3 way Fridge freezing food when running on propane - 2019 320 S

2Doxies

The last several times i have gone out, i used propane to run the fridge. It freezes alot of the food. I have it on the least cold setting, and have been experimenting with moving different food to different positions. I havent been able to figure out how to keep food with out freezing it. Esp annoying when Ive had good homegrown lettuce......
never have had the problem when running fridge on electric.
any help will be so appreciated

Denny16

I believe the temp setting thermostat does not function whilst running on propane on this fridge.  One of its drawbacks, it will freeze contents on a cool day. 
cheers

Bayliss

@2Doxies, I have the same model year T@B 320 S as you.  Take a look at the resources for the refrigerator (left side of the forum pages under "User Manuals/PDF Files/Videos & Resources.")  Lots of good info can be found within those folders.  Here's a link that will take you to the refrigerator info.  I have a document at the bottom of that folder, which you may find helpful:

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/6390/norcold-refrigerator-manual-guidelines-tips#latest

In that document, I have included the following information under propane operation:

7.  Use the Propane Gas Control (294) to set the desired temperature setting.  Push and then turn the control knob to either the LO, MED, or HI setting.  HI is the coldest temperature setting.  These temperature settings are represented by a series of three flame symbols of progressively increasing size, displayed from left to right (i.e., clockwise) around the Propane Gas Control:  “LO” is the smallest flame symbol; “MED” is a medium-sized flame; “HI” is a larger-sized flame.  There is a fourth, even larger flame displayed adjacent to a power off symbol at the furthest clockwise point around the control knob.  This is the setting for turning the propane function “OFF” and is where the knob should be set when not operating the refrigerator on propane gas.

With a full, or nearly full refrigerator, you may find that the MED setting is a good setting to start with.  Over time, you will determine the best temperature control setting for proper cooling.  That setting will likely be impacted by the outside air temperature.  Norcold clarifies in the owner’s manual that, “This is not an automatic gas control.  It does not change the flame from high fire to low fire as with other RV refrigerators.  If the cooling load changes, you must manually change the gas control to maintain the same temperature inside the refrigerator.”  You may find it helpful to purchase a small refrigerator thermometer for monitoring the refrigerator compartment temperature.

Also, see the upper section of p. 5 of the Norcold owner's manual.  It has some suggestions for avoiding freezing issues.  Along with adjusting the propane thermostat setting, as needed, we keep lettuce on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, which is consistent with Norcold's recommendation.

ChanW

@Denny16, unless it's changed in the 2019, I think you've got it mixed up!

The Three-way fridge's thermostat does function in propane mode.

It's in 12V mode that the thermostat is not functional. 

Denny16

I thought the three way fridge on propane only had the three settings — high, med. and low, and the temp setting thermostat only worked on 12VDC of 120VAC?  If I got it wrong, thanks for the clarification.
cheers

ChanW

Heh! Maybe it's been redesigned since my 2014, and I
 missed the memo!

Denny16 said:

I thought the three way fridge on propane only had the three settings — high, med. and low, and the temp setting thermostat only worked on 12VDC of 120VAC?  If I got it wrong, thanks for the clarification.
cheers

2Doxies

As usual, thank you all for the help. I think my problem was that once I got the fridge lit on propane, I didnt adjust the knob, so it stayed on hi, thus freezing the food. Going out tomorrow for 5 days in the tetons and up near West Yellowstone, boondocking, so will be able to see if this simple fix will allow me to keep my lettuce!
now, just as a matter of curiosity, does anyone else have to push the spark button more that 20 times to get the fridge to light?
2019 320s

CrabTab

@2Doxies, try lighting one of the stove burners for a moment before attacking the fridge. For us it seems to get the gas flowing through the lines, bleeding out the air. And yes, I have sat at the foot of the fridge plucking away at the piezo starter. 

2manyplaces

(2018 320s) Us too, and we had the same freezing problem, Thanks for the link and infomation Bayliss 
We also put another shelf in the fridge that helps with separating the food. It was one that you buy to put in kitchen cupboards. We shortened the legs and replaced the caps. (sorry pics a bit big!)

@2manyplaces - Posted photos must be resized.  I highly recommend the app “Image Size“ to resize phone photos. - Sharon

2manyplaces

x  

Kr@cken

Great Idea. I will add the extra shelf to keep my food off the ice block.

Jackie_Dave

We added this fan to our 320S fridge. It made a night and day difference. We always had a hard time getting it to cool on propane or electric. This last trip worked great! In fact, things were starting to freeze, which has never happened before. It does take up a bit of real estate, but well worth it.

grassgd

I have the same problem with freezing food especially when in Colorado with ambient temps ranging from 60's in the day to mid 20'sat night.  I got a remote Govee temperature monitor that connects via bluetooth to my phone so I can monitor temps even while towing without opening the refrigerator.  It even has high and low temp alarms that can be set and will give an message when temp varies above or below the set points.  The temperature monitor is great but doesn't solve the problem of controlling refrigerator temps.   The refrigerator really needs a thermostat to cycle the unit on and off on electricity or modulate the gas flow rate but it doesn't seem to have that feature.

Denny16

Most 3-way fridges do not have a good thermostat feature.
cheers

PNWtabber

Wow, I'm in the opposite camp, have not succeeded in getting the refrigerator to run on propane, much less freeze the food.  I have a lot of reading to do.