Brand new Dometic fridge is worthless |
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Keith-N-Dar
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 03 Apr 2011 Location: Mayville, WI Online Status: Offline Posts: 1447 |
Topic: Brand new Dometic fridge is worthless Posted: 07 Sep 2017 at 9:25am |
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I expect this will be no help, but the six year old refrigerator mounted in the slide on my 177 kept food cold ear;ier this summer in 105 degree heat while camping in Auburn, California. It ran on propane and was on the second from coldest setting. I have no idea why it works for most but not for all. At the start of camping season each year I have my dealer go over the Pod and he services all the systems. I have no problems with any of them. Normally costs me $150. This year was more because he resealed the top around the air conditioning, removed and resealed one window, and replaced the tires.
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Keith-N-Dar
Boris & Betty (Boston Terriers) 2011 R-Pod 177 2010 Ford F-150 |
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lostagain
Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2595 |
Posted: 07 Sep 2017 at 9:45am | |
All I can say is that the new Norcold I put in to replace a Dometic with a bad burner nozzle, kept things nice and cold in Oakland, CA, on Sept. 2nd, when they broke a heat record @101℉. We didn't have adequate AC current available for the air conditioner, so we slept with the fan in the head set on low (not so noisy) to move the air. In fact, we weren't connected to shore power at all so the fridge was running on gas. Sweat was dripping off my back as I tried to sleep. But thankfully, the bottles of water in the fridge were nice and cold and refreshing at 2:00 a.m. Sometimes stuff works; sometimes it doesn't. Go figure.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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GlueGuy
Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2017 Location: N. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 2653 |
Posted: 07 Sep 2017 at 10:42am | |
For the record, absorption-mode refrigeration is not as good as heat-pump refrigeration. That is a fact. We have had experience with friends that have lived off-grid, and they needed to use an absorption-mode refrigerator by necessity because it could run on propane. Don't expect it to cool like the big ones we are all familiar with.
FR, and almost all other RV manufacturers use these for the benefit of those that want/need to boondock. If you're going to be away from shore power, and you need refrigeration, the absorption-mode refer is probably your best choice. Now there may be additional things that you can do to improve them. I'll probably open ours up to see about thermocouple placement, and ventilation fans, and overall venting. You'd think that FR might have done this already, but then again they are largely just assembling components. I wish they had a care & maintenance manual. It doesn't exist; you just get a pile of "documentation". No problem, those of us using them have created our own manual.
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
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Guests
Guest Group |
Posted: 07 Sep 2017 at 11:03am | |
I agree with furpod (as usual). We have some of the most intelligent and experienced campers on the web, here on the forum. However, it is very difficult to diagnose and suggest repairs/modifications - sight unseen and from hundreds of miles away. Most here go "above and beyond" to try to help a fellow camper but, none are omnipotent. Let's accept the friendly, free advice/suggestions with grace and in the spirit offered. If an issue remains unresolved then, perhaps, it may be time to look elsewhere for a solution. |
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JandL
Senior Member Joined: 29 Mar 2014 Location: California Online Status: Offline Posts: 364 |
Posted: 07 Sep 2017 at 1:16pm | |
I would like to add that there is a lot of repair information on the internet and sometimes it is had to find. It all depends on what words you use in searching Google. I also look at other trailer sites and read what other have posted to repair things and some post links to other information I never knew existed. I have in my 2012 trailer a Dometic RM8501 refrigerator. Stored on my computer for that model are 3 operation manuals (different years) 2 installation manuals (different years), 1 service manual for the RM850x series and 1 service manual for a similar but older model, it had good trouble shooting information. I also have 2 Dometic manuals (different years on venting). Here is a link to the newest one on venting.
VENT INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS Stuff is out there even some very good YouTube video's. I found one on how to remove the Burner Assembly from a Dometic refrigerator, it was not the exact refrigerator as mine but close enough. |
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JandL
2013 Honda Ridgeline 2012 177 2 Paynes in a Pod |
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voisj
Senior Member Joined: 19 Jul 2016 Location: San Luis Obispo Online Status: Offline Posts: 471 |
Posted: 07 Sep 2017 at 9:08pm | |
I have to consider myself lucky we were camping this weekend in 103 degree days and the refrigerator stayed under 50 and the freezer was still keeping ice cream frozen.
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pgoelz
Groupie Joined: 22 Jul 2016 Online Status: Offline Posts: 70 |
Posted: 09 Sep 2017 at 6:21am | |
I just stumbled on this thread and I thought I'd respond to the actual first post with my take on the RM8501 situation. Possibly this is helpful. Three things.... First, in my experience the ammonia cooling system seems to be a bit "binary".... depending on the heat input to the boiler, it either cools normally or it does not cool at all.... even with a flame present. I suspect this is the nature of the design, not a flaw. In my case, our three year old RM8501 suddenly refused to cool on propane. The flame was lit and hot gasses were exiting the top of the flue. But the fins were kinda like you describe.... cool but by no means cold and the refer was warm. I thought we had killed it until I discovered (when we returned home) that it worked great on AC power. I cleaned the propane burner / gas jet / flue (which all looked perfect) and BAM.... it cools fine on propane again! The only thing that changed was (I assume) the size of the flame. It might be worthwhile to clean your gas jet (I know it is new, but....) and also check the pressure at the burner. Also make sure no one has made a home in the flue or burner area. Second, as has been said elsewhere there are limits to the max outside / inside temperature differential the ammonia system can maintain. I'm guessing 100 degree outside air temp is pushing it, especially if the refer side of the trailer was facing the sun. But I am not sure that explains the fact that your inside fins were not cold. That sounds to me more like an inadequate flame or blocked flue. And third, it is possible to permanently damage the cooling unit by running too far off level. If this has happened, it is irreversible, VERY expensive to fix and not covered under any warranty. When I thought that was what had happened to ours I called Dometic and they totally blew me off with a carefully rehearsed speech. I was furious because this "little" tidbit of information is not in ANY documentation we received with the trailer or refer. Hope this helps. Paul
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Casey
Newbie Joined: 02 Sep 2017 Location: NorCal Online Status: Offline Posts: 19 |
Posted: 10 Sep 2017 at 8:28pm | |
Decision has been made, the dometic is coming out, and a 60 liter Edgestar is going in. Simpler, more storage, better performance, and another shelf in the trailer as a bonus. Anyone want to buy a once used 3 way dometic??
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Craneman
Senior Member Joined: 12 May 2013 Location: Tokeland,wa Online Status: Offline Posts: 387 |
Posted: 10 Sep 2017 at 9:47pm | |
How much I might be interested
Gary
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Jo and Gary, 2010-174,2011 F150
Jo and Gary 2010 174 2011 Ford 150 |
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eye95
Groupie Joined: 04 Mar 2017 Location: Fairborn, OH Online Status: Offline Posts: 63 |
Posted: 11 Sep 2017 at 6:49am | |
A guy bellyaches how "worthless" his fridge is, and then asks people to give him money for it.
Humor. I'll give you a dime. You pay delivery. Deal?
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<0>
2017 178 The "eye-Pod" 2011 Nissan Titan |
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