Older fridge not cooling

[Saintjude33]

So this is the second season with our 'gently used' camper.

It's a 2004 Springdale 26' bunk. Every time we go to use it for a weekend/week or two, the fridge acts up. It's a Dometic RM2652, and I have the DIAGNOSTIC SERVICE MANUAL for reference. Here's my pattern:

I plug AC in about 48-72 hours before, pop on a freshly charged deep cycle battery and bleed the propane lines.

Turn the fridge button to ON and AUTO. After 12 hours the flue is hot to the touch, not just warm, but HOT! Based on that, I feel the electric burner is working. The fridge and freezer are at ambient temperature after the 12 hours. If I unplug any portion of the shore line (from the wall, from the plug converter, or the cooling unit itself) the propane fires up successfully. Also, if I push the AUTO/GAS button the lights change as they should, and the gas burner again successfully lights.

Again, I check 12 hours later and the flue is HOT, but the fridge is still at room temp.

So we had a little tantrum, bought a bunch of ice, and figured we would cooler it. We drove 45min-1 hour and set up camp, and on a whom I checked out the fridge, and it's cooled off considerably. 3-4 hours later, it's normal refer temp, and the freezer can hold ice cream without becoming milk.

I have a few friends who suggested something about the ammonia crystalizing, and if I were to rap on the Absorber Vessel, it should clear up the problem in the future.

Well, it happened again- plugged in the trailer Wednesday, not cool 12 hours later, switched to gas, not cold 12 hours later- flue is hot again.

The one thing I noticed, once the fridge had gotten cool, the absorber vessel was hot to the touch- is this normal? When it is NOT working correctly, the A/V is room temp, and the Liquid Temperature Exchanger is hot very close to the boiler, but only about 3-5 inches, and then it cools of. Should the whole system warm up? Is it a flow problem- could it be the ammonia crystalizing? What's a permanent fix for this?

[mchero]

one should check to make sure you can get the fridges thru the door OR a window would have to be removed.

[DRTDEVL]

Meh. I guess I am a cheap bastard. Two RVs straight had isses with the refrigerators. The first was a double-door Dometic that the cooling pack would cost $850 + freight, the second was a small refrigerator; some Swiss brand from 1979 that I couldn't find anything for (equivalent sized replacements were about $1300 from both Dometic and Norcold). In both cases, I replaced them with household refrigerators. The double door fridge was replaced with a 10 cu-ft model I got used for $140, and the little one was replaced by a Frigidaire dorm fridge that draws 110w max on 115v I picked up at Lowes for $160.

I figure that the average RV fridge lasts 7-8 years before failure. If the household fridges fail every 2 years, I'll still be money ahead, since $160 * 4 = $640, vs $1300 for a new unit. Heck, at this price point, I can replace the refrigerator very year and still be a little ahead.

As for the wiring? There is already a 110v outlet behind the fridges, and I just had to make sure that it was on the inverter's circuit to cool when driving or boondocking. I use them about the same as an RV fridge... I bring the unit to the house from storage and turn the fridge on with the A/C to cool the interior and the fridge. 24 hours later, I begin filling it with items from the refrigerator in our kitchen, and the next morning, we're pulling out, with the inverter powering the fridge as we roll down the road.

[mchero]

Double post, sorry.

[mchero]

I went Amish 4 years ago on my Norcold 4 door. Still running strong!

[dpgllg]

sayoung wrote:

Saintjude33 wrote:
I also have found RVCOOL.COM in the same price range- please let me know what you think.

Don't go there. If you are going to use a rebuild go with the Amish.
From a bad experience , just spend the money on a new refridgerator

Sorry about your bad experience but my experience was very good using the rebuilt unit. But if it is the rebiult unit that is concerning they also sell the Amish brand new units as well. Just more money!

[sayoung]

Saintjude33 wrote:
I also have found RVCOOL.COM in the same price range- please let me know what you think.

Don't go there. If you are going to use a rebuild go with the Amish.
From a bad experience , just spend the money on a new refridgerator

[dpgllg]

Saintjude33 wrote:
The good thing is, so am I.

From posts, youtube, and websites, the yellow stains are usually present- there is a small amount of yellow powder-like substance, but I originally thought it was pollen. It was on the accordion-like sheathing over the copper gas line. Should I assume it had a small leak and it's shot?

If so, has anyone out there worked with this guy?

https://rvcoolingunit.com/Default.aspx

he seems reputable, and a new Amish for $655. We only run 3-4 weekends a year, and two weeks in July, so it would be more economical to get the rebuilt one to me- now we're looking at about 424 with the 'core'

I purchased a rebuilt unit from here for our old 5th wheel and replaced our old cooling unit. Directions were straight forward and the new unit worked great. I wouldn't be afraid of a rebuilt unit at all and would do it again. I would highly recommend RV Cooling warehouse.

Dave

[turbojimmy]

Saintjude33 wrote:
Hoping not to replace the whole unit- the camper is 13 years old, and the Danfoss unit is 3-4 times the cost. I don't plan on having the camper more than another 4-5 years, and it won't affect the resale. I'm definitely going to look into the replacement of the ammonia unit based on the limited response so far. The downside is we leave for 2 weeks tomorrow morning, only one of which I will be at. I guess I can order the replacement Monday and do the install a week from Sunday. I'll just have to ask the wife to rely on ice for the time being.

Danfoss units are cool (pun intended) but are small.

I replaced the original cooling unit in my '84 Dometic with an Amish cooling unit 4 years ago. Kept the same sized, "vintage" fridge but with new guts. Freezer gets to 20 below zero, fridge is in the 30s. It's not a tough job - just messy and tedious. I did mine in the RV - pulled the fridge out, hacked out the cooling unit, installed the new one and popped it back in.

[j-d]

Saintjude33 wrote:
I'll just have to ask the wife to rely on ice for the time being.

When we first got our first Class C, the old Dometic three-way fridge required a lot of work. We bought Dry Ice (CO2 as a solid) and a small piece served us for a two day weekend trip.
On a car trip out West, we were using a simple cooler, and found that if we could get a BLOCK of ice, it lasted far longer than the equivalent BAG of chips/chunks/cubes. Like twice the time.
RV Fridge is a collection of simple parts
1. The "Box" that's basically a big Ice Chest, but all the parts are expensive. By that I mean Doors, Gaskets, etc.
2. The Cooling Unit
3. Heating (LPG Burner and Electric Element)
4. Logic Board and Controls
If you can satisfy yourself that all it needs is a Cooling Unit, and you can change it yourself, doing so is good economic sense. The 2652 is still a current model.
Point in favor of changing it yourself: You can do it INSIDE the RV. That can be important, since the appliances and furniture were probably put aboard before the sides and roof went onto the RV when it was built. There might not be an easy passage big enough to get one fridge out and another in.

[Saintjude33]

Hoping not to replace the whole unit- the camper is 13 years old, and the Danfoss unit is 3-4 times the cost. I don't plan on having the camper more than another 4-5 years, and it won't affect the resale. I'm definitely going to look into the replacement of the ammonia unit based on the limited response so far. The downside is we leave for 2 weeks tomorrow morning, only one of which I will be at. I guess I can order the replacement Monday and do the install a week from Sunday. I'll just have to ask the wife to rely on ice for the time being.

[SidecarFlip]

Think I'd install a compressor fridge and be done with it. Don't mean a residential compressor fridge but a Danfoss (Seacop) compressor fridge. Very low amp draw, very efficient compressor, very good cooling and freezing if necessary.

[Jim]

The yellow residue is a sure sign the unit has a leak and shouldn't be used. A strong ammonia smell is another tip off that the coil unit is bad.

Had a bad one years ago and helped a RV tech replace it. Not all that complicated and I've since watched videos and read postings that detail the work and think I could do one if I had too. Since you're handy, should be a breeze for you.

I haven't used either of those outfits but you can search the various RV'ing forums for the names to see what comes up. I always check an unknown supplier by going to google and typing, "complaints about companies name" and though that doesn't always show something, very often it leads to some reviews.

[Saintjude33]

I also have found RVCOOL.COM in the same price range- please let me know what you think.

[Saintjude33]

The good thing is, so am I.

From posts, youtube, and websites, the yellow stains are usually present- there is a small amount of yellow powder-like substance, but I originally thought it was pollen. It was on the accordion-like sheathing over the copper gas line. Should I assume it had a small leak and it's shot?

If so, has anyone out there worked with this guy?

https://rvcoolingunit.com/Default.aspx

he seems reputable, and a new Amish for $655. We only run 3-4 weekends a year, and two weeks in July, so it would be more economical to get the rebuilt one to me- now we're looking at about 424 with the 'core'