Adjusting the Temperature of Propane Gas Refrigerators - Gas Fridge

Most propane gas refrigerators end up in remote locations. Off-grid owners have more of a vested interest in keeping the refrigerator operating efficiently. Propane is usually trucked to the location or hand carried. Most rural off grid homes, cabins, and cottages don’t have automatic climate control. The off grid refrigerator is subject to a wider range of ambient temperatures during the day and during the seasonal changes. Gas Fridge has a few sets of instructions for adjusting the thermometer to help you economize your power usage.

Gas refrigerators are all manually temperature controlled (no digital thermostats or electronics).

Using the Fridge for the weekend only:
•    Allow 12 hours of chill down time for your gas fridge, if empty at 70°-80° room temperature.
•    Keep the door closed as much as possible – it’s tempting to look inside; at least know what you need before opening the door. Temperatures inside the fridge won’t fluctuate as often and your fridge will run more efficiently.
•    Don’t load the fridge with any food or liquids that are not already cold or frozen.
•    Set the temperature setting to maximum. If possible, set the thermostat to maximum and replenish the ice trays or drinks at night right before bedtime.
•    Now that the fridge is chilled down, load the groceries in smaller amounts at timed intervals (10 lb / 2 hours). Recovery times increase by three times, if all loaded items are not cold or frozen.
•    If all your items are cold or frozen, it’s okay to load all of them at once.
•    Liquid is more dense and takes longer to chill. 4 individual quarts of liquid chill faster than a one gallon container with liquid.
•    If you’re having extra guests or a party at the cabin, rely on an ice chest for cold drinks – this reduces the traffic to the fridge, keeps the door closed, and helps to keep the perishable items cold.

Using the fridge full-time:

•    Allow 12 hours of chill down time for your gas fridge, if empty at 70°-80° room temperature.
•    Keep the door closed as much as possible – it’s tempting to look inside; at least know what you need before opening the door. Temperatures inside the fridge won’t fluctuate and your fridge will run more efficiently.
•    Load the groceries in smaller amounts at timed intervals (10 lb / 2 hours).
•    Keep track of the refrigerators interior temperatures – the setting will affect the refrigerator compartment temperatures. (There is no setting for the freezer.)
•    The thermostat for the home type refrigerators is located at the bottom of the cabinet on the outside front, near or behind the kick plate.
•    If possible install a remote digital thermometer. This allows you to monitor inside temperatures without opening the door and it also has an alarm in case the gas supply suddenly stops working.

Stabilizing the temperature:

•    Start at the maximum setting.
•    Take a true reading first thing in the morning before the door is opened.
•    When the reading reaches 32°, slightly move the dial toward the minimum setting, 1/12 of a turn.
•    Ideally the temperature should be 34° - 38°.

Seasonal Changes and humidity levels will have an affect on demand and will produce more frost on the cooling fins. Food mass or a full fridge will keep the temperature more stable compared to an empty fridge with more air mass. Cold air from a fairly empty fridge will simply fall to the floor. If you’re looking for more energy saving tips, or tips on how to set up your propane refrigerator, visit http://gas-fridge.com/ for more helpful articles, or call 928-636-6674 if you have additional questions.

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