ICE IN REFER

has anyone had trouble with ice buildup on the fins in the refer? it took about 3 weeks but ice has built up about halfway across the fins in the refer

Never used our fridge for more than a week and never seen any build up.

We've been out for 3-4 weeks at a time, and haven't noticed a build up of ice. Sometimes we get a thin frost..... very thin. And when the frost melts, we get little icecicles. They drip into the drain pan and don't cause a problem. High humidity can cause a frost buildup, especially if the refrigerator door gets opened often. A slight leak in the door seal would cause frost also.

How about going to your profile and putting in a signature so we kinow what year and model Cat and tow vehicle you have. It's easy to do. Just remember to click "save" when you've finished putting in your info. Thanks.

Tater

I agree with Tater. It will develop more quickly depending on humidity, how many times you open the door and for how long. Nothing to worry about...just do a quick defrost and Bob's your Uncle. I'm sure one of these days they will also have auto-defrost fridges in cheaper RV's and not just the uber-expensive units.

There should be a little temp line hanging in the refer. Mine has a little slide thing on it that regulates the temp. Works pretty good on mine.

FWIW...

You need to make sure the back of the fridge is getting enough air going across it to prevent heat build-up.

We installed one of those solar powered fridge fans on the back of the fridge unit, and also hard wired a fridge fan inside to keep the air circulating. Moving air cools surfaces and makes it easier to regulate internal temps.

The closer to 0 degrees F you can keep the freezer, the easier the rest of your fridge will run. We noticed that before we put the fans in, the freezer would start climbing up to around 20 degrees F on a hot/humid day, or a sunny day without shade on the back of the CAT. These are the conditions we were experiencing when we started noticing the frosting on the fins.

We haven't had a frosting problem since adding the fans.

TC

I start my refer up in April and run it till October. I always get frost build up on the refer fins. I just defrost it once or twice a season as per the manual. After I added my fan to the refer fins, it reduced the amount of frost on the fins. If you read the manual, it explains why it happens and that you should defrost it before it builds up too much as it will effect the temp of the refer. The frost makes the sensor think the refer is at temp when it may not be.


Earl

I recall there is a switch for humidity control to control ice build up on the fins.

jetskier wrote:I recall there is a switch for humidity control to control ice build up on the fins.

The switch is for condensation on the bridge between the refer and freezer sections. It turns on a heater.

Earl

thanks for your replies. chipped off the ice, put in a fan and turned on the humidity switch. will keep you updated.
earl, i see you have air bags on your truck. would you recommend them to soften and level the ride?

Ribbs,
You mentioned that you noticed that Earl has air bags. It would be great if you had a signature that shows the rest of us what your have. The year and model of your trailer and the year and model of your tow vehicle would be a good start.

Tater

ribbs65 wrote:thanks for your replies. chipped off the ice, put in a fan and turned on the humidity switch. will keep you updated.
earl, i see you have air bags on your truck. would you recommend them to soften and level the ride?

They level the ride with no prob but I wouldn't say they soften it. It'll make the truck a little stiffer when empty though but nothing major. They level the truck which makes it handle better, keeps the headlights down where they should be, and it takes the float feeling out of the rear of the truck when going over bumps and such on the highway. Truck and trailer handle curves better as well. I'm very happy with the bags and wish I'd of installed them years ago.

Earl

tater
saved it twice but obviously doesnt show up. any ideas?

Have you seen the easy instructions for adding a signature? It's a sticky in the Meet the Members section - here's a link to get you there quickly.

http://www.wildcatcamperforum.com/meet-the-members-f2/adding-signature-easy-instructions-t2040.htm

If that doesn't work, I don't know what you can do.

Good luck.

Tater

lets try this tater. thanks

Great job on the signature, Rich and Marge.

Don't know how something so simple can be so hard. I tried several times and couldn't get it to work. I still don't know what I was doing wrong.