Residential Refrigerator Conversion

[Al Anderson]

Has anyone replaced their RV Fridge with anything other than the Samsung RF18?  On my 2002 Marquis, I have had my absorption fridge quit four times ruining all the food in the last year and a half so am done with it.  The opening it sits in is 36.5 inches wide and putting in a 33 inch wide RG18 and trying modifying the cabinets to make them 3 inches smaller seems like more work than I need to do when there are plenty of counter depth 36 fridges on the market.  While it also appears the counter depth fringes all require air movement in the back I feel a fan system can accomplish that regardless of the model.

The two models I am looking at are the Frididaire 22.4 and the LG 22.8.  Both are about 36 inch wide so I would have to to as many modifications to the cabinet.  Both have a little more cubic inches of storage and both show power consumption very similar to the Samsung.  The other plus is both seem to have higher rated reviews than I have read for the Samsung. 

Is there something else I am missing that makes using a different fridge less logical than what I am thinking of?  Has anyone else put in a 36 inch wide they love?

Thanks in advance...

[Bill Lampkin]

Here's one:

https://community.fmca.com/topic/10414-refrigerator-swap-process/

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Al,
Check to see if your inverter puts out a full or modified sine wave unit. Some residential units will not run reliably on a modified sine wave unit. This apparently includes the newer Samsung units.
Steve

[Bill Lampkin]

When our Norcold gives up the ghost, I'm thinking of using this inverter to power the fridge:

https://www.aimscorp.net/1200-Pure-Sine-Inverter-with-Transfer-Switch-UL-458.html

[Tic Wilson]

FWIW, our Norcold died this past September.  After researching all possibilities, we installed a Dutch Aire, (an "Amish" unit) from Shipshewanna, IN.  No cabinet modifications needed.  And while we chose to keep the propane as a fuel source, JC Refrigeration also offered a residential conversion.  Might be worth checking them out to see if they can help you.  http://www.jc-refrigeration.com/.   They shipped FedEx freight to the RV park we were staying at, and by shipping to a business, we saved $50.00 on the freight cost.
And the Norcold works better than ever.

[Doug Allman]

We changed ours out to a Samsung in our 2004 Marquis and while there is some labor for trim wood we had very little problems in getting it installed and thru the coach door easily. After having the household model installed, we have had a Beaver with the RV style refrigerator from 1994 to 2012, my wife said she would never go back to an RV gas unit no matter how good it is supposed to be. The residential unit is better in all ways, size in particular, and we did nothing but using the same inverter as was in the coach but just made sure the Samsung was plugged into the inverter circuit so you have power when you are not plugged in to shore power.
John Nord now has the Marquis and you can ask him how they like it. Last I saw him on March 9th in Arizona it was working just fine and full of Alberta Beef in the freezer.