Searching for new fridge

[oceandansar]

what a job its been cleaning up from the fire. I had to pull the under belly covers and remove a lot of the insulation due to the water, got fans running now. I have the back of the cabinet torn out all the burned wood out and replaced. painted the cabinet with kils white looks good but you wont see it once the fridge is installed. so heres the question been searching for a residential fridge to fit is next to impossible.Im lowering the floor of the cabinet while I have it torn apart but its still gonna be 17 3/4" off the floor. I found a fisher and Paykel 17 cu ft French door that will work does any one have any real world knowledge on this brand ? any input will be greatly appreciated.

[jcurtis934]

Good company, but don't know about their fridges. If I replaced my fridge with a residential, it would only be about an inch above the slide floor or three inches or so above the kitchen floor. Your model must be super strange to have a fridge that high in the air. John

[oceandansar]

yep water heater is under it and I couldn't find a spot to move it to. The norcold was really to high. I have no choice I was able too lower the floor of the cabinet 1"3/4 doesn't sound like much but every little bit helps.

[bshgto]

I`ve been reading about RV refrigerator fires for some weeks now after I saw another post on the subject on another forum. And here is another. Now I`m just a bit paranoid about the whole subject. I've ordered the ARP and will order The Halon fire extinguisher before the beginning of next season. My refrigerator has the recall mod already done. And according to ARP this is just a band aid on the problem. The real problem is people using their refrigerator out of level even by just a little bit, like in the overnight in the Walmart parking lot of which I am guilty or going down a long mountain pass, or parking in a restaurant out of level parking lot to eat dinner for and hour. If you read all the information on ARP`s web site you will see just how easy it is to over heat the unit, cause damage and potentially start a fire. 3 degrees one way or 6 degrees the other way isn`t much and again Murphy`s law applies to this. I feel bad for this fellow that had a fire but why did the fire start, over the limits of level I suspect for to long or to many times like me now that I think of all the crazy places I`ve parked temporarily with the refrigerator on gas. The first hiccup my refrig has it`s coming out and the Samsung unit will go in and put up with the all electric hassles that a small inverter system with 6 volt batteries will solve.

[oceandansar]

well think about this the main reason to have this fridge in the first place is to be able to use it going down the road. I have a big level mounted on my pin box and running down the road you can see the bubble its always off level side to side our roads are sloped to run water off. The fiver was perfectly level when it caught fire and it was the second day we had been there and the 8th day we had been out. The big rv store that came out and did an estimate on it said there was another recall for it. Now we just bought this unit end of sept from a large dealership and this was our first trip out with it. I don't know who or what to believe anymore but I do know I'm never gonna own another gas absorption fridge again not worth the danger. This could have ended so much worse when I think about leaving my poor dogs in there by themselves or my grandkids taking a nap. sorry for the rant

[Razrbk]

Understandable. Sorry about your loss and glad no one was injured. Did the recall come out before you bought the unit from the dealer? Is/was it a new or used unit?

[oceandansar]

Its a 2011 and you would think the dealer we bought it from would have made sure all the recalls would have been done.

[bshgto]

quote:Originally posted by oceandansar

Its a 2011 and you would think the dealer we bought it from would have made sure all the recalls would have been done.

Ocean I don`t want you to think I was criticizing the way you use your camper in my previous post, I was not. The fact that no one was hurt is a real blessing. I have always run my refrig on gas while traveling, but not anymore. I see 5th wheels going down the road all the time nose high mostly, so there not level for hours on end over heating the unit to some extent. The whole sloshing thing while moving is suppose to keep it from doing that. but you stop at some point and the temps go up very quickly from what I have read and this causes damage to the pipes and has a cumulative effect and they eventually give up and leak the fire causing fluid on to the heaters(gas or electric) so you being level when this occurred means nothing because you have no idea how the previous owner adhered to the level rule.

[1retired06]

Guess I am just lucky. Been RVing since 1970, and have only had one frig issue, a cooling unit failure in our 2015 because Keystone did not remove the packing material from the back of the frig before installing. And we always travel with frig running.

[Razrbk]

Oceandansar, I think you may be onto something - if it was an open recall, and economic damage and/or physical injurywas a result of the recall issue not being addressed, you may have a remedy. Keep in mind, state laws may vary and that time limits to take action may exist. Consult appointment with a qualified attorney shoul be free. Good luck to you and may your next trip be a good one.

[Bigboomer]

Oceandansar,

When our 1 1/2 year old Dometic 1350 took the plunge down the crapper we decided to put in a Samsung RF18HFENBBC residential fridge and have never looked back.

Here is a link to the install.

http://s962.photobucket.com/user/myb...Frig%20Install

It fit perfectly in the hole once I removed the lower drawer.

We had your 3580rl previously so we know that fridge sits high up over those cabinets.
With the Samsung it needed 72" clearance to get the fridge in the hole and once in it has 1 1/2" opening in the front at the top which we allow for air circulation.

BTW, the Samsung runs about $1,350.

Good luck!

[washley1]

My son bought a home last year that has a F&P fridge in it. It is a total piece of crap.

[oceandansar]

Thanks guys for all the input we really appreciate it. Not offended by any of the posts. We finally decided on a whirlpool 16 cu ft top freezer. Wife really wanted a french door but the problem was height since the cabinet is 17" off the floor already it would have been to tall. Water heater is under it and all though I reframed the whole cabinet i really didnt want to raise the water heater. I would have had another hole in the outside of the unit i would have had to deal with. By the way the fisher and paykel french door would have worked but honestly the poor reviews on line scared us off. I dont want to have to deal with the fridge again.

[Justme44]

quote:Originally posted by bshgto

I`ve been reading about RV refrigerator fires for some weeks now after I saw another post on the subject on another forum. And here is another. Now I`m just a bit paranoid about the whole subject. I've ordered the ARP and will order The Halon fire extinguisher before the beginning of next season. My refrigerator has the recall mod already done. And according to ARP this is just a band aid on the problem. The real problem is people using their refrigerator out of level even by just a little bit, like in the overnight in the Walmart parking lot of which I am guilty or going down a long mountain pass, or parking in a restaurant out of level parking lot to eat dinner for and hour. If you read all the information on ARP`s web site you will see just how easy it is to over heat the unit, cause damage and potentially start a fire. 3 degrees one way or 6 degrees the other way isn`t much and again Murphy`s law applies to this. I feel bad for this fellow that had a fire but why did the fire start, over the limits of level I suspect for to long or to many times like me now that I think of all the crazy places I`ve parked temporarily with the refrigerator on gas. The first hiccup my refrig has it`s coming out and the Samsung unit will go in and put up with the all electric hassles that a small inverter system with 6 volt batteries will solve.

BSHGTO .... what is the ARP you refer to? Is there a way to stay off gas and only use elec when on the road? I found their web page. My Dometic RM2652 states I don't have to be level but just 'feel' like a good level. Remember my unit is a vintage 2000, I wonder how long they last.
Dennis