Dometic frig not cooling sufficiently

[Bo]

This issue has been with my MH as long as I have owned it and I attempted to fix it in the early days but gave up and lived with it but have decided to upgrade the oldy and a fully working fridge would be nice. The frig is a Dometic Americana 2333 with side vents. The problem is: the interior temperature will not go below approximately 40 to 45 degrees F lower than external ambient. I have demonstrated this on all three modes of operation. This is the temperature on the cooling portion and the freezer seems to maintain freezing temperature even when the cooled portion is at 50 degrees. I noted this issue soon after purchase of the two year old MH and had a Dometic service man work on it soon after purchase. He said the unit wasn’t installed with proper clearances and venting and I authorized him to do the necessary repairs. He modified the venting and added insulation around the frg cabinet. The modifications included an exhaust fan at the top of the heat exchanger that was operated by a temperature sensor on the exchanger fins. What he did looked good and seemed reasonable but the cooling did not improve. I noted that the fan never ran even though the heat switch checked OK so I wired the fan to operate whenever the fridge was operating. No improvement, then added second fan and re-positioned fans to maximize air movement over heat exchanger. All this work and very little or no improvement. My conclusion is that something is wrong with the frig itself. Found a newer replacement but was shocked at the price. Maybe the original unit can be repaired/ recharged. I am open to any theories of the probem and how to fix it.

[bigb56]

Originally Posted by Bo

This issue has been with my MH as long as I have owned it and I attempted to fix it in the early days but gave up and lived with it but have decided to upgrade the oldy and a fully working fridge would be nice. The frig is a Dometic Americana 2333 with side vents. The problem is: the interior temperature will not go below approximately 40 to 45 degrees F lower than external ambient. I have demonstrated this on all three modes of operation. This is the temperature on the cooling portion and the freezer seems to maintain freezing temperature even when the cooled portion is at 50 degrees. I noted this issue soon after purchase of the two year old MH and had a Dometic service man work on it soon after purchase. He said the unit wasn’t installed with proper clearances and venting and I authorized him to do the necessary repairs. He modified the venting and added insulation around the frg cabinet. The modifications included an exhaust fan at the top of the heat exchanger that was operated by a temperature sensor on the exchanger fins. What he did looked good and seemed reasonable but the cooling did not improve. I noted that the fan never ran even though the heat switch checked OK so I wired the fan to operate whenever the fridge was operating. No improvement, then added second fan and re-positioned fans to maximize air movement over heat exchanger. All this work and very little or no improvement. My conclusion is that something is wrong with the frig itself. Found a newer replacement but was shocked at the price. Maybe the original unit can be repaired/ recharged. I am open to any theories of the probem and how to fix it.

I too had poor cooling with my Dometic and like yours the freezer was plenty cold. I did a great deal of improvements, the clearances, vent fans, condenser fans etc. The thing that made the big difference was evaporator fans., once I installed those I actually had to reduce the setting on electric, but on gas it was still not up to par and what fixed that was correcting my propane pressure which was too low due to oil vapor obstructing the line after the regulator. The evaporator fans I chose were from JC refrigeration although many use the squirrel cage ones from Fridge Defend. I just really liked the JC Refrigeration ones and they only take up 3/4" across the back of the fridge. For power I connected them to my Fridge Defend's fan control wire and I also wired them with a 3 way switch in case I wanted to over-ride the Fridge Defend control but after 1 summer I found that wasn't necessary.

[Old-Biscuit]

Freeze is FIRST inline of the cooling process
It has to get COLD in order for enough absorption capacity is available to properly COOL food compartment

Proper installation is Critical to Draft/Airflow which is KEY to removal of heat
Tight clearances, No dead air spaces needed to allow cool air to flow from lower vent , up thru absorpber tube bundle, ACROSS condenser fins at top and then exit via top vent
Sidewall vent needs fan(s) to PULL air in and then push it out top vent

Pgs 4 & 5 for proper install/clearances
http://techsupport.pdxrvwholesale.co...ser-Manual.pdf


Do you have same lack of cooling issue on Gas, AC and DC??
Gas....thermostat lowers flame to BYPASS mode when temp is reached, then returns 'small' bypass flame to full side flame when cooling
AC......thermostat turns element off when temp is reached/back ON for cooling
DC......continuously energized so only use when Battery is being charged when driving

IF same lack of cooling on ALL modes then you may have a clog/blockage in coolant flow between freezer evap coil and food compartment evap coil
*New cooling unit (if still available??), new fridge

Unfortunately your older model does have a Thermistor that could be disconnected for TEST
BUT you can do a TEST of cooling unit capability using the AC element
Unplug the leads on the AC element....wire them directly into a 120VAC Outlet and run fridge for 12 hrs
*Element will be continuously energized...on all the time
Freezer AND Food compartment should get COLD if cooling unit is not clogged/blocked



PARTS are almost impossible to find for that vintage/model fridge