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furpod View Drop Down
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Joined: 25 Jul 2011
Location: Central KY
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Posts: 6128 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Dead Dometic RM8501
    Posted: 03 Aug 2017 at 12:55pm
Originally posted by fwunder

Jeez furpod, now I got figure how much of a bubble is 3 degrees! Wink

fred


I always figured if I can walk without holding on, and shower without leaning on a wall.. "close enough"..

But.. for 20 years, I RV'd on a tank.. so...
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spydie View Drop Down
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Posts: 159 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Aug 2017 at 11:55pm
According to my new 2018 Dometic manual, the new refers have a "round" boiler and the old ones had a square boiler.  The old ones, according to Dometic service manual (available online) would eventually plug up (a cumulative affect) and usually required replacement (although I've heard of RV maintenance guys taking the refrigerator out, rolling it over and over on the ground, re-installing it, and it was unplugged).  The new round boiler supposedly doesn't plug permanently but if it stops cooling, just re-level your rig and it will start again.  Some people say you have to turn it off and let it cool down first, though.
2018 R-pod 176
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Posts: 70 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Aug 2017 at 7:12am
Ours is three years old and has the round boiler. Sadly, we have tried many times.... turning g it off and letting it sit did not help at all. The inside fins get cool enough to condense water but that's about all.

According to Dometic, three degrees front to back and six degrees side to side is the limit. However, the fact that crucial information is not in the manual seems to me to be unbelievably negligent at best and intentionally fraudulent at worst. Forest River is supposedly looking into remedies with Dometic but I have not heard back yet.   Not holding my breath either based on my last conversation with Dometic.

Paul
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Posts: 6288 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Aug 2017 at 9:33am
I'm looking at something like this if I can't get adequate performance out of our RV refrigerator. It might mean that we could not dry camp for long periods but this one looks like it would not be too hard on the batteries and yet offer superior performance to the absorption refrigerators.

Vitrifrigo 4.2 Cu. Ft. AC/DC Marine Refrigerator.
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spydie View Drop Down
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Posts: 159 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Aug 2017 at 10:48am
Originally posted by StephenH

I'm looking at something like this if I can't get adequate performance out of our RV refrigerator. It might mean that we could not dry camp for long periods but this one looks like it would not be too hard on the batteries and yet offer superior performance to the absorption refrigerators.

Vitrifrigo 4.2 Cu. Ft. AC/DC Marine Refrigerator.

That's not too bad of current consumption.  I replaced my Dometic with an Engel (swing-compressor, like the Danfoss compressors) in my motorhome 4 years ago and it draws (rated) 1-3 amps per hour (averages a little over 1 amp in real life).  I added a couple extra batteries and could run it for days with no affect.  I recently took a 3 night trip in my truck to pick up my Rpod and put an Engel Chest freezer/refrigerator in the back seat and took along an extra AGM sealed battery to run it at night (because my truck 12 volt plug-in is dead after you turn the key off) and after 3 nights on that battery, when I got home it still measured 12.4 volts.  I'll be adding the second battery to my Rpod and carrying the Engel with me for things that I want colder than the Dometic can handle (and I've already thought about replacing the brand new Dometic with another built-in Engel).
2018 R-pod 176
2017 RAM 1500 5.7L Hemi
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Posts: 98 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Aug 2017 at 11:07am
I think I'm having the same problem with our three year old RM 8501 cooling on gas. It runs on AC and DC just fine. Is yours running on AC and DC?  I'm trying to nail down the problem and If I do I'll let you know.  I also have a good blue flame and the tower is really heating up but it just won't cool down. 
Good Luck and keep posting
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Posts: 159 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Aug 2017 at 11:23am
Originally posted by funks

I think I'm having the same problem with our three year old RM 8501 cooling on gas. It runs on AC and DC just fine. Is yours running on AC and DC?  I'm trying to nail down the problem and If I do I'll let you know.  I also have a good blue flame and the tower is really heating up but it just won't cool down. 
Good Luck and keep posting

Not sure who you are talking to without quoting the original poster, but I've been on here for a week or so complaining about my brand new 2018 R-pod not cooling as well on gas as on either of the electrics, when in reality, in over 40 years of Rving and a dozen or so single-door Dometics, gas has always, traditionally, been the most efficient.  Right now mine is running 5-7 degrees warmer on gas than either 12 volt or 120 volt.  And believe it or not, my 12 volt is the most efficient by about 2 degrees.  Mine has been at the dealer all week while they try to find out why and I'll post their results on here when I get word.  I don't expect they'll find anything because my propane flame is also blue and the boiler is very hot.
2018 R-pod 176
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Posts: 70 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Aug 2017 at 8:37pm
OK, original poster here and I'm back home after a week camping with my dead RM8501.  Good thing we use a Coleman cooler for misc. camping stuff...... emptied it and filled it with ice and we at least didn't lose any food.  

1.  I measured the slope on the driveway... this is the maximum out of level I have ever subjected the fridge to.  It measures 2.1 degrees fore / aft and 0.8 degrees side to side.  That is well within the 3 degree / six degree spec I got from Dometic when I pressed them.  So I didn't kill it like I thought I might have.  However, the first owner might have.  In either case, without any warning from either Dometic or Forest River, how should either of us have known?  

2.  I tried re-starting it several times perfectly level and on gas while we were camping this week.  Each time, the left side of the freezer fins got cool enough to condense but the right side and the entire lower fins were still at ambient even after several hours.  Definitely not normal.  

3.  When we returned home, I un-hitched, leveled the trailer and started the fridge on AC shore power.  To my amazement, it is cooling normally.  The freezer fins are frosting up and the internal temperature is 43 degrees (and I assume still dropping) three hours later.  Tomorrow I'll switch to gas and see if it can hold temperature.  Maybe the sloshing of the 500 mile trip home while powered off "burped" something?  

4.  If it cannot cool on gas, I'll have a closer look..... while on gas, the flame DOES light, the controller sees the flame and does not sound any alarm and the exhaust out the top of the flue is very hot.  But I have not checked for internal flue obstructions or actual flame size.  I'm also wondering if perhaps the flue and the boiler tube have become separated so there is not sufficient thermal transfer?  I don't know how it is built.... if the cooling unit is replaceable, they can't be welded.  Perhaps they have just lost mechanical connection?  Or perhaps the flue is actually part of the boiler?  

Paul
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Posts: 70 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Aug 2017 at 5:23am
Originally posted by pgoelz

If it cannot cool on gas, I'll have a closer look..... while on gas, the flame DOES light, the controller sees the flame and does not sound any alarm and the exhaust out the top of the flue is very hot.  But I have not checked for internal flue obstructions or actual flame size.  I'm also wondering if perhaps the flue and the boiler tube have become separated so there is not sufficient thermal transfer?  I don't know how it is built.... if the cooling unit is replaceable, they can't be welded.  Perhaps they have just lost mechanical connection?  Or perhaps the flue is actually part of the boiler?  

Paul

The fridge was at 36 degrees after running four hours on AC shore power in the driveway.  I figure that is pretty normal.  So before we went to bed I switched to gas.  This morning the interior is at 50 degrees and rising, same as when we were camping.  So it is definite.  The cooling unit is fine..... we just have a much simpler (and less expensive) issue with the flame or flue.  The flame is on and satisfying the flame sensor but beyond that I could not see enough of it through the match light hole to see how big or blue it is.  Today I'll dig into it and see what the real issue is.  

Paul
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Tars Tarkas View Drop Down
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Posts: 1446 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Aug 2017 at 5:54am
You aren't lighting the flame with match are you??  If you are, that's an important clue.

TT
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