General Boards > Redecorating and Updating your Motorhome

Samsung Fridge Latch

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Laurel Moore:
You have the correct double door latch,but you you need to use pop rivets, mount it between the doors. The heavy duty draw latchs will work on the freezer door.

Bob Jae:
Here is what I did to secure the freezer door, we pull it when we arrive at CG and hang it on a suction hook inside the refrigerator.  I used all stainless steel hardware.  I tapped the hinge for the 10X20 machine screw.  We use a velcro strap on the refrigerator handles, no unwanted openings in over a year.

Joel Weiss:

--- Quote from: Bob Jae on March 25, 2017, 12:37:15 AM ---Here is what I did to secure the freezer door, we pull it when we arrive at CG and hang it on a suction hook inside the refrigerator.  I used all stainless steel hardware.  I tapped the hinge for the 10X20 machine screw.  We use a velcro strap on the refrigerator handles, no unwanted openings in over a year.

--- End quote ---

We've been using this approach for the past 5 years with our Samsung and it has worked well.  We also use a Velcro strap on the fridge handles.  Simple and low cost.

Joel Ashley:
I personally don't trust those Southco latches.  The male parts break too easily, always near the weak point - the screw hole.  They use the small size on all the drawers and cabinets in the coach, and I lost count how many I've had to replace.  Monaco used the heavier duty version on the larger things, like the wardrobe doors, but I've even had one or two of those go belly up.  It's a matter in that case of getting the door perfectly lined up so it catches easily.  I've had heavy-loaded kitchen drawers slide/crash open on curves, taking out drawer slide screws in the process, requiring slide reinstallation on both drawer sides;  the small male latch was the culprit.  I'd hate one of your fridge doors to open on a curve because a weak plastic latch had cracked unnoticed around one of its fasteners.

For the fridge I'd use the heavier version - it is JR Products #70445 and is identified by its cross-hatched side reinforcement;  the light-duty #70465 has no cross-hatching.  They, JR Products, are the originators of the latch - it is commonly now branded Southco and others.
http://jrproducts.net/index.php/catalog/load_product_list/Hardware/Cabinet%20Hardware/

They are spendy for what they are, and not every RV parts dealer out there on the road has them.  So I keep a couple in reserve, replacing broken small ones with the stronger one as they break - the plastic is a tad thicker around the screw holes.  The holes are spaced slightly differently though, so some fudging with fasteners in existing substrate holes may be needed.  Both versions can use the same female catch, so that part may need only minor alignment tweaking, not new holes.  Wood is one thing, but screws/rivets in your fridge could present a line-up issue if you didn't use the heavy-duty male ones to begin with and need to switch later.  By the cross-hatch pattern, it looks like Jim has the better male latch.

Regardless, to mitigate breakage the screws can't be too tight or too loose, and the catches have to line up well.  Just as importantly, the family needs educating re. treating the fridge (and other) doors respectfully when opening and closing.

-Joel

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