Dometic Fridge Warning

[kenyonman]

I just wanted to shoot out a quick warning. I have a Dometic refridgerator Mod# RM2652. I had the recall repaired last year. A few days ago the electric (heating element) went out. When we took it apart to replace the element the area was destroyed. I attached pictures, hopefully they can be viewed soon. I recommend if you have a similar fridge, you keep an eye on it.....Kenyonman

[RV Wizard]

When the heating element shorted out it also burnt a hole through the tube. I have seen heating elements on stove tops blow a hole through a cast iron skillet also. One minute everything is fine and the next you have a disaster.

[WilleyB]

Quote:

I have seen heating elements on stove tops blow a hole

Yes I've had that experience. Back when this was a big item, there was a very long discussion on RV Net about the causes. An RV tech did a study on the burnned up units that he replaced. To cut to the chase he discovered on all the failed units that the heating elements had hot spots and that is the areas where the failures occurred.
Since that time I no longer use the AC heater on our unit. If an element is sort of a uniform dark color all over it can be assumed to be a good one. If it has darker or mottled spots these spots can be considered to be HOT spots and will be prone to failure. It's just a conclusion based on his findings and other data during the discussion.

Cheers
Willey

[heavyequipt]

If the heater element developed a short to ground(less resistance in the circuit),which increased current flow,why did the AC fuse on the control module not blow?

[WilleyB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by heavyequipt If the heater element developed a short to ground(less resistance in the circuit),which increased current flow,why did the AC fuse on the control module not blow?

The heating elements in the studied failures did not develop a short to ground. The problem was non uniform resistance over the length of the element, resulting in a spot or spots that were much hotter than it should have been. The result was most if not all power being dissipated was in one area rather that a uniform heat for the length of the element. At these hot spot points was where the (heater well to Boiler tube) weld would fail

Cheers
Willey.