Dear Dave,
Is it OK for an electric refrigerator to be encased in a cupboard with no venting? We have lost two refrigerators—compressors burned out on both. I think it is too hot in the “closet” as well as the furnace located beside it with no wall between. —Deb, 2022 Thor Palazzo
From Dave
I asked Deb for some clarification on the “electric” refrigerator and if it was a residential model using a 120-volt compressor. Here is the first part of the conversation.
Deb,
If you are referring to a residential refrigerator that runs on a 120-volt compressor, I do think an enclosed cabinet is not good for them. I do not have much experience with the residential fridge other than in my homes. However, I know we have always been told by the appliance dealer to have some ventilation and clean the coils periodically. I would get a temperature probe and get the actual temps and contact Thor Customer Service.
Here is what I got back from Deb:
Thank you! And, yes, my son is an engineer and he said the same thing. But Thor does not want to listen to me. It’s quite frustrating and sad. We have since cut ventilation holes into a side wall and covered them with nice vents that we painted same color as wall. I am hoping when the Samsung fridge comes back it will have a little more air flow. It’s been stressful, to the say the least, dealing with Thor. I appreciate you reaching out… Thanks!!! —Deb
From Dave
According to the specifications on the Thor website, the Palazzo comes with a 15.7-cubic-footf residential refrigerator; however, it does not specify a brand. I would assume it is a Samsung, as the replacement Deb referenced is a Samsung. I asked her to send photos of the customized vents and an update.
Here are photos from Deb:
I asked if they installed a vent on the outside of the sidewall and got this:
From Deb:
No, I wish we could, but we just don’t know how to do that. We would be cutting into the siding of the RV. I don’t even know if these two vents are going to help. One thing that is important to note is that the propane furnace and attached ducting are right beside the fridge. (There’s an opening from the refrigerator ‘closet’ to the furnace.) I am sure this did not help with the heat in that little cubicle. I will attach pictures of that as well. We are thinking of adding a fireproof batting to the hole to stop the heat from the furnace entering into the fridge closet. You will see what I mean when I send you the picture. We don’t have our second fridge back yet – parts are back ordered. We are using an electric cooler and mini-fridge in the meantime. *Point to remember here is this was a brand-new motorhome. ☹️ —Deb
Looking at the photos, I would suggest installing a piece of insulation between the refrigerator opening and the furnace to limit the heat coming from there. It looks like you can slide it behind the vertical wood stick?
However, the bottom line is, you should not have to jump through hoops to have a refrigerator that works! Not to mention the expense and aggravation of going back to the dealer several times, cutting holes in cabinetry, and using an electric cooler and mini fridge in the meantime! What happens after the two-year warranty is over? Keep your foot on the gas pedal with Thor!
What works in your home does not always work in an RV!
I started RVing way back in the 1960s, when my father would rent an RV two or three times a year and we would take a short trip to a lake in Minnesota for an extended weekend. Then we’d take a big two-week trip to a major destination such as Montana or Colorado, and even a swing through the East, including Washington, D.C., Boston, and New York City. The first few years we had a pop-up that did not have a bathroom or kitchen. It had a dinette with a shelf for a Coleman stove. No water heater for hot showers, no antenna or cable connection for streaming.
This is the pop-up we rented for the trip to Yellowstone. Just can’t get shirts like that today!
Today’s RVs have gone hog wild, in my opinion, with six slide rooms and Bluetooth-everything. It’s not really camping. It’s just putting your house on wheels and doing the same thing in another location. And so RV manufacturers and designers are all trying to “one up” each other and most don’t even step foot in an RV. Instead they go to home shows and interior design conventions to get the latest “trends.”
An RV has to put up with a lot more variable conditions than a house
As we see time and again, what is cool and “wowie” in a 5,000-square-foot home doesn’t work as well in a 240-square-foot RV. Your home sits on a concrete foundation and is climate-controlled. An RV bounces down the road, twists and turns getting in and out of campsites, and has more “hot flashes” than my wife!
When the RV is in storage, the temperatures can get to a sweltering 120+ degrees in the summer and -20 in the winter. Try doing that with your house!
Residential refrigerators, televisions, plumbing fixtures, and all the whizbang wireless “stuff” needs to stay in the homes. Why on earth would you need to extend and retract your slide room from your phone? Why do you need five TVs when there are only two of you?
I guess we are spoiled. When I was young, I had to walk clear across the room to change the TV channels… all three of them (channels, not TVs)! My dad had the first wireless remote… ”David, go over and change the channel!” We also had the first wireless communication system. I was up on the roof rotating the antenna, my brother was on the roof of the porch, my other brother was on the ground next to the open living room window, and Dad was inside watching the reception on the black-and-white TV giving directions on which way to rotate the antenna.
You might also enjoy this from Dave
My RV’s absorption fridge quit. Can I replace cooling unit with 12-volt model?
Dear Dave,
I am the original owner of a Jayco Eagle 308RLS travel trailer. The Norcold fridge (N611RT) has finally given up. The freezer still freezes well, but the refrigerator portion does not cool at all. I have been thinking about a replacement cooling unit, especially one that is just 12 volts. I have 900 watts of solar on the roof and 400 amp hours of lithium batteries. Your thoughts on doing this myself? I am fairly mechanically inclined, and I have several buddies that I camp with that are very mechanically inclined. —Seann, 2009 Jayco Eagle 308RLS
Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and the author of the “RV Handbook.”
Read more from Dave here.
HAVE A QUESTION FOR DAVE?
Send your inquiries to him using the form below.
##RVDT2390
Like I always say “people who design RVs have never been in an RV.” Now, that may not be true for all designers but it sure seems like it is.
Hi Dave, I agree with your “house on wheels” comment. It would seem that “camping” is no longer camping. Sadly enough, campgrounds, both private and public, now seem to cater to the “home away from home” crowd. I see rigs in state parks that have greater square footage than my house. Along with the increase in size and amenities in camp units, there has been a corresponding inverse relationship concerning camp etiquette. The bigger the rig, the more entitled it seems that the owners feel. It has caused our family to stop camping. We are tired of being considered second class campers because we don’t drive a gigantic rig. It just is not fun any more.
Arn, only you can control and own your feelings. Others can only ‘make” you feel second class if you let them.
I appreciate your comment Mikal. But when I go to a campsite that is wet, muddy, a long ways from the water and restrooms, on a slope and with no parking pad and then see a big 5th wheel in a nice, level, graveled pad near all the amenities, it puts me in my place. It seems weird that those that need a nice level camping spot (tent campers) get the worst spots in the campgrounds (let’s call it the rustic camp area) but the people who come camping in the big rigs get the nicest places to camp. That is what makes me feel like a second class citizen when it comes to camping.
Thank you, Dave! 🙂 This tale is consistent with those told by a few former-Thor-owners I have met; sad but true. 🙁 I am glad that Deb, et.al., are sufficiently resourceful and capable to undertake proactive solutions to their refrigerator problem. Yes, I agree, given the amenities and technology of our rig, we do not “camp” at all (even if in a campsite in a campground); we “travel.” 🙂 Thanks, too, for the reminders of the days before technology was quite as advanced as now. 🙂 Have a great weekend and safe travels! 🙂
laughing… Dave, there are two facets of RVing. One is camping. We have a 21′ self-contained unit for that. We no longer want to sleep just off the ground in a fabric room and walk 3 times a night to a park toilet.
The other facet, I call ‘turtling’ – – you carry your home with you. For that, we have a 37′ TT with slides. Two TVs, one gets used for local news (weather) and maybe evenings. The other rarely gets turned on. We use it seasonally and stationary with the same neighbors every year. It just so happens RVs make for an inexpensive retirement community.
Dave, Thanks for posting that wonderful camping picture for us all! I’ll bet all of you had a great time camping with your Dad. I share all of your views about today’s rv’s. We have an older rig that only has a computer controlled engine but none of the fluff many have these days. It’s also terrible about Deb’s fridge problem and Thor’s attitude about it.
Adding vents will certainly help but are the coils underneath the refer clean. Most refers suck air at the bottom ,run it past the coils underneath and expel the warm air at the other side.
the fan on the furnace should dispel any heat. I don’t think thats a problem
Not defending Thor but there are several class action lawsuits against Samsung for knowingly selling defective refrigerators.
Here’s a link to one source: https://www.classaction.org/blog/too-hot-samsung-fridges-run-at-temps-unsafe-to-store-food-class-action-claims#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20complaint%2C%20the,RF26HFENDSR%2C%20RF26J7500SR%2C%20and%20RF27T5201SG.
Our residential Whirlpool fridge has been in a closed cabinet since the motorhome was built nearly 14 years ago. Still like new and no issues at all. And it has ice & water and is located in a slide!
Dave, I have pictures like that as well, except my dad had a very simple 8′ pickup camper we traveled in. My wife & I used to boondock extensively with the kids in our 20′ Forrester TT. Now retired we TRAVEL in a 43′ Luxury Newmar Mountain Aire. We’ll be “camping” with our daughter & SIL this weekend with their 18 yo Jayco popup! Side by side. 🙂
Your fridge may be front-vented. Some have the condenser on the bottom and a vent on the front bottom. Those can be in a closed cabinet, The ones with the condenser on the back should be vented. It’s easy to check: how hot does the cabinet get?
I think I might also add a 12v computer fan to the top vent they cut into the side wall. Is this fridge tight in that space with no air around the sides, bottom or top? A ceiling fan (MaxxAir) might also draw some air out the top vent and outside. Interesting, most Rv’s have a bottom and top vent in the outside wall for refrigerators. (Check and see what the lawsuit is all about as noted by Vince below-maybe no amount of venting will help this unit!). Thanks Dave!
Additional note: I do not think adding material of any kind to “block off” the furnace to be prudent.
The grill in the picture looks like the furnace intake which means it’s not adding heat to the area, it’s actually pulling it away since the fan will be on when the furnace is on. Forcing the furnace to pull air elsewhere might not be a good idea.
PS – There is a similar class action lawsuit against LG for continuing sales of refrigerators with defective linear style compressors. Here’s a link to that: https://www.classaction.org/lg-refrigerator-linear-compressor-failure-lawsuits
Dave, did you have to run down to the corner store and test the vacuum tubes when the TV acted up?
No, we were not that savvy, just whacked the side of the TV!
All these newfangled thingamajigs! Who really needs to drive 25 mph? Horses work just fine! What? Pneumatic tires? Solid ones don’t get flat! Air conditioning in a car? Or house? Open the windows and let the fresh air in.
My point is, what we recreate in has changed. Many spouses who did not grow up camping won’t go camping. So, we need to have glampers to get them to come with us while we enjoy different places. Times change. Tech will continue to change our experiences. You are starting to sound like Chuck!
Residential air conditioners and refrigerators need hours for the refrigerant to settle after being moved, before they should be turned on. Otherwise the refrigerant will be a foam of mixed liquid and gas, and the compressor can lock up. RV refrigerators and AC are designed to move and do not have this problem. Ask an AC tech.
Maybe the real problem is the refrigerator needs a pure sine wave power source.