defrosting dometic refer--tips?

aatauses · Nov 20, 2009

Hi everyone,
We need to defrost our refer and wondering if there are any tips out there we should be aware of. We were planning to shut it down and use rags to catch water in the freezer compartment and then wipe everthing down before we put it back in---right process?? Any shortcuts/tips are appreciated.
thanks
al
Currently in FL for the wintaaaa

jbeletti · Nov 20, 2009

When I have done this, here's what I did:

Turn off refer
Boil a large pot of water
Remove freezer contents to a cooler and add ice to keep it all frozen
Add a trivet to the bottom of the freezer
Turn off boiling water and very carefully place pot of hot water on the trivet and close freezer
Fifteen minutes later, open freezer, remove pot and trivet
Place a beach towel or similar in the bottom of the freezer to soak up water
Remove towel and place a second dry towel in bottom of freezer and leave the freezer door open
When all ice/frost is melted, dry out interior freezer cabinet, turn refer back on
When you are comfortable with the interior freezer temperature, add frozen food back

If you are uncomfortable with the hot water method, skip steps 2-6 and just leave the freezer door and pick back up at step 9. I would not set a towel in the freezer right away as it may act as insulation and stick to the cabinet and slow the defrost process.

Best of luck to you and I hope you get more ideas from more seasoned RVers that me.

Jim

SmokeyBare · Nov 20, 2009

Being one to shorten the task...

Turn off the Fridge
Empty the Frozen items from inside the Freezer into plastic bags and set on Counter
Note: Leave the items in the freezer door
Use a Silicone Rubber scoop spatula and a plastic bowl to move frost/ice to sink
Scrape Frost off the walls with Spatula ( or use the tool of your choice ) and dump in the sink
Plug in an electric cube heater aim it at the center of the Freezer
Note: I make sure the heater is away from the plastic side walls of the Freezer
Remove the heater from time to time so to scrape and clean out any Frost/Ice and dripping water & dump in sink
Repeat the process until the Freezer has thawed
Dry the Freezer of all water and replace frozen food
Turn on the Fridge power
Quietly take a small ball of the Frost/Ice and sneak over to your DW
Use the remaining Frost/Ice to reduce the swelling... OUCH !

Make Sure to moan and groan while doing this task... to remind the DW how many AttaBoy's it should earn ya... This part only works if ya forget the Ice down the blouse trick !!!

Ray LeTourneau · Nov 20, 2009

We all seem to have out own methods that work for each of us. We turn the reefer off. Empty the freezer into a cooler with some ice. Leave the contents of the lower half as they are and keep the door closed. The lower half will warm enough for the fins to defrost and drip into the tray and drain outside. Leave the freezer door open untill the frost is gone. Soak up the water with towels as needed. Turn the unit on and wait for the freezer to cool down, reload and turn on the icemaker.

JohnDar · Nov 20, 2009

Ray LeTourneau said:
We all seem to have out own methods that work for each of us. We turn the reefer off. Empty the freezer into a cooler with some ice. Leave the contents of the lower half as they are and keep the door closed. The lower half will warm enough for the fins to defrost and drip into the tray and drain outside. Leave the freezer door open untill the frost is gone. Soak up the water with towels as needed. Turn the unit on and wait for the freezer to cool down, reload and turn on the icemaker.

We only had to do it once this past summer, just like Ray said (except for no icemaker). But, having a (ta-da) SHAMWOW on hand, mopping up was just like having Vince there (with the sound turned off).

katkens · Nov 21, 2009

JohnDar said:
We only had to do it once this past summer, just like Ray said (except for no icemaker). But, having a (ta-da) SHAMWOW on hand, mopping up was just like having Vince there (with the sound turned off).

We picked up the Sham Wow at a Home Show and been really pleased. I was surprised at how many things they can be used for and work as advertised. I have seen them for sale in a lot of local stores now and easy to find .....Kenny

https://www.shamwow.com/ver15/index.asp

JohnDar · Nov 21, 2009

katkens said:
We picked up the Sham Wow at a Home Show and been really pleased. I was surprised at how many things they can be used for and work as advertised. I have seen them for sale in a lot of local stores now and easy to find .....Kenny

https://www.shamwow.com/ver15/index.asp

Got mine in a two for one deal at the local Woodworking Show last year. I keep one rolled up between the lavatory vanity and shower stall...just in case my caulking repair work fails.

Larryheadhunter · Nov 22, 2009

First of all what's a trivet? Second why not just park it for a day or two turned off and let er rip with lots of towels. Whenever we finish a trip, just open the fridge and freezer and put down lots of towels and come back the next day and clean it up. You might want to make sure the propane is off and the battery switch is off if u already installed this mandatory item. Guess we do it the easy way. Seems easier to me. If on long trip good luck. LOL

jbeletti · Nov 22, 2009

Larry,

A trivet is an item that you set hot pots on. Yet, it's not made of cloth. Usually metal, ceramic etc.

Your method of defrosting is a great one and is best used when you are planning to remove food items from the refer and leave it off for a period of days/weeks/months.

The other methods described are geared towards those whose refers require defrosting but where they want to immediately reuse their refers and not have to keep their food on ice for a couple days.

It's all good - just different methods for different needs. Thanks for sharing.

Jim

2010augusta · Nov 22, 2009

Our new chest freezer came with a small plastic/nylon ice scraper, For a basic quick "defrost" I have been removing all the items and giving the freezer (in the Dometic unit) a good scraping and then use my hands to scoop out the snow, and then put everthing back in. It takes about five minutes and even the ice cream didn't melt in Texas during August.

lhetsler · Nov 22, 2009

Defrost Refer

I just open the doors and point a fan sitting on the counter toward the refer, only takes about fifteen minutes. Don't use a hair dryer or any heated blower, that may warped the plastic parts and cause damage.

defrosting dometic refer--tips?

aatauses

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SmokeyBare

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Ray LeTourneau

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JohnDar

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katkens

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