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10-17-2009, 08:41 AM
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#1
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Loganville
Posts: 476
M.O.C. #5314
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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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10-17-2009, 08:52 AM
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#2
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Montana Master
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Waterford
Posts: 3,693
M.O.C. #7500
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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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10-17-2009, 09:47 AM
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#3
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Montana Master
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Murrieta
Posts: 5,816
M.O.C. #9257
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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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10-17-2009, 09:52 AM
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#4
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Montana Master
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Cedar Rapids
Posts: 4,876
M.O.C. #1944
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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.
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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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10-17-2009, 02:09 PM
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#5
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Montana Master
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Olympia
Posts: 1,058
M.O.C. #9441
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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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10-17-2009, 03:50 PM
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#6
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Montana Master
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Benson
Posts: 3,121
M.O.C. #1658
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10-17-2009, 05:31 PM
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#7
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Montana Master
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Bakersfield
Posts: 5,316
M.O.C. #15
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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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10-17-2009, 07:29 PM
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#8
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Montana Master
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: St.Maries
Posts: 1,010
M.O.C. #7329
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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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10-18-2009, 02:46 AM
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#9
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Montana Master
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Brownsburg
Posts: 1,186
M.O.C. #5634
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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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10-18-2009, 03:36 AM
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#10
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Amarillo
Posts: 125
M.O.C. #7742
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10-18-2009, 04:39 AM
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#11
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Montana Master
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: _
Posts: 5,238
M.O.C. #6337
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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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10-18-2009, 06:59 AM
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#12
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Montana Master
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: North Ridgeville
Posts: 20,229
M.O.C. #2839
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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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10-18-2009, 02:11 PM
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#13
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Montana Master
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Troy
Posts: 1,980
M.O.C. #808
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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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10-18-2009, 02:12 PM
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#14
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Loganville
Posts: 476
M.O.C. #5314
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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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10-19-2009, 03:35 PM
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#15
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Montana Master
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Montgomery
Posts: 502
M.O.C. #7196
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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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10-20-2009, 03:12 PM
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#16
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Montana Master
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Montgomery
Posts: 502
M.O.C. #7196
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PS, I forgot to mention its also FROST-FREE!
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