Why switch to a Residential Refrig, thinking out loud !!

Sez Hoo! wrote:
Sounds like we are getting into a Ford vs Chevy debate. To each his own. A residential fridge is not something I would choose. As for the RV being perfectly level to operate, I don't believe that is true anymore. I park on slope for days when I visit my dad. The fridge works just fine on gas or electric.

You do realize that the damage from off-level operation is accumulative.
Sorta like clogging arteries......everything is just fine until one day.....WHAM! But unlike clogged arteries, blockage in cooling unit is permanent and non-reversible.

You see...absorption fridges work by means of gravity. When operated off-level insufficient fluid flow to absorb the heat occurs.....causes overheating which causes 'plating' which builds up interrupting the flow which causes more overheating, more plating, more interruption of flow etc. etc. etc. until cooling unit DIES!

So please do not spread the rumor that off-level operation is OK.
It is one of the main reasons absorption fridges stop working.
Accumulative damage occurs every time....and it is Permanent.

Bumpyroad wrote "wait a minute, he evidently has a perfectly fine RV refrigerator and you want him to rip it out and put in one he can't run while boondocking? keep in mind that more of these did not catch fire than those that did."

If you read the op's title and post he asked "why switch to a residential fridge". I gave him several reasons. I never told him to RIP IT OUT so relax.

Then you said " keep in mind that more of these did not catch fire than those that did."
That is not a very good track record of 50% or more don't catch fire. A failure and fire rate of 50% would probably shut down the entire RV business.
Dave

korbe wrote:
Can a residential type frig run on propane? If so, I may consider one. But with more and more rigs requiring shore power, the camping experience is definitely evolving.

are you being silly?

mowermech wrote:
Residential refrigerators are made to sit in one place, not bounce around on the road. That being said, apparently there is not a very high failure rate due to the bouncing, but I am unwilling to take the chance.

As has been previously stated, "To each his own". There is NO "right" or "wrong" about the issue, it is purely personal preference.

I put one of those cheap tiny cube refrigerators in an old popup. Oddly enough it was bounced around for 10 years before I replaced the popup. I also replaced a dead RV refrigerator with a small dorm unit that would slide into the same spot with a trim piece. Friend of mine replaced the broken Dometic in their vintage fulltiming Class C with an undercounter refrigerator stacked on top of an undercounter freezer in 2006 (I wish I had gotten a seperate freezer). It is still going with no problems. They also converted a schoolbus for fulltiming and built in two undercounter stcked refrigerators and an upright freezer (among other mostly residential stuff). They have had no problems. It is cheaper to replace the refrigerators since they will slip in/out the front door. The freezer would have to go out the rear emergency door the same way it was put in. I like those little $360 10cf Vissanis (24Wx25Dx60H) they have at home depot. When I convert (with help) my own skoolie, it will have one of those. It will go in/out a standard RV door (at worse might have to remove the doors). At the low price, I could, if needed, replace the tiny unit several times compared to replacing an RV refrigerator. But I live fulltime in my RV and only "boondock" one or two nights in parking lots, empty fields and no-hookup campgrounds before moving on. I do have a generator and a nice battery bank. When it's so hot that I need to run the rooftop AC, I am also powering the little dorm frige. Otherwise with no power, I move a couple of Nordic Ice packs from the freezer shelf to the refrigerator shelving.

What most anti-residential refrigerator people say is the energy use. If you read the FEMA pages, you will see that you can leave a refrigerator or freezer closed with no electric running to it for a day or two. My friends keep ice bottles and ice packs in their units. When traveling, they have traveled with no power in 90F for up to 8 hours and plugged back in to find no ice melt. They also have thermometers with exterior displays on the refrigerators/freezer. The freezer tends to stay at 0F or lower. The refrigerators are set at two different temps as one holds the beverages (water, juices, wines) at a lower temp than the upper refrigerator.

I believe you need to look at your needs and wants. Not all of us have the same needs and wants. So an RV refrigerator will not suit everyone. Just like a residential refrigerator will suit everyone.

Sez Hoo! wrote:
If Norcold units are fire prone, when time comes to replace it put in a Dometic.
You don't hear too many things about recalls or fire issues with Dometic.

Sorry, I disagree. Dometic has had just about the same amount of recalls due to fires, over 900,000 units.

Here is a link to just one: Recalls

Can a residential type frig run on propane? If so, I may consider one. But with more and more rigs requiring shore power, the camping experience is definitely evolving.

My Dometic unit will keep ice cream hard as long as it is on the top shelf. I have the 2 door side by side fridge. So the top shelf is reserved for ice cream when we have it. The fridge temp settings has always stayed on the lowest setting.

I, like the OP was always worried about fire in the Norcold or the Dometic. It worked quite well except for keeping the ice cream hard.
So last fall we put a residential fridge in. I wish I had done it a long time ago. It works great and I sleep a lot better. As for them having to be in one place all the time, I think that myth has been busted with the years that people have had them in units. Also, I don't do much boondocking so I can't speak to that. When travelling, I don't worry about it for the time I am on the road. Having said all of this, please remember this is JMHO. Macktee

mowermech wrote:
Residential refrigerators are made to sit in one place, not bounce around on the road. That being said, apparently there is not a very high failure rate due to the bouncing, but I am unwilling to take the chance.

I just had this same conversation with the owner of an Adventurer in the campground where I am currently staying. I was asking him his reasons for not opting for the residential choice and that was his answer.

supercub wrote:
My only concern with my Norcold is fire. As far as cooling, My rv refrigerators have always performed well. Sooooooooooo........instead of doing a costly switch over to a residential.......I'm considering adding a fire extinguisher from "Mac the Fire Guy" and be done with it. I'm sure the chances of having a unit fail resulting in fire is very low overall, but the extinguisher would be added insurance. Looking for thoughtscomments on this subject? Thanks
Brian

our norcold has been ok...just ok. we've replaced it once in 14-years and for the most part it cools ok. but we rarely boondock these days. we rarely spent a night off the grid and i'm tired of dealing with the frig and the associated anxiety. is the weather too hot? will the food spoil? when we start looking to replace our model year 2000 MH we'll be taking a closer, more analytical look at residential refrigerators.