How To Make Your RV Fridge More Efficient

The RV Refrigerator is great when it’s working and frustrating when it’s not. Hopefully I can help you see how the Rv fridge functions so we can make it work properly. The temp we aim for in the fridge  is 35ºF or 1.5º C. The first thing we want to do is to see if the cold is being contained inside the fridge. First on our list is to check the seals. In the video, I show you how to check the seals with a dollar bill. When you close the bill in the seal of the door there should be a little resistance when you tug on it. If the seals are bad you will want to replace them. Next step is to set the proper temp. Many of the newer ones you can set the temp digitally but the older style is adjusted by sliding the thermistor up or down. It’s the clip on the blades/fins in the back of the fridge. If you slide it up, it will make the fridge colder and if you slide it down it will make it warmer. We use a digital thermometer in the fridge to accurately monitor the temps.

Our fridge is a 2 way absorption fridge meaning it can operate on 120 volt electric or off of propane when we are off grid. For this type of fridge it is very important to not over pack it and that is especially true for the top shelves. The warmth is being absorbed out of the fridge and that temp needs to be able to drop down to the items below as well. So if you over pack a shelf it will block the temps from being consistent throughout it. Many RVers will also place a small a fridge fan inside to help circulate the cold throughout so the fridge can absorb the warmth out leaving it cold inside.

If you are on long trips or Full-time in your RV you will find the freezer and possibly even the fridge will have frost build up in the back. We pull everything out and let it defrost. It’s fairly simple. To speed up the process we will use a hair dryer on low sparingly to help that ice melt away.

In the video I explain how the fridge functions. For the fridge to work properly with the chemical reaction it needs a couple things for us to setup. First thing is it needs to be level so gravity can do what it needs to as the chemicals move through the system. That is one reason why it is important to level your RV properly. The other thing is it needs a localized heat source and the ability to cool on the other components. So first off we can clean the burner assembly area and make sure our flame is burning with that nice controlled blue flame. While you’re cleaning that you can clean the vent tube as well. While we are giving this much attention to the heat source we can pay attention to the outside conditions on the back of the fridge. We try when possible to park with the fridge on the side that will get more shade or we will extend our awning to shade the fridge when we can. If you need to boost the efficiency to the next level adding a fan to pull air out the top vent.  The kind we showed in the video has controls to sense when it needs to come on because of too much heat. Depending on the construction of your RV you might need to make a baffle in behind the fridge so it cools the pipes where gravity is pulling the chemical through the system and allow the heat to do what its needs to on the burner/heating element side.