dead refrigerator

[wcaldwell]

I bought my TT in April '87. Used it for the first year as a house because of divorce. It then sat for 4 years unused while I was stationed in Italy. I returned to the states and in Sep '92 I had to have the cooling unit replaced - warranty was good for 4 years and I was at 4 1/2 years. Cost around $300 in El Paso. I've not been able to use the trailer much the past 6 years because my previous two trucks weren't strong enough to pull it. We are getting it ready for use again and last week I went out and turned on the refer. A couple of days later, I went back out and opened the refer door and, lo and behold, it was cold and the freezer was starting to frost. I need to test it again on propane, but I think it'll work fine. I really expected the refer to not work at all when I turned it on. I guess I'm under grace, too.



Wayne

 

[Sparky10]

4570,



My refrigerator did the exact same thing in my 5th wheel. I called my local dealer and he found out from Dometic that those units were faulty and it is covered under a "RECALL".



Have your dealer get the model number off the unit and check with the Dometic Factory!! Stand strong if he wobbles on it! Don't throw money at it!!



Good luck!

Scott

 

[HBarlow]

Originally posted by jldhelms

... ... if Nucold, in Morrilton, Arkansas rebuilt your unit, it was done right, including many capacity and durability improvements.

Jim

jldhelms:



Can you provide us with a web address or mailing address and telephone number for Nucold?



I've replaced several Dometic refrigerators over the years when they lost their efficiency. I held the opinion that it was usually cheaper in the long run to simply buy a new refrig rather than throw more money at an old one.



If Nucold is as good as you say, it might be cheaper to buy a repaired/rebuilt cooling unit from them.



Harvey

 

[jldhelms]

In my humble opinion, whether you have an RV absorption refrigerator repaired or replaced depends on: the condition of the door and inside of the refrigerator, your willingness and ability to do light mechanical work and accept the associated risks, and quality and willlingness of a rebuilder to sell your a unit at wholesale. Only you can asses these items. Nucold fits the bill on the last part and in my experience, the rebuilt unit you get is generally better than the original, certainly cheaper than buying a new one but how much is your time and labor worth. I have toured their manufacturing line, had several units rebuilt and have had zero defects and satisfactory life plus improved capacity in some of the older models (RM100, etc)



I called before I posted this to see if they minded, they approved.



Nucold, Inc. , Morrilton, Arkansas, Contact- Jerry, 1-501-354-6764, web site www.nucold.com.

Jim

 

[HBarlow]

jdlhelms:



Thanks for the information. I saved their web address in my favorites.



If the original Dometic in my '87 Avion begins losing its ability to cool, I'll contact Nucold.



Your approach to the decision of whether to repair or replace makes sense to me. I don't mind doing the labor for a significant saving. In previous trailers I have bought new refrigerators from Camping World when on sale and installed them myself. Next time I experience a warm freezer I'll call Nucold and compare the costs.



Harvey

 

[Blakers]

Can a small 110 volt dorm refridgerator be run on an inverter? How much 12 volt amperage would it draw? Could it only be run while the vehicle's engine is running?



Thanks.



Blake

 

[wcaldwell]

My "grace" ran out - my trailer fridge died. Since repairing mine would run close to $600 and a new fridge would cost close to $1200, I checked on using one of the 'apartment' fridges on a power inverter - you would probably need an inverter with a power capacity of 1200 watts and above, depending on the size of your 110 volt fridge.





Wayne

 

[Prairie Dog]

Those small refers that are around $100 should run fine on a 300 watt inverter, they pull well under 100 watts. Start up current is most likely under 160 watts.

To get current draw - divide total watts by 12. (volts X amps = watts)



So lets say you find a fridge that draws 100 watts at 120vac.

100 divided by 12 (volts DC) = 8. 33 amps. An RV battery should run that for several hours w/o any problem.

 

[Mr.Goat]

Have ben reading this post with great interest as we have two 1950's vintage propane fridges at the hunt camp and the Dometic in my slide in camper dates 1976. Well Grace and her whole family must be with us because they all work. Had to burp the big one at the camp once years ago as the fridge got knocked of level.



I bought a small Dometic at a garage sale for 50 bucks years ago just to have it. I never even looked at it for years, so I just sold it to a friend for his hunt camp for the 50 I had into it. I had no idea these things were worth so much. This TDR site is a learning experience. Pete