Talbot
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Absorption Refrigerator working or not working? How level is level?
As previously posted I've had problems with the fridge working or not working when parked on a gradual slope. It works fine on level ground, so no problems when parking for overnight sleeping. The problem is when you park on a slope to visit the shops, a village, town, castle or whatever, it may or may not work. The fridge display unit shows that the fridge is working fine, gas light is lit and you can hear it working hard with heat coming out of the vents. So it looks like it is working, but it isn't and you won't know it's not refrigerating until your food has defrosted. There is also the possibility of defrosting and re-freezing cycles occurring which could be a health and safety issue if you don't realise. My last fridge worked on my drive, the new fridge does not. I was hoping that I wasn't alone and others are experiencing similar issues. I have since contacted Thetford and Dometic requesting advice on how level these new absorption fridges should be to work. Both companies products are the same, and they both require us (motorhomers) to park level with a maximum tolerance of 3%. Sadly I've had to change the way I motorhome and the fridge has become the deciding factor of where I am able to park. Not how it used to be, where I went where I wanted and even parked on 30% slopes and never gave the fridge a thought. Car parks, layby's, road cambers and even hardstanding superpitches are built with gradual slopes so that rain water will drain away. In 80% of these situations an absorption fridge won't work. Just by chance, I found another thread on this (on a different site) and someone else has also raised the issue. Here is the link:
How level is level? - MotorhomeFun
They have also posted some official feedback from Thetford. This is a real and serious problem and I'm surprised no one on this site has noticed this problem. You may of course have the problem but not noticed that your food has gone warm, then rechilled, or defrosted and refrozen especially in this recent cold weather. Remember that there is no visual warning on your fridge that it is not working. My advice is, if you own an absorption fridge buy a fridge thermometer and keep a close look out for defrosting. Before I forget, the advice from both of the manufacturers was 'park on level ground'.
If you own a compressor fridge then this thread does not concern you. They're designed to work with 40 degree slopes so hang on to it. I wish I did.
As previously posted I've had problems with the fridge working or not working when parked on a gradual slope. It works fine on level ground, so no problems when parking for overnight sleeping. The problem is when you park on a slope to visit the shops, a village, town, castle or whatever, it may or may not work. The fridge display unit shows that the fridge is working fine, gas light is lit and you can hear it working hard with heat coming out of the vents. So it looks like it is working, but it isn't and you won't know it's not refrigerating until your food has defrosted. There is also the possibility of defrosting and re-freezing cycles occurring which could be a health and safety issue if you don't realise. My last fridge worked on my drive, the new fridge does not. I was hoping that I wasn't alone and others are experiencing similar issues. I have since contacted Thetford and Dometic requesting advice on how level these new absorption fridges should be to work. Both companies products are the same, and they both require us (motorhomers) to park level with a maximum tolerance of 3%. Sadly I've had to change the way I motorhome and the fridge has become the deciding factor of where I am able to park. Not how it used to be, where I went where I wanted and even parked on 30% slopes and never gave the fridge a thought. Car parks, layby's, road cambers and even hardstanding superpitches are built with gradual slopes so that rain water will drain away. In 80% of these situations an absorption fridge won't work. Just by chance, I found another thread on this (on a different site) and someone else has also raised the issue. Here is the link:
How level is level? - MotorhomeFun
They have also posted some official feedback from Thetford. This is a real and serious problem and I'm surprised no one on this site has noticed this problem. You may of course have the problem but not noticed that your food has gone warm, then rechilled, or defrosted and refrozen especially in this recent cold weather. Remember that there is no visual warning on your fridge that it is not working. My advice is, if you own an absorption fridge buy a fridge thermometer and keep a close look out for defrosting. Before I forget, the advice from both of the manufacturers was 'park on level ground'.
If you own a compressor fridge then this thread does not concern you. They're designed to work with 40 degree slopes so hang on to it. I wish I did.
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