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Old 10-17-2009, 08:41 AM   #1
rvfirefighter
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Fridge went out

My refrigerator lost coolant this week. Dometic no help. They consider it just a problem. I feel they should last longer than 5 years. They want alot for the new ones.
I may just replace with an apartment size regular refrigerator.
 
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Old 10-17-2009, 08:52 AM   #2
Tom S.
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The problem is a lot of the appartment size are also made by Dometic, although the warranty may be better, which by itself makes it worth looking into. Good luck on your quest.

EDIT: BTW: Have you had someone look at repairing it? Might be worth it.
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Old 10-17-2009, 09:47 AM   #3
Art-n-Marge
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I also think apartment-sized means you are stuck with 110v. RV units have an advantage of running on 12v/propane, too. Nothing wrong with either as long as you can live within the limitations. The most important is that they gotta WORK!
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Old 10-17-2009, 09:52 AM   #4
ols1932
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by rvfirefighter

My refrigerator lost coolant this week. Dometic no help. They consider it just a problem. I feel they should last longer than 5 years. They want alot for the new ones.
I may just replace with an apartment size regular refrigerator.
Ours went out after four years, however we had an extended warranty on it and had it replaced. The present refrigerator is now 5 1/2 years old and I have a six year extended warranty on it which expires in May 2010. I don't know just how long they should last but I think it varies. In our case the refrigerator is used 24/7/365.

Orv
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Old 10-17-2009, 02:09 PM   #5
Drifty1
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rvfirefighter I sent you a PM with a contact for a good price on a replacement refer. That is if your a thinking of replacing it. I used this place for one I replaced a few years back. I talked to them a few months ago about a replacement for a friend.
Larry in Olympia
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Old 10-17-2009, 03:50 PM   #6
8.1al
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Try this place
http://www.rvcoolingunit.net/servlet/StoreFront
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Old 10-17-2009, 05:31 PM   #7
HamRad
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One nice thing about the apartment type refrigerators is that they cost much less. I've looked at the ones at Home Depot and Lowes etc. and they will fit in the slot where the current fridge is located. Yes. They run only on 110. But that should be OK the way we use our rigs.

When ours goes out the next time I'll probably replace with apt. style.

HamRad
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Old 10-17-2009, 07:29 PM   #8
clutch
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Check with a few shops for a repair cost. Our's quit on the trip home last spring and it was cheaper to get the old one fixed. It is now working great. There is one thing for sure, your wallet will know you have been in it.
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Old 10-18-2009, 02:46 AM   #9
indy roadrunner
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What a bummer David. My only concern with replacing with an apartment fridge is - where you gonna store all that fish? Those apartment fridges don't have a very big freezer section.
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Old 10-18-2009, 03:36 AM   #10
gpats
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Check out this site:
http://www.rvfridge.com/
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Old 10-18-2009, 04:39 AM   #11
Mrs. CountryGuy
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We actually did this switch in our last RV, loved it.

By the way, the frezer was actually larger than that in the RV freezer/frig.

I could easily pack 2 weeks of groceries in frig and freezer, that is a lot of food, CountryGuy LOVES seafood, errr, he sees food and loves it.
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Old 10-18-2009, 06:59 AM   #12
richfaa
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Ours has been "on" since the day we brought the 3400 home over 3 years ago. Wonder if that has anything to do with it???? We also have the extended warranty(service contract) that will cover that failure as they expensive.. One replacement would pay for the service contract. We just purchased a 8 CF upright freezer and it sits in the right hand corner of the rear of the 3400...Holds lots of stuff.
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Old 10-18-2009, 02:11 PM   #13
Emmel
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Dave, we usually don't purchase extended warranties, but we did on this new Montana. The cost of the 4 door fridge alone would pay us back. And like Rich, we have our fridge on all the time except when defrosting as we are doing now.
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Old 10-18-2009, 02:12 PM   #14
rvfirefighter
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Talked with a company that refurbishes RV refrigerators. They are near Charlotte, N.C. Cost for a cooling unit installed, $450.00. They warrant the refurbished cooling units for 3 years.
He said that Dometic created a problem with the cooling units in 10's of thousands with a stress crack created around a welded area. It had something to do with the recall, but they will not take care of any out of warranty of course.
My unit has been in use since day one, they just go out when they want too, no warning. No problems till it went out. The fridge on my 1st Montana was fine when I traded it. It was a 2000 model. It also was used 24/7.
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Old 10-19-2009, 03:35 PM   #15
RRman
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Mine failed before I even completed purchase of the three year old lightly used 05 Big Sky I bought in 07. Infrequent use probably contributed to the failure, but it did save me $1K on the purchase price.
Replaced with a Residential Apt Size Whirlpool from Lowes for about $320. Noticeably larger inside and much lighter than the Dometic. Also cools down in 30-45 minutes max and can get VERY cold on Max settings. Installation did require some sanding/trimming and some moldings as the residential fridge has feet and lets cold air in along the bottom until I insulated and covered the opening.
Black color matches LCD TV, stove & Microwave and "hides" itself visually.
For our Storage Lot to Home to Travel/Camp usage, plugging the Fridge in when we pack up works fine and it will keep Frozen Food frozen for at least 8 hours...If we ever fulltime and travel from Campsite to Campsite even less of an issue. However to boondock, a generator or other power source would be needed.
Saving money, improved performance, less weight, and how we use it made going 120V an easy decision for us.
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Old 10-20-2009, 03:12 PM   #16
RRman
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PS, I forgot to mention its also FROST-FREE!
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