Sunday Project

[mbulriss]

Well, we got nearly another foot of rain from mid-day Friday through
mid-day Saturday, (might just as well live in soggy Florida this year
- we now have more rain this year than all of 2005 and 2006). So,
Sunday became project day outside.

We lost our refrigerator over Independence Day weekend, a mere 3.5
years into a 3 year warranty. :^( Changed all the house batteries on
the 5th and all was well. Returned on the 6th to go out for the
weekend and the frig was all defrosted. Drip tray was full of
yellowish/greenish slime, so it was history. Coil kit was nearly as
much as new on sale from PPL, so we just went with new.

In order to minimize replacement efforts, I ordered the same model
Dometic as was in it. This one made it 3.5 years, but my last one
made it 10+ and was still going strong when we sold Stagecoach.

Not a bad job from the standpoint of the work, (I mean how bad can you
screw up unplugging the 110V plug and removing the 12V connectors!).
On the other hand, it is a real bear from the standpoint of getting
the old one out and getting the new one back in! Having to lift and
tilt at the same time to clear the dinette seating, with only about
two inches backwards to the bathroom door jam, and about 1.5 inches
from the stove was the worst part. Tight fit! Had to remove the
doors and the upper control panel and mounting tabs in order to clear
the ceiling. I used to my motorcycle floor jack to ease the removal
from the inset and to help with the initial lifting. After we got it
out of its cubby hole area, the in and out the front door was almost
anti-climatic. We covered *everything* with heavy cardboard before
starting, so we don't have any scratches or other damages to worry
about now.

While it was out, I also took the time to run some new 12V power lines
and add a manual switch in the overhead compartment for a fridge fan
in the back of the refrigerator compartment. Thanks to Ralph for
technical questions, I found a 12V circuit that will go off with the
12V master in case we forget when putting it in the Birdhouse.

Anyway, a longer than planned day. Some interesting aches and pains
to let us know we are still alive, but a good sense of accomplishment
knowing it was done right without shortcuts and no accidental
ancillary damages to deal with.

If anyone needs a 3.5 year old Dometic RM2820 refrigerator that needs
a coil kit, it comes with new doors and a good electronics board (the
stack was still getting hot on gas or electric, but no ammonia to
circulate). I also have a new wood grain insert package for the doors
that came with the new one (approx $50 extra option from Dometic). I
just swapped doors with the old one to avoid having to move the custom
wood panel inserts.

Ahhh, ought to sleep good tonight while contemplating the next
project! It's great to have a hobby to keep you out of trouble by
consuming any disposable income and free time!

Mike Bulriss
1991 WB40 "Texas Minivan" - with all new alts, batteries and frige!
San Antonio, TX