Thetford N145a Fridge Freezer Switch

[laimeduck]

I have a Thetford Norcold N145a Fridge Freezer fitted in my 2005 Benimar Perseo motorhome.

 

There is an "On/Off" rocker switch underneath the main control panel on the RHS.

 

I am unable to find any reference to this switch in the instruction manual or on the Thetford Website or by searching online and have no idea as to its function. :-(

 

Can anyone please tell me what it does?

 

(I have tried switching it on & off, with no obvious effect?)

[Brian Kirby]

At a guess, it will operate one of two things. Either a small computer type booster fan behind the upper external fridge vent. The fan is likely to be thermostatically controlled, and will only operate if excessively high temperatures are experienced. Or, a heater element in the freezer door frame, designed to prevent the freezer door freezing onto its seals. My money is on the latter. :-)

[Derek Uzzell]

Brian Kirby - 2011-11-25 5:16 PM

 

At a guess, it will operate one of two things. Either a small computer type booster fan behind the upper external fridge vent. The fan is likely to be thermostatically controlled, and will only operate if excessively high temperatures are experienced. Or, a heater element in the freezer door frame, designed to prevent the freezer door freezing onto its seals. My money is on the latter. :-)

 

I'm sure your money is safe.

 

This came up a year ago. See:

 

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=21473&posts=12

 

Thetford's explanation (that I quoted in the earlier thread) regarding the mysterious switch begins on the bottom-right corner of Page 7 of the following pdf.

 

http://www.bailey-caravans.co.uk/images/downloads/Thetford%20-%20Owner_Manual_Fridges_626839_0907%5B1%5D.pdf

[laimeduck]

Interesting? Thank you Brian & Derek.

 

I have re-checked my Thetford Instruction Manual & there is no mention of this switch. The Manual is dated 2004, (as opposed to the one on Derek’s link which was 2007)

 

The 2007 manual states “To save energy the divider heater can be switched off”

 

I wonder just how much power this heater uses?

 

I assume it will not draw power if the fridge is switched off …..or?

 

Anyway thanks for the replies - it is now switched off and taped in that position.

 

[Derek Uzzell]

The Dometic RM-7605L fridge/freezer fitted to my Hobby has 'frame heating' that provides a somewhat similar capability to the heated divider on your Thetford appliance. It is operated by a push-button switch with a red LED to indicate when it's on. There's a warning in the Dometic Instruction Manual that switching off the appliance won't prevent the frame heating from operating. The LED indicator-light is pretty bright and sensibly positioned on the control-panel, but it still seems a daft idea to me (and asking for trouble) to have frame heating operable with the fridge switched off. The current-demand is quoted as 3.5W, which doesn't sound much but would be significant if one had inadvertently left frame-heating on and the motorhome was out of use for a goodly while. My understanding is that earlier Dometic appliances with frame-heating had the On/Off switch in a much less obvious position, with no LED tell-tale, and the current-demand was higher.

I can't advise on the current-demand for your Thetford N145A's 'divider heater'. However, I did find the following in the Thetford website's FAQ section:

"Why is the section between the freezer and food compartment warm to the touch?

The unit has heater(s) that prevent moisture from forming on the center divider between the two doors. This heater operates only when the refrigerator is ON."

So it would appear that Thetford takes a more fail-safe approach than Dometic. (Anyway, if you've never found a need to use the heater, it makes good sense to tape the switch Off to make sure 12V current is not unintentionally wasted.)