Dometic Royale fridge needs help

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Wayne9452

Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2022
Posts
6
Location
Waco TX
Dometic Royale fridge has been working perfectly until a couple of days ago. The freezer still works but the fridge doesn't. Any suggestions? I noticed the propane is below 1/4 so I've switched it to electric an hour ago.
Thanks Wayne
 
That is interesting as both the freezer and the fridge get their "cold" from the same place. The cold does show up first in the freezer and it should stay cold in the freezer longer than the fridge if the unit quits working entirely.

The other hard part in troubleshooting these guys is that it takes a while for them to cool down.

I'd start the troubleshooting by taking off the outside cover and looking around - loose wires, any ammonia smell, yellow powder or staining or other obviously "wrong" things in there?

With it set to propane, is the burner running? You should be able to hear it.
If set on AC - is there 120V AC at the wires leading to the heating element?

Care and feeding of an RV Refrigerator - Fix Your Camper

Any other troubleshooting you've done that may give us some hints on where to steer you?

-Kyle
 
That is interesting as both the freezer and the fridge get their "cold" from the same place. The cold does show up first in the freezer and it should stay cold in the freezer longer than the fridge if the unit quits working entirely.

The other hard part in troubleshooting these guys is that it takes a while for them to cool down.

I'd start the troubleshooting by taking off the outside cover and looking around - loose wires, any ammonia smell, yellow powder or staining or other obviously "wrong" things in there?

With it set to propane, is the burner running? You should be able to hear it.
If set on AC - is there 120V AC at the wires leading to the heating element?

Care and feeding of an RV Refrigerator - Fix Your Camper

Any other troubleshooting you've done that may give us some hints on where to steer you?

-Kyle
Thanks Kyle.
I first turned off the unit f a couple of days. Turned on today and again the freezer is still working fine. I've put a box fan to the coils which are quite warm. Not too hot to hold but barely so. I'll check it in the morning and report back.
 
What you are experiencing is typically the first symptom of a cooling unit failure. How old is your refrigerator? I notice that you are from Waco, TX and since I'm in Mesquite, TX I know that if you are at home you are experiencing very hot temperatures. Ambient temperatures do impact the cooling ability of an absorption refrigerator so you may gain at least some by adding the fan. Have you taken the temperatures inside of the freezer and the chill box? The freezer should stay near 0° and no more than 15° while the chill box should be below 40° and ideal is 35°. Do you have the temperature set to the lowest that it can be?
 
What you are experiencing is typically the first symptom of a cooling unit failure. How old is your refrigerator? I notice that you are from Waco, TX and since I'm in Mesquite, TX I know that if you are at home you are experiencing very hot temperatures. Ambient temperatures do impact the cooling ability of an absorption refrigerator so you may gain at least some by adding the fan. Have you taken the temperatures inside of the freezer and the chill box? The freezer should stay near 0° and no more than 15° while the chill box should be below 40° and ideal is 35°. Do you have the temperature set to the lowest that it can be?
Hey Kirk
A year ago I bought an 02 Trail Lite mh by Monarch. The fridge then would nearly freeze. Today the freezer has made ice and I would guesstimate the Lower to be around 50.
I'm leaving next week for Red River NM to escape this furnace so I'll wait to see if it will fix itself.
I'm not seeing any coloring or smelling ammonia. But thanks for your comments
Wayne
 
fridge temp 53.5
Our temperature here is pretty much the same as yours. Nicest morning in a coupld of months! With that low an outside temperature your refrigerator should have been able to cool easily to below 40°. Since it is 25° below ambient I would guess that it is getting some cooling but not nearly enough. There are several things that can go wrong with a cooling unit besides a loss of refrigerant. Refrigerant is a mixture of water, ammonia, and chemicals to prevent corrosion and such. Those chemicals sometimes crystalize due to age and can plug or partially plug the passages that the refrigerant must pass through by convection flow. There is also sometimes some early corrosion that can slow the passage of refrigerant or it may have lost some but not all of the refrigerant. If that is the original refrigerator it would now be 20 years old so those problems are not too surprising.
 
I want to thank everyone for your knowledge. It does appear that the fridge is on its way out but but hopefully it will last for a couple of months in the rockies.
Also it appears that it has been replaced at some point. Haven't seen the tag yet.
 
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