Can I replace my RV refrigerator with a standard refrigerator???

Hey. Our RV refrigerator is belly-up. From what we have been learning, we most likely have a leak. There is yellow powder. The boiler works, everything else is working normal except we have no cooling capacity. We are fulltime RVers and are considering replacing it with a Magic Chef 10 cubic foot refrigerator we saw today at Home Depot. It fits perfectly in the space where our Norcold 9182 currently is. The dimensions are only off by a fraction in all measurements.

We are considering this primarily due to the cost. $339.00 vs. $1500.00. We have heard that it is not worth getting a refurbished model unless it was refurbished under warranty.....otherwise it has a lot of age on it and the other components break down.....motherboards, control panels, boilers, etc.

The only problem is that we are hearing that standard refrigerators just won't make it. We have heard that the compressor gets damaged every time you plug and unplug from shore power. It has been explained that it is similar to unplugging while your a/c is on. Is this true? Does anyone out there currently use a standard refrigerator in their RV and travel successfully? Is there any way to safely turn off a standard refrigerator to prevent damage? We are currently on ICE and could use the helpful hand of our RV neighbors to make this decision asap.

The only problem is that we are hearing that standard refrigerators just won't make it. We have heard that the compressor gets damaged every time you plug and unplug from shore power. It has been explained that it is similar to unplugging while your a/c is on. Is this true?

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I removed a $1,000 icemaker from the bridge of our boat and installed a $49 under-counter refrigerator from Home Depot, because the captain wanted cold water and sodas available without having to go down below while we're underway. I really didn't want to spend $hundreds to find out she changed her mind later. That was 6 years ago. It's been been run on shore power, generator and inverter, although it's only been left off for any length of time when the boat gets hauled for periodic maintenance.

I'd say I got my $49 worth out of it, and it would appear to contradict the "more $ is better" theory.

Of course, the "residential" refrigerator you're considering won't run off propane, and some folks consider that to be a distinct disadvantage, especially while boondocking.

I have heard of folks that do just that.  I am aware of one individual that installed an inverter dedicated for the refer so it will operate while driving.

Lots of folks do it, but I will tell you it hits hard at trade in time.  If I were buying private party, I would not buy one with residential fridge.  On the other hand, if keeping for a long time, and no boondocking, then what the heck, it will save you a bunch of money.  If another RV on the horizon in the next couple years, or you boondock, you won't be happy.

I too have seen it done, and read about it being done, both with and w/o an inverter.

There are advantages to the "house" type 'fridge as opposed to the "rv" type

There are advantages to the RV type

However a suggestion... What is wrong with the one you got now?

Options include "A burned out, leaking cooling uint" (Ammonia smell, yellow powder)

Need bigger/smaller or features mine don't got.

Other

If it's other, odds are you can fix it for less... WAY less

Also. I've seen some interesting compressor type fridges.. Norcold makes a line of semi-portable ones, and I thought at one time made a full size.. VERY expensive, but they draw 30-40 watts, that's about 3 amps DC

Typically you don't get a  refurbished fridge - you get a rebuilt cooling unit installed in your existing fridge, so everything else is what you now have. Rebuilt cooling units have a fairly high early life failure rate but they usually have a warranty that covers it. www.RVicebox.com offers a two year warranty on their rebuilts. A replacement would run about $500 plus shipping and installation.

But a residential type should work fine. Yes, they aren't really designed to have power frequently removed and restored, but I don't see that as a major issue. It would be best if the compressor was not running when you unplugged (or flipped the circuit breaker), though. You can hear the compressor and internal fans running, so you know when it is actually on and working.  If your circuit breakers are handy, you could flip the fridge circuit off when your ear tells you it is not running, then go out and unplug the RV later.

You will probably love having a residential fridge while you have power for it, but maybe not so happy when you travel. A 1500 watt  inverter would fix that.

Thanks for your input. Had to break camp this morning and am just getting back:

1. Inverter issue/boondocking. We have a 1998 Chateau TT 27J with slide. Since we are fulltimers, we are pretty much at capacity right now. I don't know if we have room for a battery bank and inverter...but are not closed off to ideas about making it work. We generally travel at a 4 - 6 hours stretch. We have always turned off even our RV frig because we don't want to risk running propane while driving, even though it is considered "safe". We have never had temperature issues unless we push it longer or it is extremely hot, traveling like this. We have thought about the boondocking issue. That is only about 1 - 3 weeks per year. All the rest of the time we are hookup to hookup. We thought that perhaps just getting some dry ice or an ice block would help us through the down times at NP's when you can't run a gen, or overnight at Walmart - Walmart always has ice.

2. Since our rig is already 10 years old - your gonna get what you get at resale. God willing, we have no plans to sell anytime soon. It is really a user-friendly TT.

3. We DO have the yellow powder. We are in Montrose, CO. The best we can do on a rebuilt cooling unit is $800.00 here. [that is what I meant when I said refurbished - sorry] I am very hesitant to get a rebuilt because the warranty is still low and the other components can still crash and aren't under warranty.

4. Does anyone know a good way to make sure the Magic Chef is "sealed off" on the inside? Want to make sure we have good flush mount to keep out carbon monoxide or air drafts, bugs, etc.

How much does the residential refrigerator you're contemplating weigh?  Most fulltimers are right up there in terms of weight, so if it weighs much more than what you have now, then weight distribution might be an issue.

Personally I wouldn't want an electric-only refrigerator because they're power hogs.  Many RV parks have only 30-amp hookups which might mean you can't run the A/C and the other appliances simultaneously.  If the refrigerator compressor comes on at the same time as the A/C compressor and someone wants to use a hairdryer or the microwave, you're going to have serious power management issues.  ANY boondocking will mean running your generator to keep from running down your batteries.  Way too much hassle to my way of thinking!  I'd rather just put it on propane and forget about it.  We have a four-door Norcold and it's amazing what that thing holds.  And, by the way, we're among the majority who leave our propane on while traveling.

ArdraF

Probably best with a door type seal, then a finish moulding.  Look at what you need to do to brace it and make sure it is solid.  

So far as at a trade, probably right.  I am coming from doing appraisals and know what the desk says.  If thee fridge is like that, what else has been done to get by.  It sets a tone, but might be the difference of 1/2 the fridge.  

New high end mh's often use big residential refrigerators, but they have the extra or increased cap inverter and more batteries.  

Good luck!

4. Does anyone know a good way to make sure the Magic Chef is "sealed off" on the inside? Want to make sure we have good flush mount to keep out carbon monoxide or air drafts, bugs, etc.

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Why not just seal up the entire space with a sheet of plywood once the old fridge is removed.  Fit the plywood in tight and caulk the seams to keep out bugs and outside air.  That way, no opening to the outside at all.  As far as the Magic Chef itself, it has to allow air to circulate underneath to cool its compressor and evaporate condensation from the pan underneath. That's inside air from the cabin, not outside air.

There is no way I would have a residential fridge if I planned to boondock 2-3 weeks a year and did not have an inverter and battery bank to run it. Bags or blocks of ice in a 10 cubic foot space don't really make it for days at a time and where will the melt water drain?  You can travel as you suggested, but longer term is going to be a pain, in my opinion.

$800 installed and a 2 year warranty doesn't sound all that bad. What will the Magic Chef cost, including removal of the old one and boarding up the hole?

How old is your reefer? If less than 3 yrs, the cooling unit may be under warranty. If so, you will get a new cooling unit under warranty and just have to pay the labor to replace it. Check into it.

Well we did go tonight and buy the Magic Chef. It cost $360.00 including the tax. The only change we will experience with an A/C only refrigerator is having to use dry ice to boondock. We already DO NOT TURN ON OUR RV REFRIGERATOR to travel. We only boondock for about 2 - 4 days at a time....so that estimate of up to 3 weeks is spread out - not all at the same time. One big reason why we are not going with a replacement, besides the cost, is the fact that we do work. We never know where we might be working. One thing that could have helped along the death of our Norcold is the fact that we had to do a summer in Vegas - VERY HOT. We are tired of having to hurry whenever we open the refrigerator door during summer months....fumble and you end up cursing.

We don't plan on capping off the current refrigerator vents right now.  We won't know what kind of clearances we are dealing with until we pull out the Norcold. So far from what we can determine, we have about 3" from the roof. We have about 3" from the coils in the back. We do not know what the sides have. We are assuming they have the minimum required by Norcold which is at least 1/2" each side. There is a storage area underneath. This refrigerator will weigh about 70 more pounds than our current refrigerator....more, but not enough to make it too much.

As far as resale value - so much of it depends on the market your in. The last TT we had sold for more money than we paid for it more than 5 1/2 years after purchase. We had pulled out the entire couch/living area and redid it to make it more livable. People either like the mods or they don't. No dealer is ever going to give you more than wholesale. Full-timers have to make mods, that is just a fact of life on the road....especially in TTs.

Please keep your good advice coming. We really value it and are trying to use whatever we can to do what we have to do.

I had a household refrigerator in my Arctic Fox trailer for 5 years.  I was in the same situation as you - the RV fridge died and rather than spend $1500 for a new one (or $800 for a rebuild) I bought an apartment sized G.E. from Sam's Club that fit the space vacated by the old fridge.

As far as mounting it goes - I got some duct tape and just ran it around the edge of the fridge to attach it to the cabinetry.  This also seals the refrigerator compartment from the interior, so the fridge waste heat and noise stays outside.  Use good quality duct tape - the $3 per roll stuff dries out after a year or so.  You can also make an air dam for underneath the fridge.  Since your cooling coils are on the back there's no need to vent the underside to the front.

At first I used a short piece of duct tape to hold the doors closed while traveling, but I've since found it unnecessary.   Federal law limits the strength of refrigerator door latches, so children won't get trapped inside abandoned refrigerators, and I found the magnetic weatherstripping around the doors holds them closed about as well as the travel lock on my old RV refrigerator.

When you disconnect the old fridge, you'll have to cap the propane line.   Most hardware stores will have a brass plug to fit the flare nut.  Secure the end of the propane line to a wall or someplace solid so it doesn't vibrate back and forth as you go down the road.

The problem with plugging and unplugging the refrigerator from shore power is short cycling the compressor.  You need to wait 5 minutes or so after you remove power before trying to restart the compressor, just like the air conditioner.   Turn off the refrigerator's thermostat (clicks off at 0), shut off the circuit breaker or install a wall switch in line with the refrigerator outlet so you can shut off power to the fridge before you connect to shore power (in case you have to unplug and replug the shore power cord while setting up).  Then turn on the switch once you're finished.

Running the refrigerator while boondocking is not out of the question.  I got a cheapie 1500 watt inverter and wired it to an outlet in my trailer's shore power compartment.   Whenever I disconnect from shore power I store the shore power cord by plugging it into the inverter outlet.  Then I turn off the circuit breaker that feeds the converter before turning on the inverter.

You need a fairly large inverter (1000 watts or better) to handle the momentary starting surge when the compressor starts.   Other than that, my refrigerator uses relatively little power - about 90 watts for 20 minutes an hour.  That means the fridge draws about 9 amps from the batteries via the inverter, or about 70 amp-hours over a 24 hour period.

Two golf cart batteries would easily run the fridge and the rest of my electrical needs for a day. If I turned off the inverter while I was sleeping I could stretch it to two days before recharging, and everything stays cool and frozen overnight.   Charging was via a Honda EU1000i feeding a Progressive Dynamics converter for 3-4 hours at night while I watched TV.

My refrigerator was a basic model - no auto defrost, no icemaker, etc.   Just a box that made cold.  Your refrigerator may use more power - depending primarily whether it is auto-defrosting or not.

Excellent! Thank you for your input! You are confirming things we need to know. Thanks for clarifying that it IS OK to simply allow it to vent out the back!

We are considering using industrial velcro to hold the doors while traveling.

We know about the propane line. We are thinking we might cap it off underneath the trailer on the main pipe. It was not placed with any thought when it was installed. It runs right through the middle of the storage compartment underneath the refrigerator compartment - totally ruining it. That could make a reversed decision in the future that much harder however.

We were thinking to pay attention to when the compressor turns off on travel day....and just unplugging it from the outlet in the service/vent compartment. That way we can get unhooked and hooked back up without any possible sudden surges which could hurt it.

We have a Honda 2000i generator. You are confirming what we have been researching, that two golf cart batteries and a good inverter will carry the Magic Chef for dry camping. We can't cross that bridge right now. We are concerned with getting the Magic Chef safely installed. If we decide we really need the inverter and batteries - we will deal with that when it is more convenient. So far in over 9 years we have never use a battery bank. We have only been using one battery. Honestly it really is battery power that kills dry camping more than any other factor. That is why we keep our boondocking to about a 2 - 4 day stretch. After that the battery needs some real charging. 

We do have the auto-defrost.

For sealing the unit to the cabinetry: My idea is to get some very light gauge aluminum angle from Lowes or the like. Cut it to fit the dimension and use liquid nails to bond to the fridge. use screws to the cabinet. You may even be able to reuse the trim from the old fridge. From the outside, secure the fridge to the floor to keep it from moving around and putting strain on the molding that you install. If you are certain that there isn't any wiring (no door heaters etc) then you could use VERY SHORT screw to the fridge, but the liquid nails should do the trick.

Dlineberrys, I do hope you'll report back here after you've had the chance to use your new residential refrigerator for a while.  I'm sure there are others who might want to do the same thing and they may benefit from your trials and tribulations, although for your sake I hope it's positive.  Good luck with it!

ArdraF

ArdraF said:

Dlineberrys, I do hope you'll report back here after you've had the chance to use your new residential refrigerator for a while.  I'm sure there are others who might want to do the same thing and they may benefit from your trials and tribulations, although for your sake I hope it's positive.  Good luck with it!

ArdraF

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Ardra:

Yes there are, Terry Brewer and I for two. We have made our contributions to the Dometic slush fund too many times!

Hey everybody! Thanks for all the input! We have been taking a break this morning and afternoon to rest. We have had some crazy weeks - we just finished getting the injector pump replaced - we had to fight the local Dodge to get it replaced under warranty. They would not replace the lift pump which is integral to the injector pump. We had JUST finished installing what we replaced the stock lift pump with - an Airdog - a real chore of a project.  We were ready to pull out, but when we woke up the next morning, the frig was dead. LOL!

Anyway we are just getting back to work. We plugged up the Magic Chef - we are just getting ready to pull out the Norcold. We could not find a cap for the gas line in town. It is of course not standard, like all RV stuff. It is 3/8". We will have to wait for a real hardware store or gas co. to open tomorrow and hope something fits.

So far the Magic Chef is a delight. It cooled from start last night in one hour! This morning we woke up and the freezer was 3* on medium. So far the heat seems to radiate from the SIDES of the Magic Chef. The top and back are cold. So we think that it is very important to leave room on the sides for it to breathe. It is not hot hot like our Norcold boiler was, but we can see that if the Magic Chef could not breathe on the sides, it would have to work harder.

We will gladly share what happens along the way! Thanks for the tip on using angle and industrial glue. I guess we will need to find glue that won't hurt the plastic siding. You think Liquid Nails will work with the siding?

Hi. Just reporting back. We feel it was a success. The Magic Chef was a tight fit. The directions want about 5" clearance on each side side since the cooling coils are located in the sides. We did not have that kind of clearance in our refrigerator cabinent, so we added a fan which would push the air flow from the service vent underneath the refrigerator and up the sides and out the roof vent. So far it is running well. We are very happy. Here is a link to pictures of our installation:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dlineberrys/sets/72157607204404772/


made link hot

Looks like a nice installation. Thanks for the update.