Dometic 4-Door 1350 Fridge Modifications to Help with Cooling

[Cate&Rob]

Mark&Colleen
Hi Mark . . . you have reminded me that we never got a response to this thread from Grand Design or Dometic confirming whether the upper baffle plate should be there or not. Also, no additional feedback from those who had this baffle removed at the Rally, as to whether it improved refrigerator performance or not. It would take some convincing to get me to believe that allowing airflow to bypass the cooling fins (ie remove the baffle plate) would improve cooling performance.

You do bring up something that I do not recall being part of the discussion in the past and that is the effect of humidity. If anything, I would have thought that higher humidity would improve heat transfer from the hot metal fins to the air passing over them . . . but, this is counter to what you have observed.

GDRV-Megan
Hi Megan . . . can you follow-up with the right folks at Grand Design and with Dometic to get us the "factory" position on baffle or no baffle?

colan
Hi Colan . . . what is you take on this?

Rob

[howson]

...

Mark--it looks like (from the pictures) that you do not have a baffle installed in the top. Am I looking at it correctly? If there isn't a baffle there, did it come that way from GD or did you remove it?

[Cate&Rob]

Mark--it looks like (from the pictures) that you do not have a baffle installed in the top. Am I looking at it correctly? If there isn't a baffle there, did it come that way from GD or did you remove it?

Mark’s picture with the heat exchanger across the top, shows a grey (probably metal?) baffle across the rest of the upper opening.

Rob

[howson]

Mark’s picture with the heat exchanger across the top, shows a grey (probably metal?) baffle across the rest of the upper opening.

Rob

Completely different from the baffle in mine--I will have to look for my pics.

[Mark&Colleen]

I haven't done any modifications to it yet. As Rob has mentioned, I feel what I have directs the airflow over the cooling fins. I don't have the p trap on the drain tube. In fact they had the drain tube exiting from the removable cover and it pulled off the back of the refer when I removed the cover. I managed to get my arm up to get the tube back on the drain on the back of the fridge. Should I try to get a curve in the drain tube to create a trap?

the fridge is performing well now since the extreme heat and humidity have left. I now have it set to 4 on the cold setting. It is at 34 when we wake in the morning. I am concerned about its performance for next summer. we make sure not to over fill the fridge and leave room around the perimeter for air flow. We also minimize the time we open the doors, understanding how long it takes to recover the lost cold.

A residential fridge sounds appealing since we are full timers and don't do any boondocking.

[howson]

I feel what I have directs the airflow over the cooling fins.

I don't have the p trap on the drain tube. In fact they had the drain tube exiting from the removable cover and it pulled off the back of the refer when I removed the cover. I managed to get my arm up to get the tube back on the drain on the back of the fridge. Should I try to get a curve in the drain tube to create a trap?

YES! (to the last question).

For the upper baffle, I don't claim any particular expertise on what the "proper" baffle should look like, but mine is shown below so you have a comparison. From what I understand it is critical that the air flow up and through that upper "radiator" section. Chad (Changin' Lanes) shows this in his Refrigerator Maintenance video at the 24:49 mark:

[Mark&Colleen]

That is a great video, thanks for sharing! I have a few things to check now, including a cleaning of the back coils & fins. I'll also look more closely at the baffles at the top.

[GDRV-Megan]

Hi there Cate&Rob, thanks for the tag. I'm not sure who I missed this one. I'll be sending an email to Dometic today and will hopefully get an answer for you.

[GDRV-Megan]

Cate&Rob howson

Here's what I sent to Dometic:
Good morning!
There was a customer who was at the National Rally in Goshen this past September who had a Dometic tech come out to her rig because she was having issues with her refer not cooling properly. The Dometic tech explained to her that there is a baffle in the upper access panel that is too large. He stated that the baffle is necessary in other applications, but with the Grand Design 4-door Dometic refer, it is not required. So the tech removed the baffle.

I am being asked for another opinion from Dometic regarding the removal of the baffle on these 4-door refers, just in case this wasn’t just a single tech’s opinion and there is not a wave of baffle removals.



And here is Dometic's reply:
I believe this was discussed with your engineer. The baffle below the fins isn’t used if distance is 1 inch or less from outer wall.



I hope this helps to clarify!

[TucsonJim]

Cate&Rob howson

Here's what I sent to Dometic:
Good morning!
There was a customer who was at the National Rally in Goshen this past September who had a Dometic tech come out to her rig because she was having issues with her refer not cooling properly. The Dometic tech explained to her that there is a baffle in the upper access panel that is too large. He stated that the baffle is necessary in other applications, but with the Grand Design 4-door Dometic refer, it is not required. So the tech removed the baffle.

I am being asked for another opinion from Dometic regarding the removal of the baffle on these 4-door refers, just in case this wasn’t just a single tech’s opinion and there is not a wave of baffle removals.



And here is Dometic's reply:
I believe this was discussed with your engineer. The baffle below the fins isn’t used if distance is 1 inch or less from outer wall.



I hope this helps to clarify!

And this is exactly what we were told at this week's training with GDRV. If baffle is placed in a very tight confine (less than one inch from the fins to the outer wall), there is not enough air flow for proper cooling.

If any owners are considering removing an existing baffle, make sure that the fins are within this distance or leave the baffle.

Jim

[Cate&Rob]

GDRV-Megan

Hi Megan . . . thanks for the follow-up.

Agreed that this is the direction from Dometic for their 4 door units. I suspect that this may have something to do with multiple cooling fans having enough airflow to cool the heat exchanger and bypass it to provide more airflow through the rest of the components on the back of the fridge. Is this also Dometic's advice for the smaller 2 door fridges (which have only a single cooling fan)?

Also important to note that Norcold still requires the lower baffle plate on their refrigerators. And both suppliers require the baffle above the fridge to keep hot air from gathering in that area.

I wonder if we could tie the need for a lower baffle to the number of cooling fans on the back of the fridge, to make this easier to keep track of ?

Rob

[rsinkov]

Hi,
So according to this info I should remove my baffle from my 2019 Reflection 337RLS. The baffle is within a 1/8 in of the fins. It was rattling against the fins at times when the fans ran. Has this info gone out to the Grand Design RV dealers? I had mine in because Ref. wasn't cooling and they had to replace the cooling unit. They did not remove the baffle when the did this in September.

Ron

[howson]

Hi,
So according to this info I should remove my baffle from my 2019 Reflection 337RLS. The baffle is within a 1/8 in of the fins. It was rattling against the fins at times when the fans ran. Has this info gone out to the Grand Design RV dealers? I had mine in because Ref. wasn't cooling and they had to replace the cooling unit. They did not remove the baffle when the did this in September.

Ron

Ron--good question. I'm checking for further information on this topic. Please give me a few days.

Howard

[TZee]

I have the same metal baffle that is shown in the image provided by Mark&Colleen and my experience is quite similar.

while in Ontario our refrigerator worked very well however now that we have travelled south, I’m plagued with issues. While in Myrtle Beach I had a mobile technician visit our site and he made several observations:

1. The baffle extended to high in the upper cabinet so he cut it several inches shorter and reinstalled it in the cabinet;
2. He suggested the long condensation line needed to be trimmed because algae could accumulate and block the drain line. He trimmed the line and I now have no ability to ensure there is a p trap; and finally
3. He noticed there was no insulation installed around the refrigerator. He pulled the appliance forward into the rig and installed insulation around the sides and top of the unit.

This seemed to help however now that we are in Florida, we continue to struggle with ensuring the refrigerator remains at a proper temperature.

i have installed a battery operated circulation fan inside the fridge and I’m considering installing more dc fans in the exterior cabinets to help with airflow.

Quite frustrating - to be frank.

[Mark&Colleen]

The humidity returned here in SW Florida 2 nights ago, the 23rd. The temperature wasn't too bad, around 80 in the day and dropped to around mid 60's overnight. This was too much for our refer as once again we saw temps in the refer around 50 and even overnight the refer only got down to 47! The humidity broke yesterday and we had outside temp of upper 50's overnight. This morning our refer temp was 34, perfect. So I am definitely seeing a correlation between high humidity and poor refer performance.

What fins are grand design referring to being 1 inch from the wall? The black fins at the top of the refer as in my picture below? There is no wall there, just the removable black cover. There is insulation above the refer and it looks like on one side but definitely nothing on the left side when looking from outside. There is also no baffle above these black fins to deflect the air flow out to the outside. However the insulation on top of the refer would prevent the hot air from getting there. How often are the fans supposed to run?

I have put a P trap in my drain line and water is draining fine from there.

I agrre with TZee that this is very frustrating. I bought a brand new trailer we are full timing in and have no other option to keep food cold and keep from going bad or make us sick. If we need modifications to ensure our refer performs as it should, then I sincerely hope that Grand Design will make it right for us. I am not comfortable doing any mods and then voiding warranty or making things worse. I am confident that Grand Design's exceptional customer service will come through. Every time I look at the refer temp I get stressed afraid of what I might see!

thanks for all the help everyone.