Refrigerator problems

[r time soon]

Not sure what to do for now. If you can get to Shipshewana you can call
National RV Refrigeration
(260) 768-7059
Mon to Fri 8am to 5pm
closed sat and sun
They specialize in recharging Gas rv refrigerators. They service Dometic and Norcold.
5660 N. State Road 5
Shipshewana, IN

Maybe call them beforehand and they might be able to help diagnose your problem.

Chris

[travelin' texans]

I leave ours on "auto" so in case the a.c. goes off, it will run on l.p. without a.c. til the batteries go dead, don't ask how I know.

[piper guy]

Brad ~ first thing to do, unclip the thermistor from the fins and let it hang. This is the the little gizmo that's attached to the light, Fridge should go to full cold at that point.
If it does, replace the thermistor. If not, the best RV refrigerator place is right on the way into Shipshewana on the North side of town.

[BradPAjax]

Thanks Vaughan,
Hoping that works... have to work the rest of the week before we head to the rally. If it doesn't work, it will be on my list for RW to check while we are there. Bought extended warranty when we bought this unit. One of the first times that will pay off if I have big problems like a bad cooling unit.

[BradPAjax]

Freezer now at 35 deg F and frig at 54 deg F...
all food on ice in a new cooler... will keep tabs on progress and will call dealer in the morning to log an issue.
will get this fixed when we arrive for the Rally next Monday.

[Dave&Ginny]

I agree with what Vaughn said but go one step further and and unplug that wire from the light. This will bypass the thermistor completly.

[BradPAjax]

Freezer now at 32 deg F and frig is 48 deg F. Still a ways to go.
is the red LED supposed to on or off on the high temp module behind the lower access panel... mine is off and all breakers and fuses appear ok on the main panel. Upper access panel only has about 3" opening to allow air movement. The rest of the opening is blocked by a thin wood panel. Is this correct?
Unplugged light... thermistor tied in... no way to separate them.

[johnboytoo]

Too late for you now... and this won't help your issue.. but might help others
Some freeze a cone of water and put in the freezer in such such a way if it thaws and refreezes before you catch it, the ice cone will not be in the shape of a cone any longer - an indication that your food may be bad

Also, you can go to ebay to get these small fans that clip onto the fins that help circulate the air and keep the fins from freezing up....

good luck... part of the reason I will never have a rv fridge again - threw out too much food over the years.

[Hairfairy]

That's great to know. We just took ours in with a long list. Our Norcold died about a month ago and we have had to use coolers. This is the third time we have had to take it in for the fridge.

[Dave&Ginny]

When the residential refrigerators started showing up in RVs , I wasn't in favor of them. However.....now I see I was wrong. There's just too many issue with the RV refrigerators.

[BradPAjax]

Just got off the phone with a refrigeration tech. May be not enough air flow up the wall and out the top. Will put a large fan sucking air up and out the top to increase air flow tonight. Will keep all posted on progress.
Red LED on is bad news... I don't have that problem.

[BradPAjax]

Could change to residential unit and boon dock with genny��

[Grizzby]

I agree Dave! Our Dometic has been worked on 3 times in 2 years. If it goes out after our warranty ends, we'll be installing a residential unit.

[BradPAjax]

What is the cost and what is the best make?
What retrofit is required to slide. Can I do it? Assume island needs to be removed. Will frigs go thru door or are we at a dealer pulling the entire slide out of the coach to do this?

[0nTheRoad]

We too will trash the Norcold if/when it dies, we'll switch to a residential and invertor!!

[atom ant]

Love my Kodiak! Doors don't swing open and hit the counter, refrigerator doesn't slide out and hit the counter, easy to winterize, no inverter, no dead batteries.....

Just saying -

the RV fridges have been around longer than I have, not without issues but implementing these residential fridges into a mobile coach has not been without a learning curve, either. MH have different power plants and may be better suited, but 5ers have had a hard time getting them to work out. Hopefully time will prove them out.

[johnboytoo]

other than not being tied down and the 3 door not staying closed - the samsung worked well for us.

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by johnboytoo

other than not being tied down and the 3 door not staying closed - the samsung worked well for us.

Oh cmon now Jonnyboy You were my bad example of why I didn't want one, dented door, not enough batteries, inverter wouldn't shut off, dead batteries, frozen ice line. After all your posts about that I gave my Kodiak a hug!

[RomanyLife]

From my perspective, having many years of experience with RV style refrigerators and now with our Samsung, I can offer my opinion that IT DEPENDS. If you are "Camping" (i.e. travelling a lot, boondocking, subject to varying quality of electrical hookups, and storing the RV unused for long stretches, etc,) then the RV fridge shines. You must follow my own rule - again subjective - as Jerry Seinfeld said, "no soft cheeses of any kind" I would add: No lettuce or other fragile veggies unless you plan to make lettuce soup, and limit dairy and easily perishables. I NEVER had one that didn't suffer "cold flashes" "frozen areas" or whatever. I am sure that means they also suffer "warm areas" with a less obvious problem of early spoilage of food.

I adore my Samsung, but we are mostly stationary with a reliable 50 amp hookup. I agree that (so far) fivers are not quite to where MH's are with regard to power plant, (but close) but if you are sitting a lot (as in full timing) and not "storing" your RV or "winterizing" it, then I far prefer the residential. I would not want to winterize our RW. Yes, I know you can do it, but residential appliances do not pair well with winterizing in my opinion. We keep it heated.

We have a Norcold in the truck camper and it ROCKS. We love it. We never have to worry about keeping things cold when boondocking or travelling. But it will often ruin things like lettuce and cottage cheese or fruit. Beer does very well. :-)

Like anything else, neither are better, it depends on how you use it.

[Dave&Ginny]

I will get the model number off mine tonight and post it. I believe it's a Samsung and it has built in locks on the all 3 doors that you simply flip with your thumb