Refrigerator Upgrade

[NewHopians]

Looking at changing the Electric/Gas unit on my Dometic RM1350 refrigerator for a better cooling unit. There is one from JC Refrigeration that is a unit on the back replacement. The picture shows the old and new units. The unit in my 2017 Big Horn 37SS is having a hard time keeping up with the heat outside.

 

[wdk450]

Have you looked at the low power Freon compressor cooling units that JC refrigeration offers? The price is close to that of the ammonia absorbsion cooling units, they cool much better (especially in high ambient temperatures), that type has a record of lasting much longer.

Check out You Tube for several people who have installed these. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jc+refrigeration+12+volt+compressor

BTW, the propane and ammonia refrigerant are known RV fire hazards. The compressor units don't use these substances.

Dometic 12V Hvac Cooling Unit Archives - JC Refrigeration

jc-refrigeration.com

Norcold 12v Hvac Cooling units Archives - JC Refrigeration

jc-refrigeration.com

The above links are for 12 volt DC cooling units. They also have 110 VAC low power compressor cooling units.

 

[NewHopians]

Yes I have. The HVAC units are great especially for boondocking or dry camping. Our son just put one on his Norcold unit. He had to change converter get bigger batteries. We don’t do that much dry and think the bigger cooling coils may work better than the small factory unit. Thanks for you ideas.

 

[RoadJunkie]

What is your question? I have changed my 2118 Norcold to the JC unit.

 

[NewHopians]

What is your question? I have changed my 2118 Norcold to the JC unit.

Wondering how you like it and did you do the HVAC one only 12 volt or the gas electric unit?

 

[RoadJunkie]

I like it fine, best cooling unit I've ever had. I installed it myself and added an intelligent monitoring system, "Fridge Defend" by ARP. I installed the propane/electric unit, a direct functional replacement for the OEM. The JC unit includes a 3 year warranty with 5 years on coolant leakage. The factory is great; I sent pictures of my install and they advised me on some changes that I implemented. The "residential" units are fine, for some folks, but I think the overhead (solar, battery supplement, inverters, etc.) turns the coach into a life support system for the refrigerator.

 

[NewHopians]

I agree and getting it ordered. Thanks for your response and glad it is working out. Can’t wait to get ours installed.