Replaced the fridge Cooling Unit - DIY pictures

Question

We replaced the cooling unit in the Dometic fridge in the truck camper (and at the same time we helped a friend replace the cooling unit in their Class C.)

This is NOT a step by step "how to do it" series of photos.
These photos just give an idea of what you are in for if you do it yourself.

We bought new Amish made cooling units from David Force at RV Cooling Unit Warehouse
http://rvcoolingunit.com/RM2852-Dometic-Cooling-Unit-805a-P231911.aspx
clicky
David Force: 901-337-9948

Have to say that David Force is very knowledgeable about what he sells and patient beyond words.
Still have to say that it was way more complicated than I thought it was going to be. My hubby did a fantastic job. Fridge has been just fine for over a month. The one thing we should have done was replace the HEATING ELEMENT when we had the cooling unit laying on the table.
The heating elements in both units died about a week later and it was easy to get at the back of the fridge in the Class C but we had to pull the fridge out about six inches to get at it in the truck camper.

Pictures here

acampingwewillg · Answer

Wow....that looks like quite the job. Im glad it all went back together well..Good Job!

jolooote · Answer

How much $ did it save you?

96bounder30e · Answer

I just spoke with David Force this morning........I've got a new CU on it's way for my Dad's Motorhome.......Thanks for the pictures!

louiskathy · Answer

jolooote wrote:How much $ did it save you?Thanks for the compliment on the work done.  How much did it save us? ...With shipping we paid about $700 for the cooling unit.I think an entire new Dometic fridge would have been appx $1300.00 from Camping World. I don't know what they would have charged for installation.I did not want a cooling unit from Dometic.  I wanted a new (not rebuilt) Amish unit.  I'd heard they were better built.  After seeing them side by side... there's no doubt about it. The Amish unit is beefier. Our 8 cu ft unit lost it's "yellow powder". It was all over the grey paint. It's about 9 years old. It caught on fire when we switched it over to propane to see if it would work at all. (DUMB DUMB DUMB move.)Our friends 6 cu ft unit just looked like the coils were corroded through -   discolored spots all over the tubes. She had her's in storage and keeps it plugged into electric all winter. She went to use the rig and the fridge wouldn't get cold. It's about 11 years old.

louiskathy · Answer

96Bounder30E wrote:I just spoke with David Force this morning........I've got a new CU on it's way for my Dad's Motorhome.......Thanks for the pictures!There are lots of video's on YouTube and David Force will send info to you ahead of time. Don't get in a hurry. Be real attentive on the part where the video / instructions details on how the fins are to be placed in the fridge.  It's the trickiest part. Those screws get put in "just so".(I'm talking about the screws in between the fins... not the screws that hold the fridge into the opening.)Do it in the order that David Force tells you. I'm not going to try to describe the steps.  (Feel free to PM us, give us your phone number and I'll have hubby tell you how we installed our fridge...then took it back out, redid it the right way... and put it back in the opening.).... (Then a week later, unscrewed the screws that held it into the opening... again, took it partially back out to put in the HEATING ELEMENT that went bad.)We did two units... first ours and then theirs. Went real smooth on that 2nd one. Theirs didn't have the yellow gunky mess to deal with but theirs didn't catch on fire... ours did.

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Replaced the fridge Cooling Unit - DIY pictures

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