RV Refrigerators

[Cedarchick]

Hello... So, I'm pretty new to the RV life. An old friend left me his 2019 Heartland Cyclone 4005, and was wondering if when replacing a frig, you have to replace it with the exact model, or are there possibly others that will fit and still look good. Thanks in advance...

 

[Rich W.]

Contact National RV Refrigeration | Shipshewana, IN and they can give you specific information base on your fridge make and model. There are probably several options.

 

[Cedarchick]

Contact National RV Refrigeration | Shipshewana, IN and they can give you specific information base on your fridge make and model. There are probably several options.

Thanks Rich, I'll do that.....

 

[TheLooks]

Before you just toss in the towel on the old one, check it out well or pay to have it checked. I have replaced absorption fridges for people that watched youtube and decided it was toast. They are fickle things but work well when kept up and installed correctly.

 

[Depart]

Before you just toss in the towel on the old one, check it out well or pay to have it checked. I have replaced absorption fridges for people that watched youtube and decided it was toast. They are fickle things but work well when kept up and installed correctly.

We just purchased a new class c with a Norcold and found out the new propane fridg. will not work at high altitude, where most of our camping is done. We are in Arizona and everyone here escapes to the mountains to avoid the high temps. How can they sell these RV's with this fridg. in the west?

 

[Kevin D Pem]

When I had a propane fridge it did it's job around big lake. It looses efficiency up there, but cooler temperatures put less load on the unit.

Of course you may just be finding out that ice-cream is a problem with all propane fridges.

 

[TheLooks]

Ice cream was a winter thing when these units were invented......we are spoiled....

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Ice cream was a winter thing when these units were invented......we are spoiled....

adsorption offers a great solar freezer! Who cares about COP! Oh! Off topic!!! Did you ever work on a servile???

 

[TheLooks]

Ran mine from Friday night to just an hour ago, freezer frozen solid. It was 96 today and it worked great. They have to be installed well and maintained well.

 

[Rich W.]

We just purchased a new class c with a Norcold and found out the new propane fridg. will not work at high altitude, where most of our camping is done. We are in Arizona and everyone here escapes to the mountains to avoid the high temps. How can they sell these RV's with this fridg. in the west?

This may or may not be related but I “upgraded” my three burner stove to a Dometic S31 (stainless with a heavy grate) more for aesthetics than anything (looks great ) but also the heavy grate doesnt rattle going down the road. Nice stove. But it didn’t work at higher elevations, even 2500-3000’, much less 6,000. After going around and around with Dometic trying to get a regulator (my guess as to why it didnt work) I gave up on them (I’m not qualified so they wouldn’t sell one to me) and I installed the regulator from my OE stove and it has been flawless ever since. So…..maybe that’s the problem with your fridge…?

One of the issues with availing myself of Dometic’s warranty was that the stove wouldn’t malfunction at low altitude where all the local authorized service centers are located around here. I could have driven the coach to Reno (2 hours and 25 gallons of fuel each way) and left it there for 2-4 weeks while they got to it, but that didn’t work for me, obviously. And of course the fine folks at Dometic couldn’t wrap their heads around that concept. So I was on my own and delat with it accordingly.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Ran mine from Friday night to just an hour ago, freezer frozen solid. It was 96 today and it worked great. They have to be installed well and maintained well.

How often do folks get that result and know about it!!!

 

[TheLooks]

Well, knowing what well installed and maintained is, is not in the book that comes with the camper.
As to the stove working on the oem regulator, I would think that would indicate the regulator was the defective part on the new stove. Many times we find the main regulator has failed and is the problem. Hardly anyone is informed about how to do a load test or a drop test. So far as I know, only the stove has another regulator, the fridge and water heater just have gas valves. On or off. But these can fail also.
Back to the original problem, I would probably have the answer in one of my books but will hazard the guess that there is less oxygen up high. That means either less propane or more air in the settings. More propane means a larger orifice, same pressure. Or more pressure and same orifice. There is an air adjustment on older appliances, but they have been removed from modern ones. The burner in fridges looks like a little burner tube from a gas grill. They are not like the blow torches that heat the water.

 

[Rich W.]

As to the stove working on the oem regulator, I would think that would indicate the regulator was the defective part on the new stove. Many times we find the main regulator has failed and is the problem.

No doubt but try getting a call taker at Dometic to understand that, much less take responsibility. Their warranty is meaningless. I was carrying the old regulator with me as I was certain that was the problem and just did the swap at my leisure in a park in Pahrump Nv. Been perfect ever since.

 

[TheLooks]

They talk to me as a Certified Tech. But I understand your frustration with them. We no longer do warranty work because of the insanity of dealing with their logistics. But in their defense, they ship out parts for nothing that get installed just as badly or incorrectly and the problem does not go away. Not the case with your problem, but the problem may have been the main regulator and they can force me to check it.
Or could have previously.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

They talk to me as a Certified Tech. But I understand your frustration with them. We no longer do warranty work because of the insanity of dealing with their logistics. But in their defense, they ship out parts for nothing that get installed just as badly or incorrectly and the problem does not go away. Not the case with your problem, but the problem may have been the main regulator and they can force me to check it.
Or could have previously.

To be fair! Warranty is covered by an insurance company. You all know how much you trust them!!! They, the insurance company sets the rules a company must follow. The company pays a premium for that insurance. They don't have to refuse service, but may open themselves to a liability claim the insurance won't cover.

The insurance company only claims to have the company's back, but when we see the reputation fall due to insurance policies, we know they do not!!!

My two cents or .002 in today's value!!!

 

[Trav_lr]

Maybe too late.... but.....consider replacing just the cooling unit. Even if you have to pay a reliable tech to do the labor, the cost is about half the price of a new RV fridge. I just did my Norcold 1210 after it failed and coudn't be happier with the end result. The quality, functionality and reliability of the replacement from JC Refrigeration Home - JC Refrigeration is light years ahead of Norcold!

 

[Wemustrv]

We had an issue with our Dometic fridge. I looked into repairing and the cost of the parts was $1500. I did some research and found I could change out our12 cubic foot RV fridge for a Kenmore Elite 23.5 cubic foot resi fridge. This took minimal modifications. We do boondock and to date have not had any issues in three years on the road. Our total draw when running the big fridge, small 1.7 cubic foot resi fridge in the basement, our interior lights and tv is 1-2 amps. I have installed a separate battery monitor that monitors: (2) AGM coach batteries and (4AGM) 240 amp hour house batteries. I do have an onboard energy system that also monitors battery status and the two agree. The additional one allows quick view of both battery systems. This is dash mounted and at the recommendation of others using this device I added a separate on/off switch as the green LED are quite bright at night.

We usually have to run our generator for a couple hours during the day to bring batteries up to full level. Run time on batteries is about 14-17 hours. Solar to be added in the near future to eliminate or reduce the use of generator.