three-way fridge unusable? should i get a two way?

[cloudzrest]

Hello everyone ! I got a 2021 Lance 825 with a dometic 3 way fridge, and this refrigerator is so temperamental i'm wondering if its bad, or if i should just get a 2 way fridge.

when connected to AC power, in my slightly downhill sloped driveway, the fridge does not work at all. (the heater elements work, but the fridge doesn't get cool even after 12 hours). internal temp after 12 hours of being hooked up to AC is 62f degrees, freezer not working either. on LEVEL ground connected to AC or propane, it works reasonably well, fridge temp gets in 30s overnight. while driving, going up and down hills, the fridge temp will rise to 45 degrees, and then cool down better overnight once the vehicle is level and not driving.

is this normal? as it is right now - i can't precool my camper in my driveway before trips, and then once i'm on the road the fridge doesn't really stay that cold anyway. and then when i get where i'm going the camper needs to be completely level or it wont work at all, and best case it will keep my food cold overnight but during the day the fridge temp will rise into the mid 40's.

i'm considering more solar and a two-way fridge. i'm mostly camping in sunny places. thanks for any insight!

 

[Vic Harder]

2 way is more efficient on DC as well, never mind that it doesn't care about levels. Another factor to consider.

 

[goinoregon]

i put a large dometic chest freezer/fridge in my camper, and the solar kept it running very well. i was impressed.

 

[craig333]

Yes, thats normal behavior for a propane fridge. Kind of surprised anyone still uses them.

 

[Starbrightsteve]

We have had good luck with propane fridges in 3 different casitas and one escape. We always leveled up! We almost always kept ice cream in the fridge and it was always frozen.of course we paid attention to things like leveling and keeping the gas jet clean and keeping the burner clean and free of bugs and spiders. If you don’t want to pay any attention to any of those things then a compressor fridge is for you. And you will pay!

 

[JHanson]

Like Craig, I was surprised to read of a 2021 camper equipped with a three-way fridge. While there are various ways, effective and not so effective, to enhance the performance of your fridge, you'd be far, far happier with a proper compressor model. Very much worth the investment.

 

[57Pan]

I replaced my 3 way refrigerator last year with a dc compressor refrigerator. A lot happier with the performance of the new refrigerator. 3 way refrigerators are very temperamental about how level they are and also are only good at bringing the temperature down a certain amount below ambient outside temperature. So I didn’t have much luck in very hot climates.

 

[pods8]

I thought the ammonia absorption fridge (which can be two or three way by the way) in my old hawk sucked, was finicky, pulled a weak temperature differential, etc. I then thought all ammonia absorption fridges in turn sucked, however the Norcold in my 2021 trailer works great, freezer and all. Granted a trailer is going to inherently be fairly level most of the time. On the flipside later in that model year they switched over to furrion compressor fridges and there has been lots of bitching about failures, blow fuses, not food safe cooling, etc. So sorta goes to show quality of components matter too and not just the type because we all know good compressor fridges work well yet lotta them trailer owners where having issues while the prior generation with ammonia absorption (2 way versions) were having solid performance.

"X" way fridge just means how its powered and not the technology. A "2 way" fridge could be a compressor fridge that can connect to DC or AC, it also can be an ammonia absorption fridge that connects to AC or propane.

 

[cloudzrest]

thank you everyone for you input, i apologize with the 2-way vs 3-way if that confused anyone.

i've decided to replace the absorption fridge with a compressor fridge. i'm going to go with 300w solar, 200ah lithium and a norcold de105 compressor fridge.

the absorption fridge works fine as long as its level, in the shade, and not being opened frequently. however this isn't practical for me- since i drive long distances and camp in hot environments and drive over uneven roads. the fridge temp on my last 4 hour drive rose up to 45 degrees, and after opening the fridge to get a soda the temp didn't go down until overnight. there is too much risk for me with food spoiling, especially if i'm going to be using the camper for years and years with my family i simply can't be worrying all the time about my fridge performance. i'll pay the extra cost to have a more consistent, colder, safer refrigerator.

on an unrelated note - does anyone want to buy a dometic absorption fridge? it works great!

thank you !

 

[CPT Davenport]

thank you everyone for you input, i apologize with the 2-way vs 3-way if that confused anyone.

i've decided to replace the absorption fridge with a compressor fridge. i'm going to go with 300w solar, 200ah lithium and a norcold de105 compressor fridge.

the absorption fridge works fine as long as its level, in the shade, and not being opened frequently. however this isn't practical for me- since i drive long distances and camp in hot environments and drive over uneven roads. the fridge temp on my last 4 hour drive rose up to 45 degrees, and after opening the fridge to get a soda the temp didn't go down until overnight. there is too much risk for me with food spoiling, especially if i'm going to be using the camper for years and years with my family i simply can't be worrying all the time about my fridge performance. i'll pay the extra cost to have a more consistent, colder, safer refrigerator.

on an unrelated note - does anyone want to buy a dometic absorption fridge? it works great!

thank you !

Good call ! I struggled with 3way fridges for years in a variety of rigs. They only seemed to work well while running on shore power. While on propane, they all would tend to freeze my food. On 12v they would drain the battery in no time. My current 2way has worked flawlessly. Nice and steady temp with very little demand on the battery. My solar and battery capacities are similar to yours, and has never let me down.

One good tip is to, if possible, park with the fridge facing away from the sun. Makes a huge difference on how hard the unit must work.

 

[JaSAn]

Your first consideration should be food safety. If your current fridge doesn't reliably keep food at the proper temperature, you either should go without food that requires cold temps or replace with a fridge that will keep food cold. Getting sick on holiday is double no fun.

I place the outdoor sensor of an indoor/outdoor thermometer (in a ziploc bag) inside the fridge to monitor the temp.