Flat ground for fridge to work.

[Uncle Tuff]

Hello!

First off, thank you for your time and input.
We purchased our RV back in December and the Norcold fridge was working fine. We parked it in our driveway which is on a bit of a slant.

The refrigerator stopped working about a month ago. We had a company come out to our house to look at it and he said that it would not work properly if it was not on flat ground. Has anybody ever had this issue?

 

[NWIP]

Yes, we had Norcold propane/electric frig in previous coach and had same issue which I believe is normal. If fairly level it worked flawlessly.

 

[Uncle Tuff]

Thank you!!!

 

[AbdRahim]

Be careful. Operating a rv refrigerator while significantly unlevel for extended periods can cause permanent damage.

RV Doctor: Can RV be stored off-level without damaging the fridge?

Why Your RV Fridge Needs to be Level | Life On Route

 

[Uncle Tuff]

Thank you!

 

[High Desert]

Used to be a theory that if you ran into an issue with propane rigs not working, you would need to "burp" them. Normally this was done by driving over a hilly area. Just an interesting concept and not sure how much truth there was to it as I never ran into this issue.

 

[sanda]

Used to be a theory that if you ran into an issue with propane rigs not working, you would need to "burp" them. Normally this was done by driving over a hilly area. Just an interesting concept and not sure how much truth there was to it as I never ran into this issue.

I've also heard over the years that if your fridge doesn't cool you have to take it out and turn it upside down for a while. Seems like a lot of work on a rumor.

 

[Uncle Tuff]

Thanks to all for the info. I parked it on flat ground and the fridge works like a dream!!

 

[weathermantim]

Does anyone know what is meant as "level"? What is the recommended degree tolerance? Thanks.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

In the day propane fridges had to be reasonably level! As stated above, they would have the brine settle in lower spots in the plumbing, so would need to be burped.

Newer units have the same problem, but will not die in most cases. The reason the old ones would and the new ones are more robust is that the old ones had a single wall boiler, and the newer ones have a double wall boiler.

Flipping the fridge will burp the fridge, and was the first course of action when gas fridges were the only option for ranch houses(off grid).

Level is best, but some lead way can be practiced.

 

[Trav_lr]

I was told by a trusted RV tech the fridge should to be +/- 2° to work properly and live a long healthy life.

 

[Rosy]

I was told by a trusted RV tech the fridge should to be +/- 2° to work properly and live a long healthy life.

Good to know. My trailer doesn't fit in my driveway, so I have to park it on the street, which naturally has a bit of a crown. The levels on my trailer say it's about a degree and a half from level so good to know that shouldn't damage my fridge long term.

 

[weathermantim]

Very interesting-Thank you!