If you have gaps to fill, use closed cell polyurethane foam insulation and you will reduce the power consumption.
Cheers,
Peter

As said above, add insulation. Also good air flow for through the condenser. Access to clean dust off condenser after each trip.

 

What I did to my fridge:

 

https://thegreynomads.activeboard.com/t65059593/extra-fridge-insulation-wattage-test/

The issue we have had twice with our Dometic unit is that the system tubes block up, it only partially works in the freezer for a couple of days then goes totally off.

We have tried it on gas (recommended) and taken it on a long bumpy trip (twice) as also recommended to try to dislodge the blockage with nothing happening.

We have been told that it could be caused by the caravan being stored at a not "perfect" level, the caravan is barely off level so we are very disappointed that this has happened again and that is why we are asking the Grey Nomad Community who has replaced their three way unit with a compressor unit.

brandchampion wrote:

---

The issue we have had twice with our Dometic unit is that the system tubes block up, it only partially works in the freezer for a couple of days then goes totally off.

We have tried it on gas (recommended) and taken it on a long bumpy trip (twice) as also recommended to try to dislodge the blockage with nothing happening.

We have been told that it could be caused by the caravan being stored at a not "perfect" level, the caravan is barely off level so we are very disappointed that this has happened again and that is why we are asking the Grey Nomad Community who has replaced their three way unit with a compressor unit.

---

 Like previously stated our Dometic Fridge pooped itself 4 times. 

We heard every theory known to man as to why it did. 

We had a fan installed to assist with cooling, all it did was flatten our battery.

Basically they are unreliable.

We now stand on one leg with our toes pointing in a Northerly direction before opening the door.

This seems to work well.

My van has two 12 volt Engles fridges. Seems to work okay but 12 volt only.

Hello Adrian,
Having had 2 vans from new with absorption or 3-way fridges, I decided my latest new van would not have the Dometic 3-way the maker was going to fit but it was to have a Dometic 12v-240v compressor fridge.
The maker agreed after some discussion and fitted a Dometic 5208 RUC in place of a Dometic 5208 RUA. I'm more than pleased with the Dometic compressor fridge which performs far better than 3-way fridges in my previous vans.
Cheers,
Roy.

Ahh the joys of 3 way fridges. So much fiddling with them.

My fridge works on 12v permanently through the solar and it goes 24/7.   There is no worrying about switching from one power source to another when you stop by the side of the road and then switching again when you move on and no hooking up to gas (and the added cost).

Makes for a quick pack up when leaving. Turn off the cooking gas, stow the loose items inside and in the case of a motorhone.... go.

If you are travelling daily and topping it up with the alternator in the car then you only need about 80w of solar. or if you park up for weeks then invest in a larger solar and lithium batteries.

I can hear you say and I probably agree to a certain extent, "but you can buy an awful lot of gas for the $4k or so a lithium solar system would cost." But over the ten years its still only $400pa. and you can be fully powered for independent camping as much as you want. You still have the option of a generator to power your Air con, micro and various other 240v appliances if you wish.

-- Edited by msg on Wednesday 6th of April 2022 01:49:57 PM

brandchampion wrote:

---

Hello all,

We would like to hear from any Grey Nomads who have replaced a 3 way Dometic RM2555 refrigerator with a compressor model fridge.

We are having issues for the second time with our Dometic and would like some feedback from members who have replaced their Dometic unit.

Bushman has been suggested, the Dometic CRX140 model does not get very good reviews.

The issue we have noticed is many of the compressor models are smaller in literage and physical size.

What have members done to fill in the void around the new fridge.

We are very new to this area and we are sure there are members with much more experience than us.

---

 Hi, sorry to hear about your disappointing run with your Dometic crx140.

Surely you could locate a small refrigerator mechanic service centres like we have in Brisbane, 2 that I know of, at different times we have used them both, once for a small 3 way and the other for our 12 volt portable compressor refrigerator. 

I personally think changing over the refrigerator from 3 way to a compressor style could be some what expensive where a repair maybe a low cost, with both of our repairs the cost was approximately 12% of a replacement cost of a new unit.

A switch on the 12 volt compressor fridge  and the 240 volt heat element on the 3 way fridge.

Best of luck with your decision. 

brandchampion wrote:

---

The thing is the Dometic RM2555 has twice had blockages in the pipe system, the fridge needs to be removed to repair.

Going with a compressor unit we believe will alleviate certain issues.

One other question for 3 way fridge users, if you are using your caravan for a certain period do you switch the fridge on and run it for a few days on a regular basis to keep the "system" working? We were told literally nothing about how, when etc to run our fridge when we purchased our caravan new, nothing was said about how level the caravan needed to be at all. We are not pleading uneducated ignorance as an excuse but surely this is something that needs to spoken about when you purchase a caravan for the first time?!

---

 Hi, I missed understood.

Our last caravan had RM2555 and it was a pearler of a frig, it would keep the ice cream hard but it is only a small freezer, in some ways a better frig but you will not get the bigger 2 door 184 litre frig of the wife now. She is spoilt.

We generally park up from November to March and we use the frig as a back up over the Christmas period, we only go away for 6 weeks at a time, then a few weeks at home and gone again.

We have never done any ritual with the 3 ways except turn it onto 240volt a day or 2 out before departure and try to chill all products down before loading the frig.

I been told with any refrigeration it should be run whether air conditioning, refrigeration so as not to allow seals to dry out but I am not a professional tradie or worked in those areas.

I did a reasonable amount of refrigerated transport driving, with small amount of service seem to last for every.

 

X2 for Evakool, I got mine at a very reduced rate as a second, only damage was a forklift dint in some underneath galvanised iron, was cosmetic and cant be seen. Have a look on their site for seconds. You still get the full warranty.

www.evakool.com.au/products/factory-specials

Thank you very much for your response.

What model caravan did you replace the 3 way and if it is at possible are you able to e-mail me some photos of the unit to hillsralive@iprimus.com.au?

Regards

Adrian