20' Series Icy Thetford N3185
- Thread starter Falco
- Start date
Hi,
Ice will always build up on the cooling fins of the fridge. It is worse when the fridge is opened more often since more moisture-laden air is introduced to the fridge. It is also worse when the outside air has a high humidity.
Ours starts to get ice build up, always on the RHS where the fins are the coldest, after about 10 days.
The easiest solution is to install an internal fridge fan to circulate the air around the fins and melt the ice.
Valterra make one. But there are others. Or if you are a diy person, you can get a very small computer fan.
https://www.ebay.com.au/p/110351926...MIgIOuk5Xw5gIVASQrCh1sXQ6UEAQYBSABEgJ-mfD_BwE
I have a very small personal fan that I put on the shelf below the ice buildup. A few hours after lunch is enough to melt the ice.
The ice buildup does affect the fridge operation since it is around the thermostat which controls the fridge temperature.
I would avoid trying to solve the problem by defrosting the fridge. Three-way fridges just don't have the spare capacity to bring the temperature back down.
cheers
Mike
Ice will always build up on the cooling fins of the fridge. It is worse when the fridge is opened more often since more moisture-laden air is introduced to the fridge. It is also worse when the outside air has a high humidity.
Ours starts to get ice build up, always on the RHS where the fins are the coldest, after about 10 days.
The easiest solution is to install an internal fridge fan to circulate the air around the fins and melt the ice.
Valterra make one. But there are others. Or if you are a diy person, you can get a very small computer fan.
https://www.ebay.com.au/p/110351926...MIgIOuk5Xw5gIVASQrCh1sXQ6UEAQYBSABEgJ-mfD_BwE
I have a very small personal fan that I put on the shelf below the ice buildup. A few hours after lunch is enough to melt the ice.
The ice buildup does affect the fridge operation since it is around the thermostat which controls the fridge temperature.
I would avoid trying to solve the problem by defrosting the fridge. Three-way fridges just don't have the spare capacity to bring the temperature back down.
cheers
Mike
As above for the fans, my fridge has a light so I just wired up a CPU fan to the power side of the light then zip tied it to a shelf with a bit of foam between shelf and fan to stop vibration, when I turn the fridge on fan comes on, no ice build up on vanes, the lettuce or tomatoes don't freeze, I even froze the egg carton to the vanes once along with the eggs...fan blows from one side to other on shelf under the vanes has done a number of trips and works very well....if no light to tap into run a light wire to outside via drain hole in drip tray, you will find a 12v supply at the back of fridge to tap into and you don't need a big fan either.
As @mikerezny said don't defrost the fridge.
As @mikerezny said don't defrost the fridge.
Hi @Falco , @mikerezny is absolutely correct. It is not only caused by humid air being admitted every time you open the fridge door, but by any thing you place in fridge that has moisture on it - condensation on milk or drink bottles etc. That moisture eventually ends up as ice on the evaporator to the detrimental effect on fridge temperature. The best way IMO is to fit a small computer fan 12v type and connect it to a 12 volt line at battery or other position if you are a DIY person with a little bit of know how. Much cheaper too. Attached are pictures of small computer fans I have in my 92L Thetford in my Penguin to reduce ice build up, circulate the internal air for more even temperature in fridge too. The lower fan at the bottom prevents freezing of lettuce, tomatoes and anything else SWMBO does not want frozen. Happy wife IS a happy life!! More info on previous posts if you want to go back. Cheers
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Youve let that go a little too long. When i get a bit of ice forming on the fins or inside the freezer door i whack it hard and faster with the Princes's hairdryer on the warp nuclear setting ... takes less than a min to melt all the ice, quick wipe with a towel and close it up. Fridge temp will rise to around 5 or 6 deg, but its usually back to 2 or 3 deg within a few hours. Doing it before you go to bed is a good idea to.
Mine ices up like that in humid zones and I just defrost it when it gets bad. A couple of things though:
Check if the drain goes outside or into a tiny catch tray before defrosting to avoid a flood... never happened to me
This model fridge should sense when it gets really iced up and force a defrost cycle (which seems to be at a point much worse than this)
Check if the drain goes outside or into a tiny catch tray before defrosting to avoid a flood... never happened to me
This model fridge should sense when it gets really iced up and force a defrost cycle (which seems to be at a point much worse than this)
With this fridge is -10 to -12 an acceptable min temp for the freezer when the outside temp is 38 deg and the van is under heavy shade with the normal fridge fan on high?
I haven't measured the freezer temperature but mine seems to have operated on gas ok in 42' temps with both fans on. But the external wall gets pretty hot
@RickB , IMHO I would say that the minus 10 to minus 12 C in the freezer would be quite acceptable. Certainly would keep the ice-cream "rock hard". But remember, the freezer section gets first dibs at the refrigerant and only after it has removed all heat (freezing plus) with the temp is any residual refrigerant available to the fridge section for cooling. If the fridge section is coping well, you can be assured that the freezer section is okay.
Hi,
Mine varies between -10 and -20C under most conditions. In hot weather it can actually be colder since the thermostat is in the fridge but th ecoolent goes first through the freezer before going through the fins in the fridge.
The warmest mine gets is actually in overnight in Winter. This is because the outside temperature is so cold that the fridge requires no cooling and thus the thermostat turns the fridge off. And then there is no cooling in the freezer, si the freezer gets up to -10C.
In all the time we have used the fridge, nothing has ever defrosted and I have never observed the mechanical temp gauge in the freezer to be warmer than -10C or colder than -20C.
We have a 95l Dometic RM 2350 three-way fridge mounted in a Jayco Penguin camper trailer with an external fridge fan on the top external vent, shade cloth running the full length of the van, and fridge cavity is sealed all the way around the fridge cabinet to reduce heat from the back of th efridge finding its way to the sides of the fridge cabinet.
cheers
Mike