Samsung RF18HFEN on sale

[HHIDan]

A friend of mine replaced his Norcold with a Samsung RF18HFENBBC (black) and is very happy. I wanted to go with the Amish cooling unit but because the Samsung is on sale at HD and because my friend is so happy with his conversion this is what I am going with:

Samsung 33 in. W 17.5 cu. ft. French Door Refrigerator in Stainless Steel, Counter Depth-RF18HFENBSR at The Home Depot

[1ciderdog]

That's less than I paid for my Samsung 197. Sounds like a good deal.

[Craig_R]

That's a great deal! Like 1ciderdog said, less than I paid for my RF197 too.

[Bob&AnnaMari]

Daniel,
Interesting that HD has the new unit on sale at such a price. This is very close to the HD price when they were closing out the old RF197 line.

Has your friend tried running his refer on a MSW inverter? That is really the only "open point" on the viability of this new unit. (In case you are not aware, the RF18 uses a whole different compressor technology than the RF197.) Many of us, myself included, are very interested to see if the new technology represented in this new unit will work well with an inverter.

Please keep us updated on how this is working for your friend.
Bob

[Mr_D]

My problems will be, an MSW inverter and no room for anything larger than about 8-9 CF.

[HHIDan]

Originally Posted by Bob&AnnaMari

Daniel,
Interesting that HD has the new unit on sale at such a price. This is very close to the HD price when they were closing out the old RF197 line.

Has your friend tried running his refer on a MSW inverter? That is really the only "open point" on the viability of this new unit. (In case you are not aware, the RF18 uses a whole different compressor technology than the RF197.) Many of us, myself included, are very interested to see if the new technology represented in this new unit will work well with an inverter.

Please keep us updated on how this is working for your friend.
Bob

I just spoke to friend, he has a PSW inverter, then spoke to the installer and he said that he thought the rf18 was the same as the 197 except they moved the electronics to the top which could be why the refrigerator is 1" taller... Where did you see about the dif. compressor technology??

[Papa_Jim]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

My problems will be, an MSW inverter and no room for anything larger than about 8-9 CF.

Might not be too much of a problem. Our Norcold was 7.5 CF. We found several different residential fridges that were an exact size match for the hole in the cabinet. We chose the cheapest available, a Danby 10 CF fridge. It worked fine on our MSW inverter. When our MSW inverter failed, we replaced it with a PSW inverter. The fridge continues to work well.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by Papa_Jim

Might not be too much of a problem. Our Norcold was 7.5 CF. We found several different residential fridges that were an exact size match for the hole in the cabinet. We chose the cheapest available, a Danby 10 CF fridge. It worked fine on our MSW inverter. When our MSW inverter failed, we replaced it with a PSW inverter. The fridge continues to work well.

I'll do the same with the inverter when/if it goes but it's still doing just fine. The Danby would be OK too.

[Bob&AnnaMari]

Originally Posted by HHIDan

I just spoke to friend, he has a PSW inverter, then spoke to the installer and he said that he thought the rf18 was the same as the 197 except they moved the electronics to the top which could be why the refrigerator is 1" taller... Where did you see about the dif. compressor technology??

Daniel,
Sorry for the delay getting back. We have had our youngest granddaughter over for the last 3 days and have done nothing else but watch her.

Here is a general discussion about the new technology.
And here is the reference on the Samsung page. (Check in the warranty section.) It is easy to spot where they have introduced the inverter compressor since they add a 10 year warranty on the compressor unit. (Apparently, to mitigate any concern about the new technology.)

I like the concept of this new compressor (although I think some of the videos are misleading), but there is no documentation on how it works, or does not work, with MSW in the RV market. Samsung was about the only company who came out in writing that they would warranty their old compressors on MSW inverters.

I suspect that things will prove to work OK. But, it would be nice to hear of actual experiences. The really nice thing is that they kept the same dimensions on the RF18.. as the RF197... . So, all the knowledge gained from the conversions documented remain the same.

Bob

[HHIDan]

Originally Posted by Bob&AnnaMari

Daniel,
Sorry for the delay getting back. We have had our youngest granddaughter over for the last 3 days and have done nothing else but watch her.

Here is a general discussion about the new technology.
And here is the reference on the Samsung page. (Check in the warranty section.) It is easy to spot where they have introduced the inverter compressor since they add a 10 year warranty on the compressor unit. (Apparently, to mitigate any concern about the new technology.)

I like the concept of this new compressor (although I think some of the videos are misleading), but there is no documentation on how it works, or does not work, with MSW in the RV market. Samsung was about the only company who came out in writing that they would warranty their old compressors on MSW inverters.

I suspect that things will prove to work OK. But, it would be nice to hear of actual experiences. The really nice thing is that they kept the same dimensions on the RF18.. as the RF197... . So, all the knowledge gained from the conversions documented remain the same.

Bob

Thank you Bob, interesting read about this new technology and how this refrigerator never turns on/off totally with thermostat. It is always gradually slowing down or speeding up to maintain constant temperature. This means no power surge, easier on inverter...

I opened an on-line chat with a Samsung rep. (not expecting too much) and instead of a lack of info (which I expected) he fed me with some dis-information. He said that when the compressor starts I would need 1500 watts... He had no clue about MSW or PSW...

From an electronics background, I suspect that MSW will work as the power to this refrigerator is most likely converted to DC very close to the input.

I am going ahead with my purchase, I am on shore 98% of the time so I think I will plug in to shore power (and not inverter) and eventually upgrade my Magnum from a MSW to a PSW with more watts.

[Bob&AnnaMari]

Daniel,
Like you, I too believe that whatever electronics is involved with the new compressor should work with a MSW inverter. But, they have clearly moved from a purely inductive load to some sort of switching power supply. I was able to find a Samsung "inverter" replacement board on a supply site that referenced converting the voltage from 120 to 240 for the "inverter compressor". So, it looks like there is some up-scaling of the voltages on this thing.

And, like you, I think there is as much misinformation as good information. I know the video makes it look like this thing runs all the time, but that would not be practical. It obviously starts slow when turned on and then builds up speed if an additional temperature drop is registered. They are apparently narrowing the gap between on and off temperatures and the corresponding swings when cooling.

Bob

[HHIDan]

looks like Lowe's in Canada still has some Samsung 197's:
Samsung RF197ACRS/XAC ENERGY STAR 17.8 cubic ft French Door Counter-Depth Refrigerator | Lowe's Canada

[HHIDan]

The RF18 is the most quiet refrigerator I have ever seen. Seems to work just the same on MSW inverter...

[lburson]

For those interested in the RF18HFENBSR, the replacement ref. for the Samsung 197, it can be bought from US Appliance for $1245 delivered and no tax.

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