Advice on residential fridge in Class C please

[wandering_bark]

Having seen an RV in my area burned down due to a refrigerator fire, I'm rather nervous about my Dometic, 3 years old and in my 27ft class C. I've read a little about res. fridges, but some negatives, so I would ask for a bit of advice on how long they last, durable brand, et cetera. I full time, rarely boondock, and have a good generator in case wherever I am parked the electric goes out.
What are you using and where do I find a good one, perhaps with a freezer in the top? Thanks, I have read about a few in this forum, but need more info.
Wandering Bark, 27ft Born Free.

[camperdave]

This may be obvious, but before buying a new fridge make sure you can get it into the motorhome! 🙂

[T18skyguy]

Make sure your current frig is not subject to any recall. I think both Dometic and Norcold have a few recalls. If there are no recalls you should be ok.

[ronfisherman]

youracman wrote:
FWIW: An option I believe worth considering is to get rid of the hydrogen-charged unit (think Hindenburg) and replace it with a helium- charged unit. A residential would work OK for me as I am a "pole-to-pole" camper, but a potential buyer for my rig some day may well prefer boondocking .... as many do.

One could install a new cooling unit as a DIY project, but I will likely plan a trip back East to have it done next spring. Kinda pricey, but I feel I need to do something as my "working just fine" OEM Norcold is getting long of tooth at 11+ years. The extra capacity that this outfit touts sounds good too. http://jc-refrigeration.com/products/ and he has really great reviews.

In any event...........safe travels. ed s

Along with JC-Refrigeration. There is also National RV Refrigeration. I got my cooling unit replace by them a few years ago. They started replacement inside MH at 8am. At 9:30 power was back on. Could not tell they had been working inside when job was completed. They also ship cooling units.

[youracman]

FWIW: An option I believe worth considering is to get rid of the hydrogen-charged unit (think Hindenburg) and replace it with a helium- charged unit. A residential would work OK for me as I am a "pole-to-pole" camper, but a potential buyer for my rig some day may well prefer boondocking .... as many do.

One could install a new cooling unit as a DIY project, but I will likely plan a trip back East to have it done next spring. Kinda pricey, but I feel I need to do something as my "working just fine" OEM Norcold is getting long of tooth at 11+ years. The extra capacity that this outfit touts sounds good too. http://jc-refrigeration.com/products/ and he has really great reviews.

In any event...........safe travels. ed s

[wandering_bark]

Thank you for the responses. The freezer part appears to stay frozen, while the general, milk, egg, veggie area below seems cool but not cold enough...and the gage at the top where elec/LP and the temp control reads differently...went to 42 degrees yesterday to 37 this morning...but that's only the freezer part(it's a two-door). I've called a tech person to come look at it in hopes he'll know what it is and how to fix it.
In light of maybe having to dry camp at some point, I think I prefer the ac/LP regular RV fridge. They don't like generators running at some parks, even when the elec. goes out. I've had no problems with my Generac starting every time and running for the hours I need.
Again, thank you all. Have a safe and happy season.

[time2roll]

Three years? Give it at least ten.

[Photomike]

wandering bark wrote:
Having seen an RV in my area burned down due to a refrigerator fire, I'm rather nervous about my Dometic, 3 years old and in my 27ft class C. I've read a little about res. fridges, but some negatives, so I would ask for a bit of advice on how long they last, durable brand, et cetera. I full time, rarely boondock, and have a good generator in case wherever I am parked the electric goes out.
What are you using and where do I find a good one, perhaps with a freezer in the top? Thanks, I have read about a few in this forum, but need more info.
Wandering Bark, 27ft Born Free.

With the hundred of thousand units on the market and you only have heard of one I would not worry. Make sure it is maintained and enjoy. More things to worry about than the fridge.

[BFL13]

BTDT. A 120v only fridge off grid is a nail-biting nightmare. No matter how much solar and batteries your have. No fun; not why you are out there.

Don't do it unless you are sure your max off-grid time is one, or maybe even two with solar, days.

That is with no generator. With a gen "it depends".

[garyemunson]

Both style fridges have their strong points. If you pretty much always stay at RV parks, residentials are better, if you are prone to dry camp, the gas ones are more practical. Take inventory how you camp and decide based on that.

[DutchmenSport]

I've had 3 different travel trailers and never had an issue with any of the refrigerators. All three were left turned on electric with propane back-up 24x7, except in January-February when the camper(s) were shut down completely because it was just too costly to heat them.

Now, in our new 5er it has an all electric residential refrigerator. It has dependency on an inverter to keep electricity running when not plugged into shore power, but when traveling, the inverter is powered from the 5er battery and the battery is constantly being charged by the truck. So, while in transit, it works wonderful.

Now, our last trip was just last week, and we got caught short and the last night of our trip home we stayed in a motel. The trailer was not plugged into shore power at the motel, and I did not run the inverter while traveling all day. So, basically, the refrigerator was turned off for about 20 hours.

The freezer and refrigerator temperatures are constant at -2 and 34 (F). After 20 hours the temperatures were 28 and 51. Of course, that next day of travel I made sure the inverter was turned back on again and within 2 hours, the temps in were back to -2 and 34. Nothing had a chance to thaw in the freezer compartment.

So, over all, I was most pleased with the residential refrigerator. It's a Samsung.

The only difference between the Montana High Country 375FL and the 374FL? The 375 has a residential refrigerator and inverter. The 374 has a gas-electric refrigerator and no inverter. I think, knowing what I know now, after only less than 3 months, I'd rather have the gas-electric version. But I'm making the most of the one I have. It is a really good refrigerator. It just take AC power and not gas as a back up.

[Lwiddis]

Adequate batteries and solar are a better alternative power source for when you are dry camping or the power goes out at an RV park. Quiet too. You saw one fridge fire but I’ve never seen any since 1978. Not a “worry” area for me or hundreds of thousands of others.

[azrving]

I installed a 10 cu ft whirlpool 2 years ago. I also installed more solar at the same time and run six GC2. I had the same concerns but also gained better temp control and room.

Mine uses about 75 amp hours per day. If I didn't want to do all that is necessary for a residential I'd remove the gas fridge and line the cabinet with sheet metal all the way up to the vent. I'm sure a tin knocker could even make a vent cover.

No appliances in residential or commercial use would be designed with plywood near potential fire sources. If there is a gas release it doesn't have the capacity within the coil to flame up for real long. If the fire is caused by an electrical component it has far less chance of spreading if it's on sheet metal.