Dometic 3-way: freezer frozen, fridge not so cold

[Karlton]

Hi all - Recently, the Dometic 3-way on my 2017 Hawk has been acting a bit off.

Today, I did a test and ran it on gas and started at 8:00 am cold setting on 5. Freezer and fridge were 78 degrees. At 4:00 pm, freezer was 12 degrees but fridge was 56 degrees. Now, it was 90 degrees external temp today, and perhaps the external temp is the culprit. This pattern has been consistent with the performance with gas...the freezer is solid cold, the fridge is cool. We had camped in some warm weather, but the fridge didn't cool down overnight when the temps dropped. I'm going to try with 120v tomorrow.

Any suggestions? I did clean the burner and the flame looks good. As the freezer got down to 12, I assume it is not a flame issue.

Appreciate your time.

Karl

 

[fish more]

When using my Dometic 3-way, I start the frig at least 24 hours ahead of departure. I set it first on temp setting 4, then increase to 5 if needed. During very hot like we have been having in Northern Calif, the cooling fan runs during the day and during high temps, check your fan to make sure it operates properly, or do you know if you have a frig fan. Your may also want to check your thermister, it's located in the fins inside frig at the top of frig compartment. You can adjust the thermister upward in the position to increase the cold in the frig. You can Google this info, I recently had to replace my thermister because it had failed. I hope this helps.

 

[dorocks]

This may not apply but I have struggled with mine too. Bought a Lance 650 and after a very short time it seemed 1) Freezer ok - but refrig section barely cold. 2) Gas would blow out on road. 3) Stove burner gas low.

After talking to the good folks at Galaxy Campers. https://galaxycampers.com/inventory/, we determined most likely gas regulator was bad. We tried adjusting old one to no avail. Grabbed a $33 one at San Diego Trailer Supply and voila. I could hear the gas burning, the stove flame had to be turned down. We spent 9 days in Idaho a week ago or so in hot weather and for the first time in quite some time
everything worked, Refrigerator actually had to be turned down a bit because it could have frozen the lower section too.

 

[Beach]

Its not unusual to only get a 40-45 degree differential between ambient temp and the inside of the fridge on a 3 way system. I use a digital thermometer to track fridge temp. Temperature readings will differ depending on where I put the sender in the fridge, ie: on the door or back of the middle shelf or bottom shelf. Remember to have fridge as level as possible, clean burner, tight door seal and don't block inside coils/fins

 

[CoreyTrevor]

Karlton, sorry for the hijack, but Keith, where were your beautiful photos taken? I need to add that area to my bucket list!

 

[kmcintyre]

We do what others suggested and plug it in a day before we leave and we put a few frozen bottles of water on the bottom.

The other thing I did was add the exhaust fan. I'm not sure if that would help or not? We also turn our frig up during the day w/ the fan on. During a cooler night, turn it down and turn the fan off (even though I have the thermocoupler? installed to auto on/off).

I know we had issues with frozen veggies on the top tray and now keep things organized a bit better

 

[Karlton]

thanks all. I recently moved to a warmer climate in Southern Idaho and it seems I'm not familiar with now the fridge acts in 90+ Temps. Looking forward to fall!

 

[dorocks]

Corey:
Just north of Sun Valley Idaho is a road called Lake Creek Road. Just out of town on the right. There is a tiny sign saying National Forest Access – easy to miss. You drive through some beautiful expensive house areas. At a cul-de-sac sort of area the road to the left is BLM land. It goes way back into a dispersed camping area where lots of folks camp for free. We drove to where the valley started going uphill and camped where the pictures show.
This is part of a trip we did based on Idaho’s Scenic Byway Brochure.
https://visitidaho.org/content/uploads/2018/02/Idaho-Scenic-Byways-Brochure.pdf
From El Cajon CA
1) Pioneer Scenic Byway
2) Teton Scenic Byway
3) Mesa Falls Scenic Byway
4) Fort Henry Historic Byway (top part)
5) Lost Gold Trails Loop ( Southern section) to Highway 22 to:
6) Peaks to Craters Scenic Byway southern end to Craters of the Moon National Park – Then went north to Challis to:
6) Salmon River Scenic Byway proceeding all the way up to Montana and then south again to:
7) Ponderosa pine Scenic Byway just a bit to camp: Back to Stanley
8) Sawtooth Scenic Byway starting at northern end. At Shoshone west on 26 to:
9) Thousand Springs Scenic Byway. Stopping at Shoshone Falls before heading home.
[SIZE=11pt]A mere 3000 miles.[/SIZE]

Highly recommended. Camped on BLM land all but days

 

[idahoron]

I have had times where the fridge is warmer than I would like.
One thing I did was not load the shelf that the cooling fins are on. If you have items there it blocks the cold from going anywhere else. Over loading the fridge will raise temperatures. I added a fan to the inside of the fridge to blow air over the cooling fins. I also have the outside fan to get rid of the heat.
Unlike others I leave the fridge on 5 all the time when its hot. I use the outside fan during the day and into late evening. Over night it is off.
This is the outside fan

This is the inside fan. I have it wired into a 9v battery right now for my testing. So far the fan seems to be helping to keep inside temperature down. The factor that I can't add in is how much my wife opens the fridge and how long she leaves it open.

As of right now the inside fan seems to be improving the ability of the fridge to keep up. Time will tell and then I will wire it into the 12v in the camper. Also I could also add a couple more fans to the inside that would surely help as well.

 

[CoreyTrevor]

Corey:

Thank you!

 

[cwdtmmrs]

Great thread from awhile back:

https://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/4980-fridge-fan-exhaust/

Really true about the horrible install from the factory. I rebuilt the cabinet for better air flow and added 2 outside fans.My 3-way now can stay 40* on a 100* day as long as the sun isn't hitting directly on the back of the camper. I am thinking about making a sun shield out of a silver tarp to reflect the sun and create an air space there.