Dometic, Norcold, or..?

[brad barton]

Ryan,

You sound like me with my '86 Newell. I just couldn't spend enough money on it to make it like a brand new coach. I'm not criticizing, just remember my drive and enthusiasm to make it as trouble-free and foolproof as possible (I eventually got over it). We chose to replace ourbasic 2-door Dometic completely under a service policy. It cost us $300 more to replace the whole the refrigerator than to replace the "guts" andkeep the same box. And usually, if the refrigerator has been in the process of going out, the box and door gaskets will have developed moisture and mildew stains. But if your box is good and the shelves are not rusty, you can replace just the ammonia system in the back with a re-build (Ryan at Mr. O's orders them all the time) and get one of those RV chest freezer/refrigerators that goes in the basement. We still keep a chest with icein the basement. You'd be surprised how much ice you can buy for $1,000 as asupplemental cooler. Best of the Holidays to you.

Brad Barton 00LXiDFW bbartonwx@...

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To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
From: ryanpwright@...
Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2008 12:27:29 -0800
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Dometic, Norcold, or..?

Well, bummer on the fridge, but life happens. I never really liked
this old fridge, anyway. Huge thanks to everyone for your help with
this process.

Now, I need your advice on what to buy. I intend to buy a taller
fridge than the one I've got and remove one or both of the small
cabinets above and below my existing fridge. There's never enough
space in these little things, so bigger is better, yes? :-) I'm going
to stick with the ammonia type, as we love to boondock and going all
electric would require more batteries and better inverters than what
I've got, vastly increasing the scope of this project when all I
really want is cold food. :-) Since I do have LP gas on board, might
as well use it. Next coach, however, I want a full size house fridge
so one of you LXI owners better be prepared to sell in 5 - 10 years.
;-)

So, which brand is generally more reliable? Reading online forums they
all seem universally hated. ;-) Does anyone here really love their
fridge, and if so, what do you have?

The biggest gripe I have with these things is the lack of accurate
temperature control. As the temperature outside changes, so does the
temperature inside the fridge. When it's hot outside I have to turn
the fridge setting up, when it gets cold I have to turn it down. Does
anyone make a nice, modern version of these that can actually hold a
temperature like a "real" fridge? I just want to set the darn thing at
x degrees and have it stay there... Don't see why they can't add
temperature sensors and automatically adjust the amount of boiling in
the ammonia stack to roughly maintain a target temp. Seems like such a
basic thing to me.

-Ryan
'86 PT-40 8V92

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