Dometic RM 2350 Fridge!!!

Might be a simple fix...

There is a report on the Engle here at: www.westernbelle.com. Not a good write up I feel.

Ozrover, sounds like you may have a gas ignition problem, cant be very serious
or expensive to fix, compared to replacing it with an Engel. The beauty of a 3 way
is its efficiency & long running when on gas when camped more than overnight.
I have nothing against an Engel but find my old 3 Way more adaptable & despite
all the criticism of their 12 volt performance , it performs perfectly when wired
adequately to prevent voltage drop. A 5mm wire is not good enough. You need
6 sq mm if connected over 3 metres from battery. Your choice of course, but I
wouldnt give up on the Dometic until you see it work properly...oldbaz

Hi Jeff - we have had 2 of these models, and they are brilliant.
Been to Central OZ; Frazer; and many places inbetween - fridge works well.

As you probably know, all 3 way fridges work as heat pumps.
The heat to drive it comes from either 240V, 12V or Gas.
If it works great on 240V, it proves the basic fridge is fine.
So - on 12V the most common problem is too thin wiring leading to voltage drop.
Check out this article by Collyn Rivers - look at Refrigeration 12V and Wiring woes.
Site Link

On Gas - All modern gas appliances have a cut-off device, hence the reason you have to hold down the gas button (for up to 60 seconds) while pressing the ignite button. The gas can take time to travel from the bottle to the fridge, and if you release the button before it is fully operational, the cut-out will turn the gas off.
The needle swings into the green range when alight, but still hold the gas button another 10 seconds, to ensure it stays alight. No doubt you checked the simple things - Bottle full; gas tap on; regulator working.

As above, do not give up on the fridge - it is a very reliable model. Check the wiring ( in the camper I owned, and now the pop-top, I replaced the wiring with MUCH heavier gauge - see Collyns articles.) For the gas, perhaps try at home, and just hold the gas button in for longer to ensure the flame is well alight, so the cut-out doesn't activate.

To make it a truly brilliant fridge, attach a Jaycar thermostat (50deg normally open) wired to a 12V computer fan. This fridge will freeze your lettuce on a normal day.
..............................Keith

We have an RM2350 in our Jayco Eagle.

It works better on gas than 240 volts, so you have a gas problem. Get it fixed and all will be well. It could be as simple as spiders nesting in the gas outlet and not letting the flame burn properly.

However, the RM2350 is only rated ST and struggles in hot weather. Above 30 and it will only hold about 5C, no matter what the thermostat setting when running on 240. It will still maintain less than this on Gas. Once it gets to 40 ambient, even on Gas it will struggle to stay below 10.

It's only on add occasions that it is a problem, and we carry a compressor fridge fridge in the car to keep the dangerous stuff cold.

Thanks all.

I haven't quite given up on the fridge yet!

There are a few good suggestions there which I will follow up on before scrapping it.

Just a bit frustrated at spending $18000 on a camper & the bl@@dy fridge doesn't work properly!!

I've already rewired the fridge to run off the on board battery, which I also replaced with a 105 ah AGM REMCO.

The only thing that I haven't done is to run a heavier wire to the fridge, the original wire from the factory looks to be about 14 gauge.

I might just pull it out again & get it serviced, & run heavier wire from the battery & see what happens!!

3 way fridges are usually better on gas than 240 volt and 12 volt is nigh on useless.

I've given up using mine on 12volt EVER. I just don't switch it to 12 volt at all, as I got caugt once with brand new, but very, very flat AGM battery. For the gain it just ain't worth the pain. It ruined my early morning breakfast beer!!

Where it's working well on 240 volt, gas problems include:

The Piezzo Ignition lighter has had the bomb - cheap to replace - once you've got access to the rear of the fridge.

Blocked burner - usually a spider web in the burner or the air aspiration hole. Simple to do, but as above - acess to the rear of the fridge. Blockage can also be caused by craapp in the LPG gas - it can be cleaned, Acess to the rear is required.

I wired a 12 volt computer fan to the TOP of the rear heat vents to suck out the hot air - made a lot of difference to the efficiency.

You will never achieve more than 28 Celcius differential between the ambient air temperature and the frdge internal compartment - simple chemistry dictates this.

Like Jimbo above we carry a 12 volt compressor fridge/freezer in the back of the truck.

But 3 way fridges are generally simple and bullet proof.

Bilbo

Ozrover
Other threads have advised that it is very important that Gas/Electric Fridges need to be dead set level to operate on gas.

eerfree

Jeff - many camper/van installations include a separate tap in the gas line under the camper, just before it goes up to the fridge. Technical reason - GOK.
Worth checking if it has this tap, and that it is turned on.
As for level, they do need to be reasonably level, but there have been many times where we bush camped, and the unit was definitely not level. (we use one of those triangular twin-bubble levels screwed to the drawbar).
Adding a 12V computer fan at the top of the fins to remove the hot air is a major improvement - (installed them on both the camper and pop-top,) but most of the time I leave it off, as it really does freeze the fruit/veg. Only on our desert trips do I switch the fan on. (Same model fridge as yours).
Our basic procedure is : 240V the night before we leave, to get the refrigerants circulating. Next day - pack the fridge, connect camper to car, and turn onto 12V. While the 12V is not brilliant, it will definitely hold the temp the fridge is at for a full days driving. (Running on 12V also means you do not have to check if the wind has blown the flame out. It also removes any concern when refueling etc.) When arrived at campsite, turn over to gas.
......................Keith

Each gas appliance must have its own stop cock in the gas line so that one appliance is able to be removed and still have the gas system operable.

You did not state whether the camper is new or second hand. If new it is a warranty problem. If second hand it could be gunk in the regulator problem - this is a problem if it has a double regulator and flexible lines. If the stove works with a few burners going then this is not the problem.

It could be a problem of lack of use on gas (previous owner only used on 240 V.) Others have given the tips on what to look out for in this case.

Your fridge is the better one in that size, the slightly larger one (RM 4401) is the one you hear more troubles from. I have not seen to much of a heat problem from your one where the fridge is installed properly - all the problematic ones I have seen have been incorrectly installed.

Do not use your fridge on the camper battery, they are not designed to be run for any time on a battery, you will end up buggering the battery. They are meant to be run from the tow vehicle alternator.

The $1200 you quote for a compressor fridge is only half the cost if you are going to use the fridge for more than a couple of days off power. You will need in excess of 80 W of solar panel and when you add a good regulator you will be up for another +/- $1200.

peterD

OK dumn question but are you sure it is actually lit? I have had 2 and one was not too bad but still a 5 min operation and the other could take over an hour to light.
One was marginal - it would work ok for the first 1/2 of the cylinder and then performance would taper off. The other was next to useless.
In a stroke of pure genius both were fully built in making removel to clean flues/burners more effort thn it was worth.

Our RM 2350 had the same problem. Seems the gas thermostat was blocked. Had it fixed by a 3 way fridge specialist, runs fine on gas now.

Suggest you get it looked at first it may save you $$$ later.