RMD 8555 Two Door Fridge - performance stats

[BCnomad]

Originally Posted by escape artist

Hi: cpaharley2008... If you show me yours...I'll show you mine. Our RML8555 single door is working spot on!!! My Dr. says I'm supposed to stay out of it anyway. Heading up north for a few days R&R. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

Thanks to Jim and Alf, I popped out the thermistor from its box and have been having success running on 3 maybe 4 bars into unshaded highs of 25c. The fridge has not gone above 5c since I started this. Parked, on electric.




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The take away for me is running ok at 3 bars, NOT that the fridge is perfect at higher summer ambient temps. Never ran the one door at 3 bars, nor been able with the 2 door until now.

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[cpaharley2008]

Fahrenheit, please....

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Fahrenheit, please....

You mean degrees American?

Did you ever notice it is very rare for folks from the US to post Celsius, even though it is easier to understand, and makes more sense...... Just sayin'.

[BCnomad]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Fahrenheit, please....

I'll do better than spoon feeding you Jim. You deserve better. I'll give you a lesson. Go to Google and type in

"20c f". Cool beans huh?




"25in cm"

"1usd cad"

"1quart l"

"1+1="

Way cool.

[Jim Bennett]

LOL, Bruce.

I can do better.
Divide C by 5
Multiply by 9
Add 32
Voila, you have the temp in F.

Isn't Fahrenheit easy?

Sorry Jim, not picking on you, as Canadians we just see these requests for conversion often.

[cpaharley2008]

Ok you guys I get the point. I'll remember that when I do my next modification, "for US Escapes only" section.......

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Isn't Fahrenheit easy? .

Yes, ridiculously so, and more granular. For instance, I know the difference between 76 and 77 degrees.

Oh no you di-unt....

[gbaglo]

What is two fingers of scotch in Fahrenheit?

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Ok you guys I get the point. I'll remember that when I do my next modification, "for US Escapes only" section.......

Uh oh. Segregation on the Escape forum.

Then we want our trailers back.....

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

Yes, ridiculously so, and more granular. For instance, I know the difference between 76 and 77 degrees.

Oh no you di-unt....

You are wise....

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

What is two fingers of scotch in Fahrenheit?

Yummy.

[PGDriver]

Jim B. Their just ticked because Canadian vehicles get more miles per gallon. LOL

Cheers
Doug

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by PGDriver

Jim B. Their just ticked because Canadian vehicles get more miles per gallon. LOL

Cheers
Doug

Hi: PCDriver... Don't you mean liters/ 100 kilometers? Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[PGDriver]

Originally Posted by escape artist

Hi: PCDriver... Don't you mean liters/ 100 kilometers? Alf

escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

Hi Alf

Nope in litres per 100 kilometres we all get the same.

Cheers
Doug

[Dave&Kathie]

Greetings all,
Just returned from a 9,000 mile trip around the US. Thought I'd let you know how the RMD8555 performed. We had it swapped out at Escape the end of July. We were traveling mainly in August and September. The fridge worked fantastic on electric no matter what the weather. Even when the temps were in the 90's we had no problems keeping fridge in the 30's and the freezer always kept everything frozen.

Here's the glitch: we would switch to gas in the morning and by noon, the fridge was up to 42 or 43. One day I forget to check and the temp had climbed to 47! I threw out the perishables. We bought a small ice chest and around 10 or 11 we would put some bags of ice on the shelves and one by the milk. We would take them out once we had electric and the the temps would drop back to the 30's within an hour.

One fellow who moderates several RV sites posted this regarding poor cooling with gas:

"The "coolant" goes to the freezer first, then the refrigerator, so compromised cooling capacity affects the refrigerator first.

Start by making sure cooling capacity is maximized:
1. Defrost if more than 1/4" of ice.
2. Do the "dollar bill test" to verify that the door seals are snug.
3. Insure that the restrictor is in the bottom/outside end of the condensate drain.
4. Check that air flow in the bottom and out the top of the outside refrigerator area is unobstructed.
5. Particularly if the upper refrigerator outside vent is in the side vs roof, make sure there is no "dead space" above the refrigerator that can accumulate heat.
6. Do the burner area tune-up as outlined in your Dometic manual. Even a slight decrease in flame size can have a detrimental affect on cooling performance.
7. Lastly, use a manometer to verify propane pressure."

So what do you all think? Why isn't the fridge working well on gas?

Kathie (& Dave)

PS Had a fantastic trip! The Escape 21 is awesome, lots of folks wanted info on it. Saw 3 21's (2 in Texas southbound and one in Oregon eastbound) a 5.0 TA (Bob's - we visited with them in Mesa Verde) and a 19 coming into the Great Smokies as we were leaving.

[cpaharley2008]

Are you saying it does not work well on gas while towing or at rest?

[CADreamin]

Are you going to post a trip report with info on where you were and your favorite camping spots?

[Dave&Kathie]

Originally Posted by CADreamin

Are you going to post a trip report with info on where you were and your favorite camping spots?

We could - would be a HUGE report, I'll give it a shot on another thread.
Kathie

[Dave&Kathie]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Are you saying it does not work well on gas while towing or at rest?

We were towing during this time. Maybe, now that we are home we can put it on gas and see if there is a difference. Why do yo think towing would be different on gas?

PS Dave went out and switched to gas - stay tuned.....

[fudge_brownie]

There have been a number of cases where users have complained about the refrigerator warming up while driving. I am one of them. Most of these issues were with the previous model, simply because they have been around the longest. One went back to the 5.0 CU ft model.

I have compiled a list of the complaints, including one from Reace and cannot come to any conclusions based on those. I believe I have seven individuals who have posted that they were unable to keep the refrigerator temperatures at a reasonable level while driving. There maybe more who have not mentioned it in their postings.

I have tried every possibility with the RML 8555 including 5 of the 7 items from your list above. The other two are specific to the RMD 8555. My trailer is currently at my local RV shop having the RMD 8555 installed. One comment the shop has shared with me so far is how well the older RML 8555 was installed. Specifically the quality of the seal around the rear of the unit.

My recent experiments have been with the air flow at the rear of the unit. My theory being that the flame is blowing out. I have disassembled the upper vent and found nothing amiss in the flue. I did straighten some of the aluminium flanges on top to provide more wind protection. At the lower level I tried a Dometic provided flame protector and the use of furnace filters to reduce the air into the lower vent. My latest effort has been to use a sheet of closed cell foam to seal the lower vent, well not quite seal, I would estimate about an 85% seal due to the fit. This seems to have done the most good but the results are intermittent. For half the day it will actually cool while driving, that is the refrigerator temperatures will go down, then the next half it will rise in temperature. I think it works about half the time. But, and that is a big if, how do I really know beside monitoring temperatures .

Do different models or version of models have a different door over the lower refrigerator access? I have looked up my access panel and can only determine that it is a Norcold with a model number stamped on the plastic cover. Searching for that number gave me one result, someone else looking for a replacement cover.

Anyone else have similar experiences?