DJMeeka
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
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UPDATE #2 - Good News!! See my last post for update from Dometic.
I have a Fleetwood E3 with the Dometic 3-way fridge. I bought the trailer new in June 2007. I have a 6 year extended warranty. The fridge has never cooled on LP since it was new. I took it in to an authorized repair facility. They checked it out, said it cooled to 37 degrees at night on AC but during the day it rose to 60 degrees. It never cooled on LP. They called Dometic and Dometic had them email pics of the back of the fridge. They wanted to make sure it was installed correctly, it was. Now Doemtic is saying to temporarily install a fan on the back of the unit to circulate air and see if that works and IT IS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY!! The whole point of a fridge running on LP is to not need electricity. The fan isn't even gaurenteed to solve the problem. So I buy a trailer, the fridge never works and now I have to pay more money to add a fan which is going to kill my battery!!! I am extremely upset with Dometic right now. These Dometic fridges are JUNK!! Very bad customer service.
Both Dometic and Fleetwood are conveniently closed right now being they are on the east coast. Anyone have any ideas on what to do?
Thanks, Darren
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JFG
TN
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I would take the trailer back to your dealer and demand that they either fix it or replace it. Document your problems and send to Fleetwood.
Fred
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wayne_tw
South Dakota/Georgia
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I think Dometic is concerned that not enough air is drawn through the back of the refrigerator and up the roof vent (much like a chimney) to expel the heat. If the units heat is not expelled properly, it will not cool. The fan will either confirm or disprove this theory.
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mike4947
N. Syracuse, NY
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Something we've seen dozens of times. Dometic is right in that it's not a Dometic warranty issue.
It is an installation issue. More than 1/2 of the fridges we've seen/worked on were installed incorrectly to either Norcold or Dometic instructions/standards.
The most common problem is a missing or bad baffle. Which by the way is not part of the fridge, but something required by installation instructions to be fabricated by the installer.
The next most common issue is incorrect vent placement. If the upper vent is not at the top of the rear compartment it will trap hot air above it to the point we've seen counter tops discolored/warped from the heat. This greatly reduces the efficiency of the fridge.
The third and least common installation problem is damaged or missing factory insulation done by the installer.
So in conclusion Fleetwood's warranty should cover the rework/reinstall of the fridge to Dometic's standards.
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He Ruide
Cincinnati Ohio
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Darren,
I understand you not wanting to add a fan which will be a drain on your battery. However, you can add a 12 volt fan like this one from Radio Shack which will only consume 1.9 watts.
Now as others have said, an improvement that you can make is to add a baffle that will force cooler air through the cooling fins. All you need is some 10 inch wide Aluminum Flashing, some aluminum tape, shears and a couple screws and you are in business. Here are pictures on mine. I've not yet added two screws to secure the baffle to the plywood that separates the upper and lower compartment.
Ruide
PS I would suggest that you try the fridge on propane one more time. Make sure both the 12 and 120 volt switches are off and the propane valve is on high. Also confirm that the flame is on by touching the exhaust - it should be warm to the touch.
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DJMeeka
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
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JFG wrote:I would take the trailer back to your dealer and demand that they either fix it or replace it. Document your problems and send to Fleetwood.
I already tried. My dealer claims that they do not work on appliances and that I have to take the trailer to a repair shop down the street. I am documenting and will contact Fleetwood and Dometic on Monday.
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DJMeeka
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
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mike4947 wrote:
It is an installation issue. More than 1/2 of the fridges we've seen/worked on were installed incorrectly to either Norcold or Dometic instructions/standards.
The most common problem is a missing or bad baffle. Which by the way is not part of the fridge, but something required by installation instructions to be fabricated by the installer.
The next most common issue is incorrect vent placement. If the upper vent is not at the top of the rear compartment it will trap hot air above it to the point we've seen counter tops discolored/warped from the heat. This greatly reduces the efficiency of the fridge.
So in conclusion Fleetwood's warranty should cover the rework/reinstall of the fridge to Dometic's standards.
The repair shop I took my trailer to took pictures of the rear of the fridge to verify it was installed correctly and emailed them to Dometic. Dometic was satisfied with the installation.
My question is why do other PUP owners have no problems with their fridges? If the fridge was installed correctly it should work. Other PUP owners actually complain about the fridges freezing things. My fridge only reached 37 degrees at night when outside temps were around 50. During the day (80 degrees) it rose to 60 degrees inside. The fan that Dometic wants the repair shop to install costs $90 just for the fan plus installation. If the fridge is installed correctly, it clearly is a problem with the fridge. I'll see what Fleetwood has to say on Monday. Thanks for your insight. It's much appreciated.
Darren
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DJMeeka
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
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He Ruide wrote:Darren,
PS I would suggest that you try the fridge on propane one more time. Make sure both the 12 and 120 volt switches are off and the propane valve is on high. Also confirm that the flame is on by touching the exhaust - it should be warm to the touch.
Hi Ruide,
Hows it going? When I have the fridge on propane the flame is strong an the exhaust is quite warm to the touch. When on propane, the temp only got down to 60 degrees this last time the repair shop tested it. This leads me to think that the fridge is defective.
My brother-in-law is an air conditioning technician and said sometimes with these ammonia fridges have to be "burped". He said there could be an air bubble or some sort of blockage in the system. I don't know if thats the case but who knows. I'll keep you updated.
Has anyone else had similar waranty issues with Fleetwood?
Thanks,
Darren
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chkster
Antioch,Ca
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i have heard of the "burping" thing... if the trailer is not level a "bubble" may occur...suggestion was IIRC to take it out and literally turn it on it side and on top a few times... gently of course LOL
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duramaxdelight
Canada
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Have you verified that your fridge is not under a recall? They came out with a new recall on April 11, 2008. Units made between 2003 June and Sept. 2006 - (two door fridges) are in this recall. Go to there website, and input your Model# & Serial #.
Maybe this will help.
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