Community Forums

CPO-Tom-G · 08-30-2018, 06:54 PM

My dometic has been junk since day one!
The freezer cools to 15F but the fridge never gets below 42 degrees, on the top shelf!
Is this only my problem or is it time for a class action suite?

Reevesfamily · 08-30-2018, 07:34 PM

Mine cools to 28 if I set it on then highest setting possible on the slider, and freezer is good as well just haven't put a thermometer up there. No issues here. Maybe you've got poor ventilation for it.

AudiDudi · 08-30-2018, 07:34 PM

What model fridge? Are you running it on propane or electric? Do you let it cool a day or so before loading it with already cooled food? Have you adjusted the thermocouple inside the fridge? Have you checked the door seal(s)? How often does it get opened - I usually put pop/beer in an outside ice chest to minimize opening the door. What's the outside and inside temp? If it's 100 outside and 90+ inside, it's likely going to struggle to keep things cool. Have you tried internal and external fans? Is the top vent outside not blocked?

CPO-Tom-G · 08-30-2018, 07:50 PM

Ran on 129VAC for two days in my drive way
Outside temp was 91 degrees during the day

CPO-Tom-G · 08-30-2018, 07:53 PM

The v3nt is not blocked, I just bought an internal fan that runs on 2 “D” cells

**TonyDi** · 08-30-2018, 07:55 PM

Have you checked the door seals?

Old-Biscuit · 08-30-2018, 09:35 PM

15*F in freezer is NOT good....freezer needs to get below 10*F before food compartment can cool completely down.

You haven't provided very much info other then Dometic has been junk.

Absorption fridges are quite capable of cooling down to 0*F/freezer & 32*F/food compartment provided:
RV MFG installed the fridge PROPERLY......adhering to the necessary clearances as spelled out by Fridge MFGs 'Installation Manuals' which every RV MFG has access to

ZERO Clearance on sides/top/bottom and less then 1" between back of cooling unit and back wall of RV/use of baffles if necessary.......NO dead air spaces...proper airflow/draft etc.

Sounds like your fridge is NOT correctly installed...RV MFG fault not Dometics

And if fridge hasn't cooled properly since day one.........YOU should have demanded RV MFG fix it

WHAT Model is this Dometic junk?

ByeTheWay · 08-30-2018, 09:49 PM

All refrigerators have problems from time to time. My Dometic got a workout this summer in Kansas which was 90-100 degrees daily w/ 65+ percent humidity. It kept the freezer food frozen and the bottom area cool, w/o an interior fan. On the Dometic scale of 1-5 it was kept on 3. Worked fine on AC or LP.

Isaac-1 · 08-30-2018, 10:31 PM

My guess would also be improper installation, perhaps not enough clearance, lack of baffling in the air space over the refrigerator, etc. Yours seems to have a top mount vent, the first thing I would do is to add a couple of circulation fans, such as this solar kit from Camco or similar then perhaps an inside fan unit see the links below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QllPSeImeYI

also

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2XY-cisIXU

there are also DIY versions like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wVTP89-Btg

or

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuvPHrWVUHI

or

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8iv3ngoAGE

charliez · 08-31-2018, 07:13 AM

Just dealt with this on mine. here's what I did. First find out of it's capable of cooling. Make sure there is no obstructions in the vent. Make sure the door seal is good all the way around, and make sure someone is not opening the door over and over.

If your satisfied with all of that, turn off all the power, including the 12 volt power. Find and follow the thermister wires back to the control board. Its the little white bulb that is clipped somehow to the fins inside the fridge. Unplug it from the circuit board.

This will put the cooling unit in a runaway mode for testing. DO NOT leave the fridge unattended as leaving it too long can damage the unit.

Turn everything back on. It's good to get a temp probe that you can pout inside and watch without opening the door. Simple bbq monitors will work.

Watch the temps. In just an hour, in this mode, my freezer was down to about 20 and the fridge was about 50. In a couple of hours the freezer war about 10 and the fridge 40. After 8 hours the freezer was at 1 and the fridge was at 20. At that point I turned it off.

If you get similar results, which I think you will, your thermister is bad. You can get a factory replacement for about $50-80, or you can get an adjustable thermister on ebay for about $29.

You can just order the adjustable thermister and not do the test, but the test will verify that your unit is working and very capable. These things are some very serious capable freezers that are held way by with the thermister controls.

CPO-Tom-G · 08-31-2018, 11:52 AM

I checked the door seal looking for mold/moisture, I removed the external vent cover and found no debris covering the guts of the fridge.
I’ll find a knob type replacement thermistor and monitor the results.
Thanks to all for the help!