American Clipper Owners Club

Tech Forum => Tech Forum => Topic started by: KEYSJUNK on November 01, 2005, 06:40:06 PM

Title: New Dometic Refrigerator problems.
Post by: KEYSJUNK on November 01, 2005, 06:40:06 PM
Purchased a new refrigerator, Jan. 2005. Fits great.  When I first turned it on it worked great.  I was so happy that I could actually turn the thermostat down and get good cooling.  I did not have to turn to max all of the time.  Two months later while out on a trip, it totally shut down.  This is a two-way unit. A/C or gas.  Shut down while on electricity.  Changed to gas same problem.  Finally after sometime it started to work, but does not keep food in the main compartment.  Milk goes bad after three days.  I have taken the unit to two diferent warrantee shops.  They both claim it is working properly.  They check the temperature with the gage next to the cooling fins.  After setting over night. The first opening reads 35-40.  After that it raises to 45-50 deg.  This is in the area of the cooling fins.  At the lower shelf it reads 56-60 deg. After a purhase price of $1100.00. The response from the warrantee shop is these units just don't work that well.  Could someone out there give me your temperature readings in the middle of the box?  Also my old dometic would start to get cool to touch in the freezer compartment about 15 minutes after startup. The new box takes approximately 45 to50 minutes to start to feel cool.
Title: New Dometic Refrigerator problems.
Post by: Horst on November 01, 2005, 08:12:46 PM
man I HATE when stuff like that happens :twisted:

lay out good money for something that doesn't work - and then get the run-around.
Just curious - where did you buy it? Have you contacted them? I'd demand a new unit - not deal with the hassle of some yoyo at a repair shop telling me it's working..............or telling me "well these units just don't work that good........." - for $1100 they better work darn good, and pour me a beer too!!!

You are a much bigger person than I KeysJunk - I'd be going nuts - and I would  be relentless in chasing this down....I'd start with the place I purchased the unit - as well as with Dometic......emails and letter work nicely when properly written.......carefull read your warranty......look for any lemon laws on the unit, or similar units, etc.

Don't stand for it man.............get it replaced, or get your money back!
Title: New Dometic Refrigerator problems.
Post by: bigray on November 01, 2005, 09:12:05 PM
I agree with Horst. Keep in mine that the repair shop doesn't gain much for warranty work so they will tell you almost anything to keep from working on it. Like Horst said call the place you bought it and work it through them.

I have Dometic RM 2510 unit that I installed last year too. I have to admit that it's not as cold as the original one. When it is 90 plus degrees outside it's hard to keep that puppy ice cool. The newer models have less insulation than the older ones. When I installed it I could tell there was less insulation but figured the new age stuff was lighter and better. NOT!!! It probably would keep much cooler if I would have added some of the foam that they used for insulation when building houses.

But to answer your question, I don't know what my inside temp is as my Clipper is in storage. However, it will vary depending on the ambiant temperature.

PS: what model frig do you have?
Title: Dometic ref.
Post by: KEYSJUNK on April 14, 2006, 06:13:17 PM
I can finally report that my cooling problems have been resolved.  After three Dometic service centers telling me that I did not have a problem, I wrote twice to the manufactor and complained with no response, except that they did not have enough information to resolve the claim.  I wrote to them with a demand to either fix it or send my money back. My next step was to file legal action.  I received a phone call from Dometic and it was fixed with a new cooling unit.  My unit now will drop to 24 degrees in the food compartment.
Title: New Dometic Refrigerator problems.
Post by: Horst on April 14, 2006, 08:45:57 PM
good job keysjunk!
Sometimes you have to be persistent.
Having the Internet as a "tool" helps as well as far as telling people you will start advertising their crapy work or product!

Glad it turned out well