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  1. #1
    Setting Up Camp
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    Question Super hot pantry - refrigerator upper vent blocked by wood?

    Hi, we have a 2021 260RD and from day one we have had an issue with the pantry next to the refrigerator getting notably warm, now getting excessively warm. It is located in the slide next to the refrigerator.

    We began our trip in cold and cool weather, and quickly noticed that any chocolates in the pantry were warm and melted, so we changed what food products get stored in the pantry. And we leave the pantry doors open at all times to manage the temps. We thought it was just residual warmth from the side of the refrigerator.

    Well now that we are traveling in warmer weather, getting to upper 70's during the day, and the pantry is crazy hot, like liquifying the peanut butter. I have a remotely monitored thermostat in the kitchen (to monitor the temps when we leave the dog behind) and one in the storage area (to monitor for freezing). I moved the kitchen thermometer into the pantry near the back and it is registering 96 degrees, with the doors open. It is ranging between 73 and 80 inside the RV, same temps as outside.

    We opened/removed the vent panels on the outside of the slide behind the refrigerator to look inside. Inside the bottom panel looked as expected (some water in the catch tray). The top panel was surprising in that there is a large piece of wood blocking basically 2 of the 3 vents. Is this normal? Why would it be there? Seems like it would be significantly hindering air flow out of the upper vent area. Picture attached, taken from outside the slide.

    Also noticed a lot of frost buildup inside the freezer. Not sure if this is normal or also due to heat issues in that upper panel area.

    Thoughts? Anyone else have similar issues? Should we remove the wood?

    Click image for larger version. 

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    2020 GMC Sierra 2500HD Denali
    2021 Reflection 260RD Fifth wheel
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  2. #2
    Site Sponsor gbkims's Avatar
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    We opened/removed the vent panels on the outside of the slide behind the refrigerator to look inside. Inside the bottom panel looked as expected (some water in the catch tray). The top panel was surprising in that there is a large piece of wood blocking basically 2 of the 3 vents. Is this normal? Why would it be there? Seems like it would be significantly hindering air flow out of the upper vent area. Picture attached, taken from outside the slide.

    Also noticed a lot of frost buildup inside the freezer. Not sure if this is normal or also due to heat issues in that upper panel area.

    Thoughts? Anyone else have similar issues? Should we remove the wood?[/QUOTE]

    The wood is normal on the RV Fridge's upper vent. It's to help air flow or the top coil.
    https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/show...l=1#post246392

    Frost buildup in the freezer has several posts, position of thermister on the freezer coils, plastic cutting board placed at rear of freezer compartment.
    - Gene

    Kim & Gene
    2015 Reflection 317RST
    2017 Ram 3500 CC LB 4x2 6.7 CTD AISIN 3.73 DRW Auto Level Rear Air, BD3, Prodigy P3, Aux Tank

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    Site Sponsor GeoffnCheri's Avatar
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    I would document and notify the dealer and Grand design. In looking at your floor plan, I cannot see where the pantry should be 96 degrees if everything is normal.
    Geoff and Cheri
    2011 F250 CC 6.7L
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    Site Team Second Chance's Avatar
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    That wood panel is there for a purpose - and on purpose - to direct airflow across the fins. The freezers in the RV absorption fridges often have to be defrosted every few weeks. They are not self-defrosting. We found that cutting cheap plastic cutting mats to fit the back of the freezer compartments in our Reflection made defrost quick and easy. I don't have any advice on the hot pantry.

    Rob
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    (Previously in a Reflection 337RLS)
    Full time since 08/2015

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    I still can't see where blocking 2/3rds of the upper vent is a good thing. I removed the piece of wood on my 260RD, it cooled fine all last summer (seasonal site). Just my experience and it worked for me.
    2018 Ram 2500 CTD
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  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rudy35 View Post
    I still can't see where blocking 2/3rds of the upper vent is a good thing. I removed the piece of wood on my 260RD, it cooled fine all last summer (seasonal site). Just my experience and it worked for me.
    The needed air flow on these units is from the bottom vent, where it draws in cooler outside air, then upward and across the heat exchanger and out the top vent. If the plywood is removed, it allows that cooler air, that comes in at the bottom to flow upward, but it then goes out the upper vent BEFORE it has a chance to move across the upper coil/heat exchanger......basically bypassing the heat exchanger and not doing what it was designed to do. When the plywood is in place, where it is supposed to be, it FORCES that cooler air to flow across the upper coil/heat exchanger and removed the build up of heat in that coil. Removing the plywood is asking for trouble and it WILL cause the refrigerator to operate LESS efficient than it should. Think about your Air Conditioner at your house. When it is running, the outdoor coil/condensor unit has the high pressure hot gas flowing through the coils out there. There is a fan that is running that circulates the outside air across those coils and that airflow absorbs and dissipates some of the heat from those coils, which in turn Condenses the hot gas and turns it back into a liquid.....for the cycle to start all over again. If the heat cannot be removed out there, trust me, you will be calling an A/C repair guy to come and work on it...or if you are handy enough, you will replace the motor and get it running yourself. The refrigerator in the trailer is basically the same thing....the heat from that upper coil has to be dissipated and if you remove the plywood and change the airflow path, you have effectively caused it to NOT be able to do it's job, which is removing as much heat from the coil/refrigerant as possible. Hope this helps explain why it is there .....and why it SHOULD be there.

    Now a little discussion about the upper fans. On the Norcold units, those upper fans have a couple of issues pertaining to them. First, they really don't move enough air...they are too small for the job, especially when the outside temperatures start getting hotter during the summertime. Think CFM....or that lack of it. Secondly, the thermostat/thermodisc that turns both of those fans on, is set to operate at 130 degrees, which again, is set too high, in my opinion. Many, many folks have added additional fans in that upper vent area to help with increased air flow across the heat exchanger.....but in order for even that to be able to work, the PLYWOOD must be left in place. The twin fans that I installed on mine have their own thermostat, that is mounted inside the trailer but with the temperature sensor mounted in the area where the upper coil is located. The sensor will turn the aux. fans on at 68 degrees.....and that is a huge difference between the inefficient factor thermostat (130 degree setpoint) with the undersized factory fans. After installing my set of fans on the upper vent, the fridge now operates a lot better and actually works a lot more like it should. Before installing the fans, my setpoint on the fridge was always at either 8 or 9 (9 being the coldest setting available on the Norcold) and the fridge would sometimes only get into the lower 40s inside the fridge. WITH the fans installed and running, I can now use a setting of 3 or 4 on the Norcold settings, and even on days when the outside temperatures are in the 90s. The fridge temperatures will hover about 33-35 degrees in the food compartment and anywhere from maybe 2-8 degrees in the freezer.
    Last edited by xrated; 04-12-2021 at 06:06 AM.
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  7. #7
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    Replacing fans in the fridge......

    We use the upper pantry as a coat closet. There is a coat rack in the top of my 260RD. Can you give me specifics on replacing the noisy fan with the 2 more efficient ones as you did? Thanks in advance.


    Quote Originally Posted by xrated View Post
    The needed air flow on these units is from the bottom vent, where it draws in cooler outside air, then upward and across the heat exchanger and out the top vent. If the plywood is removed, it allows that cooler air, that comes in at the bottom to flow upward, but it then goes out the upper vent BEFORE it has a chance to move across the upper coil/heat exchanger......basically bypassing the heat exchanger and not doing what it was designed to do. When the plywood is in place, where it is supposed to be, it FORCES that cooler air to flow across the upper coil/heat exchanger and removed the build up of heat in that coil. Removing the plywood is asking for trouble and it WILL cause the refrigerator to operate LESS efficient than it should. Think about your Air Conditioner at your house. When it is running, the outdoor coil/condensor unit has the high pressure hot gas flowing through the coils out there. There is a fan that is running that circulates the outside air across those coils and that airflow absorbs and dissipates some of the heat from those coils, which in turn Condenses the hot gas and turns it back into a liquid.....for the cycle to start all over again. If the heat cannot be removed out there, trust me, you will be calling an A/C repair guy to come and work on it...or if you are handy enough, you will replace the motor and get it running yourself. The refrigerator in the trailer is basically the same thing....the heat from that upper coil has to be dissipated and if you remove the plywood and change the airflow path, you have effectively caused it to NOT be able to do it's job, which is removing as much heat from the coil/refrigerant as possible. Hope this helps explain why it is there .....and why it SHOULD be there.

    Now a little discussion about the upper fans. On the Norcold units, those upper fans have a couple of issues pertaining to them. First, they really don't move enough air...they are too small for the job, especially when the outside temperatures start getting hotter during the summertime. Think CFM....or that lack of it. Secondly, the thermostat/thermodisc that turns both of those fans on, is set to operate at 130 degrees, which again, is set too high, in my opinion. Many, many folks have added additional fans in that upper vent area to help with increased air flow across the heat exchanger.....but in order for even that to be able to work, the PLYWOOD must be left in place. The twin fans that I installed on mine have their own thermostat, that is mounted inside the trailer but with the temperature sensor mounted in the area where the upper coil is located. The sensor will turn the aux. fans on at 68 degrees.....and that is a huge difference between the inefficient factor thermostat (130 degree setpoint) with the undersized factory fans. After installing my set of fans on the upper vent, the fridge now operates a lot better and actually works a lot more like it should. Before installing the fans, my setpoint on the fridge was always at either 8 or 9 (9 being the coldest setting available on the Norcold) and the fridge would sometimes only get into the lower 40s inside the fridge. WITH the fans installed and running, I can now use a setting of 3 or 4 on the Norcold settings, and even on days when the outside temperatures are in the 90s. The fridge temperatures will hover about 33-35 degrees in the food compartment and anywhere from maybe 2-8 degrees in the freezer.

  8. #8
    Rolling Along OurNewEra's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AmeliaKD View Post
    Hi, we have a 2021 260RD and from day one we have had an issue with the pantry next to the refrigerator getting notably warm, now getting excessively warm. It is located in the slide next to the refrigerator.

    We began our trip in cold and cool weather, and quickly noticed that any chocolates in the pantry were warm and melted, so we changed what food products get stored in the pantry. And we leave the pantry doors open at all times to manage the temps. We thought it was just residual warmth from the side of the refrigerator.

    Well now that we are traveling in warmer weather, getting to upper 70's during the day, and the pantry is crazy hot, like liquifying the peanut butter. I have a remotely monitored thermostat in the kitchen (to monitor the temps when we leave the dog behind) and one in the storage area (to monitor for freezing). I moved the kitchen thermometer into the pantry near the back and it is registering 96 degrees, with the doors open. It is ranging between 73 and 80 inside the RV, same temps as outside.

    We opened/removed the vent panels on the outside of the slide behind the refrigerator to look inside. Inside the bottom panel looked as expected (some water in the catch tray). The top panel was surprising in that there is a large piece of wood blocking basically 2 of the 3 vents. Is this normal? Why would it be there? Seems like it would be significantly hindering air flow out of the upper vent area. Picture attached, taken from outside the slide.

    Also noticed a lot of frost buildup inside the freezer. Not sure if this is normal or also due to heat issues in that upper panel area.

    Thoughts? Anyone else have similar issues? Should we remove the wood?
    I have an Imagine 2970RL with the kitchen slide which includes the pantry. Our slide layout from left to right is - TV/Fireplace, pantry, range, refrigerator. I will agree with you that the pantry does get warm. I can't say what temperature exactly but after our first trips the heat build-up in the pantry caused my DW to rearrange our storage of certain items. No chocolate or meltables in the pantry anywhere. No food items are stored on the top two shelves. We store only paper goods on the top shelf. We have a slide topper on that slide but it does still get warm. Some suggestions: 1) Slide topper if you don't already have one (expensive option), 2) I think I've seen posts where someone put foil backed foam insulation in the ceiling of the pantry. You could also add some to the back pantry wall, 3) try to get campsites where that slide is on the North, 4) I have seen sun shades for the refrigerator that could also be used for the area of the pantry see the article at this URL. https://www.trailerlife.com/tech/10-...h-cool-fridge/ I think they sell these as well. Here is another product I ran across that could be used - a reflective tarp. https://www.cleanrun.com/product/7_f...nels/index.cfm

    As for the fridge, I replaced my OEM fridge fan with dual fans. I replaced the OEM because it was too noisy. With nothing on in the trailer you could hear the fan running. Since replacing the single OEM fan with dual fans our fridge has run flawlessly and keeps a very good temperature. I would agree with others in this thread that the plywood (sometimes sheet metal) is purposely installed to cause the air to go over the fins and not exit through the vent too soon. If the fridge is NOT in a slide then you have a roof vent and only the bottom wall vent. When there is a roof vent then air must exit through the top. So insertion of the plywood sheet is an attempt to simulate a roof vent scenario. I think it is safe to say that the RF manufacturers are not going to install parts that are not needed.
    Mike & Lisa
    Central Florida
    2021 Imagine 2970RL
    1996 Chevy K3500 Crew SRW 7.4L Gas

  9. #9
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    I would like details on the dual fans you installed. I have a 260RD with the double wide Norcold and it does make alot of noise.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thpose View Post
    I would like details on the dual fans you installed. I have a 260RD with the double wide Norcold and it does make alot of noise.
    See this thread: https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/show...-With-a-Twist!

    Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk
    Mark & Mary. Full-timing across the USA (and Canada)!
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