My refrigerator went out. Propane and 120v produce heat but it doesn't cool. There is no sign of a leak.I think my cooling unit went out due to heat and lack of ventilation. I keep my RV in the California desert and run the refrigerator about 8 months out of the year. My RV is level and stays in the same location so I don't think it being level was a contributing factor. The temp is often 90 to 100+ degrees and I didn't have any fans installed. When I get a new unit, I plan on installing a few 5" fans at the top of the vent in addition to one of the fan kits that mount to the refrigerator. It's still going to be hot outside but I'll keep the air flowing through. I'm trying to decide between a new or refurbished cooling unit. I don't think I would benefit from the new units that are thicker because leaking and operating the refrigerator off level isn't the issue I need to overcome. They don't do anything extra to address the cooling which is my problem. My concern about a refurbished unit is that it seems like the condition of the unit they refurbish is random luck. How do they know that it doesn't have a weak spot because a leak was developing but didn't surface?Any recommendations on vendors?

have your unit rebuilt ,place theres places that do this. one indiana I think .google rebuild rv frig.

What warranty is provided with a referb as compared to the warranty on a new cooling unit. I would wonder if it may be appropriate to have a refrigeration tech diagnose the problem. Perhaps it isn't the cooling unit.

Are you plugged in most of the time? Consider a residential compressor fridge.

When my Dometic went belly-up near Tucson, I told the RV service person to fix it like it was his own. He put in a rebuilt unit.

When mine went, there was no doubt in my mind; new unit. If I'm going to put in all that labor, I'm putting in a new unit.

Cooler Unit Replacement - New or Refurbished? | Good Sam Community

CJW8
Explorer
Jan 22, 2016
The OP said there was no sign of a leak so why is everyone assuming it needs a new cooling unit? I just went through this with mine and that is what the technician originally thought too, needs a new cooling unit. After going through all of the test that Norcold required before they'd agree to replacing the cooling unit, it ended up a new control board. Find the service manual for your unit or give us the model #. Maybe you only need to spend $100 vs $1200, who knows without diagnosing.
Chum_lee
Explorer
Jan 22, 2016
When my 12 year old Dometic DM 2652 went out two years ago (ammonia smell) I replaced it with a new unit. The nicest thing about the new unit is the upgraded HAND pulls on the freezer/refrigerator doors instead of the old style finger pulls. Even with my strong hands it was sometimes difficult to break the vacuum seal on the freezer door using only my fingers. I don't know if they upgrade the door handles when they rebuild the unit but everyday I'm glad to have the new handle upgrade.

The shelves in the new unit are thinner and cheaper in quality. If you save the door shelves out of the old unit, having a few extra shelves is a nice option to have. Not all the old shelves are interchangeable. The door shelves are but not the main shelves in the frig.

Chum lee
pianotuna
Nomad III
Jan 21, 2016
Duty cycle on my absorption fridge with an ambient temperature of 18 c (64 f) IS 3/2 (I.E. 40 minutes of run time for every hour). Daily consumption is about 5.8 kwh, or three times as much as a residential fridge.
time2roll
Nomad
Jan 21, 2016
pianotuna wrote:
Hi smk,

I agree except he wishes to run the air conditioner as well.

smkettner wrote:
pianotuna wrote:
I'd beef up the solar a bit more and move to a residential fridge.
1300 watts seems like enough.
To me the real issue is enough battery to last 5 or 10 days with no sun.
Would have to keep existing that switches off for the air and a separate 1000w inverter for the residential fridge.

On a 24 hr basis the residential should use less power running 24/7 than the absorption fridge running 50/50 on electric/propane. So overall the residential should use less of the solar and allow for continued air conditioning.
mlts22
Explorer
Jan 20, 2016
I like the Amish cooling units as mentioned above. They seem to be better built than the factory units, and I have read extremely positive things about them over the years on this forum. I'd probably go that route.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Jan 20, 2016
Hi smk,

I agree except he wishes to run the air conditioner as well.

smkettner wrote:
pianotuna wrote:
I'd beef up the solar a bit more and move to a residential fridge.
1300 watts seems like enough.
To me the real issue is enough battery to last 5 or 10 days with no sun.
time2roll
Nomad
Jan 20, 2016
pianotuna wrote:
I'd beef up the solar a bit more and move to a residential fridge.
1300 watts seems like enough.
To me the real issue is enough battery to last 5 or 10 days with no sun.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Jan 20, 2016
I'd beef up the solar a bit more and move to a residential fridge.
KRumm
Explorer
Jan 20, 2016
You might read up and consider the Amish replacement & rebuilds
rhagfo
Explorer III
Jan 20, 2016
N-Trouble wrote:
http://rvcoolingunit.com/

Looked of better quality and cooled better than the original Dometic unit ever did

X2

Very good replacement units!

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