Does Anyone have Experience with This Device?

[George Johnson]

My brother installed the arprv.com Fridge Defend in his Escape 21 after reading that it would extend the life of his Dometic fridge and reduce the prospect of a fire.


I have never heard of this device before and have found very little info regarding it. Has anyone had any experience with one of these units? Is it something worth installing to protect the life of the fridge?


I haven't found any of the usual retailers carrying the gadget, so I guess it is only available by direct sale from the manufacturer. My brother got his directly from the manufacturer, and said it was pretty easy to install and that it appears to work as promised. I found very little info other than that on the web site, but what I did find indicated general satisfaction with the unit,and good support from the manufacturer in dealing with any questions or problems.


The videos on the web site are not really ready for prime time, but they do get the ideas across. I get the general impression that arprv is a pretty small outfit and that they may have tried unsuccessfully to sell their patented device to Dometic and/or Norcold and are now trying to go it alone



Any insight or ideas would be appreciated.

 

[bborzell]

My brother installed the arprv.com Fridge Defend in his Escape 21 after reading that it would extend the life of his Dometic fridge and reduce the prospect of a fire.


I have never heard of this device before and have found very little info regarding it. Has anyone had any experience with one of these units? Is it something worth installing to protect the life of the fridge?


I haven't found any of the usual retailers carrying the gadget, so I guess it is only available by direct sale from the manufacturer. My brother got his directly from the manufacturer, and said it was pretty easy to install and that it appears to work as promised. I found very little info other than that on the web site, but what I did find indicated general satisfaction with the unit,and good support from the manufacturer in dealing with any questions or problems.


The videos on the web site are not really ready for prime time, but they do get the ideas across. I get the general impression that arprv is a pretty small outfit and that they may have tried unsuccessfully to sell their patented device to Dometic and/or Norcold and are now trying to go it alone



Any insight or ideas would be appreciated.

I spent 20 minutes on the web site. Also read the terms and conditions that the buyer must agree to. It reads like an NDA as it is designed to protect the manufacturer’s interest period. Also 6 month warranty for a product that will be called upon to perform for most campers measured by days rather than months before it is no longer covered.

Don’t have a clue as to how or why this thing is supposed to work other than maybe monitoring for fire prevention. Even then, it is not clear how it works to do thst.

My solution for absorption fridge problems is to buy a compressor.

 

[Centex]

My brother installed the arprv.com Fridge Defend in his Escape 21 .....

Just curious, what make/model fridge does he have?

Upon searching the many pages on the Fridge Defend website relating to fridge model-specific wiring instructions I could find nothing for the Dometic DM2683 in my 5.0, just the note "Required to download installation instructions - web pages are supplemental - each version of control has intricacies requiring the written instructions"

 

[C&G in FL]

IMHO, no gimmick product can live up to its claim that it will extend the life of a refrigerator, particularly any RV refrigerator. Just look at the number of threads in this forum regarding failed Dometic refrigerators and their replacements. But as noted, perhaps it can prevent fires. Yes, I have knowledge of the Fridge Defend. I recall reading about it when the company first introduced it and my first impression was that their description of its function was misleading gobbledygook. I firmly believe that had I believed their claims and installed it, I still would have had to replace my European made Dometic last summer due to a failed eyebrow board. Installing a 12v compressor refrigerator is perhaps the best “modification” I ever made. In a 24-hour period, it uses only 22% of my two 100 amp hour lithium batteries (per Victron shunt).

 

[BILLB]

I installed an ARP Fridge Defend unit in my daughter’s Norcold. 4150 fridge when I replaced a dead Dometic fridge about a year ago.
Many fridge failures are mostly caused by operating the units in an off level situation which in turn causes the unit to overheat and leads to declining performance and internal corrosion in the boiler and coolant tubes. This corrosion can eventually cause coolant leaks and total fridge failure as well as the potential for fires from the leaking ammonia.
The ARP control works by monitoring the temperatures in the boiler and cooling tubes and turning on a supplemental cooling fan and eventually turning off the 12v controls to the fridge if temps reach a critical point. It will do nothing to prevent control board problems or failures from problems unrelated to boiler overheating.
The ARP unit does appear to work as advertised at controlling the supplemental cooling fan and I would assume shut the fridge down prior to overheating damage. It is worth noting that outside of the effect of the extra cooling fan, the ARP unit appears to me to do nothing to improve the performance of a normally operating fridge.
The ARP website and customer service seems to be very helpful with questions and has solutions for just about any refrigerator. There are many variables with regard to installation in the many different fridges, mostly with regard to wiring and sensor positioning.

 

[Mike G]

It is worth noting that outside of the effect of the extra cooling fan, the ARP unit appears to me to do nothing to improve the performance of a normally operating fridge.

That's interesting to hear, since IIRC one of the mfr's claims is that it makes the refrigerator cool substantially better.

 

[bborzell]

Allowing for the possibility that there is more to this product and the manufacturer's claims than currently meets the eye, it appears to me that the potential benefit offered is the cooling effect that comes from a fan being triggered by the device when it reads a higher than desired temperature.

If that is indeed the beneficial effect, then why spend hundreds of dollars when installing either a constant on or switched fan can offer the same effect for a fraction of the cost of this device?

I spent 4 years with a truculent absorption fridge in our Airstream Basecamp. The factory chased solutions hither and yon and ended up with three (count 'em) fans in the cabinet before I decided to move on to an Escape. They ran constantly. Never caught fire. Cost about $7.95 apiece.

 

[BILLB]

The device does offer the additional benefit of shutting down the fridge if the boiler reaches a critical temperature in spite of the additional cooling fan. This could save a fridge from damage if someone were to neglect to level the trailer. Absorption refrigerator manufacturers stress the importance of leveling in operating instructions for a good reason.

 

[tractors1]

Dometic spec of level within 7 degrees is pretty loose. Add a leveling app to your smartphone and stick it on the fridge if concerned.

 

[BILLB]

Our Norcold instructons specify to only operate the fridge within 3 degrees of level from side to side (as viewed from the front) and 6 degrees from front to back.