Well shoot, Question about refridgerators!

[wesmagyar]

<p>Well it looks like the&nbsp;refrigerator&nbsp;in my rig is toast! was looking online and new ones are CrAzY expensive!!!!&nbsp;</p><p>I've had the fridge plugged in for 2 days now and its not getting cold at all <img src="/images/boards/smilies/frown.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"><br />I have had a jar with water in the freezer and yeah its still lukewarm. Anyone know of a place that has used and or refurbished fridges that wont destroy the budget? i am in the Pacific Northwest.</p><p>Or do you guys know of any guides for rebuilding the fridges? mine is in a 1985 Sportscraft class C. its a dual mode propane/AC unit.</p>

 

[wrcsixeight]

google amish cooling units. &nbsp;Getting the old fridge out of the rv and a new one installed makes replacing the cooling unit appeasing to many. Replacement cooling units can be installed in the old fridge inside the RV.<br /><br />Many people who primarily camp with electrical hook ups replace the absorption fridge with an inexpensive residential unit and just rig a way to keep the door closed when driving.<br /><br />Some with big battery banks and sufficient solar choose to run the residential fridge off an inverter.<br /><br />If you do not smell ammonia around the fridge there is a possibility the cooling unit is still okay, that the controllers or heating elements are not working properly.<br /><br />Many choose to replace absorption fridges with DC compressor fridges, which are markedly more efficient than residential fridges run off of an inverter.<br /><br />Dometic/ Novakool/ Norcold/ Vitrifrigo and Isotherm make efficient DC compressor fridges. &nbsp;The Danfoss compressors are better than the Sawafuji compressors used by Norcold/ Engel.

 

[wesmagyar]

<p>The fridge in my unit is rather old, its a Traveler Brand and pretty sure its not OEM. Guy at an RV shop said its almost identical to a Dometic Unit. I&nbsp;don't&nbsp;smell ammonia on it and everything appears intact. I think the AC heating element is toast.&nbsp;<br />I am going to be off grid 99.9% of the time running on propane and a smallish Battery Bank. Right now i only have about 100AH and will be using that for running my laptop and basic&nbsp;amenities&nbsp;like the water pump and lights. I&nbsp;don't&nbsp;have any propane right now to test if the propane at least works but it appears at some point that the fridge was exposed to the elements as there is some rust on the pipes. mostly just surface rust however.&nbsp;<br />Is there a guide to replacing the cooling unit that you know of? my Google-Fu has been failing me on this. i have found a few but they&nbsp;don't&nbsp;actually go into detail.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Here is a link to a picture of my fridge... <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114298992238175040609/Rv#5804457164755825250">right here</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114298992238175040609/Rv#5806673782946359874">here</a></p>

 

[Guest]

Here is a good reefer that a friend swears by and they come for about $425 though Amazon, Wes....way less expensive than the others I have found...and still a compressor...<br /><br />http://www.edgestar.com/FP430-Compa...default,pd.html?cgid=Appliances-Refrigerators<br /><br />Bri

 

[wesmagyar]

Can any of you identify what model number the&nbsp;refrigerator&nbsp;is based off of those pictures? that would help in diagnosing it.

 

[rverscorner]

<br />If your electric element is not heating up when it is plugged in, then yes, your element is likely burned out. Try it on propane before pronouncing it dead - it still might be usable. Try cleaning the burner area - I have a page on my website that shows how - http://www.rverscorner.com/rv_refrigerator_repair.html<br /><br />Les

 

[Willy]

&nbsp;Could also try taking it out and 'burping' the fridge.. turn it upside down and leave it like that for a bit, then upright again. I gave up on those POS absorption fridges and went to a 12v compressor fridge (Waeco in my case) and haven't looked back. They use very little power and, after the initial purchase bux, cost $0 to run. They also can get colder and do so faster than an absorption fridge, while operating at up to 30% off level. ..Willy.

 

[Les H]

&lt;br /&gt;If your electric element is not heating up when it is plugged in, then yes, your element is likely burned out. Try it on propane before pronouncing it dead - it still might be usable. Try cleaning the burner area - I have a page on my website that shows how - http://www.rverscorner.com/rv_refrigerator_repair.html&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Les

Wow--another Les! That doesnt happen often!! Anyway, a while back i posted a website that sold new electrical circuit boards for rv fridges. Its a company called DinosaurElectronics and i seem to remember the replacement boards starting around $99 and up

 

[cedric]

I am looking around google search for "<span id="post_message_1275582277">amish cooling units" to find a good press on a dc compressor fridge.<br />So far I have found them for around $1k. Does that seem bout average price or can there be better deals out there?<br /><br />thanks<br />cedric<br /></span>

 

[wrcsixeight]

The DC Compressor fridges are expensive no doubt. &nbsp;I just acquired a 1.8 cubic foot DC only Danfoss powered Vitrifrigo to replace a 1.7 cubic foot AC/DC Norcold which failed, and made some improvements with added insulation and &nbsp;improved air circulation through the condenser. &nbsp;It is using on average ~18 amp hours per 24 hours to keep sub 38f interior temperatures, which is markedly better than my old Norcold which also had extra insulation and improved airflow.<br /><br />Modern absorption fridges would use nearly that much juice just to run the circuit boards.<br /><br />I couldn't buy my Vitrifrigo directly from Vitrifrigo, but had to use a third party, but the paperwork included told me the third party sure made a big profit off my purchase. &nbsp;If you know somebody with a commercial account, perhaps you can save a few hundred $$, but I am not sure how these back scratching deals work.

 

[joey]

Those are cheaper than a regular r v frig.,
1 Vitrifrigo C51IS 1.8 CU FT DC Only Marine Refrigerator with Surface Flange $644.80


http://www.suremarineservice.com/c51is.aspx

 

[Willy]

I prefer the chest style fridges myself cuz they're easier to insulate and retain cold air when the lid is opened and that means greater efficiency.&nbsp;

 

[Guest]

If you know it is electric element is broken, just replace it.if it is an older fridge it won't have a control board, but the switches at the back could have dirty contacts as well.