fridge not cooling.

[welliesman]

hi all.
we have a relatively new thetford fridge freezer in our moho,however after setting off darn sarth this week the fridge and bottom compartment was barely cool although we had it on overnight on our drive.We tried both gas and ehu on site but to no avail,until we started using some of the food thus creating more space it began to work better..
i know it sounds a bit obvious but has anyone had the same problem with possibly overfilling the fridge.

 

[Simon Meadwell]

Daft as it sounds turn it down to two or three. Not up higher. Imo better on gas leave space at back of fridge. Take top vent off on outside . Park van with fridge in the shade. You may need to fit fridge fans .

 

[daveclare]

Our fridge is rammed full with everything including many cans and bottles. It has a fan kit fitted, see photos below, with controller which seems to keep everything nice and cold. It's on full by the way.

It's nearly two years old, but is on all of the time, even when outside the house for the few weeks a year is not used. We don't know if that's got anything to do with it.

We also try to keep it closed as much as possible. Getting food in and out is a finely tuned operation!

 

[rosalan]

I believe that the thermal mastic seal may have broken down. If the freezer works but not the fridge, this may be the problem. To fix sounds dramatic but is not. If the fridge has a bank of fins inside, they are held on by 6 or 7 screws (mine have star heads). Remove them all and gently pull the fin unit away, it will be held in by sticky mastic. The mastic is what transfers the cold from the freezing pipe behind, into the fridge. If the contact is not perfect, the cold for the fridge will be lost. The mastic should be thin for good contact along whole length where it touches the cold pipe behind. I fixed mine on two different vans after being told it needed a new fridge unit.
In the unlikely event that screws are not pulling the fins tightly against the back pipe, you could try gently tightening them.
I have tried reusing the old mastic with some limited success.
As a result of the above, I have very cold beer.

 

[rosalan]

P.s. fridge setting of 3/5 has been advised to me by all fridge people. The higher you set it, the hotter the unit has to be to work, the hotter the unit the less able it can be to work efficiently. My own unit is a Dometic but I believe the same principles apply.

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