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Topic ClosedDead Dometic RM8501
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fwunder View Drop Down
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Joined: 04 Oct 2013
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Posts: 1676 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Dead Dometic RM8501
    Posted: 17 Aug 2017 at 9:10pm
Sooo, after all this...

What is the consensus for "proper" or "adequate" cooling? Speaking for myself and measuring carefully with "normally" full freezer and refrigerator areas, I have no problem maintaining 31-36 degrees in fridge and 10-20 in freezer. Using digital (Accurite), analog and Thermopen, I've been doing some testing the last few days in my driveway. Full sun and 80-85 degrees, no AC running (so it's 90+ in pod). I have tested both AC and propane. To simulate normal packing, I have several prefrozen freezer packs in freezer portion and two six-packs of 16 oz. soda in fridge.

BTW, an evaporator (fin) fan is a total waste of money in the fridge. I'll write more about that later. Suffice to say fan motors give off more heat than the benefit of moving air *in* the fridge.

Just curious if anyone has any one else has carefully measured fridge/freezer temps in their rPod?

fred
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spydie View Drop Down
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Posts: 159 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Aug 2017 at 9:19pm
At 80-85 degrees it may work ok. We are talking 95-100 temps here in the great SW. Dometic will only accept temperature measurements via water test. A glass of water measured with a bulb thermometer. My temps were carefully measured the only acceptable way and monitored by dometic. 34-36 degrees at night when it's less than 70s degrees outside and climbs into high 50s and low 60s during the day in 95-100 degree heat . That's totally unacceptable for camping. 42 degrees is the least acceptable for dairy products.
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pgoelz View Drop Down
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Posts: 70 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Aug 2017 at 10:13pm
Originally posted by spydie

In my opinion, which isn't worth much, I think the absorption refrigerator is antiquated and needs to be abolished.  They've never been efficient in an RV if you travel in warm/hot weather.  They were developed for household use and I'm sure they are fine in that capacity, but even then they were replaced with more efficient compressor refrigerators.  So what did we do?  We took something that was replaced with something better for the household, and tried to put them into RVs where the OAT has a major affect on them.
With you there ;)  But is there anything on the horizon that is capable of replacing the absorption fridge?  Ie., a refrigerator that runs with minimal to no electric power?  Something that does not use electrical power for the cooling process itself?  Something that does not require 200-400W of solar and golf cart batteries?  

Paul
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spydie View Drop Down
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Posts: 159 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Aug 2017 at 10:23pm
Ha ha. Yes. I just tested my Engel chest freezer/refer on an 80 watt solar panel and 75 amp/hr deep cycle battery and it can easily keep up. The Engel draws only about 30-40 watts or about 1.7 average amps per hour. Swing compressors draw little current. I used a built in one in my last RV for almost four years on about 200 amp/hr of batteries (three 12 v batteries ) and we dry camped all the time. Spent six weeks going to Alaska and only spent three nights in campgrounds. It's possible to run a 12 v compressor refrigerator in place of the dometic with only slightly more battery power and a solar panel really helps.
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spydie View Drop Down
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Posts: 159 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Aug 2017 at 10:57pm
I predict that within 5 years we'll be using Thermal Electric Generators (TEGs) to produce the 12 volts we need to run our swing-compressor refrigerators and the power will be produced by an LP flame that we now use for our absorption refrigerators.  We've had TEGs in the military and commercial world for decades and they are just now starting to get to be more efficient and cost affordable.  I think those would be the salvation for the obsolete absorption refrigerator.  And they might even be able to extend dry camping times if we can get enough out of them to run the refrigerators and keep the batteries charged.  Kinda like a solar panel that runs on an LP flame.  But of course then we'll have to carry more LP! LOL . Nothing is free
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spydie View Drop Down
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Posts: 159 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Aug 2017 at 4:31pm
I installed a 3" computer fan at the top vent and it significantly helped with the cooling.  So I took out that stupid 3" fan Dometic or FR put on the bottom of the coils that only turns on when it's way past time you should have some cooling help, and I then mounted it next to my first 3" fan.  Not sure two fans do much more than 1 fan, but I figured, "why not?".  each fan draws about 0.15-0.16 amps so I have better cooling for about 3/10s of an amp and I put a switch on them so I can manually turn it off in colder weather when I don't need the help.  Forest River has never replied to the dealer's complaint yet.  It's still several degrees more efficient on electricity than it is on LP but I guess I'll just have to live with that.  I'm able to keep it under 42 degrees now (just barely) in 99 degree weather in the middle of the day.  It gets down to 32-34 degrees at night (depending whether it's on electricity or LP).
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