Reefer update…part two

Bright and early this morning, Cory, was back to do the prep work for the installation of the new fridge.  The first thing he did was notice how I had covered up the vent with plastic wrap and the thick towel.  I think he was impressed, as he didn’t think it was going to get so cold last night.  He also began to refer to me as MacGyver.  That made me think of Dennis and Donna at CAVE DWELLINGS, and Donna’s comment about being vertically challenged.  It’s funny, but I have always thought of Donna as being rather tall and statuesque!  Just from reading her blog and seeing some pictures, I figured she was about 5’9”.  I don’t consider that short.  I’m probably around 5’2” these days (you do shrink with age:)), so this surprised me.  Anyway, I digress…

After doing all sorts of measuring, Cory built this flooring platform for the new fridge, and found a way to run an electrical line to my inverter in the subfloor.  I’m not very good with technical jargon, so I hope you’ll give me some leeway with my descriptions tonight as I try to answer several of the questions that readers asked in last night’s comments.  That took almost all day to accomplish.  Cory is obviously one of those people that has an eye for detail as he even painted the front of the fridge flooring black to be more aesthetically pleasing once the fridge was moved in. 

Just before 4:00, the move began.  It took three men to hoist it up into position.  That’s the owner, Billy Thibodeaux, in the back with his son, Cory, in the middle, and cousin Colby in front.  I told you this business was a family affair.  :)

Cory hopped outside to do the plug in and make some final adjustments as it was pushed into place.  There were a few slight glitches, but in the end Cory’s knowledge and perfectionism ruled…

and this was the result.  The fridge is installed, and I still have my pots and pans drawer underneath!  Yes, it is frost free (hooray!!).  It is connected to my inverter, so I can run it off of battery power.  It also weighs far less than the Norcold reefer, and I’ve been told has better insulation.  The temperature remains at a constant 38* in the frig portion and –2* in the freezer.  If I was a big fan of ice cream, I’m thinking it would be rock hard!  It has 17.8 cubic feet of space, and, most importantly for me, won’t ignite and burn the rig down.  That’s the plus things about it.

 

Now, after having it in place for a whole three hours, here are minus things for me so far.  Considering my height, or lack there of, I probably should have eliminated the pots and pans drawer and had it dropped lower.  The top of the freezer comes to about 4” above my waist, so the top shelves of the fridge will remain a challenge.  Since it is just me, I always keep my bread in the fridge to prolong it’s life.  Bread will now occupy the top shelf along with seldom used items!

In my almost five years on the road, I can count on one hand the number of times that I’ve had the former reefer on gas, so that was not a big loss for me.  Having the fridge, an electric space heater, and the TV turned on last night at the same time did not trip the breaker for the inverter, so Cory assures me that this shouldn’t be a problem if I don’t have electric hookups.  I just don’t know how long the batteries would last.  I’m sure not long were I to use all these items.  My alternatives would be to run the generator or eliminate the TV and heater.  I’m used to that.  My last rig didn’t even have an inverter, so since I don’t boondock very much, I think this will not be a problem for me.   Also, in all my travels before I went fulltime and since, I have never traveled with the fridge on while I’m moving down the road.  It’s just not something I do.  The doors remain closed, and the unit remains cold.  I think this has covered about all of the inquiries except one…

e…Donna asked if I had a designated wine chilling drawer.  Well, no, Donna, but if you look closely you will see a bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream lying on it’s side.  Does that count?  I suppose I could use one of those empty vegetable bins for that purpose.  :)

 

When Billy, the owner, came in to help with the final push into place, he said that he was working on an estimate for someone that had read my blog and wanted a frig installed.  Can you believe that?  Well, I immediately said that since I had written the post I should receive a  10% advertising discount!  Cory then piped in and said, “Hmm… I think it’s going to take me 10% longer to finish this job!”  Ha Ha!  I think I like this business!

 

Well, if you’ve made it all the way through this post you have a lot of patience…sorry it’s so long.  The guys filled my fresh water tank today because it’s supposed to get down into the 20’s tonight, so I guess I’d better go out and disconnect the water hose.

 

Thanks for stopping by…. talk to you later,  Judy

Upgrade update

I stayed at home today so I could supervise (:)) the young guys working on my rig.  The new fridge was delivered late this morning, so Cory, the tech I’ve been working with and son of the owner, started getting things ready for the switch. 

 

If you are at all familiar with how motorhomes are constructed, you might wonder how that switch was going to be accomplished.  Neither the old or the new fridge was going to fit through the door.  Cory felt they would have to take out a set of windows in order to get things done.  I can tell you that I was not crazy about that idea.

The first step was to take the doors off of the new fridge.  Then, after measuring my large window above the dinette booth…

They just pushed it in through the open window!

They were happy with how slick it went, and so was I!  :)

Then Cory put the doors back on, plugged it in, and it started cooling down in the middle of my living area.  While we waited for it to cool some, Cory began the process of getting the old fridge ready to be removed.  It only took about an hour before we could transfer the food from the old to the new.  :)  Notice that this model has the bottom freezer.  Wahoo!

This big hole is what was left after the old fridge was removed.  They had a bit more difficulty getting that heavy thing out, but all went well.

By this time, it was nearing closing time, so they put the outside vent back on and headed out the door.  This also happened to be the time that a strong cold front with rain and whistling northerly winds moved through.  That wind was howling through the outside vent into the rig, so I taped some plastic wrap over the vent and then covered that with a heavy towel.  Duck tape to the rescue once again!  It’s supposed to get down to 30* tonight, so I didn’t want that kind of breeze chilling me out.

 

Tomorrow, the new fridge will go into place.  I’m already loving this new appliance even if it is hording my living room space for a night.  :)  And I’ll sleep better knowing my rig won’t catch on fire.

 

Thanks for stopping by…. talk to you later,  Judy