Dead Dometic RM8501 |
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fwunder
Senior Member Joined: 04 Oct 2013 Location: New Jersey Online Status: Offline Posts: 1676 |
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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2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6 Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks! |
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spydie
Senior Member Joined: 25 Jul 2017 Location: New Mexico Online Status: Offline Posts: 159 |
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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2018 R-pod 176
2017 RAM 1500 5.7L Hemi |
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pgoelz
Groupie Joined: 22 Jul 2016 Online Status: Offline Posts: 70 |
Posted: 17 Aug 2017 at 10:13pm |
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
Senior Member Joined: 25 Jul 2017 Location: New Mexico Online Status: Offline Posts: 159 |
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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2018 R-pod 176
2017 RAM 1500 5.7L Hemi |
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spydie
Senior Member Joined: 25 Jul 2017 Location: New Mexico Online Status: Offline Posts: 159 |
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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2018 R-pod 176
2017 RAM 1500 5.7L Hemi |
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spydie
Senior Member Joined: 25 Jul 2017 Location: New Mexico Online Status: Offline Posts: 159 |
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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2018 R-pod 176
2017 RAM 1500 5.7L Hemi |
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