Dometic RMS8551 fridge - any good?

ChrisInNotts

Free Member
Posts
596
Likes
642
Dear all,

Are the Dometic RMS8551 fridges any good?

Some tugger Friends of ours are not sure what to do as their caravan fridge (Dometic RMS8551) packed up in the summer when they were on hookup. They had no errors on the display but it just stopped cooling. I had a look today and the fridge responds to the selector panel OK and is pulling 100-150 Watts when on 240V so it appears the 240V element is fine. They don't usually use gas but when set to gas it lit straightaway and stayed lit but the fridge ice box fins were still warm several hours later. Thus, it seems to me to be a loss of gas or an internal blockage. Perhaps an overnight inversion will sort it but they have lost confidence in it.

They are keen to get it sorted and are querying buying a new fridge of the same make/model so its a straightforward (ie cheap) installation. However, the fridge is only 4 years old so the original did not last long. Thus, I am not sure if they will be shooting themselves in the foot getting the same model. Perhaps they have just been unlucky with the first one? I suggested a Waeco compressor fridge as an alternative as they are usually on hookup at campsites. However, that will mean some rewiring and probably some internal modifications to get it to fit and may also devalue the van.

Any advice appreciated. Thanks!

Keith
 
allyTry inverting it first there is nothing to lose, If they go down the Waeco comp route there will be minimal wiring to do as the 240v side just feeds a 24v power supply which then feeds the fridge . The 12v supply also goes to the power supply and that's it. That is how our WAECO CR65 is wired anyway. The fridge is made to run on either 12 or 24v. There is no 240v actually to the Waeco fridge. Hope this helps a little.
 
Clean the gas burner and check the flue is clean. If it is not used on gas much then that is probably the reason. Lots of people have these sort of problems with 3 way fridge/freezers, they are not exactly top quality. A replacement will cost them close to £2K to replace.
 
maingate said:
Clean the gas burner and check the flue is clean. If it is not used on gas much then that is probably the reason. Lots of people have these sort of problems with 3 way fridge/freezers, they are not exactly top quality. A replacement will cost them close to £2K to replace.
Click to expand...

Thanks! However, its not cooling on either 240V or gas. I fired up the gas to rule out a flaky 240v element and its burning lovely. Just not cooling :-(

Keith
 
Dometic use the cheapest parts from China when there are perfectly good quality Chinese parts available. As usual it comes down to penny pinching.
Quoted from a tried and trusted service engineer.
 
We have a Dometic RMD 8505 and when it 'plays up' I take off the plastic outside vents, use a soft brush to remove any dirt, muck and flies and then use a vacuum cleaner to remove any dust still there.

The fridges don't work unless they are on level ground, I know mine doesn't, and seem to work best on Gas - electric does work on mine but not as well as Gas.

If that doesn't work have a word with a very helpful guy called Craig at PB Auto Electrics (they are Dometic dealers) in Mansfield on 01623 659311

Hope this helps – let us know how you get on.

:dog: :dog: :dog: :dog:
 
I know very little about 3-way fridges, but I recall hearing that sometimes they need turning upside down to redistribute the gas? Is that a possibility?
 
wildebus said:
I know very little about 3-way fridges, but I recall hearing that sometimes they need turning upside down to redistribute the gas? Is that a possibility?
Click to expand...

It may help in this case as it was not used on gas. However, these fridges are big and heavy when compared to the small older type. A Hernia is a definite possibility.

I had a similar problem this year on my 7 series fridge/freezer and the fault was on the PCB for the AES selection. It didn't help that the burner was dirty and the flue was sooted up (a regular occurrance on newer fridge/freezers). It takes very little to stop them working on gas.
 
Ring dometic service center they run a call out service £80 call out charge .they say they should be service annually.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top