I've used it in the freezer section when my Nocold 1200 would not keep up, even with a extra fan. I would not use it in the refer section as it's the surplus cold from the freezer that keeps the refer section cold. Helping the freezer section out is not going to shut the unit down until the refer section gets too cold. Agree with wrapping it up in lots of paper until you know you're unit needs some help. I wish the door seals were so good that it would blow the door open
As for ice cream, buy it in a 1/2 gal box and put it on the bottom at the back of the freezer section so it will get hard.
This post is my opinion (free advice). It is not intended to influence anyone's judgment nor do I advocate anyone do what I propose.
One thing touched on briefly was that dry ice is CO2. Carbon Dioxide. As dry ice melts it off gases CO2. Enough dry ice in a small closed area without the proper ventilation will suffocate people and/or animals in the area.
Back in the 20s,30s,40s people traveling across the deserts in Southern Ca. and Az would obtain chunks of dry ice and lay it on the floor of their cars to help cool things off. Some closed things up to tight and lost their lives. Be aware.
Had several RV's and never had one that could keep up with 100+ temps.
Here's some things we did that were successful without having to resort to dry ice.
First was to install an indoor/outdoor thermometer so we didn't have to open the door to check the temp.
If it was a trip of only a few days, we froze bottles of drinking water and placed them in the fridge. If it's an extended trip, we use a plastic tub and fill it with bought ice. Our current Norcold has a plastic bin on the bottom, we just set the bag of ice in the bin.
We place items that can spoil directly on the ice and less perishables on the upper shelves.
When we have the brats with us, we bring an ice chest just for drinks and maybe some fruit to keep them out of the fridge.
Well Gang,
Just an update here. We've been gone about a week now and been in and out of 80, 90 and almost 100 degree temps. The N-1095 Norcold has been keeping up with those temps just fine. In fact, it's been around 35-40 inside the fridge for most of the trip. On a couple of nights that plunged down to a whopping 49-50 degrees, the next morning the inside of the fridge was hovering around 30-32. Cool Huh?
Anyway, my original post was asking a "what if" type thing. Not that I was going to run out and buy a bunch of dry ice and use it. I was just wondering if it would help, if the fridge was loosing the battle against any heat waves it encountered. Thanks again for your responses here.
Scott
Scott and Karla SDFD RETIRED
2004 Itasca Horizon, 36GD Slate Blue 330 CAT
2011 White Honda CRV EX-L,4WD w/NAV Toad 2008 Caliente Red LVL II GL 1800 Goldwing KI60ND
We had a power outage in our stick house, so we moved all of our freezer & fridge food to the motorhome and used the generator. We put some dry ice in both areas. When I opened the door to the freezer it about took my breath away. If you use it, don't breath it when you open the door. It did help keep things cool, but I wouldn't use it again. It did last about 3 days.
2011 Allegro Red 36QSA 4 slides
"06" Jeep Liberty
Lucy the Springer Spaniel, great travel companion (Sadly passed on)
Annie the Springer Spaniel
I use dry ice several times a year when going on fly-in fishing trips. We freeze meals ahead of time then pack them in a 48 qt cooler with dry ice. It allows us to keep things frozen solid for days which is not possible with regular ice. It works well.
Two things to note..
1) The off-gassing will not cause a closed container to blow up..at least not in the amount and situation that exists in a cooler or fridge. The amount of gas given off is equal or less than the amount of solid dry ice in volume.
2) One thing to consider is that the effectiveness of the dry ice is directly related to how much empty air space you have. If you have a lot, it will melt much faster. For that reason, I doubt that it will last long in a refridge. In the cooler, we pack the empty space full with towells or newspaper and seal around the lid and drain with duct tape.
We did just what you are asking. It was 98 F. and we were leaving the next morning. I bought 1.5 lb. of dry ice and put a small part in the freezer and a larger block in the ref. The ent9ire frig. was cooled down even in the heat and we had no problem keeping cool. This was just a help to get it cooler at the beginning of a trip. We live in a condo and can't plug in overnight before leaving even though we can leave the RV there overnight.
2003 Newmar Mountain Aire, Workhorse W22, 2008 Saturn Vue, Falcon 5250, & US Gear Unified Tow Brake
I put frozen water bottles in the frig/freezer to help Jumpstart the RV frige. If you are concerned with cooling during the heat of the day the frozen water bottles would help.
First: DO NOT TOUCH, Do not touch without very heavy gloves (Ove Glove?) this stuff is like -100F and will give you instant frostbite.
Now, wrap it in several layers of newspaper or something like that to slow the evaporation of the CO2 and make it last longer, also to keep things that should NOT freeze from turning rock solid. (I mean can you imagine the cream for your morning cup of coffee at -100)
Next. Pressure build up, in a freezer this can be an issue, in a fridge not so much as they have a handy dandy vent on the back side that, though there for an entierly different reason, works great.
Would I do it: NO, can not justify the cost.
Nothin adds excitment like something that is none of your business
Kenwood TS-2000 housed in a 2005 Damon Intruder 377
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