with both types, small delta temp/many cycles and large delta temp/few cycles. Some times one would fail and the other pass and with other equipment the exact opposite would happen and obviously the goal was to have neither fail. If the frig. manufacturers have done their job, they know the failure rate for both types of thermal stress and they have addressed any weakness in the design and manufacturering process.



For 21 yrs and 4 RVs, I have always turned the frig. off when not in use. Why waste electricity, or worse yet propane, when the frig. isn't needed?



When Dometic had their problem with failures, didn't these occur while the unit was in normal cooling mode?Meaning, small delta temp cycling. If so, then how can running the frig. continuously for even more thermal cycles improve the life of the frig.? The Dometic warning cautioned against running the frig. at all w/o the fix. The warning didn't say, if the frig. is working OK, then the owner should keep running it until the fix is installed.
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