Fridge

[rbryan4]

Products - Dometic

You figure it out.

[Jubal]

Subnormal climate class seems to be the norm.

[alanmalk]

Just as a reminder...

SN (Subnormal) from +10°C to +32°C

N (Normal) from + 16° C to + 32° C

ST (Subtropical) from + 18° C to + 38° C

T (Tropical) from + 18° C to + 43° C

And for the ultimate in all weather camping (from a Bosch advertisement):
Climate class SN-T (suitable for ambient temperatures between 10 and 43°C)

--
Alan

[Klem]

"Cooling performance is equivalent to climate class SN when installed according to our instructions."

I recommend you read the ventilation section of the installation manual and compare your past (or future) installation to that.

I pulled my refrigerator and read through the recommended installation. With all the problems I hoped to find everything 'by the book' ... But it's not in a number of ways.

It appears to me that a significant issue is that they refer to a LS300 lower vent. The vent installed is about 2" less high, by my computations could not provide the required air flow, and doesn't appear to be a Dometic vent. A LS300 would have a screen and a winter cover.

"The ventilation grilles must have an open cross-section of at least 400 cm2. This is achieved by using the Dometic LS300 absorber ventilation and air extraction system which has been tested and approved for this purpose."

The installation manual is very specific about the clearances including the requirement for a baffle. My installation has a baffle and when I reinstall the refer I will double check that.

I sent a message to Reace requesting the make and model of the vent but haven't received a reply yet.

Mel

[PGDriver]

Well if Dometic can get their act together and the fridge cooling properly, I would love a 2 door unit.

Doug

[cpaharley2008]

Interesting, it says gas or 120v but draws a lot on 12v?

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Interesting, it says gas or 120v but draws a lot on 12v?

Yeah, the page link is for the 230v (EU) model, but there is a 120v equivalent. 3.2 amps draw on 12v doesn't seem out of the ordinary.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

3.2 amps draw on 12v doesn't seem out of the ordinary.

That's not a current draw of 3.2 amps, it is

Energy consumption 12V @amb temp 25°C (Ah/24h) 3.2

... which means 3.2 amp-hour consumption over a 24-hour period, or 0.13 amps (130 mA) average... just enough to run the electronics.

The other 12-volt spec is

Max input 12V (W) 170

... so at peak it can use 170 watts or over 14 amps. From this spec, the brochure available from the same web page, and the manual, this appears to be a three-way unit (capable of cooling on your choice of AC, DC, and propane power); the 3.2Ah/day number would be just for the controls, not cooling on DC power. 170 watts for the DC heating element is reasonable for this size of refrigerator; the AC heating element for this model is 190 watts. The 22 grams/hour propane burn rate corresponds to about 280 watts, but the propane heater won't be perfectly efficient or transfer the heat to the cooling unit as effectively as the electric heaters, so again the 170 watts (14 amps) seems reasonable.

[tractors1]

Very interesting about the vent requirements. Nothing else matters if the airflow across those cooling fins is so constrained the heat can't be removed faster than the heat comes out of the fridge/freezer fins.

[cpaharley2008]

So, is the consensus this is a better model than our existing one we have been trouble shooting?

[jamman]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

So, is the consensus this is a better model than our existing one we have been trouble shooting?

NO! Why was this fridge posted? This is simply a 2 door version of the rml8555 with identical power consumption and the same SN (not nearly good enough) climate rating.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by jamman

Why was this fridge posted?

-its currently under test by an owner here in Texas
-depending on the results, other things will follow

[PGDriver]

I still think the 2 door is a much better option. If you want to get something out of the freezer your not opening the fridge and letting all the cold air out and vice versa. I hope I can get this unit as compared to the single door unit.

Doug

[LeonW]

Originally Posted by PGDriver

I still think the 2 door is a much better option. If you want to get something out of the freezer your not opening the fridge and letting all the cold air out and vice versa. I hope I can get this unit as compared to the single door unit.

Doug

I agree. But also agree with the statements that this seems pretty much the same fridge we have, with the same specs and same climate class. My hope is that it is better insulated or there is perhaps some other change that makes it more suitable. I am glad that someone in Texas is testing it. A few weeks ago Reace mentioned something about testing it in a compartment he has that is able to reproduce high temps. I hope it is being tested there as well.

[jamman]

The double door is nice - if you want a freezer, which I do. You cannot make it an "all fridge."

It is still SN class performance - OK up to 89. MAYBE a bit better insulation, but the same cooling unit. I am not interested in less than a T rated unit.

[Klem]

The Dometic sales person I've been talking to said we would be 'happier' with the RMD (2 door) models. How much 'happier' ... ?

Mel

[hotfishtacos]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

So, is the consensus this is a better model than our existing one we have been trouble shooting?

Jim, where did you pick that up?...same Climate Class rating, same manufacturer...even the power requirements are the same.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by LeonW

But also agree with the statements that this seems pretty much the same fridge we have, with the same specs and same climate class.

I assumed that was the original point: for this unit, which is like other 8xxx refrigerators, the climate class is explictly given as SN... which is not adequate for some Escape owners.

The design with two separate doors makes sense to me, and the both of the larger RV refrigerators which we have are two-door models. That does change the cooling unit somewhat, as a practical two-door requires two evaporator sections (one for each compartment).

[Klem]

Originally Posted by hotfishtacos

Jim, where did you pick that up?...same Climate Class rating, same manufacturer...even the power requirements are the same.

Unless your installation is exactly how Dometic recommends you will never have peak efficiency. And I believe none of 'us' have it installed 'by the book'.

Dometic gives clear and detailed installation instructions. They also state that following their design, and using their OEM parts, is critical.

I pulled our refrigerator out a couple weeks ago and have carefully inspected the installation. I need to slide it back in and make more measurements after some work I'm doing.

As I said in a previous post the lower vent is not the recommended LS300 and, appears to me, to be too small to meet Dometic's specs for the 6.7. I sent a message to Reace but haven't heard back yet.

At this point it seems 'we' are comparing different refrigerators etc. but do you know if your installation meets or exceeds Dometic specs? I'm still gathering info on both our installation components AND how much we could gain by bringing it up to specs.

Mel K

[jamman]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

...
That does change the cooling unit somewhat, as a practical two-door requires two evaporator sections (one for each compartment).

No it doesn't. They already have 2 sections - one for the freezer and one for the fridge.