Max tilt on RV frig

[Kevin K]

Max. tilt of your trailer should not be greater than 3 degrees side to side and 6 degrees front to back to make your RV frig work properly.

3 degrees side to side
6' 8" wide trailer is 4 1/2" max tilt side to side


6 degrees front to back
13' trailer is 8 3/16" max tilt front to back
15' trailer is 9 7/16" max tilt front to back
16' trailer is 10 1/16" max tilt front to back
17' trailer is 10 3/4" max tilt front to back

[Donna D.]

I don't know what any of this means Kevin. All I know is I have a round bullseye level that rests on the floor of my Scamp's 3-way and it cools down a lot faster and stays at a constant temperature the closer to the bullseye the bubble is. More than one bubble off of center, forgetaboutit. Besides, I sleep in my trailer and prefer to sleep level or at the very most have my head slightly higher than my feet.

[David B.]

Another nice feature of a 12 volt danfoss style refrigerator is it will handle 30 degree angles, so it is popular with boat owners.

[Bob Miller]

Kevin
What is the source for your angle numbers?

At least in the case of Dometic boxes, there is an early and a late style, with the early style being much more sensitive to being operated out of level.
Early=Square boiler cover
Late=Curved boiler cover
I have an original Dometic bubble level for my 1973 Hunter's ref. and it still works great. Both the refrigerator and the level that is
My personal rule of thumb: Less than 1/2 bubble out of level.

[Steve L.]

It is kind of a post out there in space with nothing tied it to. I don't know if, for example, 3 degrees is appropriate for my refrig but since I always have much less side to side difference than 4-1/2" I must well below that target.

I could infer that he's suggesting that "we all" are a little OCD with relationship to levelling for refrig reasons. But as Donna says, the closer to zero the better hers works and that there are reasons other than the refrig to level.

[Kevin K]

What is the source for your angle numbers? Math equation.
Would never want my 17' to be at max tilt, would look very funny in the camp ground. If you do not have a level you could use this info. with a ruler.

[Steve L.]

OK, I understand that. The 4.5 inches is just the sin of 3 degrees times the distance. But where did the 3 degrees come from?

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by Kevin K

Max. tilt of your trailer should not be greater than 3 degrees side to side and 6 degrees front to back to make your RV frig work properly.

3 degrees side to side
6' 8" wide trailer is 4 1/2" max tilt side to side


6 degrees front to back
13' trailer is 8 3/16" max tilt front to back
15' trailer is 9 7/16" max tilt front to back
16' trailer is 10 1/16" max tilt front to back
17' trailer is 10 3/4" max tilt front to back

Originally Posted by Kevin K

What is the source for your angle numbers? Math equation.
Would never want my 17' to be at max tilt, would look very funny in the camp ground. If you do not have a level you could use this info. with a ruler.

This is why I keep my Engineer Husband fully occupied with useful projects...

Francesca

[Bob Miller]

No Level? No Problem Mon.... Just fill a coffee cup almost to the rim with water, and use that as a level.

Not only do LP refrigerators work better when level, they also circulate the stuff in the cooling system better. Out of level refrigerators apparently allow sedment to get stuck in the wrong place, leading to a dead refrigerator.

For those that didn't know, there is no "Freon" stuff in these refrigerators. It's part ammonia and part hydrogen, depending on were you are in the cooling circuit.

Here's a basic tutorial on LP/Electric refrigerators.
http://bryantrv.com/reefer.html

[Lynn Musgrave]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

This is why I keep my Engineer Husband fully occupied with useful projects...

Francesca

You Go Girl ! Do I ever know what you mean.

Mine is not an Engineer by degree...but is a Instrumentation/Electronic Technologist( now retired) and was a perfectionist in his field ( which was a good thing for the kind of electronic stuff he had to keep running) He does beautiful wood work,he can build any furniture just from looking at a picture.

Just please don't let him set still long enough for his mind to wonder or he gets wrapped up in some crazy thinking so I try to keep him busy with lots of "Honey do" jobs Problem is after so many years of retirement I am about out of jobs for him...got to work on that I should be able to find something to kick in his OCD for the rest of the winter until time to go camping

[Kevin K]

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&....1.DI7YoF9zSwU

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by Lynn Musgrave

Problem is after so many years of retirement I am about out of jobs for him...got to work on that

One must always have fallback I-can-solve-it type busywork ...I've had my husband working on calculating the value of "Pi" since 1998

Francesca

[Rocky Rhodes]

Originally Posted by Steve L.

It is kind of a post out there in space with nothing tied it to. I don't know if, for example, 3 degrees is appropriate for my refrig but since I always have much less side to side difference than 4-1/2" I must well below that target.

I could infer that he's suggesting that "we all" are a little OCD with relationship to levelling for refrig reasons. But as Donna says, the closer to zero the better hers works and that there are reasons other than the refrig to level.

Those numbers are published by Norcold in their Installation & Operation Instructions. Dometic simply states "comfortable to live in".

Product Manuals

[rabbit]

You people are funny! Doesn't take an engineer to understand rise and run. Maybe it DOES take someone with way too much time on his hands to work out rise against the run(length) of a particular trailer size. Rise in 1 or 2 ft. run would work for any length and can be measured by common builder's levels by lifting one end off a surface until the bubble centers. I suppose there is a special case where common leveling methods don't succeed and one might need to know the acceptable departure from level to keep the fridge percolating. Why not simplify and determine acceptable degrees out of level with an inclinometer?

jack

[Steve L.]

Rise over the track of the rear wheels is vaguely helpful in that it gives you a sense of how thick a pile of boards/tiles you need under the low side tires to get to level. Saves going on and off the spacers a couple times adding or subtracting spacers. For a single traveller like myself it makes setup simpler. Less in and out of the tow. And if you're an engineer by nature, it makes you all warm and fuzzy Math rules!

Not that you can't get pretty close eyeballin' it. I'm just saying...Satisfaction is where you find it.

[Thomas G.]

I've got an inclinometer app for my iPod Touch. I guess the next logical step is an app that automatically calculated the necessary tire shim.

[rabbit]

Wish those things had a hip flask app. Technology makes me thirsty.

jack

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Thomas G.

I've got an inclinometer app for my iPod Touch. I guess the next logical step is an app that automatically calculated the necessary tire shim.

You write it and I will buy it!

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by rabbit

Why not simplify and determine acceptable degrees out of level with an inclinometer?

jack

O.K.!

But first we'll need to build ourselves an "inclinometer":

Operating Principles:
A pendulum is suspended from a low stiffness torsion spring. Pendulum rotation can be induced by a linear acceleration along its sensitive axis (acceleration mode), or by a component of the gravity force along that axis caused by tilt (tilt mode). The pendulum displacement is sensed by a photo - electric position sensor, the output of which is amplified and fed to the coil of an electromagnetic torquer attached to the pendulum. The polarity of the connection is chosen to produce a reaction torque which tends to return the pendulum to its zero position (negative feed - back). Since the input and reaction torque’s exactly balance each other, the current producing the reaction torque is a very accurate and linear function of the acceleration and is used as output. In the tilt measuring mode, the output is proportional to the sine of the angle of tilt. This fact limits the effectivity of the sensor for tilt angles approaching ±90°.

Wiring Diagram etc.:




Francesca

[Carol H]

Or how about just using 4x4 Gyroscope Clinometer on your phone.