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Old 02-09-2022, 06:53 PM   #1
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Battery and Refrigerator

I purchased an SLX7 184BS trailer last September. Family loves it, except for the fridge. It never seems to get cold enough, no matter how long we keep it running with propane on and land line electric going through it.

My question is this, does the size and output of the battery have anything to do with the way the fridge gets cold? When I bought my trailer the sales rep said when needed, go with the biggest battery they offer for my trailer. Apparently there is a larger, more powerful battery than the one that came with my trailer.
Does anyone have any experience with this?
frank d.
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Old 02-09-2022, 08:26 PM   #2
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The battery should not matter if you are running it on electricity or propane. I would take it in and have someone look at it.
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Old 02-09-2022, 08:48 PM   #3
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The battery should not matter if you are running it on electricity or propane. I would take it in and have someone look at it.
Thank you slabat. After finding many refrigerator threads, I think that’s what needs to happen. Thank you again.
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Old 02-09-2022, 09:31 PM   #4
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What frig make and model do you have?

Is it in a slide out?

Does it work sometimes? Or always run warm? They can struggle in high outdoor temperatures.

Ours had an issue, the bottom would freeze and the upper area was really warm. I added a hardwired frig fan, and solved the issue.

Others, have cooling issues in really warm weather, with poor ventilation, in the service access. Solutions, check the fiberglass insulation. Another solution has been to add a ventilation fan at the upper vent

Also check the thermoristor inside the frig, it is a little copper wire/tube, that needs to be clipped to the coils. It needs to be clipped to a particular coil .
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Old 02-09-2022, 09:37 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by Jagiven View Post
What frig make and model do you have?

Is it in a slide out?

Does it work sometimes? Or always run warm? They can struggle in high outdoor temperatures.

Ours had an issue, the bottom would freeze and the upper area was really warm. I added a hardwired frig fan, and solved the issue.

Others, have cooling issues in really warm weather, with poor ventilation, in the service access. Solutions, check the fiberglass insulation. Another solution has been to add a ventilation fan at the upper vent

Also check the thermoristor inside the frig, it is a little copper wire/tube, that needs to be clipped to the coils. It needs to be clipped to a particular coil .
Hey Jagiven,
Not in a slideout. Top freezer almost gets cold, but bottom fridge does not. Its the larger fridge of the two offerings for a SLX7 184bs trailer, but off the top of my head i don't know the mfg. Thanks for the input.
frank d.
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Old 02-12-2022, 11:55 AM   #6
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We have the same TT. Fridge in ours is Norcold. At setting 5 it gets very cold in both compartments. We actually had to dial it down to 4 to avoid drinks in the lower compartment from being frozen.
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Old 02-12-2022, 12:17 PM   #7
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We have the same TT. Fridge in ours is Norcold. At setting 5 it gets very cold in both compartments. We actually had to dial it down to 4 to avoid drinks in the lower compartment from being frozen.
Having set to automatic(electric/propane) and plugged into 30/amp line how long does it take your fridge to reach temp? Mine takes about two days on average.
Thank you,
Frank d.
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Old 02-12-2022, 01:35 PM   #8
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About a day. I didn’t measure the temperature but after 24 hours it’s cold enough for use.
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Old 02-12-2022, 02:39 PM   #9
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About a day. I didn’t measure the temperature but after 24 hours it’s cold enough for use.
Thank you Kai!
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Old 02-12-2022, 09:33 PM   #10
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In both of the trailers I have had they got colder and faster using propane than electricity. I can normally have ice cubes with in 6 hours from startup. Almost never run mine on electricity, other than for a few days ahead of time at home when we are slowly loading the trailer.
These things use so little propane, if your works better that way I just stick with it.
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Old 02-13-2022, 07:00 AM   #11
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In both of the trailers I have had they got colder and faster using propane than electricity. I can normally have ice cubes with in 6 hours from startup. Almost never run mine on electricity, other than for a few days ahead of time at home when we are slowly loading the trailer.
These things use so little propane, if your works better that way I just stick with it.
Thank you Jeff. Thats very good to know. I will try that this spring. Thanks again.
frank d.
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Old 02-13-2022, 10:29 AM   #12
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My experience has also been much better cooling on propane than electric. Also make sure that the trailer is level. These fridges, from my exp, are sensitive to that. Another thing to double check is the wire on the fins in the fridge. I have a dometic so not sure if the norcold has the same thing but there is a white wire that connects to the sliding temp control on one of the fins. That wire comes off the plastic piece really easily and if its off you lose control of the temp.
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Old 02-13-2022, 10:43 AM   #13
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The best way to troubleshoot a fridge that does not get cold enough is to determine whether it is trying to cool or cycling off because it thinks it has reached its cold temp. Check my troubleshooting doc for info on fridge troubleshooting. It may help.
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File Type: pdf RV Electrical Troubleshooting (ver 2).pdf (2.01 MB, 61 views)
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Old 02-13-2022, 11:00 AM   #14
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Originally Posted by TomC_AZ View Post
My experience has also been much better cooling on propane than electric. Also make sure that the trailer is level. These fridges, from my exp, are sensitive to that. Another thing to double check is the wire on the fins in the fridge. I have a dometic so not sure if the norcold has the same thing but there is a white wire that connects to the sliding temp control on one of the fins. That wire comes off the plastic piece really easily and if its off you lose control of the temp.
A few have said that to me Tom. I will really have to test this to see if in fact I can get the fridge to be more serviceable running it this way instead of electric!
Thank you for your input.
Frank d.


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The best way to troubleshoot a fridge that does not get cold enough is to determine whether it is trying to cool or cycling off because it thinks it has reached its cold temp. Check my troubleshooting doc for info on fridge troubleshooting. It may help.
This is terrific Jim. As soon as the grands settle down I will hide a few minutes and watch what you have to say. I’m very interested to see the possibilities why it takes so long to cool, if at all.
Thank you again.
Frank d.
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Old 02-13-2022, 11:07 AM   #15
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JimD, thank you for this PDF, its awesome! Lots of good useful info in there for any skill set.
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Old 02-13-2022, 01:39 PM   #16
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JimD, thank you for this PDF, its awesome! Lots of good useful info in there for any skill set.
Yes, I certainly second that!!! Thank you JimD for such a font of RV’ing trouble shooting, tricks and tactics to get out from under a problem. What a terrific resource for noobs like me.
All the best to you!
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Old 02-13-2022, 06:47 PM   #17
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So, this may help, based on the terrific support i have been getting on the forum!
Who knew these even existed? Certainly not me! Leave it to my wife and AMAZON!!

RV Refrigerator Fans! Geez…
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Old 02-16-2022, 01:34 PM   #18
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I see lots of responses, and I confess I didn't read all of them.

If the issue is a matter of simply adjusting the fridge, which you did not mention, this video may prove useful.



I had a popup previously, and it featured a similarly sized (counter height) fridge with inside freezer compartment. It, too, had a slide adjustment on the fins to adjust temps.

It's easy to misadjust the fridge while loading and unloading contents in the fridge.

There could be other reasons for the fridge to not perform correctly:
1) Not level. The rig MUST be level (or in motion going down the road) for the fridge to perform as it should;
2) Coolant leak.
3) Other?

And...as others no doubt said...the sales rep who connected battery size to fridge performance (if, in fact, he did that) needs a KITA. The fridge runs on 120 volts and propane. NO battery could sustain an absorption fridge of that size for any length of time, because the fridge makes heat (electric or propane) to induce the refrigerant to change states and be able to cause cooling as its change of state reverses and causes cooling in the fridge box. It makes a LOT of heat, and making that much heat with a 12 volt battery would eat the battery alive in no time. The only jobs the battery has are to spark the propane ignition...something a 1.5 volt AA battery can do on your barbeque grill...and to run the electronic control circuits that manage the fridge. Any old battery can manage that job.

All the battery you can fit is good for other reasons, including that slide, awning, tongue jack (maybe), lights, stereo, fans, and so on...but not the fridge.

If you boondock, search the forum for info on solar and batteries...not the subject here.
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Old 02-16-2022, 02:36 PM   #19
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We learned 2 additional tricks.

First, when we power on from storage we always put several frozen jugs of water in the freezer as a booster, and we try to fill it with cold or frozen food.

Second, do no overfill, particularly in the freezer. If there isn't enough room for air to circulate freely, it will never get cold.
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Old 02-16-2022, 02:39 PM   #20
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The battery should not matter if you are running it on electricity or propane. I would take it in and have someone look at it.
It’s not likely the battery although you will get a low DC warning when you’re disconnect from shore power and using propane. If you wire the fridge direct to the battery you can fix this problem. As for the fridge not cooling I wouldn’t take it in for service. It’s a common problem of too much heat in the space behind the fridge. The fix is to put in cooling fans in the external vents. There are a ton video on YouTube. The fix is not costly and will help the fridge cool more efficiently. Good luck with it
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