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hosssmith · 07-10-2019, 07:31 PM

The Dometic in our 2015 3825 RL has determined to function quite poorly and will no longer maintain a satisfactory temperature. Our local service man has eyeballed it all over and is stumped and his next idea is to change the thermister (yeah I know that isn't spelt right but it's all I got) which seems like a sound try to me. This is the sensor (it would likely have been called a thermostat a few decades ago) that decides if the box is cool enough or not and commands more or less cooling.

A few weeks ago when we reported for our weekly stay of two nights the plastic burning smell was quite overpowering. We ventilated and looked all over for anything that could have melted and found nothing. Everything continued to function as expected but the fridge began to warm up over the following days while we were away. We returned to find a warmer than comfortable fridge and suspected something in the back had given up. He looked and looked and checked and checked some more and so did we but we located nothing and did not ever smell any ammonia so likely an ammonia leak is not the reason for the gradual failure.

All of which is an awful lot of background for the question. Ought we consider changing over to a residential fridge if this one is found to be not economically repairable? The answer to which could lead to a lot of questions. Will a residential unit fit the fridge space, what will have to be done to maintain the cold on a long day of travel, is a residential really less expensive than an RV style fridge? All y'all are welcome to add some more questions or send some answers as suits your fancy.

He tells me that a new cooling unit will run in the vicinity of $1,600 bucks, a new RV fridge will run around $4,500 bucks and a residential should run around $3 grand. More or less. We do not have a genset so making 'lectricity while traveling is not happening and I am not really in the mood to have one anyway.

I am not yet knowing if we have a serious failure or a failure of one or more of the component parts. If and when we solve that troubling question will it be time to make the big bucks decision.

Thank all y'all in advance account it might be a few days afore I can check back to see what you said or didn't say.

07-10-2019, 07:31 PM	#1
hosssmith Seasoned Camper Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Brownwood Posts: 86 M.O.C. #14197	RV Fridge or Residential Fridge? The Dometic in our 2015 3825 RL has determined to function quite poorly and will no longer maintain a satisfactory temperature. Our local service man has eyeballed it all over and is stumped and his next idea is to change the thermister (yeah I know that isn't spelt right but it's all I got) which seems like a sound try to me. This is the sensor (it would likely have been called a thermostat a few decades ago) that decides if the box is cool enough or not and commands more or less cooling. A few weeks ago when we reported for our weekly stay of two nights the plastic burning smell was quite overpowering. We ventilated and looked all over for anything that could have melted and found nothing. Everything continued to function as expected but the fridge began to warm up over the following days while we were away. We returned to find a warmer than comfortable fridge and suspected something in the back had given up. He looked and looked and checked and checked some more and so did we but we located nothing and did not ever smell any ammonia so likely an ammonia leak is not the reason for the gradual failure. All of which is an awful lot of background for the question. Ought we consider changing over to a residential fridge if this one is found to be not economically repairable? The answer to which could lead to a lot of questions. Will a residential unit fit the fridge space, what will have to be done to maintain the cold on a long day of travel, is a residential really less expensive than an RV style fridge? All y'all are welcome to add some more questions or send some answers as suits your fancy. He tells me that a new cooling unit will run in the vicinity of $1,600 bucks, a new RV fridge will run around $4,500 bucks and a residential should run around $3 grand. More or less. We do not have a genset so making 'lectricity while traveling is not happening and I am not really in the mood to have one anyway. I am not yet knowing if we have a serious failure or a failure of one or more of the component parts. If and when we solve that troubling question will it be time to make the big bucks decision. Thank all y'all in advance account it might be a few days afore I can check back to see what you said or didn't say.