refridge bit the dust.....

[tboss]

While removing the heater element on my norcold refer it took a lot of pressure to break the element loose and in the process I started to smell the dreaded scent of ammonia, Well I knew what the smell meant ,,It means I can finally go to Lowes and purchase the 10-11 cu ft refer that I have been looking at ever sense my last trip out and discovered that my refer was not cooling as it should. The old Norcold had cooled its last coors or bud lite ..I have been checking the net to find the best bargain in small refers. Lowes has the best deal...now has anybody ever used the brand ((HAIER)) from Lowes..My unit is a Coachman 1993 santara ,,,sooo it lasted a long time so I wont complain ..

[CJW8]

I used that same one when my Nevercold quit. I didn't install it, I just put it in my TH garage. A few months after my Nevercold was repaired I saw a pickup entering the RV park with a new Haier in the back. I follow them and they had already removed RV refer. I sold them my slightly used Haier for $200 and they returned their new one to Lowes and got their $388 back. It kept the beer cold and the ice cream frozen.

[Dutch_12078]

I replaced our failing then 14 year old Norcold fridge with a 10.1 cu ft Haier fridge last fall, since it was the only suitable size in stock for immediate pickup at the time we needed it. We've now traveled over 4,000 miles with it on board and it's working perfectly. I use a pair of modified window latches to keep the doors closed while under way.

[Tyler0215]

Gdetrailer is right. Good luck knowing who makes any appliance now. Name brands mean nothing. They are all made in the same place by the same people. Buy a Haier and replace it when it breaks down.

[gogeo]

Right after posting my haier experience I filed a complaint with the BBB at 2:23 pm.

That got a response from haier in just 23 minutes.

They said after careful consideration of our situation they have decided to allow me to return the fridge.

:R

[Gdetrailer]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Personal experience taught me to regard Haier, on a par with Yugo, and Mexican paper products.

The EER rating says it all. Compare annual energy usage to a larger unit. My apartment size refrigerators I had at the hotel used MORE kWh daily than a refrigerator twice their size. Bottom line - they did not keep food cold enough on hot days - running 24/7. I refuse to store food in 45+F conditions. I carried this to extremes with a 24 volt Vestfrost refrigerator and separate freezer in Quicksilver. 105F day, 37F refrigerator, and -5F freezer. When it comes to refrigerators I am not a cheapskate. i.e. the Viking, in the house.

24 hours of hugging the toilet because of food poisoning is a cruel teacher...

Haier is not the actual "builder" of fridges, they are just a marketing brand name which is slapped on the front of the fridge.

The same fridge is also rebadged under the Magic Chef, GE, Ammana, Whirlpool, Frigidaire and many other popular names..

These fridges are all made in China by the same company, typically not much is different between the brand names..

The differences I have seen was different plastic molding on the inside of the doors and different shelving. In the freezer, my Haier has no control door between the freezer and fridge section where The Magic Chef and GE I noticed that those models have an adjustable door which controls the air flow to the fridge section..

Today, brand names are only badges and have no real representation to the companies of old reputation.. Many of the brand names are owned by holding companies or by one major player who them sells the branding to the lowest builder bid..

[Gdetrailer]

wnjj wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:
The RV is not really usable with a non working fridge so putting a WORKING residential fridge in the RV is not going to "harm" the resale value over what a broken RV fridge would do.

Did you forget the third option of installing a working RV fridge?

Gdetrailer wrote:
The residential fridge COST LESS THAN A RV FRIDGE and as long as you don't do something stupid the mod is 100pct REVERSIBLE if the next owner really wants a RV fridge.

Exactly the point. If a new buyer wants an RV fridge and has to install one, that RV will have a lower resale value to that buyer.

Let me see, installing a NEW working $1500 RV fridge in a RV that has a resale value of $700??

Yeah, that would really "up the value" of a $700 RV, NOT.

You don't understand it.

If I am selling a RV with broken fridge the PRICE would be LOWERED to reflect the broken fridge (IE figuring that the trailer IS worth less than one with an original working RV fridge).

If I am selling a RV with a WORKING HOME fridge, I SPENT LESS to at least have a working fridge so I can AFFORD to SELL the RV for LESS than if I put a new RV fridge in.. BUT I can sell it for SLIGHTLY more than a RV with a broken RV fridge..

A $300 Home fridge costs LESS than a $1500 new RV fridge so therefore I can afford to offer the RV at a much lower price.

If I am selling a USED RV, I am not going to ever consider spending $1500 for a new RV fridge since to recoup the cost of the new RV fridge I WOULD HAVE TO ASK $1500 MORE than what the RV was worth with a broken fridge.

At least with a working home fridge I only need about $300 over what the RV would be worth with a broken RV fridge to "break even", I can "afford" to be a bit more flexible with the sale price.

I don't as a habit, fix and sell things at a LOSS, that would be stupid and I wouldn't have any money.

Sort of like a business, you can't stay in business for long if you spend more on making a widget then sell it for less than what you have in it.

Basic High School Business and Economics 101 class.. Perhaps you should consider taking a course in it..

[Gdetrailer]

gogeo wrote:
Replaced our refrigerator with a Haier which only ran 2 days

Haier will not honor the warranty because it is in a vehicle.

Wow, nothing like grave digging up an old thread with a complaint..

Sorry you had bad luck BUT you made a mistake in telling them it was in a RV..

At only 2 days of use you SHOULD have returned the fridge to YOUR store that you bought it from instead of complaining to Haier.

Most stores have at least a 30 day return period for defective items and that IS where you should have started and if it is not written on the bill of sale it many have a 90 day window for defective returns.

The store should have given you another fridge (IE EXCHANGE)..

One word of advice with any BIG item, TRY BEFORE INSTALLING.

I ran mine in my basement ALL WINTER before installing.

[pianotuna]

Hi wnjj,

Gdetrailer has it right.

Many of the top of the line makers are using residential fridges.

When mine dies it will be replaced with residential.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Personal experience taught me to regard Haier, on a par with Yugo, and Mexican paper products.

The EER rating says it all. Compare annual energy usage to a larger unit. My apartment size refrigerators I had at the hotel used MORE kWh daily than a refrigerator twice their size. Bottom line - they did not keep food cold enough on hot days - running 24/7. I refuse to store food in 45+F conditions. I carried this to extremes with a 24 volt Vestfrost refrigerator and separate freezer in Quicksilver. 105F day, 37F refrigerator, and -5F freezer. When it comes to refrigerators I am not a cheapskate. i.e. the Viking, in the house.

24 hours of hugging the toilet because of food poisoning is a cruel teacher...

[wnjj]

Gdetrailer wrote:
The RV is not really usable with a non working fridge so putting a WORKING residential fridge in the RV is not going to "harm" the resale value over what a broken RV fridge would do.

Did you forget the third option of installing a working RV fridge?

Gdetrailer wrote:
The residential fridge COST LESS THAN A RV FRIDGE and as long as you don't do something stupid the mod is 100pct REVERSIBLE if the next owner really wants a RV fridge.

Exactly the point. If a new buyer wants an RV fridge and has to install one, that RV will have a lower resale value to that buyer.

[landyacht318]

I saw my neighbor return with a Haier dorm fridge for home usage this weekend.

10 minutes later I saw him loading it back in his truck with a PO'd look on his face.

I went with a Vitrifrigo 12v compressor fridge for 5x the price of dorm fridge. Not having to turn on the inverter and half the electrical consumption.....priceless

[gogeo]

Replaced our refrigerator with a Haier which only ran 2 days

Haier will not honor the warranty because it is in a vehicle.

[Gdetrailer]

Oasisbob wrote:
Well whle going to a residential unit is a cheap fix consider how it will effect your resale value? Also when traveling what then? How will you keep the door closed? You may already have these figured.

Now that is the typical knee slapping funny remark I expect.

So, in a nut shell who cares if you have to sell the trailer/RV for a bit less? You SPENT LESS TO MAKE THE TRAILER USABLE by replacing a non functional RV fridge with a WORKING residential fridge.

If you sold a RV with a non functional RV fridge the RV will be worth less anyway.

The RV is not really usable with a non working fridge so putting a WORKING residential fridge in the RV is not going to "harm" the resale value over what a broken RV fridge would do.

The residential fridge COST LESS THAN A RV FRIDGE and as long as you don't do something stupid the mod is 100% REVERSIBLE if the next owner really wants a RV fridge.

When traveling you have two options, travel without it running (fridge can easily go 24hrs without power if you don't open the doors much) OR do like I did, install an inverter.

My Inverter with one pair of GC batteries can easily go 24hrs before I need to recharge the batteries.

While traveling the tow vehicle charge line helps to reduce the overall discharge of the batteries.

As far as keeping the doors shut.. Plenty of solutions, some use a bungee cord strap across the doors, some use velcro..

Myself I found a neat slide latch which fits between the fridge and freezer doors.. The latch blocks a nut I screwed into the bottom of the freezer door and the top of the fridge door when traveling..

When stopped, I can easily slide the latch and the doors are no longer locked shut..

Here is some diagrams of my "latch"..

latch view 1



Latch view 2



Latch view 3



Latch view 4

[big_whitey]

Oasisbob wrote:
Well whle going to a residential unit is a cheap fix consider how it will effect your resale value? Also when traveling what then? How will you keep the door closed? You may already have these figured.

Worse case scenario these issues are all irrelevant as the residential fridge will increase the resale value and an inverter will keep it going when traveling. As to keeping the door closed that is a no brainer with several simple solutions. Any inconvenience is outweighed by the superior performance of the residential fridge vs the absorption fridge.