Refrigerator Cooling Unit

[JayArr]

Hi all

The fridge stopped working over the winter. It doesn't get cold. There are no signs of a leak (no telltale yellow stain) and I can hear the water boiling and gurgling inside so I think it's blocked or plugged somewhere.

I'm looking at a replacement cooling unit from "DadsMarine" in New Brunswick Canada. They ship to Canada without asking for your firstborn son and have a five year guaranty on the cooling unit and they make/rebuild them themselves.

Has anyone purchased from Dads before? I tried searching for reviews but came up empty.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The cooling unit should be silent, so any gurgling is bad news. Never heard of Dad's, so can't help you there.

 

[Matt_C]

Jay,
My bother in law swears that if any absorption reefer has not leaked, it can be save by leaving it upside down for a day, then turning it upright and waiting another day, then turn on the heat source for the third day and it should be good again.
I have never had reason to do this, but for the cost, it would be worth trying....
Matt

 

[JayArr]

I have tried that and in my case it did not work.

 

[Matt_C]

Jay,
Well, at least you gave it a try....
Matt

 

[JayArr]

Well, I bought a unit from RV Cooling Unit Warehouse. It's an Amish rebuilt and man does it work great!

I installed the cooling unit on Saturday and then reinstalled the fridge yesterday, I plugged it in with the thermostat set to '5'.

This morning I went out and the lower refrigerator portion is at -15C (5F) good thing I didn't put any beer in there!

I've turned it down to 1, we'll see if it will come up to a reasonable temp for groceries.

I still have to try it out on gas.

 

[John From Detroit]

Well, I bought a unit from RV Cooling Unit Warehouse. It's an Amish rebuilt and man does it work great!

I installed the cooling unit on Saturday and then reinstalled the fridge yesterday, I plugged it in with the thermostat set to '5'.

Same source. Replaced and re-installed same day.. Set to 3, went to dinner with the installer (The RV Girl) since it was late and I way did not feel like making dinner for me I told her "you drive and I'll pay" and so we "Split" the dinner... Good dinner. She choose a diner I like and otherwise a good time was had by all. It was cold when we got back.

I liked that.

 

[JayArr]

OK, new problem... I've got the unit set to '1' and the refrigerator section is still way below zero.

I've read about some fridges that used the position of the thermocouple to vary the temp. IIRC the position from top to bottom on the cooling fins changed the temp. I need to come up about 15F, should I move my thermocouple up or down?

 

[John From Detroit]

To increase temp move it down
Why? Warm air rises so absent a fan to circulate the closer to the bottom the colder the air.

 

[Utclmjmpr]

Also known as a Thermistor.>>>D

 

[Utclmjmpr]

I recently went thru the RV fridge syndrome,, it decided after 24 years to die,, and a new unit is over $1700.00 plus shipping,, new coils are about $800.00 plus shipping,, and a brand new Frigidaire residential was $700.00 out the door and was a perfect fit with a whole lot more inside space..
I have 400 watts of solar on the roof and a 3000 watt inverter with a six battery bank that I had installed 6 years ago,, so was all set for this to happen... LOVE IT, (AND MOMA IS HAPPY TOO)..>>>Dan

 

[JayArr]

Well it turned out it was a simpler fault than I thought, when I reassembled the fridge I didn't get the end of the shaft from the thermostat properly engaged so I wasn't really adjusting anything at all. All fixed now.

 

[Lawrence C. Osborne]

Good to hear about this. My fridge also has the same issue of temperature drop and everything is freezing. My refrigerator is a little old one which is almost 12 years.
I thought that the problem is with the thermostat. So I have put the knob to the highest setting and heard a click sound. Then I moved to check the thermistor using a multimeter with the help of my friend and he has told me that it's not functioning. I also think there is a problem with the temperature control board. I decided to replace the refrigerator and contacted a fridge disposal service. I just only contacted the disposal team but doesn't have a deal on the agreement. Now I'm in a confusion that whether the replacement of the temperature control board solves the problem without disposing of it.