Finally got to my RV Fridge-hotwired it and...

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Rob H - 12 May 2005 03:48 GMT

I finally opened my camper back up,a 2000 Springdale with the wonderful
dometic refrigerator that stopped working last year. I hotwired it, the
heating element
got hot as hell, but the fridge did not get cold. I noticed also what looks
to be a small
greenish drip down the camper outside the fridge vent and down the side of
the
camper,it looks darker green. I never noticed it until now,it may or may not
be from
the fridge and there is just one small dried line,nowhere else do i see any
trace
of green fluid or leak.

So now that I have ruled out the heating element and the electronics in the
unit, I can only
assume the cooling unit leaked? Is there anything as a consumer I can do to
fix
this or is it pretty much a service bay task? I don't want to spend $700 on
a new
fridge,I am pondering going to lowe's and buying a dorm refrigerator and
putting in
it since I don't need the propane option anyway,it sits at a permanent
campground
that has power during the whole season.

Any advice or help is appreciated.

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RichA - 12 May 2005 04:42 GMT

>I finally opened my camper back up,a 2000 Springdale with the wonderful
>dometic refrigerator that stopped working last year. I hotwired it, the
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
>
>Any advice or help is appreciated.

If the cooling unit leaked you have to replace the whole cooling unit.
Might be easier and cheaper just to put in a regular fridge since you
don't really need propane. Regular refrigerators are cheaper then RV
ones anyway.

Take care and Happy Campin...
RichA
"We Get Too Soon Olde and Too Late Smart"

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Rob H - 12 May 2005 04:45 GMT

I figured as much.
Does anyone have any certain models they have used that will fit without
remodeling the
whole space?

>>I finally opened my camper back up,a 2000 Springdale with the wonderful
>>dometic refrigerator that stopped working last year. I hotwired it, the
[quoted text clipped - 37 lines]
> RichA
> "We Get Too Soon Olde and Too Late Smart"

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NED - 12 May 2005 13:47 GMT

I have just bought a 17 year old campervan with a Dometic Fridge. It
works fine on propane but when I switch over to 12v there is no cooling
whatsoever. The unit is level. The heater pipe gets nice and hot on 12v
and you can feel warm air coming out of the upper vent on the outside.
However the inside of the fridge simply reverts to the outside ambient
temperature. Can anyone suggest a course of action? The fact that the
fridge cools on propane and that the heater element gets hot on 12v
suggests to me that this may be some sort of adjustment problem.

One other quick question. Can the propane fridge and propane furnace be
used while driving, or only when stopped and level?

As you can tell, I am a newbie but i spent an hour going over back
questions but could not find any help. thanks for any suggesstions you
may be able to offer,

Nick (Please REMOVETHIS from my email address!)

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Ron Recer - 12 May 2005 16:08 GMT

> I have just bought a 17 year old campervan with a Dometic Fridge. It
> works fine on propane but when I switch over to 12v there is no cooling
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> One other quick question. Can the propane fridge and propane furnace be
> used while driving, or only when stopped and level?

We run our fridge on propane while traveling and so do a lot of others.
Have not tried running the furnace while we travel as we have never needed
heat on the road.

Ron

> As you can tell, I am a newbie but i spent an hour going over back
> questions but could not find any help. thanks for any suggesstions you
> may be able to offer,
>
> Nick (Please REMOVETHIS from my email address!)

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NED - 13 May 2005 13:46 GMT

Thanks Ron, that is good to know. So if I cannot get the 12v working I
can just use the propane alone. ... NED

>>I have just bought a 17 year old campervan with a Dometic Fridge. It
>>works fine on propane but when I switch over to 12v there is no cooling
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
>>
>>Nick (Please REMOVETHIS from my email address!)

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RichA - 12 May 2005 16:58 GMT

>I have just bought a 17 year old campervan with a Dometic Fridge. It
>works fine on propane but when I switch over to 12v there is no cooling
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>
>Nick (Please REMOVETHIS from my email address!)

Hi,
First are you sure it is designed to work on 12V? That is, is it
designed to work on propane and 12V DC? Most are designed to work on
propane and 120V but 12V refrigerators do exist.

If it is a 12V refrigerator and you do feel the pipes getting warm
then it should cool. The only difference between propane, 12V and
120V is what energy source is used to heat the pipes to get the
chemical reaction going to start the cooling process. You can check
and make sure the heating element is directly against the pipe. If
it's heating and you are not getting any cooling then it probably
isn't getting the pipes hot enough to start the cooling process. Or
if it's not getting hot it might be 120V heating element and needs the
RV to be plugged into shore power to work. If you are checking for
heat after running it on propane you might be getting fooled because
the pipes will stay warm for awhile.

Take care and Happy Campin...

RichA
"We Get Too Soon Olde and Too Late Smart"

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Will Sill - 12 May 2005 11:52 GMT

I see where "Rob H" <robhcleoh@mindspring.com> contributed:

>I am pondering going to lowe's and buying a dorm refrigerator and
>putting in
>it since I don't need the propane option anyway,it sits at a permanent
>campground
>that has power during the whole season.

Do it. Go to an orange box store and measure until you find an
apartment fridge that you can use.

Will Sill
The list of subjects I care about is shrinking steadily.
Items missing from that list include but are not limited to:
- The views of moronic and anti-American nut cases
- Terminally boring and/or thoughtless commentaries.

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