Norcold refrigerator when not level

[John and Debbie]

Hi all, we're leaving in the morning and I am all hitched up.  We're not level and I am running the refrigerator on propane.  Is that a concern?  We're currently nose down probably about a foot to a foot and a half down from level at the hitch.  TIA

John

[AlbertNTerri]

probably not ideal, can you keep it hooked up and just raise the nose 6-8 inches to be closer to level? just dont forget to lower it before driving off...

 

 

[Ronbrink]

8 hours ago, John Welte said:

We're currently nose down probably about a foot to a foot and a half down from level at the hitch. 

You really should consider getting a hitch that will level the Oliver when under tow. The optimum ball height should be 23.5” from what I recall. There are many riser type adjustable hitches available, check out etrailer.com then do a price comparison/Amazon availability search.

[Steph and Dud B]

@John Welte, that's not great. These fridges work by boiling an ammonia solution in a tank at the bottom. The vapor rises up a set of sloped tubing, condenses back into a liquid up top, then flows by gravity back down the tubes to repeat the cycle. When you are more than 3 degrees off level front to back, you exceed the slope of the tubes, so the fluid pools in the tubing instead of returning to the tank. The fluid left in the tank continues to boil, getting more trapped in the tubes. Potentially, the tank runs dry and the remaining solution crystallizes in the tank. This could potentially lead to a fire. The Norcold manual specifies a max incline of 3 degrees front to back of the trailer and 6 degrees side to side.

In your situation, sometimes I put the trailer on the ball and do the rest of the hitch up, but I don't close the Bulldog. I raise the trailer nose back to level. Then, in the morning, I just lower onto the ball, close the Bulldog, and drive off.

[Steph and Dud B]

I use one of these to check the angle in degrees: https://www.harborfreight.com/8-in-magnetic-torpedo-level-with-angle-finder-63692.html I put it on the top of the fridge frame after leveling with a bubble level outside. There's better digital ones, but this seems good enough.

[Chukarhunter]

Iphone owners can use the built-in app that measures slope in all directions and reads out the degrees of slope.  It is accurate.

[ScubaRx]

On 10/14/2023 at 11:37 PM, John Welte said:

Hi all, we're leaving in the morning and I am all hitched up.  We're not level and I am running the refrigerator on propane.  Is that a concern?  We're currently nose down probably about a foot to a foot and a half down from level at the hitch.  TIA

John

Yes, this a big concern. But only while stationary. Under tow being level not nearly as important. But....You can and should do a lot better that 18 inches out of level. At the risk of offending somebody's sensibilities about using something they would probably consider "overkill", try using the Curt 45926 Adjustable Channel Ball Mount. If you can't level the trailer with that, you need to buy a bigger truck.

[John E Davies]

LOL, my guess is that he is parked on a steep upward slope, there is no way in this universe that an Ollie can actually be towed with a foot and half of droop at the hitch. If I am wrong, please post some pictures.

And yes, leaving the fridge on in any mode at that angle is very very bad for it.

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/8865-fridge-fires-if-you-have-an-older-hull-you-really-need-to-pull-out-that-fridge-now/

John Davies

Spokane WA

[John and Debbie]

On 10/16/2023 at 10:39 AM, John E Davies said:

LOL, my guess is that he is parked on a steep upward slope, there is no way in this universe that an Ollie can actually be towed with a foot and half of droop at the hitch. If I am wrong, please post some pictures.

And yes, leaving the fridge on in any mode at that angle is very very bad for it.

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/8865-fridge-fires-if-you-have-an-older-hull-you-really-need-to-pull-out-that-fridge-now/

John Davies

Spokane WA

John, you're right.  We were parked on our hillside all hooked up.  I had unplugged from the garage and the refrigerator was full so I ran it on propane for the night.  To hook up, the nose goes down about a foot to 18 inches to hook up to the tv.  No apparent damage.  In the future should I just leave it plugged in if I am getting ready to go in the morning and not use propane at that angle?

John

[John and Debbie]

On 10/15/2023 at 7:17 AM, Ronbrink said:

You really should consider getting a hitch that will level the Oliver when under tow. The optimum ball height should be 23.5” from what I recall. There are many riser type adjustable hitches available, check out etrailer.com then do a price comparison/Amazon availability search.

We are level while under tow.  We live on a hill so when the trailer is unhitched and in the parking area, the nose goes up about 12-18 inches after I unhook to get to level in the parking spot.

[John and Debbie]

On 10/15/2023 at 3:39 AM, AlbertNTerri said:

probably not ideal, can you keep it hooked up and just raise the nose 6-8 inches to be closer to level? just dont forget to lower it before driving off...

 

 

Probably will just leave it level in the parking area and hook up in the morning next time.  

John 

[Steph and Dud B]

22 minutes ago, John Welte said:

In the future should I just leave it plugged in if I am getting ready to go in the morning and not use propane at that angle?

Don't run the fridge at that angle in any mode. Propane, 120 volt, and 12 volt modes all work the same way, just with electric heating elements instead of the propane burner.

[John E Davies]

You can hard freeze a gallon milk jug with water in your home freezer (put it in a few days before)  and add it to the turned OFF trailer fridge the night before as you load food, then remove the ice as you are ready to depart the next day when you turn on the fridge. Or if you have the room, leave it in there and drink the water later.  It won’t keep stuff in the trailer freezer frozen, but it is fine for everything else. You should try to keep it as full as possible at ALL times, the extra “thermal mass” reduces temp fluctuations and conserves propane too.

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

[Ronbrink]

5 hours ago, John Welte said:

We are level while under tow.

Got it, I totally misunderstood your situation. Good that you have the level issue figured out!

[topgun2]

7 hours ago, John Welte said:

Probably will just leave it level in the parking area and hook up in the morning next time.  

I have much the same situation - if I attach my Oliver while still in the driveway the nose of the Ollie is way too high.  Therefore, a couple of days before departing on a trip I will turn on the fridge (not hooked to the TV of course) and let it get cold.  This way I can monitor the fridge and have time to correct a problem should one develop.  On the day of departure I will turn the fridge off, hook the Ollie to my TV and depart.  As soon as I'm on fairly level ground I'll stop, check the rig over and turn on the fridge.  This process only takes a couple of minutes.

Bill

[John and Debbie]

1 hour ago, topgun2 said:

I have much the same situation - if I attach my Oliver while still in the driveway the nose of the Ollie is way too high.  Therefore, a couple of days before departing on a trip I will turn on the fridge (not hooked to the TV of course) and let it get cold.  This way I can monitor the fridge and have time to correct a problem should one develop.  On the day of departure I will turn the fridge off, hook the Ollie to my TV and depart.  As soon as I'm on fairly level ground I'll stop, check the rig over and turn on the fridge.  This process only takes a couple of minutes.

Bill

Bill, I ran the fridge on DC both travel days, from Ontario to Evanston, Wyoming and again from Evanston to Denver.  The solar panels kept up for the most part and kept the lithium pro package close to starting SOC every day.  Do you travel with propane on?  When getting fuel do you then turn off the propane?

John

[topgun2]

16 hours ago, John Welte said:

Do you travel with propane on?  When getting fuel do you then turn off the propane?

You do know that your question(s) just might start a "storm" of comments here on the Forum?

Yes, I do travel with propane on.  In order to amplify the safety measures that are already built into these tanks, I installed "GasStop" propane shutoff valves (like THESE).  However, I should note that if I had the battery bank that you do - I have 4 six volt lead acid batteries - I just might run the fridge on d/c while towing.

No, I do not turn off my propane while getting fuel.  However, my filler port on my F-150 is on the opposite of the rig versus where the fridge is located.  Hopefully, I'm smart enough to not drive into a "pool" of fuel that is laying on the ground and/or move if I can smell a strong odor of fuel.

Bill

Edited October 19, 2023 by topgun2
spelling

[John and Debbie]

1 hour ago, topgun2 said:

You do know that your question(s) just might start a "storm" of comments here on the Forum?

Yes, I do travel with propane on.  In order to amplify the safety measures that are already built into these tanks, I installed "GasStop" propane shutoff valves (like THESE).  However, I should note that if I had the battery bank that you do - I have 4 six volt lead acid batteries - I just might run the fridge on a/c while towing.

No, I do not turn off my propane while getting fuel.  However, my filler port on my F-150 is on the opposite of the rig versus where the fridge is located.  Hopefully, I'm smart enough to not drive into a "pool" of fuel that is laying on the ground and/or move if I can smell a strong odor of fuel.

Bill

"However, my filler port on my F-150 is on the opposite of the rig versus where the fridge is located."

Bill, my filler is on driver's side like yours also.  I may try doing what you do.  I do have two gas stop devices.

John

[Rivernerd]

24 minutes ago, John Welte said:

Bill, my filler is on driver's side like yours also.  I may try doing what you do.  I do have two gas stop devices.

John

The two of you like to live dangerously! 

A reminder that absorption fridges use an open flame to heat the refrigerant when in propane mode.  The potentially catastrophic consequences of an open flame parked anywhere near a gas pump are enough to persuade me to use DC mode when on the road.

John, as I recall you have solar panels and a 390 Ah Lithionics battery bank.  For what it 's worth, we always use DC mode when on the road, with the solar turned on.  Each time, when we arrive at camp, we switch to propane if boondocking, or to AC if we have hookups.  I then check battery State of Charge to determine how much the fridge in DC mode has drawn down our 390 Ah Lithionics battery bank, given the offset from the solar panels.  I have yet to find the SOC below 90% when we arrive at camp.  That 10% deficit is quickly replenished by the solar panels after a few daylight hours when boondocking.

My brother died 6 years ago after he ignited a slash pile doused with gasoline.  My son quips that "Uncle Larry went down in flames...."

[Steph and Dud B]

We ran our fifth wheel's fridge on propane for long drives. Now, with the 3-way fridge, lithium, and solar we always run on DC while driving. While the fire risk on propane may be minimal, with lithium there's no reason to take the chance.

[topgun2]

32 minutes ago, Rivernerd said:

My brother died 6 years ago after he ignited a slash pile doused with gasoline. 

Sorry about your brother.  Certainly that is not a preferred way to go.😭

Bill

[John and Debbie]

On 10/19/2023 at 9:12 AM, Rivernerd said:

The two of you like to live dangerously! 

A reminder that absorption fridges use an open flame to heat the refrigerant when in propane mode.  The potentially catastrophic consequences of an open flame parked anywhere near a gas pump are enough to persuade me to use DC mode when on the road.

John, as I recall you have solar panels and a 390 Ah Lithionics battery bank.  For what it 's worth, we always use DC mode when on the road, with the solar turned on.  Each time, when we arrive at camp, we switch to propane if boondocking, or to AC if we have hookups.  I then check battery State of Charge to determine how much the fridge in DC mode has drawn down our 390 Ah Lithionics battery bank, given the offset from the solar panels.  I have yet to find the SOC below 90% when we arrive at camp.  That 10% deficit is quickly replenished by the solar panels after a few daylight hours when boondocking.

My brother died 6 years ago after he ignited a slash pile doused with gasoline.  My son quips that "Uncle Larry went down in flames...."

Rivernerd, you are right.  Very sorry about your brother Larry.  We have the same set-up that you have.  I have always run the fridge on DC while traveling.  Like you my SOC hasn't gone down much.  Two days of travel with a boondocking stop brought me down to 76%.  Not bad.  If I ever ran it on propane while traveling, I would turn off the propane while fueling.

John

[Geronimo John]

For long haul days and a pre-cool Dometic 3-way, what is the average amp draw you are seeing?  Or what is the average amp hours are you seeing in your SOC system at the end of a long day?

GJ