Pre Cool Fridge

[johndiwill]

We keep our 29bhs at a remote storage location and donot have access to electric hook up before heading out to the campsite.

I hear that we need to precool the fridge to help the fridge get down to temp.

Has anyone used a bag of ice or dry ice to accomplish this process?

[norty1]

Never had that need but it does seem to cool down quicker on gas instead of electricity. Try turning it on gas before you load it for a little while.

[Terry]

If you can't get there ahead of time to cool it down, make sure everything is good and cold for the fridge and well frozen for the freezer. It takes a good 6 hours or more to get cold so you will have to try it and see what works for you. Some folks takes coolers of food and load the fridge when they get to the campsite.

[maromeo]

It depends on the outside temps on how fast the fridge will cool down. When we load the fridge we make sure everything is really cold and add some frozen water bottles to speed up the cooling process along with turning on the fridge fan.

[clutch]

If you take it from the storage area to your house to load it just light the refrigerator when you hook up. It really dosn't take long on gas.

[mikefos]

I just fire it up w/ the propane and put a cheapo small battery fan in there I got for less thatn $10 and it is cool enough to load in a couple of hours. To cool it faster we put some of those frozen plastic ice packs in there.

[usmc616]

Originally Posted by norty1

Never had that need but it does seem to cool down quicker on gas instead of electricity. Try turning it on gas before you load it for a little while.

X2

[capehank]

Originally Posted by mikefos

I just fire it up w/ the propane and put a cheapo small battery fan in there I got for less thatn $10 and it is cool enough to load in a couple of hours. To cool it faster we put some of those frozen plastic ice packs in there.

The small battery fan, do you put it directly inside the frig?

Thanks

[Preston]

I always put mine on gas the night before we leave (no electric at storage lot) but the bad thing is on the 32BHDS the outside fridge is electric only so we dont get it cold till we get to camp. That will be replaced with a 3-way when it quits working but for now we just load it with can drinks (holds about 3 cases)

[mikefos]

Originally Posted by capehank

The small battery fan, do you put it directly inside the frig?

Thanks

Yes. It has a ratcheting adjustment so it can either lay flat or any position up to 90 degrees. In our fridge I usually have it about 45 degrees.

[JAMMFAM]

On our Jayfeather 29L the outside kitchen fridge is also only electric. Boy if money grew on trees I would have already replaced it with a three way. Even when we plug it in at the house days beforehand and fill it with beverages the cans condensate on way to the lake and the cans slide all over the place

[rlsumner26]

We also keep our TT in a storage facility with no capability to cool off the fridge before heading out. The night before we are leaving we put 8 of those freeze packs you get at Wally World in the fridge and close the door. The next day the fridge temp is down to 40 degrees. Works great for us.

[Quahog]

Welcome to the JOF, risumner26. Glad that you've joined us. Why not stop over to the New Members forum and say HOWDY?

[NACSKINS]

I have the wired fin fan. We are in the same situation. I typically pick it up a day or so before the trip. When I pick it up I turn the gas on, turn the fridge on gas and clip the fan to the fridge. I also turn the vent fan on as soon as I get to the trailer (Maxx air vent is a must IMHO). When I get it home I plug it in and change the fridge to auto. Next I put a gallon jug of frozen water in the freezer we keep in our chest freezer in the utility room. That seems to help cool it faster. My father in law is an HVAC tech and says the more cold stuff you can put in there the faster and easier it will cool. Also typically put a bunch of frozen icee pops in there, don’t care if those melt a little. After it has cooled (about 3 hours) I put the sodas in there and take the frozen water jug out. I read that putting frozen items I there (Icee pops) help cool it down faster. If there is no chance of rain I open the windows and allow the trailer to cool down before I go to bed and close it up. In south Texas we have camped in 100 F weather with only a little shade and have no problem keeping ice-cream and Icee pops frozen the entire trip.

[sgscomps]

If were not going to bring ours home to load up we go up and turn the gas on in the morning and start the frig and its plenty cold after work when we load it before heading out. If we bring it home to load then we run it off of electric and start it the night before we leave so it's cold the next afternoon when we load it. We are lucky enough now to have it stored 15 minutes from our house.