Help please! This doesn't seem right!

[Helen Ariel]

You might need your specs and a larger screen to help me with this query. I posted a couple of weeks back to ask advice as to why my fridge is freezing up. It freezes up on the left hand side only and i just noticed something when defrosting it that the area it freezes up in is inline with a small cut away section in the white plastic at the back of the fridge. You can just see the narrow yellow strip at the top of the fins in the left of the photo. I'm guessing it's the hole which is cut in the body of the fridge that the fins are inserted through? But has the hole been cut slightly too high at one end or is that normal? Thanks for your advice.

 

[Vipar]

Give it a shake sounds like a blockage stopping the gas getting by

 

[Helen Ariel]

We're not on gas.

 

[Helen Ariel]

 

[chaser]

Should there be a freezer compartment there, there is in our compresser fridge, that I think is removable.

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[Vipar]

But the fridge has gas in it don’t know the name of it

Where did you get the tin of mangoes I love them?

 

[mark49]

That was happening on mine and got worse over time, replaced the thermistor and it’s been fine.

 

[Helen Ariel]

Should there be a freezer compartment there, there is in our compresser fridge, that I think is removable.

No freezer is above that

 

[Bailey58]

Used to be CFC in fridges and freezers but it's different in modern units.

 

[The Wino]

I think what you are seeing is the coolant pipe behind the fins sticking up a bit. If so it's probably the coldest bit so you will get more frost there. Rejoice your fridge is working well!!!

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[Helen Ariel]

I think what you are seeing is the coolant pipe behind the fins sticking up a bit. If so it's probably the coldest bit so you will get more frost there. Rejoice your fridge is working well!!!

Definitely not a pipe it's yellow insulation behind a cutout in the rear wall of the fridge. Seems a big coincidence that it ices up so badly just in this region and it's working too well as it's on setting 2 out of 5 and is 1 to 2 degrees at the top but only 7 at the bottom

 

[The Wino]

Definitely not a pipe it's yellow insulation behind a cutout in the rear wall of the fridge. Seems a big coincidence that it ices up so badly just in this region.

But is it due to the fins being colder at one end? I would try a thermometer on the fins and see. I doubt the fins are fitted through the back of the fridge they almost certainly are fitted from the front with holes for the ipework.

 

[Helen Ariel]

O

But is it due to the fins being colder at one end? I would try a thermometer on the fins and see. I doubt the fins are fitted through the back of the fridge they almost certainly are fitted from the front with holes for the ipework.

Ok i have no idea how they are made but why is that hole there then? It has drainage below the fins but why a hole in the plastic shell at the top?

 

[The Wino]

O

Ok i have no idea how they are made but why is that hole there then? It has drainage below the fins but why a hole in the plastic shell at the top?

Tbh in the photos I can't see a hole for certain just looks like a pipe! Is it more moist air getting in as you suspect or just colder there? A thermometer might help to tell. What fridge is it?

 

[Lenny HB]

Keep quiet you have got a good one, we all want one. It's just not normal for Dometic fridges to work that well.

Behind the fins is just the refrigerant pipe, maybe on that side it is making better contact. They are known not to work as well if the heat transfer paste drys out or is not making proper contact.

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[Boy]

I’ve had a lot of problems with my fridge in my auto trail which was less then a year old .
took over three months to get it repaired. To be fair we were offered a new fridge. To which we agreed to
only to find out that the model we had was no longer produced. ( 1year old )
to have this fitted would have meant re arranging the top cupboards because the replacement for
our fridge was 300 m shorter
we finally had a new cooler unit fitted .
and off we went to Spain only to find the fridge was working on electric and battery . But not gas
which was a pain to say the least.
we found a man in Spain who carefully looked at the fridge and found that while the cooler had been replaced
the ammonia from the old cooler had leaked and blocked the gas jets preventing the gas from getting though
to say the least he was not very impressed with the previous repair . That had not checked it on gas before releasing the camper
funny what comes back to you when you think about when I collected the camper after the repair we were told
by the dealer that we were low on gas . !!!!! I assumed every thing was working
so glad we meet the man who could fix the problem with the gas.
because of the virus we had to leave Spain and had to wild camp all the way back the tunnel
so there’s the story. Moral don’t assume the repair has been repaired correctly check and check again

 

[The Wino]

I’ve had a lot of problems with my fridge in my auto trail which was less then a year old .
took over three months to get it repaired. To be fair we were offered a new fridge. To which we agreed to
only to find out that the model we had was no longer produced. ( 1year old )
to have this fitted would have meant re arranging the top cupboards because the replacement for
our fridge was 300 m shorter
we finally had a new cooler unit fitted .
and off we went to Spain only to find the fridge was working on electric and battery . But not gas
which was a pain to say the least.
we found a man in Spain who carefully looked at the fridge and found that while the cooler had been replaced
the ammonia from the old cooler had leaked and blocked the gas jets preventing the gas from getting though
to say the least he was not very impressed with the previous repair . That had not checked it on gas before releasing the camper
funny what comes back to you when you think about when I collected the camper after the repair we were told
by the dealer that we were low on gas . !!!!! I assumed every thing was working
so glad we meet the man who could fix the problem with the gas.
because of the virus we had to leave Spain and had to wild camp all the way back the tunnel
so there’s the story. Moral don’t assume the repair has been repaired correctly check and check again

What repair? maybe I missed it in the post. I thought the problem was that the fins have more frost on at one end. Sounds like yours was a more typical problem not cold enough!

 

[The Wino]

Just re-read your post. If the fridge is too cold on setting 2 try it higher and lower with a fridge thermometer and see if it changes if not it sounds like the sensor or switch is faulty. I think the frost still just suggests one end of the fins are colder. If there was a hole in the fridge I can't see why it would be too cold.

 

[Helen Ariel]

Just re-read your post. If the fridge is too cold on setting 2 try it higher and lower with a fridge thermometer and see if it changes if not it sounds like the sensor or switch is faulty. I think the frost still just suggests one end of the fins are colder. If there was a hole in the fridge I can't see why it would be too cold.

I just thought maybe the cooling fins were working harder at the place were the hole was as maybe less insulated there but it sounds like it's just fairly normal for a motorhome fridge so I'll stop worrying now and just defrost every couple of weeks. Lenny's photo is exactly what I'm seeing in my fridge. It's a 3 way Thetford by the way

 

[Boy]

I just thought I pass on the problem I’ve had with the fridge . One or two things it could be having talked at length with the so called engineers. It could be the cooler take note of my report . Or it could be that the camper needs to be level again a statement made to me about my fridge .
i was not a question of getting cold enough it did not work
happy days

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[Lenny HB]

I just thought maybe the cooling fins were working harder at the place were the hole was as maybe less insulated there but it sounds like it's just fairly normal for a motorhome fridge so I'll stop worrying now and just defrost every couple of weeks. Lenny's photo is exactly what I'm seeing in my fridge. It's a 3 way Thetford by the way

The photo is of my Dometic fridge but the principle is the same.

 

[gerry mcg]

But the fridge has gas in it don’t know the name of it

Where did you get the tin of mangoes I love them?

its mango pale ale

 

[autorouter]

I just thought maybe the cooling fins were working harder at the place were the hole was as maybe less insulated there

How about this for a guess. There's bad contact between the fins/backplate and the cooler pipe on the right, but good contact on the left. If there's bad contact, the right side will be a bit warmer than the left. But the thermostat sensor is on the right.

So the thermostat thinks the fridge is warmer than it actually is. The fridge cooling stays on more than it should. The left side freezes because that's the only bit that is doing the cooling.

The bad contact on the right could be simply bolts not tight, or thermal paste drying out, or both.

 

[TerryL]

Be thankfull your fridge is working so well!

IMO the problem is the thermal paste that the fins sit on around the cooling pipe behind them. I'd guess that the paste has not been spread evenly enough causing it to be colder at one end. Pretty easy to check: first gently pull the thermistor off the fins and move it out of the way. Then undo the four screws that can be found in between the fins and gently pull the finned unit off the back of the fridge. You will see the cooling pipe (as in Lenny's post above) which should have a generous and even coating of thermal paste that ensures proper contact with the back of the fin unit. You'll probably find the manufacturer has not been very generous with the paste so all you need to do is get some more (Google thermal paste) and redo it.

Once done it might take a few hours running for the paste to "set" - well it did on mine but it's now back to it's expected performance.

PS don't forget to refit the thermistor.........................!

 

[Bessy765]

Try moving the thermistor to a different fin, mine is on the fourth from the right if it goes left the fridge get warmer to the right colder. It’s a temp sensor, if in doubt replace it

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[Boy]

I’ve been a motor homer and had caravans for a long time in fact over 25 yrs .
this new auto trail has had nothing but problems . Which ever power we use
again this is a domestic .
just by way on interest my habitation door is causing problem can’t do any thing about at present
because on the lock down .
in a reply from the dealer they said they had contacted domestics about a spare part !!!!!
it seems that warranty work is carried out though domestic
happy days