Dead Fridge - now what kind?

[scubamoto]

Well, now that the 3 year warranty expired 3 weeks ago, my Fridge died. The Cooling unit is leaking. Yellow liquid, ammonia smell. When on Electric, you can hear the liquid sizzling where the heating element tube is welded to the perk tube. Very frustrating since I have been carefull to keep the trailer level.

So here is the question. Can I get a new cooling unit and if so, how hard is it to replace? Would it be better to just get a new Fridge and if so, what's the best to put in.

The one that just died is a Dometic Americana RM2652.

I appreciate the help.
Mark

[scubamoto]

Well, now that the 3 year warranty expired 3 weeks ago, my Fridge died. The Cooling unit is leaking. Yellow liquid, ammonia smell. When on Electric, you can hear the liquid sizzling where the heating element tube is welded to the perk tube. Very frustrating since I have been carefull to keep the trailer level.

So here is the question. Can I get a new cooling unit and if so, how hard is it to replace? Would it be better to just get a new Fridge and if so, what's the best to put in.

The one that just died is a Dometic Americana RM2652.

I appreciate the help.
Mark

[Cummins Hot Rod]

I would contact the MFG of the fridge and see if they are feeling friendly towards their customers, sometimes when its that close and that type of problem they will help out

[charliez]

Did you do your maintenace at 2 years? If I recall, the warranty for Dometic is 2 years, but extended IF you had a authorized dealer do some sort of maintenance and submit paperwork from that visit.

[scubamoto]

I did all the maintenance my self. And of course for the warranty to be valid, I have to have an authorized dealer doing the maintenance and have a receipt to prove it.

I was looking at Campingworld.com and they sell the RM2652 but there are 3 reviews on it and all are horrible. So I'm not getting warm fuzzies on just fixing it. It sounds like it's just not a good, quality product.

[RV Wizard]

scubamoto, To replace the cooling unit is a lot of work and if you decide to do so, make sure it is a new unit, not remanufactured. Again, I would contact the mfg. you have nothing to loose. If they do not help you out, replace it with a Norcold brand and let them know you will be doing so. Good luck and let us know the outcome.

[Randy the sly old fox]

In two of three TTs I have had Dometic refers, the first one went 10yrs with no problems and the second went 5 with no problems. The second one was the Americana series - I was not as impressed with it as I was the first one. All of the main features the first one had were add on accs on the Americana. Magic Fingers, light etc. My brand new TT has a Norcold - too new to tell. So far it has worked great. Lots of storage - it is the first fridge that can take the cold pack of pop in the bottom with ease - no more alum rings. It also has a light. This is also the first refer for me that has a seperate freezer door - not incorporated into the main unit. Wife just loves it. Norcold also put in some plastic slides that keep the doors from closing tightly so you can let fresh air in without having to leave the door wide open.

[RustyJC]

Not to be a naysayer, but Norcold has their problems, too. We lost one of the bad batch of cooling units on our previous 5th wheel after 3 months service.

Rusty

[Don in E Texas]

We have two RV's -- both have 'fridges from Lowe's/Home Depot. I power the one in the bus conversion via my diesel gen while on the road (also running air conditioning and hot water heater as well); the Airstream 'fridge is powered via inverter in the truck. Both units work great. Cost under $250.00 for each one plus $130.00 for an inverter.

We don't boondock except a Wal*Mart etc while on the road -- this method would not work well if you did extended boondocking.

I also noted in the latest Family Motor Coach mag a product review of a motorhome that has a 120 volt compressor operated fridge.

Just another way of doing things.

Oh .. .. 'fridge has 5 yr warranty, too.

don

[scubamoto]

Well, I've talked to RVMobile which is about 45 minutes from me up in Everett, WA. Had a pretty good discussion with them about the cooling unit, Demetic in general and Norcold. I'm hauling the fridge up to them after work today and should have it back in a week. I'll post again when up and running and let everyone know how it went.

Mark

[jspande]

I've often wondered why NovaKool 12 compressor fridges never seem to be used in RVs (apparently they're quite popular in boats). They are much more efficient than absorbtion types, and I believe more reliable.

I've never known anyone with any experience with them, but I did have a Sunfrost unit (which uses the same 12 volt Danfoss compressor) in a solar powered application and it was great - 16 cu.ft. would run with 300 watts of solar panels (4 75 watt panels) and 2 golf cart batteries.

[Poki]

Here is an alternative to Norcold/Dometic in RVs: Tundra Refrigerators & Freezers. I picked up their brochure and talked briefly with them at an FMCA rally in Oregon. This is a compressor type refer used in the boating industry and also in trucks and RVs. They quoted me a price of $995 to replace my 8.5 CuFt Norcold with their unit which is AC/DC (not including labor). Not sure if these numbers are still good: 804-633-9454 http://www.aap.com for their dealer.