# Cheat Your Fridge



## Ghosty (Jan 17, 2005)

OK -- we all know that when you plug in your fridge for the first time after getting it out of storage that the freezer takes 4 hours and the fridge takes 23 years to cool down (ok actually the manufacture states the fridge should take between 24-36 hours to achieve maximum cooling capability)

so here is how I cheat and make the fridge cool faster...

I have three of those bottles with that blue gunk inside (0.99 at Wally World) that when you freeze it it gets rock hard and stays ice cold for days...

I put them in my house freezer the day before i go to pick up the trailer.

when I get the trailer home, I plug in the shore power, fire up the fridge and the first thing I do is pull the blue ice bottles out of the house freezer and put them in the trailer fridge,

This has cut my time to get the Outback fridge cold from 24-36 hours to about 12....

seems to work well and cost is nill...

just food for thought...


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## Katrina (Dec 16, 2004)

A cold 12 pack of beer seems to help quite a bit too.


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## kywoman (Feb 9, 2006)

I use a small battery operated fan. Just plug in, place fan in unit and turn on. It cools in REALLY quickly.


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

I like your way of thinking Jim









Don


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## johnp (Mar 15, 2004)

Must be a Texas heat thing. It takes about 8 hours to cool mine down. But I'm not starting at 100+









John


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## ARzark (Aug 9, 2005)

Those little blue freezer packs really do help. 
Those little fans work well too, especially when the fridge starts to get full. Keeps the air circulating better and I've noticed a more consistent temp with the goodies inside the fridge. (as in chills the beer just a wee bit faster







)


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

I clean out a few milk jugs and freeze them with water. Then I add these to the frig to get it to cool down quickly.

I do the same thing for my "ice" cooler and my drink cooler. I have an cooler that is dedicated soley to holding ice all week long. Works GREAT! I can have mixed drinks on the 6th-7th night of camping, without have to run back into town. And for me, running babck into town is an hour each way!


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## Scrib (Jun 28, 2005)

We drink bottled water, so I throw 6 frozen bottles in there the day before. Only trouble is remembering to take them out for a few hours after we get where we're going - those things will stay frozen the whole weekend!


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

We have pretty good luck just by putting something in that has lots of mass. Drawing heat out of mass is what makes refrigeration work in the first place. The axiom that guides all else in the refrigeration business (as taught to me by my brothers FIL - a refrigeration consultant on Alaskan fishing boats), is that 'Heat rushes into cold... Not the other way around'. Items such as beer or pop cans really tend to help cool the frig down faster, even if they are not cold when we put them in.

I will usually plug in and load up some non-perishables the evening before, and we will easily be down to proper temperature by morning. The freezer is usually to temp before we go to bed.

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## W4DRR (May 17, 2005)

We always turn the fridge on a day or two before we head out. Then when we load it up, we stick some of those frozen blue thingies in there, as well as two or three 2-Liter Coke bottles full of water and frozen (that would be Soda bottles for those of you on the coasts and pop bottles for those in the Midwest). With all that ice in there, the fridge will stay cold while travelling without the dangers of running the propane.

Bob


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## Lady Di (Oct 28, 2005)

We are fortunate to have our camper in our backyard. Since we had installed a 30 amp circuit in our popup days, we keep the outback plugged in, and keep the fridge running. It is always running during the summer.


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## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

I've tried the frozen jugs of water. Just keep forgetting to take them to the Outback before we take off. I find them in the fridge when I get home!









Mark


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

Katrina said:


> A cold 12 pack of beer seems to help quite a bit too.
> [snapback]117487[/snapback]​


I use 24 beers - cut the cooling down time in half. Wait that will not work...cold beer just does not stay around long enough









Great tip Ghosty - I will try that this weekend.

Thor


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

You cannot use beer to help cool down the fridge faster...............all that constant opening and closing getting one out keeps it from getting cold


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## Castle Rock Outbackers (Jan 18, 2004)

W4DRR said:


> With all that ice in there, the fridge will stay cold while travelling without the dangers of running the propane.
> 
> [snapback]117653[/snapback]​


What dangers are there for running the fridge on propane while traveling? The cooling system is built for this. Aside from taking the precaution to turn the fridge off temporarily when refueling, there are no additional dangers. If you are in a wreck you will not have fewer problems if the fridge is off.

Randy


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## W4DRR (May 17, 2005)

Castle Rock Outbackers said:


> W4DRR said:
> 
> 
> > With all that ice in there, the fridge will stay cold while travelling without the dangers of running the propane.
> ...


Only the one you mentioned...
Remembering to turn it off when re-fueling. Actually, to be ultra-safe, turning it off before even pulling up to the gas pump.

Bob


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Castle Rock Outbackers said:


> If you are in a wreck you will not have fewer problems if the fridge is off.


True.

But you will have fewer problems if the propane is turned off at the bottles. I think the danger is, that if you are in a bad enough wreck that any of the gas lines are breached (which may not take a lot), then you have a clear shot for a big propane leak and potential fire.









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Kyoutbacker (Apr 26, 2006)

We put our cold and frozen food in the fridge just before we leave home. I turn on the propane, purge the line, push the Auto button, and MOVE the COLD -COLDER slider in the fridge to COLDER position on the fins. Works very well, food is always cold/frozen. Takes about 2 hours to reach ideal temp. Our pop, milk, orange juice, ice we put in a large rollable cooler that is strapped in the tow vehicle bed for the trip.


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## willie226 (Apr 4, 2006)

Lady Di said:


> We are fortunate to have our camper in our backyard. Since we had installed a 30 amp circuit in our popup days, we keep the outback plugged in, and keep the fridge running. It is always running during the summer.
> [snapback]117666[/snapback]​


 That's What I do Keep it plugged all the time action

willie


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

I travel with the propane turned off. I normally cool down the fridge the day before and stock the fridge the day of departure. If you are travelling for less than 4hrs, your fridge will not be change in temp. When I travelled to Cape Cod the only thing I did was turn on the propane when we stopped for a rest or a bite to eat.  The popsicle were still rock solid even after 14hrs on the road.









Thor


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

With the frozen milk jug, ours goes from room temp to cold







in about 12 hours.


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