Dometic Fridge

[Free To Roam]

2010 Mobile Suite, trouble with Dometic Fridge.
Chases outside temp. Starts out in AM around 33 dg, as day goes by, and warms, the fridge temp follows, eventually getting to 44 by sundown. Stays in 40's until late at night, 2 to 3 AM, then creeps down to low 30's by 7 or so in the morning. Dometic replaced the cooling unit, still doing same.
Doors fit so poorly, inside box is bathed in sweat, fins will become iced, but box temp rises, reguardless. Ice cream melts in freezer, any other products in the freezer may become partially thawed, definately not good for meat products. Service facility says this is all normal...
I just don't think so, what do you think...
Thanks!

[ponch]

make sure that BOTH of your fans are running.

[john]

Sure not normal.....sounds as if you need a new service person....

[Motor31]

Poor seal at the doors is a major problem The fridge can't cool the entire trailer. Get that part fixed asap. I also second the suggestion about a new repair facility. That's a bogus line they handed you.

[Free To Roam]

Understand all the above. Fans are running, Bill's RV appliance of Elkhart did a replacement of the cooling unit two days ago.
Yes, the seals are a joke! There are no re-engineered seals avaliable, and these do not seal at all. Factory says it is all I get.
Thing is, I know of other folks that have same fridge, and it works fine. This particular one seems to be a piece of junk.
I called Bills this morning, 8 sharp, only to be told there were NO service personnel avaliable until Monday, imagine that, a service provider, and no service personnel. Sure could not run my business that way!
Appreciate the input, we have addressed all the concerns, now just going to have to squalk like all get out to get the factory attention.
Funny, after 3 attempts to diagnose the problem, Dometic said the fridge was installed wrong, and, they were not going to fix it!
You can imagine how Ryan reacted to that statement of extreme stupidity.
At his intervention, they finally called me, and agreed to replace the cooling unit, but, like I said.....still does not work..
Thanks again...

[rdunk]

I don't know anything about the 2010 fridge, but I did have the same problems with a 2005 Dometic fridge, including warranty replace of the cooling unit, which didn't help either.

One thing you might do, if your fridge has a thermister on the cooling fins ......... unplug the thermister from the electronics board on the back of the fridge. When the thermister is unplugged, the fridge supposedly cools at maximum. If the fridge then stays cold, you probably have a bad thermister. That turned out to be my problem.

Otherwise, replace that Dometic POC with a residential fridge, if you are usually parked with hook-ups!!!!!!!

Good luck!

[Free To Roam]

Thanks for the thermistor info.
It was one of the first things changed, made no difference. Drat!
I am leaning toward your suggestion on the residential model, however, I too bought the extended warranty, so, I think I will continue to hound them for that "extended" period of time.
The more input I get from this post, the more I am convinced the unit is just plain defective.
Thanks again....

[wingnut60]

Are you currently in the Elkhart area, or in FL? How did Bills in Eklhart do the work?
Is yours the 4-door or the 2-door side x side?
Can't make it without a good fridge--did it EVER work correctly? I don't understand the doors not sealing--sounds like the entire unit has been twisted.
Suggest you work with Ryan to get an entire new unit with you/Dometic/DRV sharing the cost?
Over the years hearing about Dometic, their backup service sure is the pits.
Joe

[john]

On a 2010 unit I don't fell he should have to share in any cost. Maybe Paul can check it out.

[Free To Roam]

We are in Indiana now, will be here on and off most of the summer.
No, this fridge NEVER worked right, and I noted it when we picked up the unit when we bought it in Florida a year ago March.
No, I don't intend to share the cost of anything, was hoping to find someone who had been down this path with Dometic, and, had a successful resloution.
Today, this box is dripping moisture down the inside of the doors, while the cooling fins are covered with ice, obviously a seal issue. You guys might be right, it could have been twisted, or dropped???
I don't fault Bills, they are only doing what Dometic is directing them to do, I really think Dometic is wholly responsible.
Will write Ryan, have a warming note in his Monday morning inbox!
He is good to intervene, I really think it will come to a resolution, despite the efforts of Dometic to duck the issue....
Stay tuned, I will update as I get service, or no service as the case may be.
I will be away for a couple weeks, so update will be later coming.
Appreciate all your input, confirms what we thought all along, this is a defective unit.
Thanks again...to all

[wingnut60]

I have never understood the mindset of companies who duck responsibility in every way to stand behind their product. The recall on the burner units in Dometic fridges may be the pinnacle of their efforts to not make things right--proven potential for fires and all they did is provide a shield to supposedly keep the fire from spreading.

Several RV publications have tech columns/warranty columns that show some companies usually only cough up money/repairs when faced with embarassing publicity. As Clark Howard says: "Customer N0-Service Department."

You would thing Dometic themselves would be interested in what is wrong that they can't fix it in prior attempts. Simplest course would be a replacement unit and a satisfied customer, right?

Makes me happy that my SxS is still working well--fingers crossed.

Joe

[Free To Roam]

Couldn't agree more. Clark calls them like they are!
This is the 4 door model, I have disconnected the water-in-the-door feature again, second time. Don't need another flood!
Two weeks ago, late in the evening, the water dispenser came on,full force, and I could only shut it off by pulling the relay wire. (wife has so much stuff under the sink, no time to locate possible valve,)
The box sweats so bad, due to the poor seals, it caused a failure in the activation switch for the water feature.
What a hoot!
To think they actually charge big bucks for this appliance, and get by with it!
Ryans' mail box is full, will have to wait until Monday to shoot him a heads up.
Thanks to all...again..and again...and..again...

[wingnut60]

Feel for you--livin is bad without cold beer!

[Free To Roam]

Say it ain't so!!!!
Gloom-doom-and misery on me!

[RonS]

Does anyone know the brand and model of a residential unit which will fit in the hole of single door frig.

[Jimfla]

The ref. that I had installed in my 2011 is a whirlpool they are sold at lowes they work great model # is etomsrxtb00 the only modification I had to make is 1/4 inch off of one side fits perfect looks great I have the block one

[RGordon]

I just ordered a new residential fridge (Samsung RF197ACBP) which is black and can be ordered in stainless also. It will fit where my Dometic Model 1292 side by side was. It also requires that I loose my drawer under the fridge, because of the increase in height. This model is the french door design with pull out freezer drawer at bottom. My old Dometic fridge failed with everything working properly and only had to remove from unit, turn upside down overnight then uprighted, plugged in and has been working in garage for over a month. I might add it has worked better than ever, just by turning it over and letting chemicals regroup. I never liked the original fridge, always having defrost issues and knowing what I know now, never trusting it again. The Samsung is larger and going from 12 cu ft to 18 cu ft will make a huge difference.

[Free To Roam]

I looked at Lowes on-line page, as well as Home Depot, and Mennards.
For my use, Lowes had what would be a fit for the double, but, all the stores carried a wide variety on line, more than I saw in the store. If you are close to one of these stores, you might look, or , at least look on line..
Tomorrow starts the great stare-down with Dometic...stay tuned....
Thanks to all...

[Pat L.]

Dometic has got to be the worst company to deal with. They do not want to talk to you, only e-mail. Had the fans replaced in mine and they are noisier than the original ones. Duh - Nice move on my part! Mine sweets inside the freezer but stays at 34*. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Free To Roam]

Totally understand, and agree. Actually I would prefer E mail, it makes a nice paper trail of evidence if I have to take them to a local small claims court!
I called the service facility that did the change-out, yesterday, waiting for them to call back. I will wiat a few days, then lean on coach manufacturer to lean on them!
That leaning process worked before, stay tuned...still sweating, profusly!
Thanks to all...

[Free To Roam]

Dometic called today, Friday, 27th. Will install a new unit, at my convienience, closer to my home, so I do not have to travel up to Elkhart...
Stay tuned, it will be a couple weeks until I can schedule...
Thanks..

[The View 5046]

Good Luck and keep us posted.

[Free To Roam]

Next Thursday the 9th, install a new model. Do not have to go up to Elkhart, they will let me go to a local service center...Stay tuned..

[Free To Roam]

Friday, 10th....
New box installed. New door design, gravity assists is closing door against seal. So far seems to be an improvement, but will have to wait for a while to get some performance demonstrations from it.
Seven hours install, did not have to take window out, it did come out the entry door, close, but out!
Service facility did a good job, Modern Trailer, Anderson, Indiana, would recommend them if you need service in this area.
It came with installed sensors, 3 of them, one each in refer box, freezer, and outside rear of box, and a small lighter size collector of relayed information, and a question sheet on primary usage.
We are outta here for a couple weeks, so will have to wait for the performance report.
At this point, SEEMS sood, we shall see....
later...

[Pat L.]

Hey guys,
Are you saying that Dometic can't or will not replace the door seals? Mine has water dripping and a lot of frost in the freezer.

[Free To Roam]

They replaced the seals TWICE, and both were a joke. Moisture inside the cabinet was, for lack of a technical term, like a rainforest.
Water dripped from the top, inside if the cabinet, all the shelves were dripping, the freezer would loose product stored next to the door, and, there would be heavy icing on the cooling fins of the fridge section, the freezer had to be defrosted weekly, and to top it off, so much warm outside air mixed with cold air from inside, escaping, and, it occured in the area of the switch that controls the door water, it caused the switch to fail, the water in the door came on full force, and it could only be shut off by the valve under the sink...
The company replaced the cooling unit, why I will never figure, it was, and is a seal issue, they simply do not seal, due to poor design.
I had the extra warranty, not that it made mcuh difference, as the unit was still on the original factory warranty, but, at any rate, I squalked and hollered, excessively!
Two weeks ago, they replaced the WHOLE THING!
I have not been in the unit since, we summer on a houseboat in Kentucky, and, it is sitting in Indiana. I have had a neighbor go in and check it to be sure it is OK, and all seems well at this point. We will have to get back and use it to be able to tell if it actually is better. I tend to think it will be, asthey have redesigned the hinges, they now use gravity, and the weight of the door to effect a seal.
When we get back, and have a chance to use it, I will post an update as to the improvement, or, lack of...
Thanks!

[Free To Roam]

Latest, july 4, 2011
New fridge has been installed about 3 weeks. We were not living in the unit for that time, came back Thursday, temp was 37, setting on 4.
Adjusted shelves, put in some groceries, temp went to 43.
Turned on ice maker, it flooded the freezer, leaked out door, made a mess.
Temp began rising, next day, eventually made it to 53, things in freezer thawed. As of today, temp has never gone below 40, had to shut off the ice maker, will call them tomorrow, begin fussing, anew.
At least this one has not at this point, generated huge amounts of moisture inisde the cabinet.
More later...
Tom and Liz
In Indiana for now

[RonS]

OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Beachgirl]

My new 2011 MS has a side by side Dometic that does the exact same thing- chases the outside temp. We've gotten in the habit of locking the fridge every time we close it- but it still doesn't really seal. We just got this trailer in March, and this is our first long stay in it.

Beachgirl

[Free To Roam]

Ours is a 2010 model, has done this from day one.
This new fridge does not sweat like the old one did, but, it does not stay cold either. Yesterday, with moderate usage, it wrnt to 53 deg, and stayed there all day, freezer warmed enough that the ice cream sogged up, so we drank it!
Have a call in to Dometic, we will post what the outcome of the call is.
I am leaning more and more to just biting the bullet, and replacing it with a residential unit, there are some very informative posts on this forum.
More later...
Tom and liz

[chevman]

I know nothing really but have you looked to see if the light goes off when the door is shut. I had a problem once and the switch wasn't shutting the light off so I replaced the switch. The problem was my wife was cleaning the fridge and hit the switch for humidity in the door frame. It fixed our problem. chevman

[Free To Roam]

Just had atwo more conversations with the factory, one with Customer Serivice, and one with engineering.
Seems the control board on the "eyebrow" has an inherent flaw. A new control control board is being processed, even as we speak.
On the ice maker issue, they are not sure of an answer, but, are most likley going to send an engineer HERE to check it out.
It is nice to have the sweating problem fixed, now, get the control board, and ice maker in line, and woo-hoo, life may be uncomplicated again!
More, when it happens....
Thanks...
Tom and Liz
In Indiana for now

[Pat L.]

Well this past weekend (The 4th) our refrigerator started to get warm. On setting '5' it was holding around 41 at night fall and the outside temp was 78*. We had rain storms so it cooled down to a comfortable temp. Just another thing we have to deal with. Crap --- This MS is getting to be my every day life of repairs. No time for work as I have to schedule appointments and make phone calls.

[GlennWest]

Check to see if your fans(the ones on the outside of fridge) are working. Mine got warm and that was the problem. Mine is cooling great on 1 fan now in Texas heat.

[wanderingwingers]

Also check to make sure your 12 volt disconnect switch at the outside panel where the level switches are is pulled out. The fridge needs 12 volts to work properly.

My fridge was chasing the outside temps and the fans were not working. I thought I had bad fans or the heat switch for the fans was bad.

Since we were always plugged into shore power I never noticed my 12 volt disconnect switch was pushed in. (Easy to do without knowing).

Once I pulled out the switch and 12 volts was restored to the fridge, it now stays at the 36 to 38 degrees on setting 3.

[Pat L.]

Yes - Both fans are working fine [noisy] and the DC switch is on. We are in a park set up so everything is running 24/7. We use the MS on the weekends as a get-a-way. More issues keep coming up each week. I never know what I will have to repair the next time we go to the unit. We will be taking a trip to Key West so I would like to have all issues repaired.

[Free To Roam]

OK, here is the latest...
The fill valve is totally out of control. It seems to think it has to pass enough water to put out a Chicage style fire! No kidding....
It totally overflows the tray, puts 1/2 inch water in the bin, and another 1/2 inch in the bottom of the freezer, resulting in everything in the freezer being permanently stuck in an Arctic styleglacian impaction zone.
Factory is sending a new valve, and making arrangements to get it installed on the 25th or 26th.
Update when that happens...
Tom and Liz
Sittin' on Dale Hollow Lake...

[bucky49]

Have same problem and same answers so far on 4 door model been worked on by Bill's in Elkhart. Just put thermometer in box to see actual temp, per Bill's advice.

[Mike2338]

Mine is completely out. I am getting an Error code of 3 which the manual states is a 'Cooling unit malfunction'. It is 4 months old and only has about 20 hours on it.
At the shop and will be looked at tomorrow.

[BillK]

Mike 2338,
I had the same E3 code a couple weeks ago. I believe it was caused by us leaving the coach out of level while we were eating in a restaurant. I found a disconnect switch had thrown. It is located on the left side of the fridge inside the lower outside vent. It is between a couple wires and hard to find. All I did was push the tiny button back in and reset the thing. Things have worked perfectly ever since. Hope this helps.

[Mike2338]

Bill,

Thanks for the advice. I hope that is all it is. The unit is at the dealer now and they were to look at it yesterday.
I called about an hour ago and the service adviser did not have any info but is checking and will be calling me back.

m

[Mike2338]

I just heard from the dealer.
The Thermal fuse was blown. Normally this would mean a replacement refrigerator or cooling unit. But the tech says a baffle was dislodged on the back of the unit which he feels caused the fuse to blow. They are letting it run overnight to see if it happens again.

I know the Thermal fuse is a safety device to prevent firee so i will be keeping a close eye on it.

m

[bstark]

Mike: the thermal fuse referred to is the small dime sized item with a couple of wires that is fastened to the outside of the boiler chimney and is there to detect a higher than normal temperature within the insulation pack around the boiler itself which usually indicates a leak of ammonia from brine and subsequent flaring of flame from burner and yes, this would necessitate a replacement coling unit or fridge itself. It is also intended to detect a propane malfunction resulting in a flame occurring before the ventury tube. That would also be detected by a lack of flame in front of the flame sensor at the ignitor end.

The function of the sensor is to inhibit power to the propane solenoid valve, shutting off the burner if a drastic rise in temp is detected.

They are talking about a baffle and the only one that is in the chimney itself is the one in the very top of the chimney and could only dislodge if it's retaining spring wire were to break or rust through.

The rest of the shielding around the boiler/burner housing is merely there to prevent wind gusts from constantly blowing out the flame. While stationary the fridge will operate without any of this stuff for troubleshooting purposes; NOT IN NORMAL useage however.

I'm having difficulty in determining what "baffle" could have become dislodged so as to raise the stack temps within the boiler chimney itself. Perhaps something covered the top of the chimney like a stray piece of fiberglass insualtion falling down from the very top of the cabinet but that would be rare ineed.

It takes quite a bit of added sheet metal to inhibit the air flow around that boiler enough to raise internal chimney heat enough to trigger that sensor as the Dometic recall of "flame containment" sheeting added to many fridges basicly closed the entire thing off completely other than a small air inlet area at the propane jet housing itself.

Keep us posted with ongoing assessments & repairs by tech's; this stuff is interesting.

[soos]

Our Mobile Suites is only one week old and we have had the E03 error code twice already. It only happens when we travel, at this point. We are in Indiana getting a laundry list of issues taken care of, and now this is added to the list. the guy from Bill's thinks that whoever filled our propane tanks for the first time didn't purge the air out of them first, so the flame is too hot.
I guess our next step is to have them replace our Propane tanks with new ones?
I really was not expecting to have so many problems !

Sue

[bstark]

Soos: no need for new tanks. Purging refers to the act of filling and bleeding a tank to make sure all air has been expelled. Your next fill up should take care of this little detail.

[soos]

Soos: no need for new tanks. Purging refers to the act of filling and bleeding a tank to make sure all air has been expelled. Your next fill up should take care of this little detail.
Hi,
I realize that but with a unit thats only a week old, I am not willing to wait 2-3 months for us to use up the propane to find out if that is why the refrigerator doesn't work. The stove also doesn't work right. If thats the problem then it's easily fixed by swapping out the tanks now. The tech guy suggested we just run the furnace to run out the propane. Not in 95 degree heat thank you.
We'll see what we can do.


Sue

[bstark]

Aaah; I understand now. You're correct they should just take your tanks and purge them at the dealership or give you new 'already purged' and filled ones.

No loss to them other than the price of the propane. The newer fill stations are required to have a recovery return to the main filling tank and it is this feature that allows them to perform purging without venting the contents to atmosphere so they wouldn't be out of pocket at all if done correctly.

[Mike2338]

I picked up the coach from the dealer. The tech showed me the plate that was loose. It has a single screw to hold it in place that was not installed. The plate shifted and diffused the flame is such a way that caused the thermal fuse to fail. At least that is the diagnosis of the tech and the Dometic tech help line.
The refrigerator has been running all day. It showed 46 degrees when I picked it up. I questioned the high temp and the tech said that when the porter shifted it in the yard the door was opened and it still had not cooled back down.

Well now I am home and the temp is up to 58. The freezer is getting good and cold but the fridge part is not. Temperature in SE Michigan today was 100 with high humidity.

We are heading out in the morning for a few days in Canada on Lake Huron. I will see the temp in the morning to see if we work out of a cooler rather than the refrigerator.

Is there anything you suggest I check before I just let it run tonight? It is running, the fans are spinning and I checked and there is no blockage on the back.

m

[Mike2338]

Well. The refrigerator appears to working. The temp is down to 36 degrees on electric. We will be heading out soon so hopefully it keeps up on propane during the day.

[Mike2338]

Temp is up to 42 degrees.

everything seems to be operating as it should.

Any suggestions?

[Motor31]

Dumb question. Have you tried moving the thermister upward on the cooling fin since the last repair?

[bstark]

The fridge relies upon a thermal connection of bonding material between a plate that connects the actual cooling portion in the back of the freezer to those fins in the fridge compartment below.

It also relies upon adequate cooling air to rise up the chimney behind the fridge cabinet to lower the temps of the brine solution (shed BTU's and return to liquid state) as it descends back to the boiler. Slideout fridges require convection current of air to take two right angles and that is something air flow resists; making right angle turns. Pancake fans help this immensely.

Air is the most difficult thing to change/control the temperature of so the less there is in the freezer/fridge cabinets the better. This requires that the freezer compartment AND fridge compartment have that air deplaced by food items.

A veritable catch 22 in that, to have the thing working efficiently requires that it's internal volumn be occupied by food stuffs but, if it's not working as designed, resultant spoilage is more costly.

My understanding of the workings of the "thermistor" Motor31 mentioned is that it's resistance changes according to ambient temps of fridge cabinet and I tested this years ago with a volt/ohm meter and a cup of boiling water alongside a cup of ice water but I've forgotten the actual ohm's readings I was able to detect to determine quality of thermistor ie: thermistor unplugged creating a 'constant on' condition so moving the thermistor to the warmer 'upper' air of the fridge cabinet, thus changing the resistance, would signal the fridge to cycle on more often and remain on longer.

The electrical heating element is a 360/375 watt element and it will not create the kinds of boiler temps that the propane burner should be capable of, ergo; your fridge 'should' be more efficient while on "gas" setting.

A small fan powered by 2 'D' cell batteries is often sworn to by users of being very effective in assisting the movement of air within the fridge cabinet to maintain a more consistant temp within the cabinet so that there is less discrepancy in temps between the upper and lower part of the fridge cabinet.

Many 'happy-hours' have descended into discussions of these fridges and their inherant failings: "What setting have you got yours on?" "I'm afraid to defrost mine because it might take two weeks to get the thing back to correct temperature!" "Mine won't go below 45 with it set at number 5". "we buy our grocieries one item at a time because the fridge can't handle any number of warmer items being inserted at once."

Anyone whose owned one of these things has heard all of these and a bunch more complaints about these gas absorption fridges for years.

Good luck to all with their DFF's - Dometic Fridge Follies.

[Free To Roam]

OK, here is the ltest, and, perhaps the LAST experience in this adventure.
Yesterday, the 26th of July, 2011, an engineer from Dometic came down to our campground, in Anderson, Indiana. Replaced a suspected faulty fill valve, outside in the refrigerator cabinet. Not a bif problem, got it replaced.
Came inside, forced the ice maker to cycle, and walah, flood city.
Water poured from around the ice maker. As I originally suspected, the fill tube was mis-aligned, all along.
What an ordeal to fix that, as it turned out to be.
I was glad an engineer, who knew the construction details of the box was here, and not a service technician.
It was several hours defrosting with a hair dryer, mopping up, and disassembling the entire freezer section, just to get the ice maker out.
Once freed rom the icy grip, of a large build up of ice from the mis-aligned spout, re-assemble went smoothly, and, soon, we had ice cubes aplenty, without the flood inside the ice making equipment.
Lessons learned by the engineer, 1. re design the spout to make it possible to actually see it, to confirm whether it is properly aligned, as is, it is not possible to see, or touch it. 2. re design entire ice maker installation, so as not to have to completely dis-assimble the freezer compartment to service it. 3. re design outer cabinet access to all controls in the rear, tidy up the electical connections, and make the mother board box accessible, for folks with normal size hands.
In short, if you have ever said, "I wish the guys that designed this thing had to work on it", well, he just did!
Justice was served!
He was a terriffic fellow, learned a lot, and for now, we seem to have a box that cools and makes ice.

Interesting note of information, he said their standard of cooling is that the box temp would stay at or below 43 degrees, with the outside temp at 110 degrees.
They had come up with a baffle, can be installed by a dealer, necessary to scoot the box out a bit, that's why a dealer, and it direct the air from the fans over the fins more directly, resulting in a couple degrees cooler inside.

I was able to get service from them, not necessary to threaten, or cuss, just be reasonable. They did a great job of getting to the bottom of the mess....took a lot of time....but we Got 'er Done!

[terry and jo]

Glad to hear things are looking up, and our hopes are that your problems are now at an end with the refrigerator.

Quote: "In short, if you have ever said, "I wish the guys that designed this thing had to work on it", well, he just did!
Justice was served!"

Oh, that just really is a good thing. Now, if the engineer can go back to Dometic and convince everyone else that those changes need to be made for every unit in the future, and to convince them to have a more sypathetic ear will be cocked for those having problems.

It that were to happen, I would definitely have hope for the future. It would also be nice if EVERY systems manufacturer could undertake similar actions.

[wingnut60]

"Oh, that just really is a good thing. Now, if the engineer can go back to Dometic and convince everyone else that those changes need to be made for every unit in the future, and to convince them to have a more sypathetic ear will be cocked for those having problems."

In 9 years of hearing of Dometic customer service, and watching the way they handled the recall of thousands of defective units-------

NOT GONNA HAPPEN!!!

Joe

[bstark]

I'm also skeptical that Dometic will make those changes as suggested. It's always been about the bottom line for Dometic and if they can save a buck by making us all on-going 'Beta-Testers', it's all profit for them.

You've been the very model of patience and understanding for those folks but that is certainly not the norm and I believe they've simply become inured and complacent with still selling every peice of junk they can ship to the manufactures.

Kudos to you.