Suspicious Repairs

[Jason Worman]

Hi All,
We took the rig down to local RV shop to get some leak repairs done and appliances serviced  on February 8th. Tech said appliancesin  great shape. Today opened the fridge and was greeted with smell of rotting food. Went outside and opened access door and found yellow powder inside see photos. Coincidence? I find it strange that one week after service,  fridge goes kaput. Could Tech have damaged anything? With that said should we replace just the cooling unit or entire unit? It is a Dometic RM 3804, not sure if the cooling unit is original, was made in Sweden, fridge is original 1991 coach. Can't find a direct unit replacement. Thank you all in advance.

Jason Worman

[Steve Huber]

Jason,
The yellow powder is the result of an ammonia leak, which is why you aren't getting any cooling in the reefer. Think I'd go back to  RV service shop and have a heart to heart with them. Doubt very much that this is a coincidence. You're looking at a new cooling unit at a minimum. Amish units have a fairly good reputation as far as I know.
Steve

[Richard Davis]

Jason
I doubt there is anything the tech did or could have done that would have made any difference.  Absorption fridge cooling units corrode from the inside out over time.  Everything could look good one minute and fail the next.  Be glad it did not cause a fire. 
If the box and controls are all in good condition, you can have the cooling unit replaced with a new or rebuilt one.  If your box is not in pristine condition, I would not recommend that.  You can also find a new absorption fridge that will fit in that space (expensive solution).  The solution I choose and the one I would recommend to you is to find a residential fridge that will fit in the space.  I choose the Samsung RF18 since it was the closest in size and fit with the least remodeling.  Newer fridges with inverter type compressors are very efficient and do not consume lots of power like their predecessors did.  You will find lots of discussions on RV chat groups about converting to residential refrigerators.  The consensus is close to unanimous that it is a very good upgrade.  I strongly suggest you do a bit of reading and get advice from others that have done this upgrade before you decide which path to take.  Good Luck.
Richard   

[Jason Worman]

Steve and Richard,

Thank you both for your comments, have been pricing absorption fridges and they are quite pricey.  I'm intrigued by the idea of a residential replacement but the DW likes the idea to have the option of gas or electric and no compressor noise, lots to research but need to move sooner than later. I have realized how much I go and open fridge looking for food 😀

Jason

[Joel Ashley]

I’m not a fan of Samsung products and prefer the propane option due to our penchant for dry camping, plus we’ve used combo-fuel fridges since 1985.  Our Samsung-built GE home unit has had numerous issues, and although most R18 owners seem happy enough, there are that nominal few that aren’t.  I’d give serious research time to Steve’s Amish cooling unit option, resurrecting your comfortable old unit with no waiting for cabinet reconstruction;  and your appetite satisfaction trips can likely resume the quickest.

Joel

[Fred Cook]

Check out The RV Cooling Warehouse online. Good luck!

[Bill Lampkin]

https://jc-refrigeration.com/

New absorption cooling units and or new compressor (residential) cooling units

[Steve Huber]

Jason,
If you decide on a residential you should also ensure you have a pure sign wave inverter. The residential units, especially Samsung don't like the modified sign wave outputs. I lost a control board on my Samsung before switching inverters. On the plus side, there is no noticeable compressor noise inside the coach. Based on my experience with a Samsung, I would recommend finding a different brand as they can be troublesome if you decide to go the residential route.
Steve

[Bill Lampkin]

See if this one will fit

https://www.dometic.com/en-us/outdoor/food-and-beverage/refrigerators/rv-refrigerators/dometic-dmc4101-242459

[Richard Davis]

Jason
My wife's opinion was the opposite of yours.  I made the mistake many years ago of having her walk with me through Colaw's RV salvage (we were looking for a replacement dinette).  She asked "Why do so many of those nice motorhomes have the big burn hole in the side?"  I told her that was where the propane fridge was that caused the fire.  Forever thereafter, she wanted me to get rid of the propane fridge.  So, I finally did so.  FYI, the small inverter compressor on newer refrigerators are so quiet you do not notice when they come on and go off.  They are not at all the same as the compressors in the overhead AC units. 
I have had my 120 volt residential for 6 years now and I love it.  If I were looking now, I would seriously consider the 12 volt dc powered compressor versions to avoid the inefficiency of double conversion from DC to AC and then back to DC.
Another FYI.  The average life span of an absorption refrigerator is about 10 years.  For yours to have lasted 31 years is phenomenal.  I would be really surprised if that is the original cooling unit.  Do not expect anything you buy today to last that long.
Richard   

[Eric Maclean Co-Admin]

Jason
The original cooling unit seams to have timed out most of them have about a 15 year life span and as mentioned before they corode from the inside out the yellow powder you see is zinc chromate which is the anti corrosion chemical they put in the cooling unit to stop or at least slow down the corrosion process coincidentally it is the same powder that creates he problems when a firdge is run off level as the boiler runs dry the zinc chromate powder heats and crystalized the when the fridge is returned to level and the boiler fills with solution these crystals are moved through the cooling unit with the normal movement of the fluids and end up blocking the smaller offices causing the cooling unit to fail ( no or poor cooling )

As discussed above depending on your use of the unit .
1  ) if your primary use of your coach is boondocking ( no power hook up) then your best bet is a propane absorption unit because it uses the least amount of battery power to run it's electronic control boards and gives you the long's off grid battery experience.
2) the Amish or ( jc refrigeration ) now build a 12volt DC and a 120 volt AC compressor cooling unit to replace your existing unit
These are both inverter technology and very efficient  but will both use more battery power than a propane unit.

3) if your use of the coach is primarily on shore power ( plugged in ) then you might consider going to a residential fridge however as mentioned above there are several problems with these first is the size there are several to choose from but none of the will fit your space perfectly which means you'll have to modify cabinets and you will have to replace your existing inverter to a pure sign wave inverter to keep the electronic happy in that new inverter fridge .
The plus side to the residential fridge is they are usually larger inside , frost free and your wife will like it better .
The cons are negligible if you are always plugged in but if your not as mentioned above you will need a new expensive inverter usually the same price or more than the new fridge and if your not plugged in you will have to think of how much battery power you will require to keep that fridge running , with that said the new fidges are very efficient but your battery bank will have to be in good shape and large enough to be up to the task .
If you spend more than a day or two off grid it will be important to try and charge the battery bank either via generator ( inverter ) combination of from solar which is a whole other conversation and expense.

If you don't want to give up the flexibility of being able to boondock for longer periods the old  absorption fridge is hard to beat.
However with the absorption fridge comes some cons , size for one ( smaller capacity. ) Slower recovery rate ,.they sometimes struggle to stay cool enough in extremely hot weather and Most are not frost free although an internal fan can be added to stop the ice buildup and external fans can help with the heat transfer for hot weather .
with the open flame on propane many people are steering away from them as a fire hazard when your cooling unit failed it failed at the boiler area which is common as that is were the burner burns the paint off the steel tubing and the rust and corosion eat the steel tubing up resulting in a leak of the cooling fluids .
These cooling fluids contain water ,amonia, and hydrogen which is very flammable the fact that you're did not catch fire is probably evidence that it was running on electric at the time of failure.

so in the end there are many things to consider when picking a solution to your problem but the type of useage should be your first concideration
If your like me and want to be able to be off grid for three or four days at a time concideration should still be given to an absorption cooling unit or a 12 volt DC cooling unit.
In reality when off grid your time is always limited to water useage any ways even with one hundred gallons of water on board your doing well to get 7 to 10 days without seeking a dump and refill.

SORRY FOR THE LONG POST
hope this helps
Eric

[Jason Worman]

Eric,

Would you mind if I called you? You can text me your number at 541-707-7415

Jason

[Jason Worman]

Hi All,

So we returned to the dealer, looked at all the options on fridges, I think we are going to go with the Dometic DMC 4180, it's a 12volt system, with everything added together cost is $1,926.29. The Americana 2 is electric/gas with everything we are looking at $2,901.08. There was a Norcold which is AC/DC and it runs $1,989.79. Big dollars for sure, all were pretty close to fitting current location but not exactly. Thank you everybody for the suggestions.

Jason

[Joel Ashley]

Consider that a 12v, ~15amp, ~156W compressor may require some extra generator diesel when boondocking.  Today’s absorption units don’t have to be quite as perfectly level as those 30 years ago, but still need regular maintenance like anything else.  Consider, if you can find a local provider:   https://jc-refrigeration.com/product-category/dometic-gas-elect/
Also, if you go with a dual-powered unit and it’s a concern, think about adding a fire suppression device in the back of the fridge cabinet.

Personally, I would not go with a Norcold… they don’t have a great track record.

Joel

[Carl Boger]

Hi All,

So we returned to the dealer, looked at all the options on fridges, I think we are going to go with the Dometic DMC 4180, it's a 12volt system, with everything added together cost is $1,926.29. The Americana 2 is electric/gas with everything we are looking at $2,901.08. There was a Norcold which is AC/DC and it runs $1,989.79. Big dollars for sure, all were pretty close to fitting current location but not exactly. Thank you everybody for the suggestions.

Jason,

Please follow up on this after this you get it installed.  I am also interested in replacing my original fridge with a 12 volt compressor model.  Mine is still working very well, better than most, but it is over 20 years old.  Mine will also be part of a total package with 800 watts of solar on the roof.  I am still using 4- 6 volt GC LFA batteries and plan to keep them until they fail.

If I didn't think fridge failure was a matter of when not if, I would consider keeping my current fridge.  The extra 2 CF is also a positive in my mind.

Thanks Carl

Jason