ARPRV refrigerator control- Is anyone using it?

[Bigventure]

I saw this control in another forum. A poster recommended it after a guy had a million dollar loss for a refrigerator fire. It took out his RV storage barn with 9 collector cars, his boat, and his Harley. His wife’s salon was also in the building and she lost it to.

It fits on Dometic and Norcold refrigerators. It suppose to prevent fires and make the refers run more efficiently.

https://www.arprv.com/purchase.php

Thoughts?

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by Bigventure

I saw this control in another forum. A poster recommended it after a guy had a million dollar loss for a refrigerator fire. It took out his RV storage barn with 9 collector cars, his boat, and his Harley. His wife’s salon was also in the building and she lost it to.

It fits on Dometic and Norcold refrigerators. It suppose to prevent fires and make the refers run more efficiently.

https://www.arprv.com/purchase.php

Thoughts?

I installed one last year. It works very well and in certain circumstances improves fridge performance.

[stevejones]

So my question on this is, how common is a refrigerator fire?

Thanks,

Steve

[Bigventure]

Google is your friend in this case. Looks like they are pretty common.

[stevejones]

Originally Posted by Bigventure

Google is your friend in this case. Looks like they are pretty common.

So let me restate my question...

Has anyone on this forum personally experienced a refrigerator fire in their Airstream?

Thanks

Steve

[JohnTF]

I've been RVing since the 70s , mostly full time ,
Not that I'm claiming that it can't happen , my 85 does not have a fan , starting on my 3rd fridge for this trailer [ most every failure from a properly using fridge - is just the short life of ammonia based fridges eating through the aluminum cooling ] many others in other trailers , bus's & RVs .
This is the 1st time I've ever heard of a fridge fire .
Maybe issue's with newer / non-ammonia / compressor type fridges ?

[SilverFire]

Perhaps this narrows concerns:

Dometic Recall Information
UPDATE: Dometic Voluntarily Expands Refrigerator Recall
PLEASE NOTE: This website only confirms whether or not the designated refrigerator is on the recall; it does not determine whether or not the recall kit has already been installed on the refrigerator.
Dometic expanded its recall on a population of two-door refrigerators. The original recall included some two-door refrigerators manufactured between April 1997 and May 2003. The expansion of this recall also includes the same two-door refrigerators, manufactured between June 2003 and September 2006.

To find out if your refrigerator falls within either of the recalls, enter the model and 8-digit serial number of your Dometic refrigerator below.

PLEASE NOTE:

- If the refrigerator model number begins with NDM (instead of NDR) or DM (instead of RM), the refrigerator is not affected by the recall.

- If the serial number you are entering begins with '9211' and is 9 digits long, you are entering the refrigerator product number, not the serial number. Please enter the 8 digit refrigerator serial number.

- If the serial number you are entering does not have a zero as the 4th digit, please recheck your refrigerator model number. Either the model number is not affected by the recall or else the serial number you are entering is incorrect.


SilverFire Off-Grid Stoves & Cookware
Sport 16

[Wolf Alaska]

The ARP device is patented & senses disruption in the flow of water ammonia coolant in the refer. When the flow stops due to "out of level" condition, the thermostat will add heat (burner or electric heater) to try to cool the box contents.

ARP device will turn off the refer BEFORE:
Overheating which can cause corrosion inhibitors to come out of solution & plug valves, or burn a hole in tubes which can lead to a fire.

There are 6 articles in Escapees magazine which describe this whole process & problem.

Paul's web site ARPRV.com has info on this.

I have an ARP device with fan control for a fan to increase air flow in the boiler area + 2 tiny circulation fans for the refer box. Plan to install during next 2 weeks. It''s a bit daunting but I believe I fully understand the details.

I won't run my Dometic NDR 1060 unless we are parked & level. Not risking a fire or damage to this $6,000 refer.

I believe that properly run propane refer have essentially unlimited useful life.

[KK4YZ]

Originally Posted by Wolf Alaska

I won't run my Dometic NDR 1060 unless we are parked & level. Not risking a fire or damage to this $6,000 refer.

My understanding is with ammonia type refers the problem presents itself when parked and unlevel. If you’re moving the ammonia will slosh around (for lack of a better term) and the refer will operate properly, even if not level (which is almost guaranteed during travel). Do I have this wrong?

[GMFL]

Originally Posted by KK4YZ

My understanding is with ammonia type refers the problem presents itself when parked and unlevel. If you’re moving the ammonia will slosh around (for lack of a better term) and the refer will operate properly, even if not level (which is almost guaranteed during travel). Do I have this wrong?

Nope you are correct driving with fridge on is not a problem.
Can someone tell me why that fridge would cost $6000?
All I see are less than $2000

[Mike1997]

This has my attention as mine is an older frig (working excellent) but I am aware of a frig fire that happened while I was in Ft. Lauderdale. It totaled an older model Monaco that was on full hook ups but somehow the gas line ignited. It was an explosion that blew a hole in the side. I have photos of it someplace and will post those when I find them.

Mike

[Wolf Alaska]

Some comments already posted:
“This is the 1st time I've ever heard of a fridge fire.

Maybe issue's with newer / non-ammonia / compressor type fridges?”

Wolf”s Answer: The RV fire issue related to RV refrigerators is centered on the propane refrigerator.

“So my question on this is, how common is a refrigerator fire?
Looks like they are pretty common.”
………………………………………………………………………………………..
“For over a decade, Norcold and Dometic RV Absorption Refrigerators, have been burning Motor Homes and Travel Trailers. Since fire damage is often not limited to the Motor Home or Recreational Vehicle. The flames also destroy everything adjacent your RV; garages, homes, automobiles, and life itself.http://www.motorhomedoctor.com/Refrigerator-Fires.html”

The thing we should be concerned about with the propane refrigerator is the breakdown of the ammonia-water circulation. When the circulation stops, the thermostat will keep calling for heat as it tries to restore cooling. The excess heat is what causes the damage to the refer and ultimately, can cause the refer to start a fire in the RV.

The common term we RVers use is to “level the refer” for best results. In practice, what we are doing is aligning the boiler tube with the earth’s gravity or perfectly vertical. This is difficult to measure, so we measure the level condition of the floor of the freezer. If it is level, then the boiler tube will be perpendicular to level and therefore vertical. The tolerance for the boiler tube is 1 ½ o

When the circulation stops and the refer overheats, the corrosion agent in solution with the ammonia and water is damaged. It can solidify and come out of solution. It will never go back into solution. The refer loses the benefit of the anti-corrosion agent and the solids can plug the various valves that control gas expansion. Hence, loss of cooling can develop over time.

“Most folks don’t realize that operating an RV fridge in an off-level condition, even for a short time, can cause cumulative damage to the cooling system, and the symptom is loss of cooling efficiency.” Mark Nemeth, Escapees Technical Advisor, Escapees magazine, January/February 2019, page 19.

“Nope you are correct driving with fridge on is not a problem
My understanding is with ammonia type refers the problem presents itself when parked and unlevel. If you’re moving the ammonia will slosh around (for lack of a better term) and the refer will operate properly, even if not level (which is almost guaranteed during travel). Do I have this wrong?”

“When the vehicle is moving, the leveling is not as critical, as the rolling and pitching movement of the vehicle will pass to either side of level, keeping the liquid ammonia from accumulating in the evaporator tubing.” Dometic Manual/Refrigerator/NDR 1062

This is carefully worded by the manufactured to slightly justify use of the fridge while the vehicle is in motion. What it does not address is: What happens on long grades, whether ascending or descending?

The answer depends on whether the boiler tube is parallel to earth’s gravity field; i.e., vertical. On a long, steep grade of 5% or more, the tube will NOT be within 1 ½ degrees of vertical. The circulation of the ammonia-water coolant will stop, the thermostat will add heat trying to restore cooling, and the fridge will overheat. Will it damage the anti-corrosion chemical? Will the heat melt a hole in tubing and start a fire? It depends on previous damage, how long is the grade, what the speed of the vehicle is which determines how long on the grade, and how long and how hot the fridge is overheated.

What I have come to realize is that operation of the fridge on long grades will likely damage the propane refrigerator. The sloshing in the evaporator tubing will not save the fridge from overheating. The manufacturers seeming OK to use while in motion carefully does not address use on long grades.

My plan when acquiring my latest RV was to immediately pull the NDR 1062 and replace it with a 110VAC/12VDC refer. Then I discovered that the propane fridge had been used very little and is in great shape. Next, I found that the RV has a 48-gallon propane tank and nothing uses propane but the refer. This fridge can run a long time on 48 gallons of propane when off grid camping!

My decision is to keep the 1062 and use it for many years, IF it can be kept from overheating and being damaged.

I’ve got an ARP device on hand and hope to install it before the next RV rally. Until the device is installed, I only run the 1062 when parked and absolutely level on the fridge. While in route, we keep the refrigerated food in a Coleman thermoelectric cooler which maintains 38 to 40 degrees, and the frozen food in an Alpicool refrigerator freezer which maintains -10 degrees.

If the ARP device does what is supposed to do, when an out of level condition develops, the device will sense the beginning of the overheat problem and shut off the refer. No damage will happen to the refer. The food will stay cold for a long time. Soon after a shutdown, the device will restart the fridge. If the out of level condition is no longer present, normal cooling will resume.

The beauty of this device will be: if the RV and fridge are level enough to let the ammonia-water coolant circulate, the device will let the refer run. It will only shut down the fridge if the circulation breaks down.

One point to remember is this, if the circulation breaks down, the fridge won’t be cooling anyway. So, the device does not stop the cooling it only stops the overheat condition from damaging the fridge.

About 20,000 propane fridges are manufactured and sold in America each month. There is no way to tell this info to every owner of a propane refer. I hope this post will help some of you to understand why this type of fridge can be dangerous, and how the ARP device can help protect not only your fridge but your RV and the welfare of you and anyone using your RV.

Let's Roll !

[Wolf Alaska]

Can someone tell me why that fridge would cost $6000?
All I see are less than $2000[/QUOTE]

It's a moot point since the Dometic 1062 is not in production & not available to buy.

I based the estimate on my installed fridge's estimated part of the RV's original MSRP of $515,000.

What it would cost to replace would be: selling price of a new fridge, shipping, tax, labor to remove old 1062, cost to rebuild or remodel the existing cabinet to fit the replacement, labor cost to install the replacement. Whether that would be $6,000 or not, I don't know. The selling price of a fridge on the Internet likely is only a small part of the final realized cost for a finished job. Can we all agree on that?

Thanks,
Let's Roll !