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1rickw's avatar
1rickw
Explorer
Jul 06, 2013

Bad time for Fridge to quit

Yesterday the DW was walking by the MH and she heard a hissing sound. I could barely hear it but I barely hear anyway. I went inside and the freezer was at 0 degrees as it usually is. I Ignored the sound, saying that the heating unit was probably starting up.

This morning I decided to wash the MH because we are going for seven days on our next trip. We are going to Jackson California, which is usually very hot during July. As I was rinsing the side with the fridge, I noticed "yellow" water dripping from the grill. I pulled the grill and wiped up alot of yellow water, and rinsed again. More yellow water.

I opened the door to the MH and walked inside. It smelled like dead fish inside. When I opened the Freezer door, the temp was now 10 degrees above 0. So it turns out, the cooling unit is kaput. My RV guy can't get a new one until middle of next week and then it needs to be installed.

So DW and I went to Costco and bought a small portable Fridge to use for 7 days. We certainly won't be able to take all the food we usually have, so I guess it will be daily shopping while we are gone. Oh Well, I guess 10 years plugged in isn't too bad.
  • 1rickw's avatar
    1rickw
    Explorer
    Aug 26, 2013
    Just an UPDATE.

    I took the MH in to have the cooling unit replaced. They put it in but there were still other problems. A week before they received the new cooling unit, I went in and asked them if it would be better just get a new refer. Well they finally put a new one in. They installed a Norcold instead of the Dometic. When I got it home, I put the temp controller on 9 to make sure that it would be cold. When I checked it, the Freezer was 20 degrees BELOW zero and the Frig was 20 degrees. I have finally lower the cooling number to 3 and it seems to be much better. Still a little cold but not a Deep Freeze. The Dometic would never get below 0 degrees in the Freezer. It was 10 years old.

    This is what I am wondering: This was one of the Dometics had a recall several years ago because of fire damage concerns. They installed some guard around the gas burner to keep a fire from spreading. I wonder how many other of these Dometics are going to spring a leak and have to be replaced. Dometic should have replaced at the get-go.
  • siggyd777's avatar
    siggyd777
    Explorer
    Jul 06, 2013
    That new little fridge will come in very handy as an outside fridge
    in the basement when all is fixed.
    Siggy
  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    Jul 06, 2013
    The fridge in our first RV was old and flaky. Talking about the FRIDGE, not the RV's owners... The thing's essentially an Ice Chest, Plus a Cooling Unit, Plus Controls. That's why an otherwise good fridge is salvageable with a Cooling Unit, but my point here is that it's also an ICE CHEST. There was a place in town where we could get a block of Dry Ice. That, in one of the Crisper Bins, lasted a long weekend. If you have a source for BLOCK Ice, you can hold your food for several days on a Block or two. Cubed, Chipped, etc. Ice won't hold up.
  • Dog_Folks's avatar
    Dog_Folks
    Explorer
    Jul 06, 2013
    It is never a "good" time for it to fail.

    At least you were not out on the road, in the middle of nowhere.

    When ours failed my wife noted that I was not even upset. In a way, I was glad to get rid of that potential fire hazard, piece of junk that the maker would not fix properly. As another poster noted: Band Aid on a compound fracture.
  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    Jul 06, 2013
    Read through that sticky about Dometic Recall (and probably the Norcold one) and you'll see they felt no obligation to replace the faulty cooling units, only to try and keep fire from spreading. Band-Aid also hides a Compound Fracture.

    You can get a New or Reman or Modified Cooling Unit and many are happy with the results of a DIY install. Having a tech install one probably approaches the cost of a new fridge.

    There IS a condition where changing only the Cooling Unit could make sense. In some RVs, the Fridge won't readily come out, since it was in place before Walls went on, Windows went in, etc. Cooling Unit CAN be changed by pulling the fridge and work on it inside the coach.
  • 1rickw's avatar
    1rickw
    Explorer
    Jul 06, 2013
    I had the recall work done a couple of years ago. They installed a sheet metal plate around the burner so it wouldn't catch fire, but did not do any replacement of the cooling tubes.
  • PapPappy's avatar
    PapPappy
    Explorer
    Jul 06, 2013
    We did the same thing....got a little dorm fridge, and also used a cooler.

    Check to see if your fridge is covered by any recall. I had a new cooling unit installed for free! I did have to pay for a new circuit board, since that wasn't part of the recall.
    Go to the mfgr's site to see if your unit is covered.

    I had the little dorm fridge held onto the galley table with a ratchet-type cargo strap:) It worked great! And you start to figure what you really need to have refrigerated, because of the limited space.

    Happy Cammping:)

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