New cooling unit or refurbish?

[GuyCanRV]

I need to make a decision shortly on which way to go
for a Dometic cooling unit.

If I send my unit in for repairs it will cost around
$870 U.S. with a 5 year warranty.

If I buy a new unit it will cost around $550 U.S.
(I still need to find out if the new unit will fit my fridge).

I'm in Canada and the repair would be in Canada.
The new unit would be shipped from the U.S.

Suggestions?

[ajriding]

If it were me I would not worry about a 5 yr warranty. I bet most or nearly all rebuilt or new units will pass the 5 yr mark.
Really the enemy is rust inside and running off-level. You can control the level.
The rust will eventually make a hole in the pipe and then coolant leaks out. A rebuilt unit will not fix damage done by rust, it can only clean the pipe out.
Given this I still would not put a warranty high on the list.

I have always rolled the dice on used units and not gone over $600. They have all worked, and the first one I bought eventually leaked, but it was after 15 years of me using it.

Don't get one too old.

[dougrainer]

GuyCanRV wrote:

dougrainer wrote:
Does your OLD Servel have MANUAL controls? In other words, it does NOT use 12 volts to operate the control system? If so, you are stuck in a hard place if you cannot find a replacement cooling unit. I am not aware of any RV refer built in the last 30 or more years that does NOT require 12 volts to operate the control system. From my search, you will only find a 400 cooling unit new. At a cost BEFORE shipping of $1100 to $1400 US dollars. I would bite the bullet and get a NEW RV refer, purchase an inexpensive 120 to 12 volt converter to operate the controls and install. Doug

I'm not sure exactly what you are cautioning about?
My unit operates either 120V or Gas.
It has manual controls.

I am NOT cautioning you. I am telling you the plain facts. OLDER Model Norcolds/Dometics/Servel/Sibir refer's used MANUAL controls to operate the LP and 120 function. NO 12 volts needed. Current RV refers require 12 volts to operate BOTH LP and 120. So, if you did go the NEW refer route you would have to get that 120 to 12 volt converter. BTW, Leisure RV in Winkler, Manitoba drives all their factory parts warranty and Customer Pay across the USA border to ship to USA Dealers. Saves them a bundle on UPS charges. Doug

[GuyCanRV]

dougrainer wrote:
Does your OLD Servel have MANUAL controls? In other words, it does NOT use 12 volts to operate the control system? If so, you are stuck in a hard place if you cannot find a replacement cooling unit. I am not aware of any RV refer built in the last 30 or more years that does NOT require 12 volts to operate the control system. From my search, you will only find a 400 cooling unit new. At a cost BEFORE shipping of $1100 to $1400 US dollars. I would bite the bullet and get a NEW RV refer, purchase an inexpensive 120 to 12 volt converter to operate the controls and install. Doug

I'm not sure exactly what you are cautioning about?
My unit operates either 120V or Gas.
It has manual controls.

[GuyCanRV]

StirCrazy wrote:

GuyCanRV wrote:
Well I just got off the phone with Cooling Unit Warehouse
and finally understand what he was trying to tell me last month.

First off Amish does NOT make new cooling units for my model RGE400.
They only only rebuild old units.

Secondly, Cooling Unit Warehouse will not ship the RGE400 unit to Canada, only the U.S.

So even if I could have one shipped from Cooling Unit Warehouse I would be in the same situation I am in with the Canadian dealer.
In both cases they would simply be re-building a unit.

are you close to the boarder, if so, do you know someone who lives just over the boarder you could ship it to and then whip down and pick it up? or if you are reasonably close you could get one of thoes post box services and ship to that and do a trip to pick it up. the warenty of the local guy might be good though.

Steve

Steve

It's interesting that you mentioned this. In my discussion with Cooling Unit Warehouse, the fellow suggested the same thing as a possible solution.

Had it been for a new cooling unit I certainly would have considered it. But seeing as I would get a 5-year warranty from the local guy
I decided to go that route.
I'm currently building a crate for shipping it.

[dougrainer]

Does your OLD Servel have MANUAL controls? In other words, it does NOT use 12 volts to operate the control system? If so, you are stuck in a hard place if you cannot find a replacement cooling unit. I am not aware of any RV refer built in the last 30 or more years that does NOT require 12 volts to operate the control system. From my search, you will only find a 400 cooling unit new. At a cost BEFORE shipping of $1100 to $1400 US dollars. I would bite the bullet and get a NEW RV refer, purchase an inexpensive 120 to 12 volt converter to operate the controls and install. Doug

[akkeosflomdis]

The cooling unit went out, so I did the normal looking around at options. To replace the whole frig would have cost way to much plus the unit would have had to come in through the windshield. Putting a residential frig was not an option as it would have required to much wood work to make it look like it belonged. I do not do good with woodwork.

[StirCrazy]

GuyCanRV wrote:
Well I just got off the phone with Cooling Unit Warehouse
and finally understand what he was trying to tell me last month.

First off Amish does NOT make new cooling units for my model RGE400.
They only only rebuild old units.

Secondly, Cooling Unit Warehouse will not ship the RGE400 unit to Canada, only the U.S.

So even if I could have one shipped from Cooling Unit Warehouse I would be in the same situation I am in with the Canadian dealer.
In both cases they would simply be re-building a unit.

are you close to the boarder, if so, do you know someone who lives just over the boarder you could ship it to and then whip down and pick it up? or if you are reasonably close you could get one of thoes post box services and ship to that and do a trip to pick it up. the warenty of the local guy might be good though.

Steve

Steve

[Tom_M1]

GuyCanRV wrote:
I am NOT a normal person!!!!

I have HIGH sensitivity to noise!!!

I have slept in the room with my RGE400 fridge many times.
I could NEVER do that with a compressor fridge!

Do you understand my situation now? 🙂

Perfectly. You should have mentioned this earlier. A ticking clock drives me nuts but a compressor fridge does not. To each their own. Good luck with your repair.

[GuyCanRV]

Well I just got off the phone with Cooling Unit Warehouse
and finally understand what he was trying to tell me last month.

First off Amish does NOT make new cooling units for my model RGE400.
They only only rebuild old units.

Secondly, Cooling Unit Warehouse will not ship the RGE400 unit to Canada, only the U.S.

So even if I could have one shipped from Cooling Unit Warehouse I would be in the same situation I am in with the Canadian dealer.
In both cases they would simply be re-building a unit.

[GuyCanRV]

ajriding wrote:
This is why I like to answer the OPs question, and not try to tell him why he is wrong...

Hotels used to use in-room absorption fridges for their silent running too.

Thanks!
Yep you got it. If compressor fridges were silent like absorption fridges
there would be no need for the hotel absorption fridges (which I greatly appreciate when they are available).

I think you are asking whether to buy a new one for $500 or have yours rebuilt for $600... That seems like an obvious answer: new one for less money. I think Im missing something.

I'm not sure of the warranty length for the Amish new unit (1 yr or 5 yrs)?
If it's just 1 year then the 5 yr. for a rebuilt would make an important difference (plus it's in Canada for less costly shipping).

But all of this would be moot if the Amish unit won't fit my fridge.
I need to find out if there is indeed an 'old' RGE400 and a 'new' RGE400 that
are built differently.

The used one will have rust inside that will not get rebuilt. Only the boiler portion gets rebuilt I think.
I would not worry about a 5 year warranty. Especially in a house - it should last years and years. It will either not work right away or last another 10-20 years.

When I speak to the Canadian dealer again I will ask for details on what/how exactly they repair the cooling units.
When I spoke to him previously he was assuring me of a total re-working
of the unit, from top to bottom.

Do still look at the DC Danfoss-style compressor fridges. They do run very quiet, and if you add a little insulation around where the compressor is it might be silent enough for you.
I have a fridge just feet from my bed and since I added exterior insulation it is almost silent.
As stated, there are Danfoss compressor cooling units you can put in gas fridges. It takes a little do-it-yourself work, but is a good option.

I've seen a lot of compressor fridges in my day and have yet to see one that can match the sound levels of an absorption fridge (essentially silent).
I was spoiled with my fridge and now there is no turning back.

I'm particularly sensitive to LOW frequency hums (which just happen to be the sound that comes out of compressors).

[GuyCanRV]

This is a photo of the Amish cooling unit that is being sold for the RGE400.

https://rvcoolingunit.com/RGE400-Dometic-Cooling-Unit--P911121.aspx

You will notice there are 4 'rings' of piping coming up
from the 'cylinder' (forgive my poor terminology).

When you look at mine (I wish I could upload my photo here, don't know how) you can see 8 'rings' of piping coming up from the 'cylinder'
before you get to the foam that inserts into the fridge.

This is why I need confirmation that the Amish cooling unit would fit my fridge.

This was part of a confusing e-mail exchange (replies) I had with 'RV Cooling Unit Warehouse':

(first) We do not ship remanufactured cooling units to Canada, we only ship Brand-new Amish built cooling unit to CANADA an there are no new RGE400 coils.

(second) There is no Brand-new cooling unit available for the OLD model RGE400

(third) Never heard of any Brand-new cooling unit made for the RGE400 and then changed to give is a new name. Here is the closest PDF file we would have for the RGE400 change out

So that exchange left me scratching my head. 😞

[ajriding]

This is why I like to answer the OPs question, and not try to tell him why he is wrong...

Hotels used to use in-room absorption fridges for their silent running too.

I think you are asking whether to buy a new one for $500 or have yours rebuilt for $600... That seems like an obvious answer: new one for less money. I think Im missing something.

The used one will have rust inside that will not get rebuilt. Only the boiler portion gets rebuilt I think.
I would not worry about a 5 year warranty. Especially in a house - it should last years and years. It will either not work right away or last another 10-20 years.

99% of the reason for fridges to go bad is people run them off-level, which never happens in a house.

Do still look at the DC Danfoss-style compressor fridges. They do run very quiet, and if you add a little insulation around where the compressor is it might be silent enough for you.
I have a fridge just feet from my bed and since I added exterior insulation it is almost silent.
As stated, there are Danfoss compressor cooling units you can put in gas fridges. It takes a little do-it-yourself work, but is a good option.

[Gdetrailer]

GuyCanRV wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:


Junk it.


... You are just throwing money away not just in the repair but in electricity.

Electricity costs are NOT an issue for me at all.
NOISE is.

I knew when I bought my unit 20 years ago (8 cu. ft.) I was paying
more than twice the price for a fridge that gave me less than half the space of a compressor fridge.
I was more than willing to pay for it.

The extra electricity bills are a non-issue for me.

Residential fridge is what you should be using not an ammonia filled absorbsion fridge.

Find me a totally silent compressor fridge and I'll buy it. 🙂

Do you want to know how sensitive I am to noise?
Do you know those Coke fridges at the cash counters in many stores?
They drive me crazy!

Just because you have gotten 20 yrs of use out of it doesn't mean you will get 20 more with a new or rebuilt cooling unit. There have been plenty of folks who have tried replacing the cooling unit only to have them fail quickly and with multiple replacement cooling units eventually tossed in the towel and replaced with new RV fridge or a residential fridge.

The big reason I am considering having mine rebuilt is because this company (that's been in business for decades and does this all the time) is willing to give me a 5-year warranty on the rebuild.
For me even 5 years would be worth it.

Yeah, I forgot that electricity is 100% free for all Canadians and doesn't kill anything or pollute anything :R

You need to get out a bit.

Not ALL residential fridges sound like a jet taking off.

I have a Haier 10 cu ft apartment size residential fridge that I used to replace a 20 yr old RV fridge.

That fridge does not have any outside fan, uses coils on the back of the fridge with natural convection air flow so no need for a noisy outside fan. The compressor is stone quiet, in fact I have to strain to hear it running, it is that quiet (and no I am not hard of hearing either). The interior fan in the freezer cannot be heard outside of the fridge.

That Haier fridge cost $300, newer models are available which use the cabinet to dissipate the heat instead of rear coils so they too will be stone quiet. Haier brand version is also sold under other name brands like Magic Chef, GE and a few others and can be found at Home Depot, Lowes and other stores.

As far as warranties goes, well those RV cooling units may have a "5 yr warranty" but it doesn't cover the costs for replacement time and labor if you have someone replace it and you will have to remove and send back to where you bought it on your dime.. Time lost, money lost.

For a couple of dollars most stores will upgrade the residential standard warranties to replacement no questions asked, no hassles, no issue.

For the record, my Haier fridge is now going on 12yrs old and no issues and I run it off of a MSW inverter...

Also have a Home fridge in my sticks and bricks that is going on 26 yrs now..

[GuyCanRV]

Gdetrailer wrote:


Junk it.


... You are just throwing money away not just in the repair but in electricity.

Electricity costs are NOT an issue for me at all.
NOISE is.

I knew when I bought my unit 20 years ago (8 cu. ft.) I was paying
more than twice the price for a fridge that gave me less than half the space of a compressor fridge.
I was more than willing to pay for it.

The extra electricity bills are a non-issue for me.

Residential fridge is what you should be using not an ammonia filled absorbsion fridge.

Find me a totally silent compressor fridge and I'll buy it. 🙂

Do you want to know how sensitive I am to noise?
Do you know those Coke fridges at the cash counters in many stores?
They drive me crazy!

Just because you have gotten 20 yrs of use out of it doesn't mean you will get 20 more with a new or rebuilt cooling unit. There have been plenty of folks who have tried replacing the cooling unit only to have them fail quickly and with multiple replacement cooling units eventually tossed in the towel and replaced with new RV fridge or a residential fridge.

The big reason I am considering having mine rebuilt is because this company (that's been in business for decades and does this all the time) is willing to give me a 5-year warranty on the rebuild.
For me even 5 years would be worth it.

[GuyCanRV]

Tom_M wrote:
Using an absorption type fridge for home use makes no sense. You can buy a new residential model for less than the repair cost of your old one.

I am NOT a normal person!!!!

I have HIGH sensitivity to noise!!!

I have slept in the room with my RGE400 fridge many times.
I could NEVER do that with a compressor fridge!

Do you understand my situation now? 🙂