Dometic 2652 Cooling Unit Replacement

smkettner wrote:
If you are always plugged in... consider a residential compressor fridge as a replacement.

I thought about that with my old camper when I thought the fridge went out.. But that rig was a heap of junk.. While my current trailer is older(2004) its dang near perfect shape. I really can't stand the thought of fitting a dorm fridge to it from Costco.

Big Katuna wrote:
Just did mine at Christmas. Used the Amish unit. They come a tube of transfer gook and tape. BUT he sells them with or without the heaters and fans. I used more tape than he supplied. New unit is much better quality and cools better.

It's daunting at first but went smoothly. Lots of tedious scraping and cleaning once the old unit is removed.

A Harbor Freight furniture mover was the perfect height.

What is this tape you speak of? The video I saw I dont recall tape, just the heat transfer goop in the caulking gun. Is it aluminum foil tape or something?

Who did you get your setup through? David Force/RV Pines/etc?

And just noticed you arent too far from me. I'm over in Osteen :)

rjxj wrote:
Depending on the age, maybe it's time to just buy a new frig. I have a Dometic that has the recall completed but I have wondered what I will do when it quits. For another $600.00 I can have a whole new frig. My water heater went out so I just bought a new one. It was 14 years old so why take a chance of having something else break on it? It needed $100 in parts or $350 for a new unit. So if I put a price on my labor of at least $200.00 to install the frig coil that brings the difference down to $400 to $450 plus the risk factor of the other old parts.

Maybe a new frig is just as cheesy as the old one and the replacement coil is better? Sure would be nice to slide the old one out and slide the new one in. Kids and I swapped one out of an old truck camper and put about a 100 rounds of ammo through it.

I see your point.. Part of the reason for this post is to keep the install time to a minimum. If I end up missing something thats more time lost as I will likely forget how to put something back together if I have to wait too long for more parts to come in.
To tell you the truth when I realized the problem wasnt a 40 dollar fix and that it could be more like a 5-700$ fix for a "remanufactured" or "aftermarket" unit, I was initially pricing out a whole new fridge as well, since.. Those are in the 12-1300 range plus tax/shipping. But from what I can see, it appears that A) other than the cooling unit, theres not much in there that costs significant money to replace and B)usually aftermarket and remanufactured means sub-OEM new.. From what I have been reading, it seems like these remanufactured and aftermarket units are more like an upgrade than a financial compromise.

Did you factor in the price of ammo on that? After the 2008 election when ammo became scarce as heck I quit using it on such events haha.

stickdog wrote:
I replaced my cooling unit with a Amish unit 3 years ago. I have replaced the AC heating element eight months ago. As of now I'm past the warranty period had I purchased a new one and also the Amish unit. I'm still $600.00 ahead.

Ok, I feel alot better at this point.. With the current age of my trailer, I am not sure I will have it another 3-5 years anyhow. Buying a whole new fridge just doesnt make a ton of sense. Did you do the new or reman unit?

I will probably just pay the extra 150 or so on the new unit and be done with it.. I guess i have to call or email david to see if he has the thermo fuses, and what he would recommend for the fan kit on this thing.