Question for the Toadless??? May 05, 2016, 01:17:39 pm Yahoo Message Number: 160281For those who don't have a toad, is leveling the fridge a problem when you use the LD for errands and seeing the sights? Do you leave the fridge off, use level blocks in parking lots, or have to drive around searching for a level spot. I guess I am so careful about the fridge being level since they so expensive to replace. Just thought I would see how the toadless crowd approach this situation. Thanks John in Bend, OR
Re: Question for the Toadless??? Reply #1 – May 05, 2016, 02:11:29 pm Yahoo Message Number: 160283If it isn't level turn it off, if the freezer approaches 30F turn it on.To do that you need a wireless refrigerator thermometer you can set on the consol.Amazon.com: AcuRite 00986 Refrigerator/Freezer Wireless Digital Thermometer:... As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: Question for the Toadless??? Reply #2 – May 05, 2016, 04:12:44 pm Yahoo Message Number: 160286I always try to park in a "somewhat level" position when I travel. If I'm only going to be shopping for a short time I really never worry about being a bit off level. I do my best to park such that the sun is always on the opposite side of the fridge. Getting ready for my third year out and about and no real problems with the fridge yet! I also try to keep the fridge packed so that there is always a "large" cold mass. Two fans circulate the air within the fridge as well. BTW - This Group did alert me to a safety recall and that kit will be installed as soon as it arrives in Lake Havasu City, AZ.
Re: Question for the Toadless??? Reply #3 – May 05, 2016, 05:00:50 pm Yahoo Message Number: 160289We have a 24ft TK. When we go shopping or sightseeing we don't bother leveling the rig. In general, we aren't gone that long. Even if the fridge cuts out, we aren't there to open and close it so there's no worry about food getting too warm. We only level when we're stopped for the night.Syndi 2014 TK Super Flea -- 1 Likes
Re: Question for the Toadless??? Reply #4 – May 05, 2016, 06:17:29 pm Yahoo Message Number: 160295"When we go shopping or sightseeing we don't bother leveling the rig... Even if the fridge cuts out, we aren't there to open and close it so there's no worry about food getting too warm."Syndi, if the only concern were about the fridge shutting off and food getting too warm, we'd all be a lot less worried about staying more or less level. But operating an absorption refrigerator like the one in your Lazy Daze when it's too far off-level can permanently damage it. I've read that even an hour can do irreparable harm, if the fridge is far enough off-level. Older fridges are notoriously prone to this kind of damage, but newer ones are not immune.That's what we're talking about here: not just a temporary shutdown, but potentially killing the fridge.Andy Baird 1 Likes
Re: Question for the Toadless??? Reply #5 – May 05, 2016, 07:16:30 pm Yahoo Message Number: 160299I second Andy's advice. Park level all the time. If that is not possible, just cut the refer off. It will not warm up much in 2-3 hours - well depending on outside temp, parked in direct sun, etc. Test with a thermometer to see how little it will warm.
Re: Question for the Toadless??? Reply #6 – May 05, 2016, 08:22:00 pm Yahoo Message Number: 160301"But operating an absorption refrigerator like the one in your Lazy Daze when it's too far off-level can permanently damage it. I've read that even an hour can do irreparable harm, if the fridge is far enough off-level. Older fridges are notoriously prone to this kind of damage, but newer ones are not immune." --- Andy beat me to the post! ;-)An absorption refrigerator has no moving parts, i.e., a compressor; there's nothing to push the coolant through the system, so the cooling process, i.e., the circulation of the coolant (liquid ammonia, water, hydrogen gas and sodium chromate to reduce corrosion inside the system) is accomplished through gravity.The cooling unit requires two essential elements to perform efficiently: level operating conditions and constant adequate ventilation. If the refrigerator is operated off-level, excess heat is generated at the rear of the cooling unit (particularly near the boiler); excess heat over a period of time causes the sodium chromate (anti-corrosive) to crystallize and build up (most commonly in the percolator tube), blocking the flow of coolant and leading to failure.On-the-road motion helps to keep everything stirred up inside the coolingunit; the problems occur when the rig is parked off-level with the refrigerator operating, particularly when the refrigerator is not level front to back.I think there may be a perception among some that "modern" absorption refrigerators are not affected by off-level operation; older refrigerators may more prone to failure from off-level conditions than newer ones, but the fundamental design of the absorption refrigerator has changed very little over the years. As Andy stated, newer refrigerators can fail prematurely when consistently operated off-level for even short periods of time; once the coolant crystallizes and builds up in the system to the point of corroding the tubes and leaking yellow powder and ammonia stink into the compartment, the cooling unit is toast!Keeping a bubble level inside the refrigerator or freezer can be helpful to determine how level the refrigerator is; I don't go along with the adage that if a person is comfortable with the degree of level of the rig, the refrigerator will be, too. I've been in rigs where anything dropped on the floor rolled quickly to the lower side or end of the rig, but the occupants seemed not to notice.As ever, YMMV.Joan 1 Likes
Re: Question for the Toadless??? Reply #7 – May 05, 2016, 11:01:26 pm Yahoo Message Number: 160302Keep a large blue ice pack in your freezer. It serves 2 purposes- one, use it in the fridge when you need to shut it down when not being able to park on level ground, and two, in hot weather it helps keep your fridge cool during the hot daytime temperatures. Then put it back in the freezer during the night to freeze again, or carry 2 and swap them back and forth.Jim 1 Likes
Re: Question for the Toadless??? Reply #8 – May 05, 2016, 11:36:07 pm Yahoo Message Number: 160304I have faithfully read this forum for the past four years, but rarely respond. Many thanks to Andy during my first year, and to Larry for resealing my roof and much other help, I do love this whole group. Right after I bought my 1997 MB, in winter 2012, I had AM Solar panels installed with a Blue Sky monitor system, and soon after that put in a (much better) multi-stage Progressive Dynamics converter. But ever since, while I boondock for six months each winter, I only plug in to electricity for one or two nights in October at the beginning of my travel season, and then again the last night in April before I return home to Alaska. That's it. I never run out of electricity although I am always charging laptop, tablet, cellphone, MiFi and other batteries or spending nights watching videos on my 29-inch flat screen TV and DVD player, even use the blender for morning frozen fruit smoothies. Admittedly I'm mostly in Arizona or Mexico or sometimes California sunshine. Every year I think I should add more solar, but since I never run out I really don't need it. I do have a generator but only start it occasionally to see if it still runs and, under load, to vacuum up dog hair. I'm confident that I know a fair bit about living off the grid, having lived as a homestead child in Alaska and then also as a mom with no running water or electricity for seven years in Fairbanks, Alaska, with three small children through many month-long cold spells that dropped below minus sixty degrees. (Yes, I well recall Thanksgivings when the propane solidified in the cold, and needed a bucket of water thrown on the tank to finish roasting the turkey! ...sheets frozen to the walls at night, water solid in the kitchen, clothes made on a treadle machine, journeys to the outhouse, etc.) Even in Mexico I manage to get RO water delivered to fill my water tank, in which I never allow water that I can't drink. This is luxury life. This is to say that I depend totally on my propane system refrigerator for months on end, and know for sure that it works fine as long as I can get half a bubble from level. I do have hydraulic jacks but prefer to use them only when absolutely necessary. Good that my refrigerator was built before the company tried to "improve" them without redesigning the system, and perhaps that I already had decades of experience with propane, but it works for me. Even when I'm driving. I'm also amused when I'm the only one baking bread and sharing homemade treats, even with those RVers who have half-million dollar rigs but no oven! And thankfully my wonderful LD has brought me through some horrendous roads, even towing a low-clearance car in places where only 4-wheel drive rigs dare to go. By the way, as advised years ago on this forum, the towed vehicle typically gets several times more miles on it than the motor home ever does. That is, if one stays for a while in each beautiful location... which for me is usually low cost or free. I should add that I'm often grateful for that V-10 engine, so would always recommend post-1997 LDs. Also for the factory-installed swamp cooler, many times it has saved me from broiling in the heat. Thanks for all the years of good advice! I appreciate old friends who I'm sure still read this group but never write, hello to you. But as Joan always says, YMMV. Kristin 1 Likes
Re: Question for the Toadless??? Reply #9 – May 06, 2016, 12:59:52 am Yahoo Message Number: 160306Great idea! Also handy to put in a cooler to bring cold items home from the store, and for temporarily storing an over abundance of produce.JudieNon-typical brevity because this is being . ;->dorrieanne.wordpress.com
Re: Question for the Toadless??? Reply #10 – May 06, 2016, 06:05:00 pm Yahoo Message Number: 160314Hi John. We look for a level spot, and generally have no trouble. I'm not concerned if we are off bubble for less than an hour while we shop or check something out. Maybe I'm ignorant.
Re: Question for the Toadless??? Reply #11 – May 07, 2016, 07:57:18 am Yahoo Message Number: 160339I had no idea.Thanks.Syndi --Quote"When we go shopping or sightseeing we don't bother leveling the rig... Even if the fridge cuts out, we aren't there to open and close it so there's no worry about food getting too warm." Syndi, if the only concern were about the fridge shutting off and food getting too warm, we'd all be a lot less worried about staying more or less level. But operating an absorption refrigerator like the one in your Lazy Daze when it's too far off-level can permanently damage it. I've read that even an hour can do irreparable harm, if the fridge is far enough off-level. Older fridges are notoriously prone to this kind of damage, but newer ones are not immune. That's what we're talking about here: not just a temporary shutdown, but potentially killing the fridge. Andy Baird
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