# How long to cool fridge down



## Jezport (Jun 19, 2008)

How long should it take to cool the fridge and freezer down to operating temperature on a dometic fridge freezer with separate top freezer compartment?

Lets sat the ambient temperature outside is 21degrees and inside the van it is 25deg what time to get the fridge down to 5 degrees on 230V ?


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

I always have the fridge on mains electricity for 24 hours before we set off.

The 12v supply while driving simply keeps it cold once it is cold, the fridge also cools down well on gas from our experience.

Dave


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## Jezport (Jun 19, 2008)

Penquin said:


> I always have the fridge on mains electricity for 24 hours before we set off.
> 
> The 12v supply while driving simply keeps it cold once it is cold, the fridge also cools down well on gas from our experience.
> 
> Dave


I put my fridge on after lunch today and it was 25deg inside, the fridge was down to 7.5deg at about 11pm, I was wondering if this is normal.


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## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

Because my driveway slopes, I cannot precool my fridge.

What I do instead is to make sure something we will eat on the first or second day is frozen in the house freezer and then transferred into the van fridge section. This is the quickest way to cool down the fridge compartment and the food is put in at the last minute.

If the freezer section is packed solid with frozen food, it looks after itself.

Alternatively, what I used to do is freeze some of those freezer containers (plastic and filled with water from pound shops) and use them to precool the fridge and freezer compartment.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Jezport said:


> I put my fridge on after lunch today and it was 25deg inside, the fridge was down to 7.5deg at about 11pm, I was wondering if this is normal.


That looks about right to me, it's working well by the look of it.

Of course, empty fridges cool down slower than ones with lots of pre-cooled material in them. Ours works well even at 35+deg external temperature.

Do agree that keeping ot virtually level is essential - from memory it is level + 5 degrees.

Dave


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## BillCreer (Jan 23, 2010)

Jezport said:


> How long should it take to cool the fridge and freezer down to operating temperature on a dometic fridge freezer with separate top freezer compartment?
> 
> Lets sat the ambient temperature outside is 21degrees and inside the van it is 25deg what time to get the fridge down to 5 degrees on 230V ?


Hi,

I tested mine on Sunday with about the same results (the lager was drinkable).
Did you remember to turn it right up? If the thermostat is working that shouldn't make any difference though.


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Fridge*

I do not think there is a hard and fast rule, but when I used to use the motorhome "casually", I had the fridge on overnight before filling it.

It will cool a lot quicker on gas as the burner (if that is the phrase for something in a fridge) is better at it's job than the electric.

Russell


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## drcotts (Feb 23, 2006)

were you level back to front (or across the face of the fridge) as this is important.

I had a repair done on my fridge last fri and the engineer was full of fact etc and this is the most impriotant reason for it not cooling properly.

Phill


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

Another "24 hours" man here !! 

I reckon my fridge is FAR better on gas than mains leccy, in fact I no longer bother with EHU when abroad on the understanding that the fridge is about the only thing I cannot run off my inverter.

At 3 or 4 euro's per night for EHU I am very sure I save a fair sum of money during my usual month away. (No way will I use 3 euro's worth of gas per night, especially as I have Gaslow as well  ) 

UK is a bit different, I usually use the MH during the "cooler" months in the UK so as the leccy is included in the pitch cost I only use gas for cooking, the heating, lighting and hot water all being dealt with by means of wriggly amps :lol: :lol:


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## Jezport (Jun 19, 2008)

I think mine is cooling properly as it is now stopping at about 4degrees set at about 2/3


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