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Old 09-25-2014, 11:31 PM   #21
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I have a Dometic 7 cu ft fridge in my 2001 Bigfoot 21. It has two doors one for fridge and the other for the freezer. On the road it runs at 38 on propane and the same on campground power. Our fridge is a Americana Model.
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Old 09-26-2014, 05:42 AM   #22
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Quote:
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I have a Dometic 7 cu ft fridge in my 2001 Bigfoot 21. It has two doors one for fridge and the other for the freezer. On the road it runs at 38 on propane and the same on campground power. Our fridge is a Americana Model.
Chuck
Yeah, reports are the Americana models work fine. They're designed for North American climates. The 7 cf models I've seen online have an N or an ST climate rating.
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Old 09-26-2014, 09:57 AM   #23
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I called Dometic yesterday. They started off by telling me to take the unit in for warranty service. I finally got them to understand that it worked below 80 degrees and it would not do any good to take it in now and I just wanted it documented that I was have problems cooling above 80 degrees. She entered it in the system and said it was noted and said to take it in for service when the temperature got warm enough for it to act up again.
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Old 09-26-2014, 10:15 AM   #24
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Great! I think it's a really good idea to at least get our problems documented with Dometic. Thanks for calling (and posting).
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Old 09-26-2014, 10:49 AM   #25
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I just called Norcold and spoke to one of their tech's to see if I would expect any better results with their product. They have 2 units that would fit through the door - N3104 and N3150. This particular tech has also not heard of climate class ratings.

When I expressed the concerns I am having with their competition, I was put on hold so he could talk it over with his supervisor. He came back with...they recommend when the outside temperature is 80 degrees or up, the a/c needs to be turned on. The smaller the fridge, the better the cooling. That confirmed for me, that there is no benefit to switching to a different manufacturer when right off the bat, they won't make any promises...which I respect the honesty rather than trying to say what needs to be said to get the sale.

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Old 09-26-2014, 11:12 AM   #26
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So, industry wide, it sounds like the adsorption refrigerator manufacturers have been overly optimistic about backing off on cooling capacity required to make these newer units work well at higher ambient temperatures. Even the 4.3 cu ft Dometic has problems compared to older 5.0 models, so it's hard to believe it's anything other than cutting corners to raise profits. We all know these things could be manufactured to work at higher temperatures if there was a will to do so.

Thanks for updating us, Reace. I'm still going to keep bugging Dometic.
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Old 09-26-2014, 11:17 AM   #27
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ASSUMING (big if, I know) the Norcold 3150 in Europe is the same as North America it appears to be class ST, see pages 6-7 in https://www.dropbox.com/s/doc3607ag8...3-V05.pdf?dl=0
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Old 09-26-2014, 11:18 AM   #28
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Great input from Norcold - thanks for sharing it, Reace.

Quote:
Originally Posted by reace View Post
...they recommend when the outside temperature is 80 degrees or up, the a/c needs to be turned on.
That makes sense because less heat will be entering the refrigerator from the trailer interior with the lower interior temperature. I see at least two limitations to this approach:
  1. air conditioning is not practical when not on shore power or able (and willing) to run a generator... or if not equipped with A/C; and,
  2. the A/C won't help the cooling the circuit (which is working in outside air rather than inside) so cooling capacity will still be limited (which would likely matter only at very high ambient temperatures).
It is still a valid coping tactic when A/C use can be arranged.

If I were to travel south a lot or critically need refrigeration on our hotter days here and the only way to get adequate refrigeration was to have power for A/C, I think I would rather have a compressor-type refrigerator which I know would always work. Weather over 80°F or 27°C routinely occurs for short periods in Edmonton; just this Monday we hit 29°C. In practice, for most of the camping season for me there is no refrigerator performance issue, with any type or model of refrigerator.
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Old 09-26-2014, 12:52 PM   #29
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re: "they recommend when outside temp is 80 degrees or up, a/c needs to be turned on..."

....but it's also a non-starter for us who do not have a/c, (I have to buy a $1K air conditioner just to make my $900 refrigerator work properly?) ...or, when on the road, or, when 8o-86° F outside is not deemed uncomfortable.
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Old 09-26-2014, 01:27 PM   #30
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I posted some time ago that Dometic is planning to ship some fridge doors that have a much higher r-value that the standard door supplied in North America. I have been patiently waiting for them. Today I was informed that these doors are different in some way or another for the fridges in Europe. They are waiting for some forming materials to be shipped over to start making the doors in the US. Although these doors may not look or completely fit correctly, as long as I can get a seal, I have asked for a door for each fridge to be shipped so I can at least try them out.
Once I receive them, I can put a couple of trailers into our fiberglass booth which is heated and I can raise the temperature up into the 90's over a weekend to test new door vs old door in a controlled environment. At least we would know if it is worth the wait or not.

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Old 09-26-2014, 01:34 PM   #31
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Reace, Thanks for the update!!
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Old 09-26-2014, 02:13 PM   #32
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Thanks Reace -
Dometic should ship an engineer along with the doors and a suitcase full of cash for the power bill to heat your shop...
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Old 09-26-2014, 03:33 PM   #33
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There are a few things that could cause this problem. FRVTC has free DIY videos at YouTube that offer some troubleshooting and repair tips on the RV refrigerator.
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Old 09-26-2014, 04:19 PM   #34
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Reace Linda and I would like to Thankyou for your efforts . That being said We went camping with hookups July 11-15 the daytime temps were 85-87 , we ran our AC starting in the morning about 11:00am our frig a 4.3 was at 5 the highest and we have a inside little fan at bottom of frig. The temps were reading 41-43 . We have 2remote thermometer on outside , the name is Acu-rite.
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Old 09-26-2014, 04:21 PM   #35
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Forgot we were running on 120
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Old 09-26-2014, 04:44 PM   #36
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New guy here. You can call me Greg. Got on the delivery schedule this week for late Aug 2015 delivery of an Escape 21ft trailer.

I've been reading the posts on this Dometic model RML8555 and trying to absorb/learn as my about this style of refrigerator. Also looked up the info on the E-U Climate Classes and their ambient average temperature range.

From the Ford youtube videos they stress a level unit, ventilation and the correct amount of heat. Anyway has anyone checked the 120v heating element for actual wattage versus nameplate wattage? Even without pulling the refrigerator from the trailer has anyone bypassed the controls and applied 120v directly to the 120v heating element and let the unit run overnight. Per the Ford videos the refrigerator internal temp should be below freezing if the cooling unit is good. Again with level and ventilation good, this should prove whether it is a cooling unit problem versus a control problem.

On the gas side there does not appear to be much information (especially traveling) other than cleaning the burner and centering the flame. Has anyone checked their gas flame color? Also but less probable is a problem with gas pressure. I also doubt there is an issue with the proof of flame.

Thinking out loud and going out on a limb about the Climate Class issue, it does not make sense that Dometic would vary the cooling unit (different part#'s with piping or solution changes) for the same model with different Climate Class. It would just be too expensive to carry different part# cooling unit based on the Climate Class for the same model refrigerator.

What I could see them doing on a particular model is varying the controls based on the Climate Class. I would guess they would not vary the temp sensor in the refrigerator nor the specs on the heating elements but vary the circuit board response to temperature changes inside the refrigerator. My guess for model RML8555 is that it is capable of performing for any of the Climate Classes but the circuit board makes it specific to the Climate Class. Have to see if I'm wrong on this.

Anyway I'm reading, listening and hoping this gets resolved sooner rather than later, especially for everybody already with a trailer and those taking delivery very soon.
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Old 09-26-2014, 04:57 PM   #37
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Forgot to mention another small issue but important that is mentioned in the Ford videos is the P-trap on the condensation drain. Not having a P-trap will lower your refrigerator internal temperature especially while traveling. Ford's wife talks about this in one of their videos.
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Old 09-26-2014, 05:42 PM   #38
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Thinking out loud and going out on a limb about the Climate Class issue, it does not make sense that Dometic would vary the cooling unit (different part#'s with piping or solution changes) for the same model with different Climate Class. It would just be too expensive to carry different part# cooling unit based on the Climate Class for the same model refrigerator.

What I could see them doing on a particular model is varying the controls based on the Climate Class. I would guess they would not vary the temp sensor in the refrigerator nor the specs on the heating elements but vary the circuit board response to temperature changes inside the refrigerator. My guess for model RML8555 is that it is capable of performing for any of the Climate Classes but the circuit board makes it specific to the Climate Class.
Why would a manufacturer hobble the performance of their product if it doesn't save them any manufacturing cost, and they are not pushing consumers to a higher-priced alternative model? In this case, what would it gain Dometic to make the RML8555 perform to only a lower climate class?

I do understand turning off features of a product so that the buyer pays more for a premium version, but as I understand Dometic's product catalog and Reace's discussion with Dometic, there is no premium (better climate class) version of the RML8555 offered.
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Old 09-26-2014, 06:10 PM   #39
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Brian,

My understanding is that the Climate Class applies to all types of refrigerators manufactured in the European Union, not just where they are sold. This appears to be something dictated by the E-U.
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Old 09-26-2014, 06:19 PM   #40
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Man, I have a 17B in the cue for May and all this frig talk is scaring me. I'm thinking an ice chest is starting to sound pretty good. I mean, c'mon, we can put a man on the moon, make incredibly powerful computer-phones that will fit in our pockets, have cars that can drive themselves, and we can't make a decent RV refrigerator that will work when it's over 80 degrees. That just doesn't make sense. I must be missing something
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