jfunk Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 I have a 1990 Dolphin with a fridge (Dometic RM 2401) that is not working. I plugged it in to electric while the RV was on power and it "ran" but did not get cold. Also lit the propane and ran with that on max cold and it did not get cold. After running a bit I opened the door to the fridge and could smell ammonia. I mentioned this and was told that any ammonia smell means the unit is dead. After this I was told: Try this before you buy a new one,, Take the refrigerator out of the RV, Turn it upside down and let it stand for for 24 hours. Many times the ammonia gets clogged up preventing a free flow. I am going to give this a try as either way the fridge needs to come out as I have an AC dorm style fridge I plan to put in there and use with an inverter. I am wondering if anyone has advice on the easiest/best way to remove the unit. I am particularly concerned about the gas line. My plan was to turn off the propane at the tank and then unhook the fridge, but I am not sure the proper way to cap the pipe or hose that runs to the fridge if there is no valve there. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 The 'normal' easiest/best way to remove is through the cab passenger door after removing the seat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 as far as I know tipping them upside down was to try to clear a clogged line. if you smelled ammonia the unit is dead it has a leak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Smell = dead fridge turning it upside down will just allow you to see the bottom of the fridge. A hardware store will have a 3/8 pipe plug that you can screw in the fitting for the fridge be sure to check it with soapy water after you install it. There are several co's that sell rebuilt cooling units that is an option some thing around $400 and some do it your self labor.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snail powered Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 I have a 1990 Dolphin with a fridge (Dometic RM 2401) that is not working. I plugged it in to electric while the RV was on power and it "ran" but did not get cold. Also lit the propane and ran with that on max cold and it did not get cold. After running a bit I opened the door to the fridge and could smell ammonia. I mentioned this and was told that any ammonia smell means the unit is dead. After this I was told: I am going to give this a try as either way the fridge needs to come out as I have an AC dorm style fridge I plan to put in there and use with an inverter. I am wondering if anyone has advice on the easiest/best way to remove the unit. I am particularly concerned about the gas line. My plan was to turn off the propane at the tank and then unhook the fridge, but I am not sure the proper way to cap the pipe or hose that runs to the fridge if there is no valve there. Thanks! The gas line from the tank screws into a fitting on the fridge. You will need to go to a hardware store and buy a brass gas line threaded cap that matches the thread type and diameter and use that to cap off the end of the line. Or you might be able to get one from your local RV repair shop. Of course you should do the soapy water check for leaks after you put the cap over the end. Its a pretty easy job, hardest part is finding the right size cap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 I have a perfectly working 3 way dometic from my 1986 sunrader that my wife and I are thinking about removing and setting up at our cabin as an out door fridge off a grill tank; the extra space should allow more room gear etc. I was also "toy - ing" with the idea of getting rid of the entire oven to install a small dorm fridge and carry a suitcase stove to cook outside instead. The toy oven sucks. No top heat wont even cook a pizza decently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob C Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Gas ovens do not have any top heat. The heat comes from the burner under the oven compartment. This is true of RV and residential gas ovens. I have good luck cooking pizzas in the Toyhouse oven. I preheat the oven for 15 minutes, start cooking the pizza on the bottom rack and then put the pizza on the top rack for a couple of minutes when it is almost done cooking. The top gets nicely browned and I get a crispy crust. If you don't preheat the oven, you get a mushy pizza. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfunk Posted August 9, 2015 Author Share Posted August 9, 2015 Fridge indeed was dead Thanks Derek up North for the advice on removing the unit, it would have taken me a long time to figure that out Put a small dorm fridge in where the old unit was. Need to add some structure around it to secure the fridge, but am excited I may have some new storage space around it since it is so much smaller. For the moment I used a 3/8" plug to cap the gas line. I would really like to terminate the line at the stove, but not sure how to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 It will involve some new copper the plug should work fine for you just be sure there are no leaks. It's not much pressure but it still needs to be checked for leaks just as one would do with new copper line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgragert Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 I would be interested in how that Magic Chef fridge works out, I have the same one and was thinking of replacing the one in my Dolphin with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 The dorm refer installs have had varying degrees of success. The better one the owner installed extra foam around the sides and top of the unit to super insulate the back and cut down on the time the compressor was running letting the battery last longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanAatTheCape Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 I replaced my 2410 5 years ago. got one from ppl. I turned the tank valve closed, screwed the line. took out the screw holding it in (after some tugging and pulling realized one screw went thru the electrical socket mount) and slid it out quite easily. Passenger seat out (4 bolts) and it went right out the door. If you had the ammonia smell of death I highly recommend you review the operations guidelines explaining why ammonia/ hydrogen frigs have to be operated in the level when the vehicle is not in motion. As for switching to a dorm fridge, that would be ok if you are not going to need it cold while the vehicle is in motion & you can plug into 120vac whenever you do want it cold. I considered but decided it was not for me. http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-refrigerators/compact-fridge-rm2410.jpg picture of my unit. not sure if the exact model is still available... http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-refrigerators/americana-fridge-single.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 As for switching to a dorm fridge, that would be ok if you are not going to need it cold while the vehicle is in motion & you can plug into 120vac whenever you do want it cold. Using a dorm refrigerator while driving is no more of an issue then using a three-way while driving. Just run it with an inverter. Had a cheap Samsung dorm refrigerator in one of my RVs for years and it worked out fine. I had a dedicated inverter to run it all the time, while driving and when parked. Had 2" of foam around it and it used little power. I had two 120 AH "house" batteries and never had any "dead battery issues". We'd park and camp - watch a 32" LCD TV with a DVD player, use lights, water, refrigerator, sometimes the gas furnace - and never lacked DC power. Norcold did the same for years with their OEM RV "DC" refrigerators. They were actually AC refrigerators with on-board, hard-wired DC to AC inverters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Here's the "dorm" refrigerator I used for 5-6 years. Paid $25 for it at a yard sale. Put it into my 1986 Chevy 4WD Hallmark pop-up roof RV. How many turbo-diesel 4WD RVs have you seen with the ability to plow snow? I did a lot of mods to it and finally got fed up. Best fuel mileage was 15.4 MPG @ 60 MPH. I had been hoping for more. While in New York and diesel usually a full dollar more per gallon then reg. gasoline - I finally sold it. That refrigerator never skipped a beat and we did a lot of severe off-road camping with it. Refrigerator had a foam wall around it. Even the access door had a 2nd door-panel that had foam and slid off. We put it on the front of the refrigerator when traveling or sleeping. This setup used, on average around 2 amps per hour @ 12 volts DC. I had two 120 AH "house batteries. In theory - they could run that refrigerator for two days straight with no recharge needed and only be down to 50% discharge. That never happened. We never stay anywhere without starting the engine for more then a day. Starting the engine recharged the batteries pretty quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 ^ now that Thayer is a Michigan camper. I see them up north all the time near Caddy. the snowplow with the truck camper look is definitely sheik up there in Oct-Nov. needs a deer strapped to the blade on front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.