Propane fridge burning hot

[Beachbum2]

Hey all,
Just out for our first road trip in our new 2020 Jayco Pinnacle 32 rlts and so far not overly pleased with the quality. Lots of things I feel should have been looked after at the factory and lots at the dealership. The one thing that somewhat concerns me is the fridge seems to be running constantly. I have it set to #6 as shown in the manual…is that too cold maybe? Nothing is freezing in the refrigerator although the drinks are sure chilled.
Any tips about the fridge will be much appreciated.

[Jayco2015JayFLIGHT]

Originally Posted by RogerR

I ordered a piece of this Aluminized Heat Shield Thermal Barrier Adhesive Backed Heat Shield 20 X 24 inches for $16 on ebay. Says it is reflective of heat up to 2000 degrees and has a insulation layer under the aluminum plus it is self stick. I plan to install it between the side facing the burner stack to keep heat out of the camper. If enough is left I will use some against the back of the fridge components. I also have some fiberglass to go above the hot air flow plate to keep some heat out of the top of the fridge and cabinet top. Will post pics when done.
Aluminized Heat Shield Thermal Barrier Adhesive Backed Heat Sleeve 20'' × 24''

Please share how it went and take pics! Thanks

[Poppyof5]

Mine builds ice also. It is because they are not residential. I defrost mine every couple of months. I just shut it off put everything from the freezer in a ice chest and use my wife's blow drier and a wood spatula to scrap the frost off. Usually takes about an 1hr. Just don't use anything metal it is to easy to poke a hole and then your replacing your frig

[Dave T WA State]

My son works in a RV repair center. 'New' TT came in because fridge was not cooling properly. Problem turned out to be the rubber roof installed at the factory covered over the opening for the fridge roof vent, and there was no covered vent installed! Read that again......from the factory, built that way! So check to be sure your vent area is totally open.

[Lmbrjk]

Just thought I'd bring up the regulator recall that could over pressure the appliance and cause a fire. I only thought of this because I'm replacing mine at the moment.

[Randel J]

It's amazing the things you learn just by reading the Jayco Forum posts.

It's currently Saturday afternoon 5:30 p.m. and still 108 degrees outside! We're getting ready to pull our trailer to the coast on Monday so we brought it home from our storage site to clean and pack the unit before we go. The Mrs asked me to start the fridge cool-down so she can pack our food Monday morning. So I hooked our trailer to our home for electrical power and I turned on the Norcold fridge earlier today.

After a busy afternoon, I sat down at my computer to read the Jayco forum for a little entertainment, and I came across this post. After reading it I thought, "huh, maybe I ought to check the walls surrounding the fridge since it has been on for about 4 hours already. Although it is running on electrical and not propane, both surrounding walls are VERY hot. Much hotter than the 108 degree outside temp would cause. Not as bad as "Jayco2015JayFLIGHT" described, but still much hotter than I expected!!

I guess this means I'll be doing another DIY project when we get back home like some of you are doing, to see if I can insulate these 2 walls to prevent heat build up when on electricity or propane.

The things you learn when reading the forum!

[Greg58]

In the picture of the back of the fridge you can see the high temperature switch, it has two red wires on it and is on the vent stack. If it trips it controls all power to the fridge, even the interior light. You’ll have to manually reset it by pressing the black knob between the wires.

[ctb013]

If you go to Amazon and search "aluminized heat barrier adhesive backed" there are many different sizes available. You might also want to check the local car parts dealers.

[Tony from NJ]

We had a similar issue with our 2017 Jayco 5th wheel. Presently installing a series of fans in the upper section to draw out the hot air. Norcold, has said it’s a design flaw at Jayco, Jayco says the same about Norcold. End result is this a common issue, we almost had a fire in the top compartment. Get some fans ready. If you want, I’ll send anyone my schematic. Another kind soul here gave it to me, with the same issues.

[Jayco2015JayFLIGHT]

Originally Posted by Tony from NJ

We had a similar issue with our 2017 Jayco 5th wheel. Presently installing a series of fans in the upper section to draw out the hot air. Norcold, has said it’s a design flaw at Jayco, Jayco says the same about Norcold. End result is this a common issue, we almost had a fire in the top compartment. Get some fans ready. If you want, I’ll send anyone my schematic. Another kind soul here gave it to me, with the same issues.

Please send ! Let is know how it goes for you. Send some pics!
For the time being I pointed of my ac vents at the side of the fridge cabinet where it's getting hot.

[Kenelz]

Instead of fiberglass insulation, you might go with the asbestos replacement, ceramic fiber, used in boilers, furnaces, etc.

Homedepot carries a simular product
https://www.homedepot.com/p/UniTherm-Ceramic-Fiber-Insulation-Blanket-Roll-8-Density-2300-F-0-5-in-x-24-in-x-60-in-R-5-CF8-5-24x60/309952191?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&mtc=Shopping-B-F_D26P-G-D26P-26_2_AIR_CIRCULATION_ACCES-NA-NA-Feed-SMART-NA-NA-New_Engen&cm_mmc=Shopping-B-F_D26P-G-D26P-26_2_AIR_CIRCULATION_ACCES-NA-NA-Feed-SMART-NA-NA-New_Engen-71700000072275519-58700006336256927-92700057184004058&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0K-HBhDDARIsAFJ6UGhkEGxidreoih0TYeLTJc0cJXWsYPAouZAV5 DqIHIgg54XX2xku42AaAuEcEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds[/URL]

[Jayco2015JayFLIGHT]

Originally Posted by Poppyof5

Mine builds ice also. It is because they are not residential. I defrost mine every couple of months. I just shut it off put everything from the freezer in a ice chest and use my wife's blow drier and a wood spatula to scrap the frost off. Usually takes about an 1hr. Just don't use anything metal it is to easy to poke a hole and then your replacing your frig

Thanks I got a hair dryer. Took about 15 minutes. Have almost a 1 inch layer. Soaked up 3 shirt and a kitchen towel with the melted ice lol

[Jayco2015JayFLIGHT]

Originally Posted by Lmbrjk

Just thought I'd bring up the regulator recall that could over pressure the appliance and cause a fire. I only thought of this because I'm replacing mine at the moment.

I replaced regulator a couple months ago.

[Jayco2015JayFLIGHT]

Originally Posted by Randel J

It's amazing the things you learn just by reading the Jayco Forum posts.

It's currently Saturday afternoon 5:30 p.m. and still 108 degrees outside! We're getting ready to pull our trailer to the coast on Monday so we brought it home from our storage site to clean and pack the unit before we go. The Mrs asked me to start the fridge cool-down so she can pack our food Monday morning. So I hooked our trailer to our home for electrical power and I turned on the Norcold fridge earlier today.

After a busy afternoon, I sat down at my computer to read the Jayco forum for a little entertainment, and I came across this post. After reading it I thought, "huh, maybe I ought to check the walls surrounding the fridge since it has been on for about 4 hours already. Although it is running on electrical and not propane, both surrounding walls are VERY hot. Much hotter than the 108 degree outside temp would cause. Not as bad as "Jayco2015JayFLIGHT" described, but still much hotter than I expected!!

I guess this means I'll be doing another DIY project when we get back home like some of you are doing, to see if I can insulate these 2 walls to prevent heat build up when on electricity or propane.

The things you learn when reading the forum!

I pulled out my temperature gun today. The surrounding cabinet wall on "electric" at night or cloudy day is at 97degree but gets up to 115 in mid day heat. That's pretty hot but not burning my hand like it was with the "propane". I'll have to do a propane temp test to see how high it gets.

My concern is more the efficiency of the fridge and of course risk of fire. Not so much the heat its bringing into the cabin. I dont even notice it . Ac is a wonderful thing. If i was boon docking with no ac and propane fridge. Would be a serious issue. My fridge is set on 4 now. 5 being the coldest. No matter what setting i put it on during mid day florida sun the fridge doesnt seem to go below 50 degrees. And if I open it to long or too many times I saw it at 60. Worried my food will go bad. Cheese slices start sticking together smh. But I check at night or cloudy and its 37-40 degree. Freezer works great regardless below 0.

I need to install some sort of fan I'm thinking blowing out the roof vent to suck the heat out. All that heat around the outside of the fridge it cant keep up. Or maybe insulate around the outside of the fridge if that is even possible. I really dont wanna do a fridge pull. Has anyone done this? Any links I can read up on? Someone sent me a pic of fans they installed but there fridge was in the poo out and they just put it on top of the outside fridge access on the side.

[Jayco2015JayFLIGHT]

Found a good video on fridge heat and efficiency. At around 830 he discusses fans.
https://youtu.be/ugw0pw-EXK8