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Old 04-17-2017, 06:05 PM   #1
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Refrigerator Cool Down Duration Question

Our Hummingbird has a 2-way (120VAC/Propane) refrigerator.

I try to precool it the night before our trip on electric at the house. By the time we got to our campsite last week (around Noon) the internal temp was around 55F. We loaded the refrigerator full of food (mostly cooled) and turned it to the coldest setting on electric. It took until the next morning to get down to about 37F.

Once it got down to around 35F it held it all weekend and we had to keep turning it warmer to prevent food from freezing. So once it gets to where we want the temp to be it does great at maintaining, just takes a long time to get there.

I have never ran the propane during travel and would prefer not to.

I asked the dealer about it today and the sales lady told me that if I start it out on propane it will cool down faster and then switch it over to electric.

If the propane heat source is hotter it would seem to me that this would elevate the condensing temperature and make things less efficient due to the evaporator temperature elevating as well.

Has anyone ever noticed a difference in cooling capability or pull down duration when using electric vs propane?

Thanks.
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Old 04-17-2017, 06:13 PM   #2
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I travel with propane on and switch to electric if plugged in. I have noticed better cooling on propane in the past. Not sure of the mechanism.
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Old 04-17-2017, 06:14 PM   #3
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She's correct. It will cool faster on propane and stay colder on extremely hot days. It's all about getting the ammonia solution to boil and circulate.
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Old 04-17-2017, 06:17 PM   #4
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Well dang.....wish I would've known that before now!

Thanks all, I will give it a try next trip
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Old 04-17-2017, 10:52 PM   #5
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I keep some of those liquid/gel freeze bags in our home freezer and put them in when I first turn it on. It will get down to temp very quickly. It does cool a lot faster on propane and I drive/travel with it running on propane.
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Old 04-18-2017, 09:24 AM   #6
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we turn on the fridge to auto the night before we leave. When heading out at 11 or so the next day, the fridge was cold and the freezer certainly frozen. We travel with the fridge on auto, so no shore power and it switches to gas. It only works on 110/ propane so no shore power and it starts warming up immediately.
We put some ice in the freezer as we left and when we got to our site, the ice was still solid, nothing had melted.
We're not all that experienced, but this worked well for us.
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Old 04-18-2017, 02:12 PM   #7
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It sounds like you haven't used the fridge on propane yet so I'll pass a tip on.
Light the stove and let it burn for a few seconds (10 or so) before turning the fridge on. This will bleed the propane lines. When you turn the fridge on (propane) it will try to light the burner 3 times (I think) and if it fails to get an ignition will show an ERR condition on the display. Cycle the power and it will try again.
Even after bleeding the propane by lighting the stove we will have to cycle the fridge a couple of times before it lights. Once it lights you should be able to hear the burner from outside next to the fridge vent and possibly inside.
We leave the fridge on while travelling.
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Old 04-19-2017, 05:16 PM   #8
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Any empty refrigerator cools slowly, so we put bagged ice in the freezer and cold liquids in the refrigerator 24 hours before lift off, switch to propane and head out. Never have had a problem.
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Old 04-19-2017, 06:54 PM   #9
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I keep two frozen 2 liters of water in my chest freezer at home. The night before our trip I'll switch on fridge propane, put one 2 liter in freezer and one in fridge. It's ice cold by time I wake up early in the morning to load up.
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Old 04-24-2017, 03:31 PM   #10
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I was under the impression that traveling with the propane on is illegal? Our first trip is coming up this weekend and I was thinking about what is best to cool the fridge down prior to leaving. Good tip on the propane getting it colder faster! My add on question to this is do you all make sure the trailer is level in your driveway before running the fridge? I know they say it is important to make it level at your spot so I assume its just as important prior to making your trip?
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Old 04-24-2017, 03:47 PM   #11
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Getting the TT close to level before running the fridge is recommended. There are maximums to out of level front to back and side to side. They are in the owners manual. If you are not level or close to it you run the risk of the fridge going into shut-down/lock-out. (Ask me how I found this out). Our Northern Lite Camper has a full electronic Norcold fridge. It has to be electronically reset. My dealer wanted $119.00 + tax to reset it. (I D/L'd the repair manual from Norcold) hope the info is helpful.
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Old 04-24-2017, 04:39 PM   #12
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We turn the frig on electric the night before and just 16 hours later our 9 cu. ft. frig is 45 degrees and the freezer at 20 degrees. 6 hours later frig at 39-41 and freezer at zero or below. Coldness set at 5 the entire time.
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Old 04-24-2017, 07:05 PM   #13
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My RV is plugged in at the house all the time when not in use. When going camping, I put the fridge on auto the night before, and its cold the next morn. I don't load anything, its empty. It cools down just fine on electricity.

When I head out it switches to propane automatically for the trip of course. I spent a lot of winters on the road in the south, as a lot of snowbirds do, if I couldn't use propane on the road, the fridge would be useless.
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