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Old 07-23-2019, 03:30 PM   #1
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Fridge climate switch

I know I read about this switch here before but couldn't find it in search...
With the freezer door open I have a switch labeled climate control under the top.
I think I remember reading this is for the door gaskets and runs off 12v
Wondering if I can blame this switch for my dead battery...
Used the camper for a week then sat 9days unplugged.
If the fridge power button is off but the climate switch on is there battery current draw?
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Old 07-23-2019, 04:54 PM   #2
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Yes. There is a big power draw. It will drain your battery very quickly. Don't ask how I know this. Lol.
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Old 07-24-2019, 04:23 PM   #3
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This sounds strange, but that heater strip is active when the fridge power is off on certain models. Never realised this and really do not know why they set it up that way to begin with. If the fridge is off, then cut the power to the heat strip, but, nope that is not how it is.

See here on page PDF page 19, manual page 18 in the Dometic service manual. Sunline Coach Owner's Club - Sunline Owner's Files - Dometic refrigerator service tech manual 2007 vers

Under, 5.11 Climate Control Heater & Switch

It states;
Quote:
The proper ohms reading will be 24 ohms ± 10%. The approximate amp draw is less than .5 (1/2) amp.
OK now we know the amp draw.

And then this;
Quote:
Note: The climate control will draw 12 volt DC power continuously when in the ON position on certain models. It should be turned OFF when a charging source is not available or unit is in storage.
I did not find how to tell what model had that feature and which did not. Or if it was a revision within the model.

0.5 amp draw for 24rs is 12 amp hours of battery life. Multiply that by 9 days = 108 amp hours. Then add the LP gas detector draw, the radio overhead and worse, if the TV antenna booster was on, you have no problem draining a battery in less then 9 days.

Your older camper did not come with a battery disconnect switch from Sunline, but they can be added. This makes it a lot easier to just switch off the battery when your done camping. OR unhook the negative cable off the battery.

I never have that switch on, we boondock and it is a source of power draw. I have never found the need for it to be on. Maybe it is how we camp, but it has never been on.

They say this is why it is there.
Quote:
During the summer months of high temperatures and humidity, the metal frame between the freezer and fresh food compartments may have water droplets forming. The number of water droplets will increase if the vehicle isn’t air conditioned during these months.
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Old 07-24-2019, 05:04 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnB View Post
I never have that switch on, we boondock and it is a source of power draw. I have never found the need for it to be on. Maybe it is how we camp, but it has never been on.
Most likely it is, John. It takes weeks to months for a refrigerator to build up significant layers of frost. Unlike the refrigerator in your home, which generally runs 24/7 year round, the average RV'er only runs his for a week or three at a time. Then it sits unused (and thawed out) until the next outing.

It makes sense to have the feature for folks who actually live in their RV, or at least use it for extended periods of time.

Have to agree I see no logic in having the feature active while the frig is turned off, though.
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Old 07-24-2019, 07:12 PM   #5
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That switch is not for frost in the fridge or freezer. It heats the freezer gasket to keep it from getting humidity moisture on it and the freezing the door shut.
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Old 07-24-2019, 07:57 PM   #6
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As j52wf stated, there is no defrost in the fridge or freezer compartment. This heater strip is a gasket warmer. We have had our fridge on for a month straight while camping. Never had an issue with the condentation they are referring to on the "outside" of the fridge.

I agree, it must be me!!! For an RV appliance manufacture to spend money on something that never has to work, that is just not like them.... There must be some set of conditions where it is needed. We just have not found them yet.

When we head out west, northwest, or even deep south, maybe we will find those conditions. Then I need to remember to turn the thing off...if I ever turn it on. If I end up killing a battery because of it, I sense a 12 volt relay inserted into the heat strip circuit to be a future mod. The heat strip power wire is out in the open on the control board in the back of the fridge. The heat strip can be shut off when the fridge is powered off. It just takes someone with the want to make it do it automatically. Not hard to do.
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Old 07-26-2019, 02:45 PM   #7
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I knew I had read about that switch before, and shouldn't have turned it on. I keep a thermometer in the fridge and it was hovering just above freezing which I thought was unusual. Since that switch said climate control I got suckered into turning it on. I will get a marker and write under there gasket warmer leave off.
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Old 07-26-2019, 03:06 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by enormiss View Post
Since that switch said climate control I got suckered into turning it on. I will get a marker and write under there gasket warmer leave off.
Now that's funny
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