3-way fridge

[Parker]

Hi folks. Just wanted to do a quick survery regarding the little 3-way Norco fridge I have in my 2010 806.

IMO, it sucks. Just finished camping for half of July, and definitely operated it as I should. Cooled it down on AC the night before travelling, towed it in DC mode to maintain cool, and got it plugged right back in at the site back in AC.

Rear vents are clear; upper vent is always warm. While the fridge is always 'cool,' I could never trust it to keep, say, milk from spoiling. The temperature fluctuations are all over the place. It may get down to 8 degrees, then it's up to 15 for a while before slowly working its way back down. And all the while, it's creating steady drips of water off the fins, pooling in the bottom of the fridge. Seems like a lot of mess for something that doesn't keep food and drinks nice and cold.

Am I not supposed to expect that it should be able to simply mantain a steady 4 or 5 degrees constantly? Is this just the way these fridges work? I would've thought it'd work better than our plug-in cooler, but that's sadly not the case.

Let me know what you think. Do I have a dud, or am I expecting too much? Thanks for your thoughts.

[gwncanuck]

Hi Parker,

We just finished a 4 day trip and had no problems. We did what you did, cooled the fridge down before leaving, had it running on DC while towing, and then back on AC once we set up. The drinks stayed cold, not ice cold but cold to our satisfaction. We didn't have a thermometer to do an actual measurement. We did experience a bit of water pooling in the bottom of the fridge but it was easily mopped up. I don't think you should be getting the temp. swings you're getting so you might want to talk to your dealer. Hope this helps.

[Terry]

Hey Parker - I don't have a 3 way - but you should be able to keep temps a little more consistent. Not sure where you are, but if it is hot like it is where I am - I would probably stay away from DC and keep on gas and electric.

Also - make sure you are not blocking a shelf completely - you need airflow throughout the entire unit to keep temps consistent. The little fridge fans really help - even if it is just the little battery operated ones.

As Gwncanuck says - cool it down well before you leave. I would recommend at least 24 hours if you can. Make sure your food is cold going in - your fridge should maintain food well, but it is hard to cool things down. I try to keep cokes in a cooler or put only 1 or 2 warm cokes in at a time to cool down if I have to.

An RV fridge takes a little getting used to since it operates so much differently, so it just takes a little practice getting used to it.

[Rustic Eagle]

Parker,

I echo what the others have said...., plus, some frigs will have temp swings if the frig isn't level. If the outside frig panel and/or vents is exposed to the hot sunlight, this can also have frigs struggling to keep cool.

If these thoughts aren't a possibility, then I agree, take it back to your dealer.

Bob

[Zombied]

We traded in our 806 this past may. It worked well if I cooled it down for at least 24 prior. I never used the DC option because my trailer did not come with a battery. My tow vehicle only had a 4pin connection, which only ran the lights I thought. When on the road I ran with the propane.

[Seann45]

It should still be covered under warranty ... TAKE IT BACK AND LET THE DEALER WORK ON IT...

[natedog_37]

http://www.popupportal.com/index.php?topic=19511.0

Read the above.

These fridges don't work like the one in your house. You might want to do the fridge mode helps keep the fridge colder. also if you can use propane when traveling. Also you need to cool the fridge at lease 24 hours before you put things in it, and everything going in it needs to be cold.

[Dee5410]

I Only use my fridge for Meat, Eggs and Milk. Never had a problem. I don't even pre-cool. I usually freeze my meat, or at least the cheaper stuff like burgers and hotdogs. When I travel I use DC then switch to Gas when I'm at the site. The gas seems to keep mine cooler than AC. While operating on Gas there is a temperature setting Min- Max. If I have mine on max I have things freezing (lettuce) by the end of my trip.. On day two I turn it to Mid setting and everything works perfectly. I agree with the others set it on gas on Max cool (if yours has that option) if it doesn't keep things cool there is something wrong with the unit.
The first month I used the camper I did not notice the Cool settings for gas, maybe that might be the answer.
Good luck

[Parker]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm pretty sure my fridge is operating as it should... I just wanted to confirm. Haven't tried it on gas though... so I'll give that a go. Thanks again.

[Big Bad John]

My personal experience is that the fridge runs coolest on LP/Gas.

[Rapidly]

Late to the thread but here's my .02: Our 2011 3-way works fine (not cold cold, but cold enough) on gas & AC, no issues like you describe, so I'd say definitely what you're seeing is not normal.

[mntnhntr]

Never ran our on DC it would never hold temp. Cooled it for 24 hours before we left on AC and then ran on propane till setup. then back to AC

[mtbell]

I have also noticed that mine seemed to run cooler on gas. Took it out a couple of weeks ago and actually had to turn down to minimal cooling because it was dropping down into the low 20s. This was our first time using it, and it was WAY cooler than I would have expected.

[Parker]

So I finally got around to seeing how my fridge functioned off propane. With it being 15 degrees out, AC got it down 4. After a few more hours on propane at the max, it became a freezer at -8 degrees. So I think it's safe to say there's nothing wrong with my unit

[Parker]

Final update for this thread, I hope.

Had my unit at the dealership for an unrelated matter and had them test the fridge while I was there. Turns out it was out of spec. They replaced the element and now it definitely works as it should. It never worked as well as it does now. So thanks for the feedback and advising that my experience didn't sound quite right. Cheers.

[Seann45]