# Rapido Thetford N100 Fridge - 240 v Operation - Levelling ??



## Coulstock (Sep 2, 2008)

I'm going to recount the full description of my problem -so don't nod off

1. Prior to our first outing ( 3 weeks ) ago on our new acquisition (Rapido 741F) I had the external 240 v supply plugged into my garage in readiness for an 11 am 'ish departure next day. To my alarm the following morning I fond the fridge at ambient throughout. I frantically switched to gas and 4 hours later left with a reasonably chilled fridge ( about -2 in freezer bit).

2. We ran throughout this first 4 day outing on gas supply which with a 13 Kg bottle and advertised 330 - 400 grs/hr consumption didn't seem to much of an issue. Freezer compartment was about -4 throughout.

3. On returning home I switched back to gas in our drive and left the fridge running as such for about 24 hrs till stabilised at -4 C again. I'd done a bit of reading up in the meantime and noted the warm air coming from the upper vent.

4. I then turned off the gas , plugged in the 240v external, switched to 240v and left it for about 4 hours and re-checked it again in the evening. I immediately noted a healthy flow of hot air form the upper vent, checked the freezer compartment and it was about -8 - success (I thought), powered off the van, removed the 240 v supply and locked it up.

5. This was about 2 weeks ago and the van hasn't been moved . I plugged in the 240 v yesterday morning and left it for about 8 hours - noting a very healthy hot air emitting from the upper vent but to my dismay when I checked the fridge later in the day it was all about ambient -not a chill anywhere !!

6. Now my drive has a slight slope ( back to front in case of the van) but I would say no more than 2-3 degrees at most. - So the $64,000 question is how susceptible to slopes are absorption fridges and and could you have:

a. A fridge that cools on gas but not 240 v ??

b. Heat emitting from upper vent on 240v but no cooling ??

7. Should I fork out for a set of levelling blocks ??

Thanks for any advice - next outing West Country 19th September - no pressure !!

HB


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## 101405 (Oct 15, 2006)

*FRIDGE*

THEY REALLY NEED A SLIGHT INCLINE TO THE REAR, BUT YOUR PROBLEM IS THAT YOU STARTED WITH AN EMPTY FRIDGE ! YES ?ABSORPTION IS THE WORD. TO HELP GET THE TEMP DOWN IN THE MAIN COMPARTMENT AT LEAST TO BETWEEN 5 /7 FOR CORRECT STORAGE OF FOOD PUT A LARGE BAG OF ICE IN .AND A BOWL OF WATER IN THE ICE BOX. THIS SOULD DO THE TRICK , THEY ALWAYS WORK BETTER ON A GAS INPUT AS THERE IS A BETTER HEAT IMPUT INPUT ON THE BOILER TUBE, HOPE THIS HELPS , IF WHEN YOU FIND THE FRIDGE STRUGGLES IN A HIGH OUTSIDE TEMP PUT A BACK OF ICE IN TO GET THE TEMP DOWN , IF YOU HAVE SPACE ! TERRY


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## richardjames (Feb 1, 2006)

My M/H is parked on a fair slope and works fine even without food
Richard


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## Coulstock (Sep 2, 2008)

*Thanks Silversurfa*

Thanks for the advice - I've turned the van round so the slope is from front to back although its slight and put 2 x 2 litre bottles of water in main compartment and 2 bowls of water in the freezer - after 6 hours I had 2 iced over bowls - so I'm happy now


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## Coulstock (Sep 2, 2008)

*More Fridge Conclusions*

Having just had our first 7 day jaunt to the West Country ( 5 sites -600 miles) I've now come to the conclusion:

a. Slope is immaterial ( within reason ) - got a nice -10 in the freezer compartment in a variety of parked positions ( front to back, back to front). This is on EHU within 3-4 hours of hooking up.

b. While motoring , the 12v supply seems to maintain the freezer at or slightly below freezng ie 0 to -1 but isn't a beefy enough heater supply to do any better.- I checked this on arrival at all the sites - it was reasonably warm last week 19 degrees whilst driving - but the 12v running supply maintained the nominally 0 degrees temperature


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