Dometic vs Engel refrigerator

[dizzyspots]

SO, i made the leap from the off road trailer and picked up a pop up truck camper...It has a standard issue Dometic small RV 12v/LPG frig...I still have my Engel 43 qt expedition frig/freezer and ARB slide out.
So live with the Dometic RV frig OR swap it out for my Engel??? Any thoughts?

 

[Martyn]

I'm not a fan of the heat loss fridges. They work by reducing the ambient temperature, so depending on the outside temperature they will work either as a cooler, fridge or freezer. My experience has been they work as a "semi-good" fridge during the day and then freeze everything at night.

The compressor fridges work much better, as you set the temperature and that's what you get.

Dometic also makes front opening compressor fridges. You may be able to find one that will drop into the existing space you have.

 

[pugslyyy]

I'm a big fan of the Engel - but it also depends on what your battery capacity is. A Dometic in propane mode will draw less power than an Engel.

I have the Dometic in my TC - as Martyn says, it works great at night but during the heat of the day in the summer it really struggles to keep up.

If I were building from scratch it would be an Engel all the way. They even make front opening models that might be a fairly direct replacement for your Dometic...

 

[bearman512]

Dometic's are not heat loss fridge but gas absorption not to be compared to the heat exchanger style known as Thermal Electric which does on cool 20 degrees below ambient.
Gas absorption are very efficient when run on propane, that said do a computer fan and baffle mod on the Dometic and the gas absorption fridge will work almost as well as any of the Danfos compressor fridge/freezers.
I have a 3 way Dometic in mine and it will freeze ice on high using propane with the sun burning on the fridge side.
I also have a 60 qt Norcold Danfos fridge/freezer that I love but is my backcountry fridge that stays in the Jeep.

 

[Sock Puppet]

Dometic's are not a heat loss fridge but gas absorption not to be compared to the heat exchanger style known as Thermal Electric which does on cool 20 degrees below ambiant.
Gas absorption are very effecient when run on propane, that said do a computer fan and baffle mod on the Dometic and the gas absoption fridge will work almost as well as any of the Danfos compressor fridge/freezers.

Do you have a link to the fan mod? I found lots of references, and this ebay add:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dometic-Refrigerator-Fan-to-INCREASE-cooling-inside-/370591777926

Is that what you are talking about?

 

[1stDeuce]

That's not the fan mod bearman is talking about, but that might help a little too. My dometic has a small computer CPU fan mounted at the back of the fridge that blows hot air up and out, similar to the diagram above. It is tied to a temp control switch (for a furnace?) that turns it on at about 90F I think, and has a switch inside that also enables it.

I have zero complaints with my 3-way Dometic fridge. On propane, it will keep icecream frozen with temps around 90. I honestly haven't done much camping where it's hotter than that. The fan probably helps. I have even had good luck using the 12v power when driving, as the gas doesn't stay lit above about 45mph. I only use 110v to cool it before we load and leave. Takes a couple of hours to get it down to fridge temp.

 

[bearman512]

Do you have a link to the fan mod? I found lots of references, and this ebay add:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dometic-Refrigerator-Fan-to-INCREASE-cooling-inside-/370591777926

Is that what you are talking about?

Here you go!
http://www.popupexplorer.com/forum/index.php?topic=91306.0

Popup portal and Popup Explorer are great places to research anything pop up related. http://www.popupportal.com/index.php
http://www.popupexplorer.com/

 

[Sock Puppet]

Thanks Bearman and Deuce! For some reason the diagram above didn't show up for me earlier when I posted, but now it's there. I might have to try this at some point, as my fridge doesn't really keep up on propane when it's hot. I even have a PC fan left from another project. I'll just have to source the temp control switch.

 

[bearman512]

Amazon or ebay have Thermal switches cheap.

 

[1stDeuce]

And that is exactly the switch in my fridge!! It's wire tied to one of the lower tubes.

 

[Regcabguy]

My 13 yr old Dometic works great in the heat on propane. It's also not picky about being leveled out precisely. The beauty also is manual controls with no circuit board. 12v on the highway is another matter. Before taking off,we pack a 1 gallon Nalgene bottle in the door which helps to sustain the cool.
That being said if I were to order a new camper,one of the compressor types would be on the list.

 

[1stDeuce]

That reminds me to say that my (20ish yo) Dometic is also not really picky about being level either. I've had the truck more un-level than is really comfortable inside the camper, and still had no problems with it cooling. Not sure if Dometic is doing things differently than others, but I heard all sorts of "it won't work unless it's EXACTLY level" complaints, and have found that it's just not true.

As for 12v, you really need to get good voltage to the fridge, and the factory trailer trailer wiring on any truck I've seen is NOT up to the task. Run a 10 or 12 ga wire directly from the front of the truck to the bed connector for 12v and you'll likely see a vast improvement in the way it works on 12v. If you've already done that, it's also possible that the element is dying. (Perhaps it got used a lot by a former owner?)

 

[NorCalHawk]

"As for 12v, you really need to get good voltage to the fridge, and the factory trailer trailer wiring on any truck I've seen is NOT up to the task. Run a 10 or 12 ga wire directly from the front of the truck to the bed connector for 12v and you'll likely see a vast improvement in the way it works on 12v."
I'm not very electrical savvy. I have a Dometic 3 Way and is struggles in warm/hot temps. How do you wire from front of truck to bed connector.
My pilot (propane) light also blows out every time while driving.

 

[boojum]

Been running a 3 way Dometic in my popup for 20 yrs, still works well but does struggle in Baja heat. In the near future will be upgrading to compressor driven 12V system, with addition of additional solar panel and 2nd house battery. Seems like both style refers cost about the same, with the Engel type setup requiring additional investment in solar/battery system but will give you superior performance.

 

[adam88]

I would never use a propane fridge in any camper ever again. It is ridiculously old technology that is highly inefficient and doesn't work as good as 12v. That's the reality. Propane fridges served a very good purpose for a long time though, but technology has now pushed them aside. The 12-volt fridges/coolers that use danfoss compressors use very little energy... like 2-3 amps an hour at 12volt. Just get an extra battery or a solar panel and be done with it. That's my opinion. If your vehicle came with a propane fridge then I'd leave it until it breaks... but for the love of god don't put a propane fridge in as a replacement/new build