RV Tips – Maintaining Your Fridge

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Maintaining your RV appliances is key to their longevity. There are a few simple steps to follow that can help keep your refrigerator running and worry-free.

An open refrigerator door showing a full stocked fridge loaded up with food and fresh ingredients.

KEEP THE UPPER VENT CLEAR OF DEBRIS

The back of an absorption refrigerator needs to have enough air flow for it to work right. The upper exterior refrigerator vent lets the hot air that rises from your fridge get out into the open air. Most of the time, the vent is on the roof, but some smaller RVs and RVs with the refrigerator mounted in the slideout have an upper vent in the sidewall.

On RVs with roof vents, leaves, pine needles, animal nests, and other trash can get under the vent cover. Every so often, you should take the roof vent off and clean the vent screen. While you have the vent cover off, check the vent screen. If the screen is broken, birds and small animals could get into the back of the fridge.

TAKE A LOOK AT THE DRAIN TUBE

The drain tube takes water out of the refrigerator’s drip tray. The water that drips from the evaporator fins across the top back of the refrigerator box falls into the drip tray. Make sure the hose is not broken and is draining well. If hoses are broken, water can leak out and damage the back of the fridge.

CHECK THE TOP OF THE COOLING FANS


Check for leaves or animal nests on top of the condenser fins while you have the upper vent off. As was said above, dirt and other things can get on the top vent.

Even if the vent screen is in good shape, pine needles, insects, and other things can get through and land on the top of the refrigerator’s fins. If they can get in, birds love to build their nests here.

VACUUM BEHIND THE FRIDGE


After you’ve done all of the above RV refrigerator maintenance tasks, clean up any debris that fell from above or was there to begin with.

Needles and other debris can get in through the top vent, and the same things can get in through the bottom vent. Since there is an open flame when a gas-powered absorption refrigerator is running, any dry, flammable vegetables should be kept away from the burner. When you try to clean, use a crevice tool or a small hose to reach the space under the fridge.

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