how bad did i screw up my Dometic fridge

[Matt_C]

Cully,
I don't think you can get credit for a confirmed kill.
First off, it has been my experience that the half life of absorption RV refrigerators is about 9 years. As the coach is 30yo, that is 3+ so for a hundred of those made that year, you could expect that 12 are still viable. That does not mean yours is toast. I have something to try that I have known to be successful sometimes.
Get the reefer out of where it lives, and turn it upside down for a day. Put it back in for a day and then fire it up and see if it cools as it should. The scramble job you just did will make it take longer that it used to, but it might well start cooling again.
If it does not and you don't feel like blowing the money on a new one, look up replacement cooling units. The companies that make these will ship you a replacement cooling unit with instructions. Put it in and ship them the dead one. This is usually about one half of the cost of new.
There are several of these shops on the web.
Matt

 

[jazz]

Or do like I did and replace a Nevercold Fire Prone Fridge with a Magic Chef Residential model. Fridge cost $300 bucks at Home Depot.

 

[cully]

May i have your attention. I'm the original OP. My apology for posting my question then disappearing for days. I was in the woods n rivers for a couple weeks. I'd have cell service then wouldn't. It came and went just like the fish, mostly went. I did manage one spring chinook, 15 razor clams and one winter steelhead while in the forest and coast. The only reply I saw was the first one and that was DonTom. Thank you DonTom. I took your advice the day after I read it. Oddly enough I was in my former home town and had thought to myself where was I going to find a bumpy road to shake and rattle my fridge, what RV'r goes looking for a bumpy road? The first answer came to me fairly quickly. My old home town is got such crappy roads all I had to do was go for that drive. For 3 decades I cursed the streets and their crappy condition. Every time I took my boat out the streets beat it to crap. Now after moving 8 months ago and back for a fishing vacation those streets shook my RV Dometic refer into submission and it began working again.

Now home and exhausted I wanted the posters that took the time to add to my thread to know that I'll now read those posts and try and learn from this forums education process. Invaluable forum and I appreciate it.

One other positive outcome, I have been having a issue with my onan 4000 generator. It's a 1992 with 24 hours on it. It would turn over and run...for 7 minutes then shut off. I had made a appointment to take it in sometime in April. I was told they would call when they had an opening at the cummings fix it joint. Also told that to get in the door was a cool 500.00 just to start. BIG EYE ROLL HERE. Well, I stopped by a friends place for a visit. I started my gen and it ran...for those 7 minutes. My friend walked over ( he's a gear head) and asked what's up with that? I explained and he took the cover off the gen and turned a white dial, gave it two turns and now the gen runs like a kitten purring. And, it runs and runs. Now i get to call the cummings repair and tell them I don't need the appointment. Aww shucks.

 

[Larry N.]

Glad the solution worked for you, and thanks for getting back to us. And you're fortunate to have that friend -- I know that had to be a big relief, so it won't detract so much from the great time you had.