Replacing refrigerator.

[Latyj]

Driving a Monaco Diplomat 40', 4 slide, full time RVer. Looking to replace Dometic MED1402 with a residential fridge. Anyone else done this? Can it be done and how easily? Where would I go? Thanks.

[DSDP_Don]

Of all the Samsungs installed, I only heard of one with an issue. It was never installed because the person didn't measure correctly. The unit was placed in the garage as a second refer for the house. The refer side would not hold temp properly. Samsung serviced it several times to no avail and returned the owners money, leaving them the refer.

There is a recall on the Samsung though. Behind the panel at the back of the refer (inside) is a drain tube. It can be pinched by a bracket and cause the refer to not drain and freeze the tube. The bracket has to be adjusted...not sure of the exact description, but the recall can be found online.

We had ours in operation for over two years and 10000 miles before we sold the coach. It was a great refer. Even though it didn't have water and ice in the door, it had a huge ice bucket that probably holds 5 pounds of ice. Was great for boon docking when we would turn off the ice maker.

[DSDP_Don]

"bullydogs1".....Check your outlets at the back of the refer. For many years (I know at least 05 and 06) there were two outlets behind the refer. One was inverted and your ice maker plugged into it and the other was straight 110 volts.

When I added the residential refer to my Diplomat, I added a second Magnum inverter. It was their small 600 watt unit with pass thru. I mounted it above the inverter that came with the coach.

All you need to do to add inverter wiring is run romex to the rear of the refer....pretty easy to do.

[nemo45]

dougrainer wrote:
Jayco has stopped using the Samsung residential due to the high failure rate of the brand. So, stay away from Samsung, go with the other brands. Doug

Where do you get your information? We had ours installed over a year ago and have had no problems with it. There are literally 100's of people that have used the Samsung and I've never heard of any complaints. As far as we are concerned its the best mod we've ever done.

[John_S_]

If you want someone to do it for you, then Foretravel in Nacogcoches TX remodel shop can do it for you. Not a bad price and they have done a ton of them. Also across the street at Motorhomes of Texas will do it as well.

[Executive45]

Here's a link with pictures...I did it myself in a campground....Dennis

Residential fridge install

[Thunder_Mountai]

2006 Diplomat Samsung replacement. Everything you need to know.

[bullydogs1]

I have the Dometic 1402...I have always wondered about this and here's the challenge..The power outlets do NOT get fed by the inverter (where the fridge is plugged in now)..no AC..no power there...I modified the back of the fridge with a small fan in the top vent of the slide to keep air moving back there and in addition have a switch to turn on the bottom cooling fans to help keep air moving in thru the bottom and the top fan pulls the air thru...constant high 30's in the fridge and about 3 degrees in the freezer..I did have the defroster strip inside the drain throw a code 13 but once replaced under warranty, no problem since..I'm wondering how one setup power off the inverter in a unit like mine. Anyone come across that?

[showmetravelers]

Replacing a RV refrig with a residential refrig can and has been done. Our original RV refrig just quit. We wanted to replace with residential.

What kept us from doing so was the location of the RV refrig. It is located in the kitchen slide. We could find no residential unit to fit the space. We ended up with a new RV refrigerator.

However, to me, the defining question for a RVer deciding or choosing a residential should be the amount of boon-docking or off-the-grid parking is done. Unless you want to use generator or have surplus solar polar, the most off the line use would be about 40 hours. Friends who replaced with residential unit (and love it) were on the Alaskan ferry for 40 hours. The items inside the refrig werejust fine and the batteries were just beginning to lose power.

BTW: we are full timers and so are our friends with the residential unit. If part-timers, then rig would need to be plugged in if refrigerator is left on.

[dougrainer]

Jayco has stopped using the Samsung residential due to the high failure rate of the brand. So, stay away from Samsung, go with the other brands. Doug

[TechWriter]

frankdamp wrote:

. . . my honest opinion is that if the one you have is working, stay with it, but do the research into changing to a residential unit now so you're prepared to make the decision quickly if it dies.

This may be an option for a part-time RVer, but not for a full timer like the OP.

[TechWriter]

Latyj wrote:
Driving a Monaco Diplomat 40', 4 slide, full time RVer. Looking to replace Dometic MED1402 with a residential fridge. Anyone else done this? Can it be done and how easily? Where would I go? Thanks.

I think the fact that you're a full-time RVer makes all the difference. I am too, and about a year ago replaced my old Dometic NDR1292 with a residential Whirlpool because my Dometic could no longer stay cold.

Since I was on the road, I couldn't do the install myself (and probably would not have done it myself anyway), so I had the replacement done by Master Tech RV in Elkhart, IN. (If I had to do it again, I think I would have used Bradd and Hall.) A "standard" Master Tech RV residential install was $2000 + fridge cost.

If your Dometic is the "sidewise" model, then you should have plenty of space for a number of residential fridge brands.

[Gator48]

We also replaced our Norcold with a residential refrigerator a Samsung RF197 in stainless. The RF197 is still on the Samsung Website, but it appears the Stainless model is not there. The platnum however is still in production http://www.samsung.com/us/appliances/refrigerators/RF197ACPN/XAA

Good luck in which ever way you decide. It sure works great for us.

[DSDP_Don]

"Latyj"....I would guess that as many as one or two a week are being converted across the country. With all the new coaches coming with a residential refer and all the bad Norcolds being swapped out, it's now a common occurrence. If you do a search, you'll find posts that detail how to do it.

I changed mine out in my Diploma and did one in my sisters Itasca Meridian. It's a pretty easy process. The biggest stumbling block is some minor finish work when done.

Samsung made a refrigerator (RF197) that is about 6" taller than the refer you have now and fit into the same hole with the addition of the extra 6" in height. It didn't require you to do anything else, but turn it on. It worked well with your battery bank and modified sine wave inverter (MSW).

For some reason, Samsung discontinued this refer and replaced it with something a little larger. There are still some around. There are other refers that will work, but aren't as close of a fit. Many of the others require you to change to a pure sine wave inverter (PSW).

[gatorcq]

Whirlpool – WRF560SEYB00 - 19.6 Cu. Ft. French Door Refrigerator with Thru-the-Door Water

Link to my Photos

Also other refrigerators that I have seen installed.
Samsung - 19.7 Cu. Ft. French Door Refrigerator - Stainless Platinum

LG - 19.7 Cu. Ft. French Door Refrigerator - Stainless-Steel

Kitchen Aid - 19.6 Cu. Ft. French Door Refrigerator

I have also seen a Samsung 25CuFt Refrig