rvman Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Hi, i have a 1988 Dometic refrigerator 2 way. i plugged it in for the first time in 4 years. it made a sound that sounded like boiling water. is that normal. is there a specific way of turning it on. HELP!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Probably so, your boiling Ammonia. Make sure the fridge is level. JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvman Posted April 5, 2013 Author Share Posted April 5, 2013 I got it on the most level ground i could. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 Standing in front of the fridge with the door open, the fridge should be level sided to side, put a small level on the floor of the freezer section. The way the fridge is mounted in most of our Toyhouses, this equates to the truck being level front to back. Is the fridge getting cold? This can take 1/2 hour. feel the fins in the back of the freezer. JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 OH YAH, From the outside; Open up the hatch, get a flashlight and look up, you'll see fins up near the roof. make sure birds or critters haven't built nests on top of the fins. It may be easier to take the roof vent cover off and look down. Most of the fridge roof covers are destroyed from ultraviolet (sunlight), so you may need a new one if you try and take it off, it will be brittle and crack. I think these are about $20 for one of the Camco universal Fridge vent covers. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 That does not sound good they should not make noises. Like John said make sure the condenser and the vent is not blocked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvman Posted April 6, 2013 Author Share Posted April 6, 2013 I will check that out ASAP! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanAatTheCape Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 Some people added a little fan inside the box to circulate air. Other than that I would not expect any sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmowrey Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 Standing in front of the frig with the door open, the frig should be level sided to side, put a small level on the floor of the freezer section. The way the frig is mounted in most of our Toyhouses, this equates to the truck being level front to back. Is the frig getting cold? This can take 1/2 hour. fell the fins in the back of the freezer. JOhn Mc 88 Dlphin 4 Auto The newbie here, with no RV experience. I'll be picking up my first ever Dolphin in Michigan in May. How critical is this business of leveling the fridge? Does it have to be spot on, or just more or less level. Also, what about when you're tooling around seeing the sights and you park some place to go for a hike or what not? Is the leveling exercise one that should become ritual at every stopping point? How long can you be parked out of level before it begins to damage the fridge? Thanks! Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 The newbie here, with no RV experience. I'll be picking up my first ever Dolphin in Michigan in May. How critical is this business of leveling the fridge? Does it have to be spot on, or just more or less level. Also, what about when you're tooling around seeing the sights and you park some place to go for a hike or what not? Is the leveling exercise one that should become ritual at every stopping point? How long can you be parked out of level before it begins to damage the fridge? Thanks! Joe Leveling is not critical in regard to damaging the fridge. You are not going to hurt it running off level. It just needs to be fairly level to cool properly. If you camp with it a bit cockeyed, it just won't reach the max temp it would if perfectly level. If very cockeyed, it won't cool at all. . If it's a 100 degree F summer day, its turned to max cooling and still not very cold - then it will matter. In regard to driving - unless you are on the salt-flats - it's likely the truck is constantly changing it's degree and direction of level and the fridge's coolant sloshes around and does fine. It equates to being level "on average" while driving and sloshing. We never camp in campgrounds with "groomed" landing pads. We're always on very crooked ground. We've always managed to get by with a somewhat crooked LP fridge but I personally prefer an electric compressor frige. We've found that when our camper is too crooked to run an LP fridge - it's also too crooked to sleep in. Either I keep rolling into my wife, or vice-versa. I know there are bad absorption refrigerators out there but I do not know what happens to them to become unrepairable.. I have over a dozen of them and all have worked fine over many years. Many are very rusty in back from NY state and Michigan road-salt coming into the vents and they are still fine. I got my first one used around 1973 and have used it in many RVs and it has just about NEVER been level. Every once in awhile it gets a mud-wasp nest in the burner or a bad thermocouple - and maybe a plugged burner jet. But those are the only problems I've ever had and they are minor. Mud-wasps are the biggest issue around here for LP refrigerators and furnaces. I brought two Dometics home from the junkyard a few weeks ago and they had been laying outside, in the snow, all winter. I got them both going and working fine. Plugged burners and bad electric switches on both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Running off level is the main reason for cooling unit failure. These guys fixed mine and RV fridges are all they do. http://www.gasrefrigeration.net/why%20they%20fail.htm Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 You have an 88, you should be OK. The newer models (around 82) are less finicky about level. I have two small bubble levels in the truck, one on the door post and one on the dash. When I park, I try and get it as level as a I can (front to back more important than side to side), I can get it closer than two marks on the bubble levelShort stops will be OK, if your overnight, try and get it level, If your parked long term, (weeks, months) and you plan on operating the frig, get it level, .John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvman Posted April 7, 2013 Author Share Posted April 7, 2013 so i got it level front to back and it was still making that sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 so i got it level front to back and it was still making that sound. Read the link I posted and it tells what the gurgle sound is, post 11. Once it's gurgling I don't think you can save it. Need new cooling unit. I just bought one on ebay from a place in Arkansas. Really good place. This is their website. Price was a little cheaper on ebay but can't find any right now http://rvicebox.com/CUPricing.htm Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 The newbie here, with no RV experience. I'll be picking up my first ever Dolphin in Michigan in May. How critical is this business of leveling the fridge? Does it have to be spot on, or just more or less level. Also, what about when you're tooling around seeing the sights and you park some place to go for a hike or what not? Is the leveling exercise one that should become ritual at every stopping point? How long can you be parked out of level before it begins to damage the fridge? Thanks! Joe The manufactures say if you are comfortable the fridge is. Me it drives me nuts if it's even slightly off level but I have seen people that would need a seat belt to stay in bed at night. I would suggest reading the info from the site that linda s posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 The manufactures say if you are comfortable the fridge is. Me it drives me nuts if it's even slightly off level but I have seen people that would need a seat belt to stay in bed at night. I would suggest reading the info from the site that linda s posted. My Trav'ler Japanese-made absorbtion refrigerator says in manual that anything over a 10% incline might cause overheating of the boiiler and cause unrepairable blockage. 10% is a lot and I can't imagine someone trying to camp that way. My British-made Dometic says the desired operatng range is level to 3 degrees off-level side-to-side and 6 degrees off level is OK front-to-back. I can't speak for anyone else but my wife and I will roll into each other at angles that surpass that (and not in a fun way). Absorbtion refrigerators have silent percolators as part of the system and it sounds like this guy's frige is "percolating". more then usual. I had one do something that sounds similar. It has not been used for over 10 years. I unbolted it and shook it. Then put it back in and it's worked fine ever since. I've "digitally" vistited a few cooler repair places and all I've seen state that the vast majority of failed units had leaks caused by rust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 I always figure that if it's 'so level' that you need to use a 'spirit level' to see 'how level', it's 'level enough' for me and that I'll be 'comfortable' (as Dometic says) and well within the '3 degrees' (as Norcold says). 3 degrees out of level would be the equivalent of getting it perfectly level and then jacking up one end ~7" (on a 137" WB). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmowrey Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Thanks to all for the replies about the frig. I'll rest easier now as concerns the leveling protocols. Cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Number 2 cause other then rust, I got to believe some one that repairs them I sure they would rather you didn't level them they make more money that way. "Never believe the stories that the newer units do not need to be run level? They are made to run more off-level than the older units BUT there is still a point where they will stop working. Always try to level you RV, as best you can, and if you have to park for a long time and cannot level the unit, shut down the refrigerator. It will keep the food cold for hours. Most of the newer units we repair have all been run unleveled and cracked the boiler. (This can be a very costly mistake)" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Advice on how not to break your fridge is not really scheming to make more money. These guys don't even start replacing the cooling unit until they have checked all the electrics to make sure that's not the problem. The newer fridges that don't require as much leveling didn't come out until the 90's so pretty much all of our toy homes have the older ones unless you have replaced it. Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 Advice on how not to break your fridge is not really scheming to make more money. These guys don't even start replacing the cooling unit until they have checked all the electrics to make sure that's not the problem. The newer fridges that don't require as much leveling didn't come out until the 90's so pretty much all of our toy homes have the older ones unless you have replaced it. Linda S Not my point the guys that repair them know what breaks them the quote was from their web site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rigger camper Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 I just replaced my domestic 2400 with a norcold n300. I got the work done at lodgemobile in Burbank. They did a nice job shining for the slightly smaller fridge and he sold me a previously dented unit that he repaired. Only charged $600 and I feel that's more than fair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 I have bubble levels. One is mounted on the drivers door pillar, up at eye level so I can just turn my head and see it, leveling the truck front to back. This is the important one.The other is mounted low on the dash and is for side to side, not as important as front to back.Before you install the levels, do what Karin says, or use a regular level and put it in the frig, Move the truck around until the frig is perfectly level both front to back and side to side (from the frigs point of view). The way our frigs are mounted, the trucks "front to back" level is the same as the frig "side to side". Thats why I say the trucks "Front to back" is the most important.Anyway, after you have the frig level, then stick the bubble levels where you can see them from the drivers seat.John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto You can get these at any RV parts supplier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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