Fridge problems

[vindiboy]

Well my van has been in to an Electrolux / Dometic agent today for my fridge to be looked at, it failed in France 2 weeks ago, it seems that as my fridge is 14 years old it is obsolete as far as parts are concerned so it seems a new one is on the cards at around £1500 , and there is a good chance that it will not pass through the habitation door on removal? a common problem it seems , the two front seats may have to be removed so that it can be removed via the front doors, any one else experienced this problem? EEEKKKKK!

 

[vindiboy]

Few absorbtion fridge parts actually wear out, due to the lack of moving parts. The burner assembly can be replaced by a similar one. The coolant charge can be renewed. Really, the only thing that should kill one is the pipework corroding through (unlikely but possible) or maybe the electronics control box. But electronics can usually be fixed if you know who to go to.

If the fridge has to be replaced, and has to go out of the front, I can't see a problem with removing the front seats to do it. It's probably just a matter of unscrewing six bolts on each. I take the passenger seat out to get to the habitation electrics control box, and the drivers seat out to get to the air suspension control box. Takes less than five minutes per seat. But my goodness the ones in my van are heavy!

Well yes a simple job to remove the front seats but that will equate to an hours labour charge when you consider that the seats will need to be refitted a job I could easily do myself if the dealer would allow it .It is the electronics and circuit boards that are not obtainable now it seems that make the fridge Kaput, I have the option of a manual control fridge freezer or the Auto AES at £50 difference in price , I am leaning towards the manual ,not because of price but I like to keep things simple but hey ho all things fail eventually.

 

[Canalsman]

What is wrong with the fridge?

 

[vindiboy]

What is wrong with the fridge?

Two off the main control boards that operate the AES have failed , also the panel which control all the information lights have failed and as the van is 14 years old the fridge must be the same age at least and is now obsolete as regards to parts, our local Electrolux man has tried everywhere with no luck, all Electrolux parts are now sourced from Germany and can take a couple of weeks to arrive in the UK, the new fridge ordered will take this long to arrive too, it is a replacement for the model I now have, I could have a manual operated one or AES again, I opted for AES it was £59 more expensive than the manual.It is slightly bigger than the original fridge /Freezer exterior but also bigger in storage capacity inside , I am assured that it will fit in the cabinet that houses it, my old one was burning too hot as the exhaust chimney has melted the plastic vent where it exits the van, so it has been dodgy for sometime , it did keep going out in use especially at night , showing a red light in the morning ,so it has been iffy for some time.

 

[Channa]

As an alternative speak to O learys in Driffield they bulk buy a lot of discontinued lines and sell at a fraction of new, I haven't dealt with them for a while but last time had a stack of dometics destined for Australia that fitted UK vans

Just a thought to save a few scheckles If they cant help cost of a phone call

Channa

 

[Byronic]

It is another reason why it amazes me the crazy money that people pay for older motorhomes as nearly all the appliances and the vehicle itself are obsolete and parts are not available, if they were commercials they would have been scrapped years ago.

Sometimes worth a chance sourcing 2nd hand replacements, perhaps off caravans
that the appliances got little use in their lifetime.

 

[vindiboy]

Sometimes worth a chance sourcing 2nd hand replacements, perhaps off caravans
that the appliances got little use in their lifetime.

I agree it is always good to save a few quid but reality sets in sometimes I had to cut short a 3 month trip to France Spain because of the fridge failure, not the end of the world no fridge but not much fun without one particularly as the temperature was so high,so if I bodged the fridge repair and it failed again it would not have been much fun , when it comes to circuit board and electronic failures , I am lost I can clean jets and flues and burners etc but circuit boards etc are a mystery best left to experts methinks?

 

[n brown]

got a feeling i'm on my own here,but why is a fridge so important ? nice to have when working ok, but no great loss when they fail. i say this as someone who travelled with 4 kids for years without either a water heater or a fridge , and most of the time without a loo. managed fine ta, just a change of mindset. mind you i spoke to one guy who's d/rs wouldn't go any further as the electrics couldn't handle the hair straighteners and the phone charging

 

[vindiboy]

got a feeling i'm on my own here,but why is a fridge so important ? nice to have when working ok, but no great loss when they fail. i say this as someone who travelled with 4 kids for years without either a water heater or a fridge , and most of the time without a loo. managed fine ta, just a change of mindset. mind you i spoke to one guy who's d/rs wouldn't go any further as the electrics couldn't handle the hair straighteners and the phone charging

well yes of course one can manage without a fridge, but the short time we were without on we really missed it, the temperature was in the high 20s , so all fresh food was suspect, milk was warm, orange juice was warm beer and wine was warm fresh meat had to be consumed on day of purchase or thrown away, butter was runny, cream was a no no, yoghurts were a no no,in short all our usual food stuff was suspect just because one chooses to spend long term in a Motorhome doesn't mean one has to lower ones standards Hee Hee

 

[Nabsim]

well yes of course one can manage without a fridge, but the short time we were without on we really missed it, the temperature was in the high 20s , so all fresh food was suspect, milk was warm, orange juice was warm beer and wine was warm fresh meat had to be consumed on day of purchase or thrown away, butter was runny, cream was a no no, yoghurts were a no no,in short all our usual food stuff was suspect just because one chooses to spend long term in a Motorhome doesn't mean one has to lower ones standards Hee Hee

Ah that reminds me of outfit and tent in France, trying to make a jam sarnie when both the butter and jam were as runny as water, just couldn’t get enough on the bread to taste right. Milk wasn’t so much a problem I don’t think, seem to recall we just drank warm beer or maybe we had that Marvel powdered milk. Was younger then though and didn’t need comfy bed, loo, washing facilities etc, just built a fire pit first night if staying in same spot a while, could have baked potatoes and baked veg then once you peeled off the char

Insulin may be a problem without a fridge for a diabetic?