On Sep 12, 2010, at 3:26 PM, Dave Mcneely wrote:

> Mark, I generally put anything in the refrigerator that I want to
> stay cold.   I freeze meats at home, and put them in frozen.  They
> thaw after a couple of days, but stay cold enough for 3 or 4 days
> after that.  I use the refrigerator for eggs, butter, milk, juice,
> vegetables --

> pretty much everything except beer,

Bingo!

Mr. BZ-a beer in the hand is worth 2 in the cooler?

> which I do put in a cooler most of the time, mainly because of
> volume limitations.  I have used the refrigerator for beer on
> occasion, just not usually.  The only thing I ever had spoil was
> some chopped green onions in a plastic bag that I kept for a week.
> They might have spoiled in my refrigerator at home, too, since I
> chopped them, left them out all through preparing a meal and while
> eating, then put them in the refrigerator, by which time they were
> at ambient temperature.
>
> The Dometic is good for enough food for a several day trip for us.
> In fact, we used it this summer in Glacier National Park for a week
> and only bought additional food the last couple of days, and then
> because we wanted some particular things we didn't have, not because
> our stash had run out.  Now, it was a lot cooler in Glacier than it
> is here in Oklahoma in the summer, granted.  We do use dried and
> some canned foods of course, and carry things like potatoes, onions,
> melons without refrigerating them.
>
> I have, when fishing, filleted fish, put them in a plastic bag and
> laid it on top of the chilling unit.  The fish cooled and I kept
> them that way for a couple of days before cooking them.  No
> spoilage.  In fact, the closest thing to "spoilage" that mattered
> was that some eggs and vegetables have frozen.  Of course, the eggs
> were fine when they thawed, but the vegetables weren't.
>
> When driving, I use the 12 V mode as the camper owner's book says to
> do.  If I am stopping for more than a brief stop for gas or
> something (for a lunch break for example), I switch to propane, then
> back to 12 V to get back on the road.  Twelve volt will warm up a
> little more than propane does, but the food stays cold enough.  I've
> never run it on A.C. except for prechilling, but when I do that, it
> gets quite cold.  Take that back, one time I stayed in a state park
> in Texas for four days, during which I ran on A.C.  Stayed cold,
> parked in the shade of a pecan tree.  Daytime temperatures were in
> the eighties F.
>
> The Dometic  temperature is not as constant as in a good home
> refrigerator.  I kept a thermometer in my Dometic for a while, and
> measured temperatures from -2 C (too cold) to 6 C.  I'm sure it has
> been warmer than that on occasion, especially on 12 V or when I
> failed to switch it when stopped.  The recommended temperature for a
> home refrigerator is 2.8 C (37 F), and is expected not to vary much
> from that.
>
> My camper owner's book says not to run on propane when driving for
> safety reasons (and to make sure the propane is shut off), though
> owners of earlier models say theirs say nothing about that, and many
> folks seem to do it all the time.  Some say they have practiced that
> routinely for years.  My owner's book repeats the warning in several
> different places.  I have a '91 Volkswagen Vanagon GL Campmobile.  I
> think it is important that the unit is cleaned.  I pulled mine one
> time and cleaned (I've had the thing 17 months, have driven it 12K
> miles, almost all highway driving for camping purposes).  That was a
> pretty big job, and without the detailed instructions that Frank
> Condelli provides, I probably could not have done it.  However, mine
> wasn't very dirty, either.  All I did when I had it pulled was
> vacuum everything really well.  No rust, btw.
>
> David
>
> ---- Mark Hineline <hineline@ocotillofield.net> wrote:
>> David, this is a useful summary, but what things to you put in the
>> fridge? What things don't you put in there? Have you had anything
>> spoil?
>>
>> Mark
>> Peregrine fille
>> San Diego, CA
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sep 12, 2010, at 12:37 PM, Dave Mcneely wrote:
>>
>>> ---- Werner Schink <werner.calnr@SBCGLOBAL.NET> wrote:
>>>
>>>> The westy fridge is pretty useless.  There's other options - check
>>>> out
>>>> gowesty's site for ideas.
>>>
>>> The Dometic works well for what it is intended for, when used
>>> properly.  I prechill mine, as recommended in the camper owner's
>>> book, and put in only precooled foods.  It works on all three modes,
>>> cools enough to stay at or below 40 F except during the hottest
>>> times of the summer.  And I use it in Oklahoma and Texas.  Shade on
>>> the camper side or better insulation (or both) would help, but the
>>> insulation jobs that people advocate don't really increase the R
>>> factor.  They do perhaps help to keep the space drier than with the
>>> factory insulation.  Added fans evidently do help, and I'm thinking
>>> about that.
>>>
>>> If your Dometic is worthless, it needs attention, like making sure
>>> its factory fan is working properly, that it is venting properly,
>>> and so on.
>>>
>>> David McNeely
>>
>
> --
> David McNeely