The blue skies and warm weather returned yesterday. Summertime in western Washington – hooray! We had a chore to attend to though.
RV refrigerators are usually a heat absorption type instead of the household compressor type. This allows operation with electricity or propane. However, this type of refrigeration tends to build up frost on the cooling fins.
The climate here in western Washington has a high level of humidity. Humidity increases the amount of frost build-up in the refrigerator. I noticed the frost accumulating at an alarming rate since we arrived here. Something wasn’t right. I inspected the door seal and found a problem.
Door seal deformed and not sealing
The door seal was deformed. It looked like something must have been caught in the seal and the deformation set. We had to wait a few days to reduce the amount of groceries in the refrigerator before we could defrost it. Yesterday, Donna and I emptied the contents of the refrigerator into coolers and turned off the unit.
Frost build-up on the cooling fins
After Donna cleaned the inside of the refrigerator, I made a temporary repair on the seal. I used two short sections of rubber tubing and glued them into the groove on either side of the seal where it was deformed. The rubber tubing forced the collapsed section of the seal in place.
Rubber tubing forcing seal back into shape
While the refrigerator was defrosting, I checked the outside drain tube to make sure it was draining outside. These tubes can come off the fitting behind the refrigerator and the melting ice will drain on the floor under the refrigerator. I placed a cookie sheet on the shelf under the cooling fins to catch ice falling from the fins.
Hopefully my temporary seal repair will slow down the frost. Meanwhile, I’ll try to find a replacement seal. I certainly don’t want to replace the unit. Our refrigerator is a Dometic New Dimensions side-by-side unit. Replacement cost is about $2,700!
While the refrigerator was defrosting, Donna drove to Arlington and picked up our granddaughter, Gabi. When they returned, they went for a walk through the county park. Later, Gabi and I walked down to the lake and went out on the dock.
Gabi on the dock
Alana stopped by after work. We watched an old Austin Powers movie (Austin Powers 2). Gabi stayed the night. We didn’t pull the hide-a-bed out this time – she crashed on the sofa.
The forecast for today calls for another warm, sunny day with the temperature reaching the mid 70s. Donna’s going for a bike ride this morning. Later, I’m sure Gabi will want to spend some time in the lake. I’ll get started on organizing the trailer. We’ll be leaving here on Monday.