Cheap Refrigerator question

Bob E. wrote:

Ralph Cramden wrote:

jerryjay11 wrote:
Been in the business of servicing or repairing home refrigerators since retiring from the USAF in 97.

Just keep in mind that household refrigerators were not designed to withstand the bouncing of a TT and it's life expectancy can be shorter.

That's a great point, but will be ignored here and at every other RV forum in existence.

My parent's RV fridge died at 10 years old this year. They were quoted something like $1400 for a new one, not including installation. Since they camp with hookups 99% of the time, they went to Home Depot and bought a small residential fridge that fit the opening for a little over $300. They could replace that fridge 3 more times and still be almost $200 ahead. So basically, if the fridge lasts 2.5 years, it is worth it. Plus it keeps things colder and has more space in it...so long as you have hookups.

I wouldnt be surprised at all if the guy in the vidoe isnt correct with his statement of 10 to 15% resi failure rate. Im sure they do all sorts of various testing but shaking the heck out of it probably isnt high on the list. Think about some of the pot holes or rough transitions at overpasses that we hit. It's smacking and jarring it which would seem like it could break connections or slosh the compressor oil. I dont know exactly how the oil is affected by jarring and shaking but I do know that they built it with the intention of having it sit there and never move.

My two year old 10.7 cf resi just had a hicup when it froze some food. Nothng had changed recentley and I had it shut off for a month this summer but it was now back in use for the last two months. The shore voltage is good and nothing has changed with it's clearances or ability to cool. While we waited for it to stabilize after turning it down a touch I looked at prices of new units just in case I had to replace it.

The prices seem to range from about $340 to $600. I originaly paid $485 including delivery but I got $400 for my old frig. I also added $335 worth of 480 watt panels, another controller $150, two more GC2 $200, wire alumium breaker etc $100 for a total of $785 and installed myself. Except for the batteries the rest of the solar parts have a high probability of the costs being averaged out over a very long time. Just assuming that that two batteries and the fridge had to be replaced every 3 years it would be about $450 for the fridge and $180 for the batteries $630 divided by three years $210 per year. If my gas fridge had been replaced every 10 years it would be about $180 to $200 per year. If sitting on shore power it would be crazy to buy a gas fridge but if boondocking all the time it doesnt mean you have to have a gas fridge. It just means that you have to power it. If you dont want to go through all the work of powering it or cant take on on more weight and you are willing to accept less sq feet of interior space and then you have to stay with gas.

If I was staying with gas I would modify it differently then they do with the ARP type devices. The whole thing is flawed and insane from the very beginning. Resi or gas both have their pros and cons but right now I'm for the one that doesnt have as bad of a history of burning everything down. My old gas fridge was in excellent condition and had very little rust and was always level but it would be bad to return to a burned out rig or the worst part would be knowing that I left my dogs in a known fire trap. We all know what a cheesy industry RV's are but how did anyone ever let this whole thing continue on for so long? I dont think it's very hard to fix but it does require a little more money. It seems like it would be talked about on here.