fridge and freezer not cooling

[roads64]

a guy came out and looked at my fridge today and he was slightly confused also. cuz its working on lp and electric and all power is working but its not throwing codes. he is thinking either it has a real small leak or a clog in the line cuz its not even warming the liquid up in the small tank in the back. and he said most cases he has seen it has been cheaper and a **** of alot faster to replace the fridge then it is to replace the cooling unit and what not. and he also said in his opinion dometics are a bunch of garbage and recommended a norcold if we replace it. he was gonna talk to his dad since he is the fridge expert but he wasnt available today so i will find out monday what they think. thank god for warranties!!

 

[mobilcastle]

Thanks for all the good info on this post. When summer comes if your frig does not cool right you may want to read the threads on it and insulate the slide out and install two fans outside behind the frig and baffle it-I also used thin reflective insulation on the vent wall. I put a 12V fan in the inside of the fridge to circulate the air. Mine cools down quickly.Good luck.

 

[wdk450]

If you want to learn more in depth about RV ammonia refrigerators, here is a good site. Be sure to read all of the topics in the "Cooling Units" section.
http://www.rvmobile.com/Tech/Technical.htm

 

[traveler44]

We have never had a problem with a Dometic in our travel trailer or the fifth wheel and I do know that it is pretty common to just replace the cooling unit on the back of them. I think the most common problem with them is when you see the yellow stain at the bottom of the coils it means you are leaking coolant. I watched the mobile repair guys change out the cooling unit on one about a month ago when we were down in Houston, I don't know which brand it was. I think I would ask somebody, who can figure out what the real problem is, for an estimate for repair compared to the cost of a new fridge. I used to remove the screws holding the fridge in and slide them forward to replace the drain hose on the back and I will say that they are very easy to install. With the door removed you can balance them very easily to slide them into place and then there are only four screws holding them in. Replace the trim and you are all done. Tom

 

[roads64]

so the guy is coming to fix my fridge today. i guess my neighbor had the same problem i did and they fixed his yesterday. he was saying when that ammonia water mix freezes its a pain in the rear to unthaw cause once it starts to unthaw its like a thick jelly paste. took them 3 hrs yesterday to get my neighbors going. so they are gonna come tinker with mine today.

 

[danemayer]

they are gonna come tinker with mine today.

Please let us know what the tech does to get it working again.

 

[roads64]

so there is nothing wrong with the fridge. he was saying its the ammonia water mix thats the problem. it froze up and its a pain to unthaw. supposedly they changed the mixture in the newer fridges cause its more enviro friendly and safe. the dometic manufacture claims they are good to -110 degrees. he called them up and asked them what was going on and they couldnt give him an answer. every newer trailer in this rv park had their fridges freeze up at the same time within days of each other. we put a diesel fueled burner/heater on the back of my fridge for 8 hrs yesterday and so far its still not working. he is working on getting more answers from dometic but they dont even know what is going on. they just done make em like they used to. my neighbor that just showed up last week has a brand new trailer fresh off the lot and his aint even working and this is the first time they have used it ha.

 

[danemayer]

I hope it's turned off while they heat the back. I'm pretty sure there's an overtemp sensor that triggers a lockout condition. It can only be reset with the secret information from Dometic.

 

[roads64]

yeah we had it turned off the whole time. but thats good info to know. i will make sure to pass that along. cuz we did have the heat on it for about 30 mins before i turned it off. thanks

 

[roads64]

welp, woke up this afternoon and my fridge is cooling again!! its back down to 33 degrees! put a heat lamp on it after we took the heater off of it yesterday. seems to have unthawed it. ill keep that heat lamp on it for when it gets back to sub zero temps. thanks for all the info and suggestions!