Anyone convert their fridge from Absorbtion Compressor?

wopachop said:
Does your model use the temp probe on the fins, or a temperature knob? 

A big issue with these absorbtion fridges is a mistake by the installers. On the back of the fridge are cooling fins. The design approach is that natural convection will draw cooler air up passed the fins drawing heat away.

Problem is there is often too big of gap between the fins and the back wall. So even after you installed those (2) 10" fans all that air just went around the fins. Ive read the fix is to add sheets of foam behind the fridge so the gap is closer to spec. My manual lists the gap as being no bigger than around 1". 

I was able to climb on my roof and look down to see the fins and the gap to the wall. I bet you could remove your top vent and use a small mirror to look down. If you see a 2-3" gap between the fins and the wall that could be your issue. 

If your model fridge uses the temp probe there are other tricks for that. You can disconnect the probe at the back of the fridge and test its resistance to confirm its working. THat would be ideal if your probe is broken. $20 fix and youre back to 37 degree fridge temps. 

Its been high 90s around here. My fridge used to struggle big time. I keep thermometers inside the fridge and by habit look every time i open it. Never gets over 40F anymore. 

One simple trick is to cut a piece of carboard the width of the fridge and about 1 foot tall. Place that at the bottom of the fridge to catch cold air. Its similar to a chest freezer. Open the door without all the cold air falling out. I recently made a mod to that idea. Now i have more of a drape version. Made from a long strip of packing foam. Its like what you see in a warehouse with those plastic strips a forklift can drive though. But it traps some of the cold air.
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I am going to look into this over the weekend. One of the big issues is there is a large open cavity above the vent and I think hot air is pooling around there and cannot escape. I need to block off the cavity and see if it helps on air flow.

 
Spent 15 years with the gas electric and when we ordered the new coach I actually argued with the salesman about whether to order it with the residential or gas electric. 
 

first time I am happy that I lost an argument, salesman talked the wife into the residential and I will never go back. We do have LiFePo batteries so your experience may vary but we have never had to run the genny to charge due to fridge consumption. The storage space is amazing and the freezer stays below around 10*.  Doesn’t matter if it is 70 or 110, the fridge just works. 

 
Our next coach will have a residential refer. The Dometic gas/electric in our last unit was a PIA.

 
r3meyer said:
Tons of folks on IRV2 have done this conversion.  Looks simple enough.
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I joined this website and was reading around the tech sections. 

Learned that the electric element of the absorbtion fridge can begin to fail and not heat properly. 

It ends up being able to cool the freezer, but not enough energy to cool the fridge. 

With time it can damage the boiler. 

The test is easy. Either measure the amount of amps the element pulls. Or even better disconnect the element and measure the resistance. Its easy to access from the back of the fridge. 

I plan to test my soon just as part of regular maintenance.

Im guessing the OP fridge problem most likely also happens on propane, since we are glamis campers. But thought it was good info to pass on anyway.

 
The Dometic Fride is the Best one you can buy from Dometic, and it sucks,  it works perfect if you never open the doors,      

I have added fans, modified the outside vent to specs from Dometic,  inside Fridge fix, i have done it all, on the hot days in death valley (Dumont) it will not go below 38* and if the kids open the door and stare into for a moment it goes to 43*

I have planned on replacing it for some time now, 

this is what i have looked at 

True RV fridge 

FURRION    $1900

Looks  Odd for me more looking at Yacht style 

Furrion RV Refrigerator - 4 Door - Black - 14 Cu Ft Furrion RV Refrigerators FCR14ACBQABL (etrailer.com)

120V  bolts in like a RV fridge   Black or Stainless

for me this will work the best, one is smaller than my RV fridge and the other is taller,  both are less in depth, 

HAIER $1100

unlike a Samsung the doors and very shallow on the side like a RV fridge so it does not take up a lot of room, 

Haier 16.4 cu. ft. Quad French Door Freezer Refrigerator in Fingerprint Resistant Stainless Steel QHE16HYPFS (homedepot.com)

HAIER $1600

super small, inside is bigger than my RV fridge but outside is very small, 

Haier 15-cu ft 4-Door Counter-depth French Door Refrigerator (Stainless Steel) in the French Door Refrigerators department at Lowes.com

NORCOOL  $5500

the new Norcool has fixed the RV issues,  it now runs a fan from the freezer to the fridge like a residential fridge 

this might be the best if yo want to spend the coin 

Norcold PolarMax Refrigerator Model 2118SS with Stainless Steel Doors | Camping World

NORCOOL $4000

New Compressor Fridge, runs on 12V 

Norcold POLAR® ELITE Stainless Steel - 15 Cu. Ft. N15DCSS – United RV

I am putting the HAIER in mine, think it makes the most logic,         Then using a TRANSFER-SWITCH inverter just for the fridge,  this will auto go to 110V when plugged in or gennie running, 

 
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I am starting to look more into the residential units. My question is how do you mount them to the trailer? Can’t find any videos that show that. 

 
Carwashguru said:
I am starting to look more into the residential units. My question is how do you mount them to the trailer? Can’t find any videos that show that. 
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I removed the wheels from the bottom, and then built a wooden base in the cabinet because even after removing the wheels the base of the fridge is still not flat, the hinge is still lower then the base of the fridge. It's no biggie, just a piece of 3/4 plywood. After the fridge is in position I made 2 "L" brackets that bolt to the rear of the fridge and to the floor of the cabinet. Then another "L" bracket on the top using the bolt holes in the fridge that are provided to move the hinge to the opposite side. That was already pretty damn solid, but I like to overdo chit, so I also put hooks in the floor of the cabinet and put a ratchet strap over the fridge and snugged it up. All of this is hidden by the trim that goes around the fridge. The new fridge is a few inches shorter, and 5 inches narrower. The top and bottom got a trim I made from aluminum sheet, and painted gloss black, blends so well with the new fridge it looks like it is part of it. The side got a strip of matching wood. (Actually it got a strip that does not quite match, so I'll replace it)

All in all, it's straight forward, nothing crazy, and definitely worth the time....

 
Looney Duner said:
I removed the wheels from the bottom, and then built a wooden base in the cabinet because even after removing the wheels the base of the fridge is still not flat, the hinge is still lower then the base of the fridge. It's no biggie, just a piece of 3/4 plywood. After the fridge is in position I made 2 "L" brackets that bolt to the rear of the fridge and to the floor of the cabinet. Then another "L" bracket on the top using the bolt holes in the fridge that are provided to move the hinge to the opposite side. That was already pretty damn solid, but I like to overdo chit, so I also put hooks in the floor of the cabinet and put a ratchet strap over the fridge and snugged it up. All of this is hidden by the trim that goes around the fridge. The new fridge is a few inches shorter, and 5 inches narrower. The top and bottom got a trim I made from aluminum sheet, and painted gloss black, blends so well with the new fridge it looks like it is part of it. The side got a strip of matching wood. (Actually it got a strip that does not quite match, so I'll replace it)

All in all, it's straight forward, nothing crazy, and definitely worth the time....
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That is legit right there!

 
I just installed the JC Refrigeration Dual Compressor on my Norcold 1200 about two weeks ago. It has worked great and with dual compressor you can control Fridge & freezer temps independently.  The install was pretty straight forward. Was just at the river in 115 degree heat all week and we had hard ice cream in the freezer. 

Only issue is that when on Inverter power, the fridge is pulling 25 amps which is a lot and it appears that my inverter (original xantrex) is sucking a lot of power for the inverting to 120volt. 

I did not go the residential route because I did not want to mess with have to redo out fridge compartment opening. 

 
Onetime12 said:
I just installed the JC Refrigeration Dual Compressor on my Norcold 1200 about two weeks ago. It has worked great and with dual compressor you can control Fridge & freezer temps independently.  The install was pretty straight forward. Was just at the river in 115 degree heat all week and we had hard ice cream in the freezer. 

Only issue is that when on Inverter power, the fridge is pulling 25 amps which is a lot and it appears that my inverter (original xantrex) is sucking a lot of power for the inverting to 120volt. 

I did not go the residential route because I did not want to mess with have to redo out fridge compartment opening. 
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I thought those were 12v DC units.

 
I guess I should ad, my residential fridge only pulls 10 amps from my battery bank. And because the higher efficiency, and better temp retention, it doesn't run very often. 

 
If anyone is reading this but the price seems a bit stiff you could do a hybrid version that has added benefits. 

For me this time of year the hardest part of food storage is the pantry. Insides of my cabinets get over 100F when the outside temp is high 90s. 

A lot of items like olive oil and tomatoes i dont want to put in the fridge. 

During the summer you could use a $150 3cu ft mini fridge to keep meats and dairy in the safe temp zone. 

Let the RV fridge run warm in the 45-50F range and turn that into your pantry. 

Then use the RV freezer as normal. If you drink beer make ice in the freezer to keep your cooler of beer cold. 

If youre not feeding a family of kids it could work well and is cheap. Use the spare mini fridge at home if you are having company and need fridge room.

 
Onetime12 said:
I just installed the JC Refrigeration Dual Compressor on my Norcold 1200
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Damn, those must be new.  They didn't have dual compressors when I bought mine a year ago.  I would much rather have that...

 
Onetime12 said:
I just installed the JC Refrigeration Dual Compressor on my Norcold 1200 about two weeks ago. It has worked great and with dual compressor you can control Fridge & freezer temps independently.  The install was pretty straight forward. Was just at the river in 115 degree heat all week and we had hard ice cream in the freezer. 

Only issue is that when on Inverter power, the fridge is pulling 25 amps which is a lot and it appears that my inverter (original xantrex) is sucking a lot of power for the inverting to 120volt. 

I did not go the residential route because I did not want to mess with have to redo out fridge compartment opening. 
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How difficult was the overall installation?

 
Carwashguru said:
How difficult was the overall installation?
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Overall it went much better than I expected, pulled out the fridge on Friday night and then had it stripped down Saturday morning, installed the new system with the help of my son to get it lined up. Only problem was with the wiring and that could have been me overthinking with some of the original wiring, couldn't figure it out. Turned out  it was supposed to be removed but it did not show it in the manual. Had it installed and turned on Saturday evening. 

The only issues as mentioned before is the high amp draw when on inverter power but this seems to be an issue with my inverter, just have not been able to get in there with an amp meter to see where exactly the high draw is. When it is on shore power/gen power, amp draw is as advertised.

 We chose this route as we did not want to cut up the cabinet to fit the resi fridge and do not need the capacity. 

 
Onetime12 said:
Overall it went much better than I expected, pulled out the fridge on Friday night and then had it stripped down Saturday morning, installed the new system with the help of my son to get it lined up. Only problem was with the wiring and that could have been me overthinking with some of the original wiring, couldn't figure it out. Turned out  it was supposed to be removed but it did not show it in the manual. Had it installed and turned on Saturday evening. 

The only issues as mentioned before is the high amp draw when on inverter power but this seems to be an issue with my inverter, just have not been able to get in there with an amp meter to see where exactly the high draw is. When it is on shore power/gen power, amp draw is as advertised.

 We chose this route as we did not want to cut up the cabinet to fit the resi fridge and do not need the capacity. 
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When you did the conversion, did you have to run new power and ground wires? I ran a new 10 gauge power wire but still cannot get the freezer compressor to kick on. The fridge compressor works great and no issues. 

 
I purchased the 120 volt so I just plugged into the dual plugs in the back. 

 
Turns out that you have to run 10awg wire for both power and ground. Once I did that the unit worked great. Cools down to temp in about two hours. Definitely worth the investment 

 
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