Dometic rm1350 - need help!
- Thread starter KENNY COCHRAN
- Start date
KENNY COCHRAN
MCNEESE STATE COWBOYS #1
I looking at changing my worthless dometic unit out to a 120 volt home type unit. Anybody have any experience doing this? Question i have is, will the home fridge hold up to bouncing down louisiana roads? Any other suggestions? Anybody want a 2 year old dometic unit that don't work in my rv? Would be ideal for a camp or anybody that works for dometic!
Ray LeTourneau
Senior Member - Past Moderator
Kenny, we've had a freezer for 4 years now. Sadly it died this spring. For the first 3 years it was in the closet up front where the washer dryer would be. We moved it to the rear of the coach for convenience last year. I think the bouncing at the rear may have shortened it's life. It starts up but overheats quickly and pops the surge protector.
I think a fridge riding over the axles may not get the bouncing that the rear of the coach does. I guess the logical thing to do would be for you to check into the warranty before purchase and see if there are any restrictions? Fine print???
KENNY COCHRAN
MCNEESE STATE COWBOYS #1
Thanks for the update. Makes sense. I just talked to a friend who has a 120 volt unit in his motorhome, which i think is more common. He has 10,000+ miles on it and it works great.warranty, i think it will be fine in the 5th wheel rv, if it ever breaks, i guess i could take it out and bring it in for work?
wdk450
Well-known member
Gang:
I can't hope to address all the variety of problems you have had with the RV refrigerators. With the electronics all working correctly, and the refrig installation designed and implimented correctly, the ammonia adsorbsion refrig should cool correctly. They have been in in use in RV's for over 50 years, and have done their job. The ammonia adsorbsion process is the original form of refrigeration used in large scale ice plants, skating rinks, and air conditioned movie theatres since the 1920's.
That being said, I think that there are problems with the refrig install in slides. I got up on a ladder and inspected the top vent area on mine and found dead air space above the unit (needs top insulation and the top area sealed off). The top vent had 2 of the vent louvers BELOW the top fins (freezer?) on the refrig allowing draft air to bypass going past the fins. Then the top louver cutout was only slightly above the top refrig fins. This is contrary to the "almost good venting" for side vented (slide mounted) refrigerators in the RV Mobile .com RV refrigerator comprehensive website page on "Venting". See: http://www.rvmobile.com/tech/Trouble/vent.htm . I plan to work on this.
Too bad (in a way) you are stuck in the warranty process and cannot use 3rd party parts. Dinosaur Electronics got into the RV refrig and furnace circuit board business after making mainframe computer boards and circuits for NASA Ames research center. You can read about their products here:
http://www.dinosaurelectronics.com/Company_Info.htm They have a reputation of really knowing their stuff and building better circuit boards than the OEM ones.
As to the hard-to-get door seals, I would give one of these companies a try. The first one says that they stock hard-to-get RV refrig parts, but don't show door gaskets on their website. I think that just might be an oversight. It would be worth a phone call to them. Here is the link: http://www.gasrefrigeration.net/ You also might try these guys on the gasket issue: http://www.rvmobile.com/ Again, the gasgets are not listed on their website, but both of these companies do refurbishing of old units, so they must install a lot of gaskets themselves.
Good luck. All of these companies offer a fair amount of technical help over the phone.
I can't hope to address all the variety of problems you have had with the RV refrigerators. With the electronics all working correctly, and the refrig installation designed and implimented correctly, the ammonia adsorbsion refrig should cool correctly. They have been in in use in RV's for over 50 years, and have done their job. The ammonia adsorbsion process is the original form of refrigeration used in large scale ice plants, skating rinks, and air conditioned movie theatres since the 1920's.
That being said, I think that there are problems with the refrig install in slides. I got up on a ladder and inspected the top vent area on mine and found dead air space above the unit (needs top insulation and the top area sealed off). The top vent had 2 of the vent louvers BELOW the top fins (freezer?) on the refrig allowing draft air to bypass going past the fins. Then the top louver cutout was only slightly above the top refrig fins. This is contrary to the "almost good venting" for side vented (slide mounted) refrigerators in the RV Mobile .com RV refrigerator comprehensive website page on "Venting". See: http://www.rvmobile.com/tech/Trouble/vent.htm . I plan to work on this.
Too bad (in a way) you are stuck in the warranty process and cannot use 3rd party parts. Dinosaur Electronics got into the RV refrig and furnace circuit board business after making mainframe computer boards and circuits for NASA Ames research center. You can read about their products here:
http://www.dinosaurelectronics.com/Company_Info.htm They have a reputation of really knowing their stuff and building better circuit boards than the OEM ones.
As to the hard-to-get door seals, I would give one of these companies a try. The first one says that they stock hard-to-get RV refrig parts, but don't show door gaskets on their website. I think that just might be an oversight. It would be worth a phone call to them. Here is the link: http://www.gasrefrigeration.net/ You also might try these guys on the gasket issue: http://www.rvmobile.com/ Again, the gasgets are not listed on their website, but both of these companies do refurbishing of old units, so they must install a lot of gaskets themselves.
Good luck. All of these companies offer a fair amount of technical help over the phone.
Kenny,
We replaced our RM1350 with a home fridge in 2009. We got it at Home Depot, 13.6 cu. ft. We have about 8500 miles since the install and have had no issues. We went through the samething with the Rm 1350 would not stay below 50. We love it, no more warm milk! We will never have another rv unit. Don't miss not having the propane option which we nevered used anyway. We only had our ice cream get soft one time after 10 hrs on the road.
Here are a few pics. If you do a search on rv net you will find a whole lot of good info. Hope this helps. Lonnie
We replaced our RM1350 with a home fridge in 2009. We got it at Home Depot, 13.6 cu. ft. We have about 8500 miles since the install and have had no issues. We went through the samething with the Rm 1350 would not stay below 50. We love it, no more warm milk! We will never have another rv unit. Don't miss not having the propane option which we nevered used anyway. We only had our ice cream get soft one time after 10 hrs on the road.
Here are a few pics. If you do a search on rv net you will find a whole lot of good info. Hope this helps. Lonnie
Attachments
Great job on the home-style refer Lonnie.
Have you considered a small inverter and a battery dedicated only to the refer? When Teton was in business, I believe they offered a home refer option and that's how they supplied them, with their own small inverter and dedicated battery.
Thanks for sharing an alternative.
Jim
Have you considered a small inverter and a battery dedicated only to the refer? When Teton was in business, I believe they offered a home refer option and that's how they supplied them, with their own small inverter and dedicated battery.
Thanks for sharing an alternative.
Jim
KENNY COCHRAN
MCNEESE STATE COWBOYS #1
Yep, that helps a whole lot. I like the install and hope i can get it looking half that good. Wife had some issues with the home fridge going into the rv, but i think we have solved that with your email and a friend has one in his motor home with 10,000+ miles on it.
I only paid $350 for the fridge so if it does go out it is way less than the rv unit. It actually weighs less than the RM 1350 so weight is not an issue, I took off the doors and was able to lift it up and place it in the hole. Getting the old unit out was another story.
We never dry camp so don't miss the propane at all. I also sprayed insualation over the vents to stop insects and light from coming in because you can not completely seal the sides and top.
I just took one of the dinette chair tie straps to keep it closed while on the road. Also had to renforce under fridge with 3/4 in plywood because RM 1350 has a solid bottom and the wafer board was a little flimsy.
I mounted it through the bottom. see pic
We never dry camp so don't miss the propane at all. I also sprayed insualation over the vents to stop insects and light from coming in because you can not completely seal the sides and top.
I just took one of the dinette chair tie straps to keep it closed while on the road. Also had to renforce under fridge with 3/4 in plywood because RM 1350 has a solid bottom and the wafer board was a little flimsy.
I mounted it through the bottom. see pic
mikeandconnie
Well-known member
Good job Tankie!
KENNY COCHRAN
MCNEESE STATE COWBOYS #1
Thanks for the pictures. I did check out some of the other rv forums and yes, they have lots of other people replacing the dometic/norcold units. I'm reading you closed off the 2 outside vents, is this correct? Wouldn't you want to leave this open for the hot air from the fridge to vent out these openings?
jmgratz
Original Owners Club Member
I agree the refrigerator (even a home unit) will need to be ventilated so the hot air can escape. One thing that causes home units to not cool properly is overheating due to clogged up fins (under the unit) being clogged by pet hair and dust. Closing up the vents will affect the function of the fridge. (IMHO)
Yes I closed up the vents, but they can still be removed for access. The fridge is not sealed in like the RM 1350. There is air space all around the fridge for air movement. The top vent is not very effective because it is not at the top of the cabinet resulting in hot air being trapped above your unit, which is why I think the RM1350 is having so many problems.
The back of the fridge is completely sealed with sheet metal except at the very bottom were the compressor is which has cardboard. I can remove the cardboard and clean that area as you would in your home.
As far as the compressor being affect by the bouncing of the road. We have had a 4.2 cu. ft fridge at the end of our kitchen counter since we bought the BH (well over 16,000 miles). Plus it is not even bolted down, no problems with it.
Hope this helps Lonnie
The back of the fridge is completely sealed with sheet metal except at the very bottom were the compressor is which has cardboard. I can remove the cardboard and clean that area as you would in your home.
As far as the compressor being affect by the bouncing of the road. We have had a 4.2 cu. ft fridge at the end of our kitchen counter since we bought the BH (well over 16,000 miles). Plus it is not even bolted down, no problems with it.
Hope this helps Lonnie
KENNY COCHRAN
MCNEESE STATE COWBOYS #1
The top vent is not very effective because it is not at the top of the cabinet resulting in hot air being trapped above your unit, which is why I think the RM1350 is having so many problems.
ONE OF THE THINGS DOMETIC OR SOMEBODY SUGGESTED WAS TO FILL THE TOP OF THE UNIT WITH INSULATION TO GET RID OF THAT OPEN AIR SPACE. I DID THAT, I GUESS IT HELPED SOME.
ONE OF THE THINGS DOMETIC OR SOMEBODY SUGGESTED WAS TO FILL THE TOP OF THE UNIT WITH INSULATION TO GET RID OF THAT OPEN AIR SPACE. I DID THAT, I GUESS IT HELPED SOME.
Kenny,
I tried that as well. Put a piece of sheet metal to help with the air flow as well as putting a 7 in. fan to move air. It helped a little but still did not solve the warming issue. When we were in Moses Lake, WA in winter it worked great. As soon as it started to get warm it would not cool down. I think the fridge is to busy absorbing the heat within the cabinet that it can not absorb the heat inside itself. JMO. Good luck Lonnie
I tried that as well. Put a piece of sheet metal to help with the air flow as well as putting a 7 in. fan to move air. It helped a little but still did not solve the warming issue. When we were in Moses Lake, WA in winter it worked great. As soon as it started to get warm it would not cool down. I think the fridge is to busy absorbing the heat within the cabinet that it can not absorb the heat inside itself. JMO. Good luck Lonnie
GandDCapen
Member
We have a new Landmark Rushmore and the RM1350 is not cooling. I called Dometic and they weren't any help - told me to have a service tech check the thermostat!! We are currently putting 20 lb bags of ice in the frig portion to keep food from spoiling - right now the temp registers 51 degrees which is way above the safe level (which according to dometic the normal operating temp for the frig is 38 to 45 degrees). We also have a 20 lb bag of ice in the freezer to help there as well. How do you get dometic to respond to all these issues?????
GandDCapen
Member
Not yet Jay - it has just been too blasted hot to get up and look at some of the things others were saying regarding this Frig issue with the 1350 Dometic. I will give them a call since our trip to New England has been delayed. Thank you for your comment
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