Dometic refrigerator DM2862 not cold enough (fix)

[Big Blue]

1st trip in our 230RL we noticed Fridge barely cold, 44 degrees..... Ice cream soft in freezer... Gas or Electric about the same... Talked to dealer Tech and got the usual BS.. insisted that 44-42 degrees was good... glad I didn't waste my time and money to bring the RV with me... I found only 1 cooling fan in the back so I added another and saw some improvement... Gas 38 degrees.. Elec. still at 44.. Fridge setting on 5... Back to basics... checked the Rv for level found it to be pretty close.. checked the fridge.. Not so good! After leveling the Fridge. On Gas it would freeze food on 5. Elec still 42... I've been Rving long enough to know that gas always works better than electric, BUT!.... still not happy.. Checked the voltage at the Fridge wall outlet 120v... Electric heater 42 Ohms.. close enough! Finally pulled the thermistor away from the cooling fins and temp dropped to 32 overnight on Electric... Hope some find this info useful .... Norm

[TucsonJim]

That is good news and a simple fix. 40° is the maximum allowable storage temperature for refrigerated foods. If anyone gets a nonsense reply from a refrigerator company that 44°F is acceptable, show them this article from the U.S. Department of Agriculture:

Food Safety

Jim

[Big Blue]

Good info Jim.. Also nice to know that USDA requirements for food safety coincides with desire to drink my beer cold!

[Scousers]

Big Blue:

A cultural issue here. In the early part of my life I drank warm beer in England...loved it. Now I drink cold beer (38 degrees) in AZ ...love it!. Not sure where this is going but...CHEERS!

[Ditchdigger]

I like my milk cold.

[Chiefblueman]

Big Blue:

A cultural issue here. In the early part of my life I drank warm beer in England...loved it. Now I drink cold beer (38 degrees) in AZ ...love it!. Not sure where this is going but...CHEERS!

I think this means you like beer and you're not too picky about its temperature.

[Bamaman]

I removed the GD built baffles in the back of my Dometic unit and replaced them with much more substantial baffles that pushes the hot air right out the top vent of my slide. People don't realize how hot the exhausting air is, and the hot air gets all around the fridge--making the inside cabinets hot around the fridge.

My ice cream is hard.

[Big Blue]

Improving the air flow is next on my to do list....lots on dead space above fridge to hold hot air... Also since I had to remove the thermistor from where Dometic thought it should be it's probably out of tolerance... It's under warranty, but it's a good haul to the dealer, cost $60 if I change it myself.... If they go bad this fast.. Why would I want another one... Thinking about an adjustable one from Dinosaur Electronics...

[powerscol]

1st trip in our 230RL we noticed Fridge barely cold, 44 degrees..... Ice cream soft in freezer... Gas or Electric about the same... Talked to dealer Tech and got the usual BS.. insisted that 44-42 degrees was good... glad I didn't waste my time and money to bring the RV with me... I found only 1 cooling fan in the back so I added another and saw some improvement... Gas 38 degrees.. Elec. still at 44.. Fridge setting on 5... Back to basics... checked the Rv for level found it to be pretty close.. checked the fridge.. Not so good! After leveling the Fridge. On Gas it would freeze food on 5. Elec still 42... I've been Rving long enough to know that gas always works better than electric, BUT!.... still not happy.. Checked the voltage at the Fridge wall outlet 120v... Electric heater 42 Ohms.. close enough! Finally pulled the thermistor away from the cooling fins and temp dropped to 32 overnight on Electric... Hope some find this info useful .... Norm

May be a dumb question, but what does the thermistor look like and why did moving it work?
Thanks
Keith

[Big Blue]

The Thermistor is attached to the cooling fins on the inside of the fridge.. look for a wire coming out the back of the fridge to the fins... The resistance of the thermistor changes with fridge temp.. https://www.fourwh.com/NewDometicRefrigeratorManual.pdf the fins are colder than the fridge temp... removing it from the fins is like asking for more cold....