Residential Fridge Conversion

[phredsee]

We are considering going to a Residential Refridgerator in our 2013 36LA and have a couple of questions in making this conversion:

-who would do the conversion, Tiffin in Red Bay or aftermarket vendors?

-If Tiffin, who would I contact and if aftermarket, who would I contact?

-where are the batteries located when adding what appears to be (2) additional coach batteries to the original (2) coach batteries?

-is another inverter added dedicated to the RR or is the current inverter removed and a larger inverter added?

-If you had the Dometic fridge replaced with a RR, what was the overall cost?

We do travel about (6) months a year with the MH and the current Dometic fridge is problematic with a 3/4 load factor in keeping cold.

Any information you can provide would be helpful and appreciated!

Fred

[2 Stroker]

Well I have been having problems with my Not-So-Cold so I ordered my 197 Samsung
from Best Buy while they are on sale,$420 off will take a month to get. After reading
all of this about the MSW inverter in these coaches I will be ordering the
Magnum 2812 and the ME-RC50 Remote all with Free Shipping. Doing it right the
first time may cost less down the road.
MS2812 [MS-2812] - $1,983.20 : RV Power Parts Plus, Discount store for all your RV & Marine Electrical needs. Featuring the most trusted Manufacturers in the industry: Iota DLS Converters, Transfer Switches, Magnum Energy Inverters, Parallax Power Co
ME-RC50 [ME-RC50] - $183.20 : RV Power Parts Plus, Discount store for all your RV & Marine Electrical needs. Featuring the most trusted Manufacturers in the industry: Iota DLS Converters, Transfer Switches, Magnum Energy Inverters, Parallax Power Com
This is what the switch looks like in a Country Coach
Samsung Refrigerator Install
2 stroker

[Mr_D]

The Samsung does not require a FSW inverter, they run fine on MSW according to other posts with direct contact with Samsung.

[phredsee]

Thanks for the information as it's very helpful.

[2 Stroker]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

The Samsung does not require a FSW inverter, they run fine on MSW according to other posts with direct contact with Samsung.

MR_D you are right. Over on the CC yahoo forum this is a HOT topic and more and more are doing the switch. I just what to do it right the first time plus the PSW inverter is a better unit. Here is just one post.
The truth is that the Samsung 197 warranty is voided if you are using a MSW inverter. The manufacturer requires a PSW inverter. (Magnum PSW costs just over $2K). The problem is not operating the compressor (it will run OK) but the ice maker, electronics, etc. may not.
Some say if it is used in a RV the warranty is out the window I don't know but time may tell.
2 stroker

[rgreen45]

The Magnum 2812 is a 2800 watt inverter.

Here's a 5000 watt with a free remote for $999.
5000 Watt Pure Sine Power Inverter 12 volt by AIMS - Free wireless remote

[paz]

Originally Posted by phredsee

We are considering going to a Residential Refridgerator in our 2013 36LA and have a couple of questions in making this conversion:

-who would do the conversion, Tiffin in Red Bay or aftermarket vendors?
I don't think Tiffin will do the conversion, especially since a RR isn't available in an Allegro from the factory. See below for who to contact.

-If Tiffin, who would I contact and if aftermarket, who would I contact?
Try Brannon Hutcheson at Custom RV in Red Bay 256-668-0973. That is his cell. If he doesn't answer, leave a message, and he should call back.

-where are the batteries located when adding what appears to be (2) additional coach batteries to the original (2) coach batteries?
We are running a RR on 2 6-volt house batteries, but we don't boondock. Locating extra batteries in a gasser is tricky, but I have seen racks added under the slides. Brannon may have other suggestions.

-is another inverter added dedicated to the RR or is the current inverter removed and a larger inverter added?
Brannon adds a small PSW inverter dedicated to the fridge. We have been using our original 1000W MSW inverter on our Samsung for almost 2 years.

-If you had the Dometic fridge replaced with a RR, what was the overall cost?
My out of pocket cost to do all the work myself was a little under $2k - $1300 for the fridge, the rest for hardware, wood and misc. I believe Brannon charges $4 to $5k depending on whether or not you need a PSW inverter and want extra batteries.

We do travel about (6) months a year with the MH and the current Dometic fridge is problematic with a 3/4 load factor in keeping cold.

Any information you can provide would be helpful and appreciated!

Fred

Responses in blue above.
paz

[thrushl]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

The Samsung does not require a FSW inverter, they run fine on MSW according to other posts with direct contact with Samsung.

My Samsung runs fine on MSW.

[docj]

Originally Posted by 2 Stroker

The truth is that the Samsung 197 warranty is voided if you are using a MSW inverter. The manufacturer requires a PSW inverter. (Magnum PSW costs just over $2K). The problem is not operating the compressor (it will run OK) but the ice maker, electronics, etc. may not.

I don't where this rumor got started but here is Samsung's statement (in writing) that there is nothing wrong with running an RF197 refrigerator with a modified sine wave inverter: Samsung samsung 18 cu. ft. French Door Refrigerator: questions, answers, how to, FAQs, tips, advice, answers, buying guide

How anyone can go from this statement to an assertion that the warranty would be voided is beyond my comprehension. If the refrigerator does convert the AC to DC as is stated in the answer then all the elements of the unit are already using DC so the ice maker is not going to be any more susceptible to issues than will be the compressor.

We have had our RF197 for two years and it ran fine on our MSW Xantrex. When the Xantrex failed a couple of months ago I replaced it with a pure sine wave Magnum MS2800 because it seemed like the sensible thing to do, not for the refrigerator but for other devices which were less tolerant of the waveform.

[Dakrism]

Our Dometic quit on us at the Tampa RV show last Jan. The Dometic rep at the CW tent came out to the rally lot and told us it was fried.We had a technician check it out in Ft Myers and he agreed and suggested maybe we might want to consider a residential refer.We were so new to RV {and still} are we did not know what to do so we trusted him to do a good job and he did.
We priced new LP units and they were so expensive and we ended up having a mobile tech named Mark LaBrie in Ft Myers switch ours out in a campground.Many thanks again to the neighbor in Pioneer Village that referred us to LaBrie.

We had to look everywhere for a unit that fit the opening because ours was installed in the passenger slide. We finally found a refrig only 63" high at Home Depot for $440 it is a Maytag.It is plenty big.
So the tech named LeBrie RV installed and did a beautiful job.He charged me $500 labor and it was quite a job with all the demo, haul away,and delivery of the new unit and remodeling the opening around the refrigerator.The original opening was much wider than the new refer.

So far so good!! We even are able to run this unit off our inverter when underway on the road.And we have a modified sine Freedom 458 inverter.
We have a 2003 Phaeton 40 TGH with 4 house batts and a 2000 watt inverter/charger.
Hope you have a good experience.

[phredsee]

Thanks again to all as this is very good information for me to evaluate. After hearing what you folks have experienced with the RR, I think this is the way to go. I did call Tiffin, Wade Humphries in service, and waiting for his call back to verify whether they do or do not provide this upgrade, as I actually have split decisions from others on the subject.

Paz, my next phone call will be to Brannon Hutcheson and get his opinion and quote as well. Waiting for a call back from Temecula RV in Murrieta, Ca. as well as they have provided different services from me in the past, so we'll see what they have to offer, lot's closer, that's for sure.

One last comment on the subject for the men in the group, my DW has figured out my method on my past purchases relative to the RV as "necessary items" to add, like suspension upgrades, bigger TV's, surround sound, navigation, etc, etc.. Now I've had to agree on a new microwave/convection oven recently added and now we're talking about the residential refrigerator as absolute "necessary items" which is reducing MY budget for what I had planned! Oh well, thanks again for all the returned posts.
Safe travels!

[SargeW]

Did you ever get the new refer put in?

[phredsee]

Originally Posted by SargeW

Did you ever get the new refer put in?

Not yet, still trying to decide exactly how to have it done. Talked to (5) different vendors, (2) in California, (1) in Indiana and (1) in Red Bay, AL and last but not least Tiffin Motorhome.

TMH recommends putting in the fridge with no battery or inverter and that's out.
The others have different degrees of installation from leaving the existing inverter and batteries as they are and adding an additional inverter and batteries. Another suggestion is to gut the existing inverter and batteries and replace with a bigger inverter and have a total of (4) batteries.

Prices range from $2100 (TMH) to $7200 and that's a lot for a fridge! I'm thinking about doing some of the electrical inverter/battery work myself, I'll purchase a fridge and then have one of these shops, probably in California, put in the fridge and plug it in.

Have you done this conversion or are you thinking about it?

Fred

[SargeW]

I haven't done it myself Fred, but several folks on a different forum have done it and love the residential refer. I just had not seen one retrofit in a Tiffin yet. We are buying a new Phaeton that has the residential refer already in it though.