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connors95 · 07-05-2005, 07:06 PM

I have a dometic rm100. The freezer works great on it. But, the fridge doesn't get cold enough. Is there anything I can do to correct this problem? Any answers will be greatly appreaciated.

RichardT · 07-05-2005, 07:43 PM

is the door seal working correctly? Put a flashlight inside the fridge and turn out all the lights in the trailer and look around the seal for light, that will tell you if it is or is not sealed.
Also how long have you waited for it to cool off? mabye give it a little more time.

connors95 · 07-05-2005, 08:17 PM

The door has a good seal. And the fridge has been running on ac for 3 days.

ipso_facto · 07-25-2005, 05:08 PM

I have the same exact problem. Freezer is very cold, the fridge is just slightly colder than outside temp.

Buttercup · 07-25-2005, 05:45 PM

Same thing here except that I think performance will be improved once it is filled up. try an experamint - load it up with bottles of water and see what happens. They do cool down quite a bit at night but warm during the day. Loaded the temperature will not go up as much. Also, gas or electric the vent to atmosphere must be clear to allow the heat to dissipate. make sure it is clear. Some have reported that a small fan in the vent pipe helps improve the temperature of the fridge.

**jcanavera** · 07-25-2005, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by connors95

I have a dometic rm100. The freezer works great on it. But, the fridge doesn't get cold enough. Is there anything I can do to correct this problem? Any answers will be greatly appreaciated.

Could be a sign of impending failure. I know my fridge fell down on the refrigerator performance prior to its death. Freezer worked fine. I hope this isn't the situation for you.

Jack

smily · 07-25-2005, 06:20 PM

This definitley a classic sign of failure.

I am currently re-building my RM3807. The freezer has icemaker that works great!
Reefer section is warm.

I have researched much and it is a concensus in the RV refrig industry, FAILING cooling unit.

Sorry to be bearer of bad news but you can get plenty of info at this web site www.nucold.com or www.rvmobile.com there are other websites that will give you same info.

myboyburt · 07-25-2005, 06:38 PM

and have solved it by installing a fan on the outside the unit (but inside the access thingie) that we turn on to blow air over the coils. We also run a fan inside the refrigerator that we purchased from Campingworld for about $12.00 that runs on battery. Between the two fans we keep the refrigerator cool.

kooblekidz · 07-31-2005, 06:19 PM

Hi,
sounds exactly like a bad cooling unit. Try banging on the coils to see if you can get some more life out of it. A bad cooling unit usually means just ditching your old fridge and getting a new one, unless you can replace the cooling unit yourself, not an easy job. Get a norcold fridge for a replacement, cheaper and more reliable.
Eric

mello mike · 08-02-2005, 12:52 PM

problem. Changed out the cooling unit but it only worked for an hour.

Finally went with a Norcold 641. Works great.

norbert · 08-02-2005, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by myboyburt

and have solved it by installing a fan on the outside the unit (but inside the access thingie) that we turn on to blow air over the coils. We also run a fan inside the refrigerator that we purchased from Campingworld for about $12.00 that runs on battery. Between the two fans we keep the refrigerator cool.

ditto on the hot, humid weather...had an old residential servel. ran fine in the winter, not too well in the summer. finally died after 50 yrs...pilot safety was oem and wasnt made any more. threw it out rather then jury rig....safety,safety,safety....
norby

sander17 · 08-02-2005, 02:49 PM

As a fellow owner of a late 70's vintage RM100, here are a few easy things to try:
Use a 9" torpedo level to see if the fridge is really level. Ours was tilted relative to the trailer floor.
As mentioned before, put some jugs of water in there to give it some thermal mass.
Is your thermometer a bulb with external display?
Try running it on gas. The electrical connections for the 115 V mode may be slightly corroded. Cover the burner with some aluminum foil and rap on the chimney to get the shower of rust dust to drop out without plugging the burner before lighting it. The gas mode puts a lot more heat into the ammonia circuit than the electric heater.
Watch out for the controls. The old plastic adjusters get sticky and you may need to open the back to get it to switch modes. Just old plastic.

Good luck!

Chaplain Kent · 09-13-2005, 10:52 AM

I had the same problem with my RM100 but found it to be the flue stack was clogged. Dometic has an easy test you can do. Once your unit is lit open the door and feel the heat at the base of the burner assembly and then again in the middle of the flue stack by the asorbtion tubes. The heat should be the same if the flue is hotter at the bottom the flue is clogged. The clog can be anywhere along the flue and you may need to pull the unit to clean it out completly. I was lucky mine was right at the bottom. Now I will pull the burner assembly and clean that while I have it apart.

Follow this link for more info: http://bryantrv.com/docs2/docs/Mandiag.pdf

Chaplain Kent · 09-14-2005, 04:47 PM

Day two of my refrigerator fix. The freezer has ice and the fresh food compartment is as cold as it has ever been. Total cost of this fix was $0. and the repair guy said the it probably needed a new cooler. If I had put in a cooler it would have done the same thing and I still would have needed to clean the flue stack.
I did drop the burner, easy instructions on Dometic page. I was able to clean it completly and then really get inside the flue and get that cleaned out.

mandolindave · 09-14-2005, 09:03 PM

My fridge was 35 years old. The first time that I tested it, I noticed greenish gold goo oozing out of the fittings ( deadly amonia gas ). The fridge section still froze eggs and milk. I said goodbye to the old fridge, and $1200.

The moral of the story.....check the fittings in the back of your fridge

John Greenlee · 09-22-2005, 07:01 PM

I've got a RM 761 that is not cooling adequately. I read through the Dometic manual, and am not convinced that the fridge is completely shot. It is hot at the burner, and almost as hot at the Absorber vessel. The tubes above that are pretty warm to hot as well. I got dust out of the condenser today, but that did not seem to fix it. I can not see above the condenser fins.

Exactly what part are you referring to as the 'flue'. Is that the round vertical enclosure above the burner? Is it difficult to remove the unit for service, and checking and cleaning out the vents, etc? I want to believe that it is a ventilation problem. I think I got it level enough.

Need more info!

JMG

nickcrowhurst · 09-23-2005, 08:59 AM

John, the flue is the steel chimney. It is about 2 inches in diameter and extends the full height of the refer from the top of the burner. Instructions for cleaning it are at
http://www.airforums.com/forum...lue+brush+nick
Details are also on the Dometic website. It's a vital piece of routine maintenance. You may need to pull the refer into the central corridoor of the trailer for access to the top of the flue for inserting the brush. Good luck.
Nick.

Chaplain Kent · 09-28-2005, 06:23 AM

John
it would be worthwhile to pull the unit out and thoroughly clean the flue, this is not a difficult task. Instructions are given in the Dometic manual.

Buttercup · 09-28-2005, 11:37 AM

I am glad to see that this topic has popped up again.
I spent an hour blowing out my chimney and coils and flue. This gave me modest improvements to performance. I can say that being level is so very important. I found this out when we came back from our trip and found the freezer still cold but the fridge very warm. The trailer was parked on the slope part of the driveway and it was more than enough to make things not work.
In any event, we are going to replace our unit because it just doesn't work well and I suspect that it needs a charge of ammonia or may be partly plugged.

Inland RV Center, In · 09-28-2005, 11:50 AM

Buttercup.

Before you replace your reefer, you might try another repair.

Cleaning and blowing out the flue really doesn't do much ggod.

What does make a huge difference, is the condition of the flame. Take the burner apart. Clean out the rust particles form the burner base. Soak the oriface in "Lime-away" for about a day. Reassemble the burner and then check the flame, at night is preferred. Check the LPG pressure. It should be 11 to 13 inches of water column pressure.

If everything is ok, with the thermostat turned wide open, you should see an improvement in the flame. You should also be able to hear the flame roar slightly.

Your reefer should now cool properly, as long as the freezer plate is level.

If not, then it's time to think about a replacement reefer.

The above suggestion, costs nothing, but it might save you hundreds.

Andy