Magic Chef VISSANI Refrigerator

[Richard_999]

I just replaced my DOMETIC with a VISSANI household refrigerator.
BEFORE I bought it at Home Depot , I called their cust. svc. and was told it WOULD work with a generator - an inverter and no problems with using it in an RV.

NOW ...... after installing I called again, after reading in the manual , that NONE of that was true. Different person - different answers......

Has anyone out there had good OR bad experiences with this unit as a replacement ?

Thanks ... Rich

[Dutch_12078]

scout dad wrote:
Would like to throw this question out on the topic, if I need to replace my fridge at some point?? and go with a home style fridge and I will not use it dry camping only at CG with hook ups, would I need anything special other than plug it wall and hooking up trailer to pole?

Yep, that's all that's really needed. If you travel long distances to get to the CG, the fridge may not hold temps really well, but a few freezer packs can help with that. The inverter for our residential fridge died a month or so ago, and I haven't replaced it yet. Every 4 hours or so, if the fridge temps are getting to high, I run our onboard generator for a half hour or so to bring the temps back down. Most of the time it holds fine from CG to CG though, without any extra help.

[scout_dad]

Would like to throw this question out on the topic, if I need to replace my fridge at some point?? and go with a home style fridge and I will not use it dry camping only at CG with hook ups, would I need anything special other than plug it wall and hooking up trailer to pole?

[JC2]

I agree. 😄

[Gdetrailer]

JC2 wrote:
Gdetrailer,

Your probably right but I don't think that (2) way street the appliance manufacture is trying to walk would hold up in court if they were pushed. We, like so many rvers, have canned the rv fridges in favor of the "more reliable" residential fridges. We removed our Dometic NDR1062 and replaced it with a Haier 10.2 cu ft residential last year. Works fine on our 2000W inverter and (4) house bateteries but we more often will have the genie running so use that for power.

Happens a lot more than one would think.

There are a lot of UPS units floating around Hospitals operating critical computer and electric items.. Pretty much all of the UPS manufacturers put the disclaimer IN the manual which states something like "Not for Life Support"..

I CAN guarantee that there IS a lot of them emmbeded in critical life support systems..

But really, we are talking about a home fridge which costs what $300 and if you go crazy $1200, which will have no more than a 1 years PARTS and 90 day LABOR warranty.. IF you are lucky, they may offer a 5 yr COMPRESSOR PARTS ONLY warranty (YOU will pay the labor and service call cost).. The parts are the cheap part, paying labor and service call prices are the expensive part.

So, in the end if you or I put a home fridge in a RV, we MAY (remember, the manufacturer MIGHT void but then again they MIGHT HONOR the warranty) lose out on a 1 yr max of warranty..

To me, not worth the hassle to worry about, I will just go buy another fridge. In the whole realm of things, it often is not worth getting a fridge repaired, the only exception would be if it was under the 90 day parts and labor warranty.. IF it fails within the first 30 days MOST stores WILL take it back and TRADE (replace your broken one and replace with a new one.

If it fails after a couple of years, buy a new one, after all a new one will still be cheaper than a RV fridge.. I figured all I needed was mine to last 5 yrs and at that point I would be pretty much at the break even point when comparing the average life of a RV fridge compared to a home fridge. So far, I am at the 10 yr mark so my $300 fridge is a great bargain compared to a $1500 RV fridge which I would expect a life of about 10-15yrs..

Yes, RV manufacturers who put home fridges in will most likely have their warranties honored without any hassle..

But really unless it is a $1200 home fridge why worry about it?

[JC2]

Gdetrailer,

Your probably right but I don't think that (2) way street the appliance manufacture is trying to walk would hold up in court if they were pushed. We, like so many rvers, have canned the rv fridges in favor of the "more reliable" residential fridges. We removed our Dometic NDR1062 and replaced it with a Haier 10.2 cu ft residential last year. Works fine on our 2000W inverter and (4) house bateteries but we more often will have the genie running so use that for power.

[Gdetrailer]

JC2 wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:

Richard_999 wrote:
GdeTrailer ... Actually , I was not clear on it , but , it was Magic Chef / Vissani that gave me all of the 'strange' advice.
Like you say , I can replace it many times for less than a Dometic.
THANKS for he respone.

JRclark ... Glad to hear your experiences. Thank you. That is reassuring.

Yep, most home fridge manuals will state something about not using in a RV, not using with a inverter and or generator..

Those warnings are there to reflect the fact that they do not "guarantee" or "warrantee" the item if used in that manor..

In other words their 90 day "warranty" is pretty much null and void so if it fails within the warranty period AND it has been in use in a RV or with a generator or inverter they may chose to void any and all warranty..

I personally don't worry so much about the average "warranty" on most items, in most cases the item WILL fail OUTSIDE the warranty period anyways..

And even if something as large as a fridge fails inside the warranty period, how in the world are you going to get it repaired or replaced without it costing an arm and leg to ship back or pay the mobile service techs mobile fees.. Even if it fails within the warranty period you are often responsible for service call fees or shipping fees!

Most warranties are not worth the paper they are written on so don't sweat it!

What I find interesting about them stating, not waranteed in a rv is that only if we/you do the install. If so, don't they warrantee their products if installed by rv manufactures in the assembly plant? :?

I suspect the RV manufacturers have an "agreement" worked out with the Home fridge manufacturer in order to "preserve" the OEM warranty.. Part of that is the RV manufacturer will most likely have to follow any specific installation requirements that the home fridge manufacturer requires.

In business there is often "exemptions" given by one manufacturer in order for another manufacturer to incorporate an item..

Example, many inverters will state not for say LIFE SUPPORT usage.. But yet you CAN often find the same inverter INSTALLED in critical places like ambulances which have the possibility for use with life support equipment.. Ironic perhaps?

[JC2]

Gdetrailer wrote:

Richard_999 wrote:
GdeTrailer ... Actually , I was not clear on it , but , it was Magic Chef / Vissani that gave me all of the 'strange' advice.
Like you say , I can replace it many times for less than a Dometic.
THANKS for he respone.

JRclark ... Glad to hear your experiences. Thank you. That is reassuring.

Yep, most home fridge manuals will state something about not using in a RV, not using with a inverter and or generator..

Those warnings are there to reflect the fact that they do not "guarantee" or "warrantee" the item if used in that manor..

In other words their 90 day "warranty" is pretty much null and void so if it fails within the warranty period AND it has been in use in a RV or with a generator or inverter they may chose to void any and all warranty..

I personally don't worry so much about the average "warranty" on most items, in most cases the item WILL fail OUTSIDE the warranty period anyways..

And even if something as large as a fridge fails inside the warranty period, how in the world are you going to get it repaired or replaced without it costing an arm and leg to ship back or pay the mobile service techs mobile fees.. Even if it fails within the warranty period you are often responsible for service call fees or shipping fees!

Most warranties are not worth the paper they are written on so don't sweat it!

What I find interesting about them stating, not waranteed in a rv is that only if we/you do the install. If so, don't they warrantee their products if installed by rv manufactures in the assembly plant? :?

[Gdetrailer]

Richard_999 wrote:
GdeTrailer ... Actually , I was not clear on it , but , it was Magic Chef / Vissani that gave me all of the 'strange' advice.
Like you say , I can replace it many times for less than a Dometic.
THANKS for he respone.

JRclark ... Glad to hear your experiences. Thank you. That is reassuring.

Yep, most home fridge manuals will state something about not using in a RV, not using with a inverter and or generator..

Those warnings are there to reflect the fact that they do not "guarantee" or "warrantee" the item if used in that manor..

In other words their 90 day "warranty" is pretty much null and void so if it fails within the warranty period AND it has been in use in a RV or with a generator or inverter they may chose to void any and all warranty..

I personally don't worry so much about the average "warranty" on most items, in most cases the item WILL fail OUTSIDE the warranty period anyways..

And even if something as large as a fridge fails inside the warranty period, how in the world are you going to get it repaired or replaced without it costing an arm and leg to ship back or pay the mobile service techs mobile fees.. Even if it fails within the warranty period you are often responsible for service call fees or shipping fees!

Most warranties are not worth the paper they are written on so don't sweat it!

[Richard_999]

GdeTrailer ... Actually , I was not clear on it , but , it was Magic Chef / Vissani that gave me all of the 'strange' advice.
Like you say , I can replace it many times for less than a Dometic.
THANKS for he respone.

JRclark ... Glad to hear your experiences. Thank you. That is reassuring.

[jrclark]

I installed a VISSANI refrigerator two winters ago. We winter in Tucson. The refrigerator works fine on both the generator and inverter (pure sine wave). At first I was concerned but after almost two years with out any problems my concern is gone. It is a much better product than the Dometic it replaced and a lot more interior space.

[Gdetrailer]

Richard_999 wrote:
I just replaced my DOMETIC with a VISSANI household refrigerator.
BEFORE I bought it at Home Depot , I called their cust. svc. and was told it WOULD work with a generator - an inverter and no problems with using it in an RV.

NOW ...... after installing I called again, after reading in the manual , that NONE of that was true. Different person - different answers......

Has anyone out there had good OR bad experiences with this unit as a replacement ?

Thanks ... Rich

Your first mistake is calling Home Depot "customer service".. Of course they are going to tell you anything you want to hear just to make the sale..

Unless it specifically tells you in the manual there should be no problem running your fridge from a generator, inverter or in a RV..

SOME manufacturers will place disclaimers in the manual warning about such use, they do that in order to wiggle their way out of "warranty" issues in case you have a failure..

Your fridge will be fine in your RV and it will work on gen or inverter, just be aware that if it breaks during warranty period the manufacturer may void the warranty.. But hey, it IS cheaper than a RV fridge, right? So if you think about it, even if it only lasted two years you are money ahead even if you had to replace the residential fridge..

Just as a FYI, my Haier 10 cu ft home fridge is now going on it's 10th year of camping service.. and it HAS been used with a MSW inverter too boot during this time.

[Richard_999]

The Magic Chef owners manual says it is NOT for use in RVs , generators and especially with inverters. There is no explanation WHY !
Their cust support just says .... it will destroy the life expectancy and void any warranty.
The only reason I got was ....... " BECAUSE ... it is made for home use "

Perhaps a STEAK KNIFE can ONLY be used with STEAKS ... and nothing else ?

I did get a call back from a lady in the ESCALATION dept. who has a motorhome, and she said it should work just fine and she would not hesitate to put one in hers, if needed.

I have decided to stick with my plan, and keep it, and get a XANTREX Prowatt 600 PURE Sine Wave Inverter, and not look back.

I stopped at an RV dealer for a few parts, and learned that MANY of the newer RV models do come with RESIDENTIAL fridges, and inverters ... so ..... I guess I am on safe ground with my plan.

Thanks to all ... Rich

[westend]

What are the technical issues with using the fridge on generator power? A pure sine inverter will usually make cleaner power than a utility.

FWIW, I use a 120 V fridge in my trailer and it has worked flawlessly, most of the time on inverted power.

Edit: I DL'ed an owner's manual from Magic Chef and found this warning in the installation section " Plug the refrigerator into dedicated, properly installed-grounded wall outlet. Do not under any
circumstances cut or remove the third (ground) prong from the power cord. Any questions
concerning power and/or grounding should be directed toward a certified electrician or an
authorized service center. This unit is not designed to be installed in an RV or used with an
inverter."
This is probably a safety concern with Magic Chef as they may have encountered inverters or generators with a lifted ground. It has nothing to do with the performance of the fridge.

[Old-Biscuit]

Well......

You have it installed.......does it work?


What was issue in manual/customer service that it wouldn't?