Replacing Isotherm Refrigerator

[DunnYet]

I have recharged, insulated, etc etc this Isotherm “not a fridge” in hull 1364. Still not a fridge. At best it takes 10 degrees off ambient.

Has anyone replaced the Isotherm with a Dometic or any other fridge that works? What model and mods were needed?

Need to figure this out because hauling a extra dometic cooler to replace the fridge when the weather is above freezing is getting old.

[rich.dev]

That’s weird, maybe an issue with the compressor? Our isotherm works great. Have you always had this issue with it? 

[John Dorrer]

If this has been occuring for sometime and you have a 2023 trailer, this should have fallen under warranty. Did you enter a service ticket with Oliver? Did you call Isotherm and get support. Most warranties on appliances are for 2 years, which means it should still be under warranty.

This doesn't make any sense. Can you please share what Oliver shared and what Isotherm technical support and their warranty department said.

Isotherm is a reliable work horse in the RV industry, and they have a great track record.

Edited April 12 by John Dorrer
Updated Comment

[DunnYet]

Unfortunately we purchased 1364 from the original owner, so no factory warranty for us. Jason looked at it when we were at the Texas Rally last year and suggested possibly putting additional insulation in the wall behind the fridge. I also got advice on recharging it. I thought I would have to put in a pin valve but I found the artfully concealed recharge port under the shrink tubing and tape. 

I can’t even find anyone who will work on the thing (as hard as it is for me to admit I am out over my skies on this). I called the Isotherm dealer in Dallas who basically said they did not do service but if we wanted to roll the dice again and buy a new one they would be happy to help.

Currently it’s 77 in the evening here in Central Texas. The camper interior is 78.2 and the fridge is 60. The high point for the day (84 degrees high) was 62 - not sufficient to keep food safe. The overnight low on the fridge interior was 52.

I must admit I am stumped.

[DunnYet]

1 hour ago, rich.dev said:

That’s weird, maybe an issue with the compressor? Our isotherm works great. Have you always had this issue with it? 

When we purchased the trailer the previous owners included the Chinese knockoff fridge freezer cooler that they used to keep food. As LE I owners we didn’t think much about that since we were used to the Tri Fuel and the small amount of space. We should have tested the fridge more. Our first trip to Colorado we pretty quickly learned to not keep anything we expected to be food safe in the Isotherm.

[John Dorrer]

4 minutes ago, DunnYet said:

Unfortunately we purchased 1364 from the original owner, so no factory warranty for us. Jason looked at it when we were at the Texas Rally last year and suggested possibly putting additional insulation in the wall behind the fridge. I also got advice on recharging it. I thought I would have to put in a pin valve but I found the artfully concealed recharge port under the shrink tubing and tape. 

I can’t even find anyone who will work on the thing (as hard as it is for me to admit I am out over my skies on this). I called the Isotherm dealer in Dallas who basically said they did not do service but if we wanted to roll the dice again and buy a new one they would be happy to help.

Currently it’s 77 in the evening here in Central Texas. The camper interior is 78.2 and the fridge is 60. The high point for the day (84 degrees high) was 62 - not sufficient to keep food safe. The overnight low on the fridge interior was 52.

I must admit I am stumped.

That is a bummer to have to deal with. Sorry this is happening. A mobile tech that is licensed by Isotherm would be a good direction to try 

[DunnYet]

1 minute ago, John Dorrer said:

That is a bummer to have to deal with. Sorry this is happening. A mobile tech that is licensed by Isotherm would be a good direction to try 

I guess my concern is that getting a mobile tech to come look at it will cost what a new one would, and then I would still have to buy the new one. (Facepalm)

Some people are scared of spiders, I’m scared of hiring skilled professionals 😆

[John Dorrer]

9 hours ago, DunnYet said:

I guess my concern is that getting a mobile tech to come look at it will cost what a new one would, and then I would still have to buy the new one. (Facepalm)

Some people are scared of spiders, I’m scared of hiring skilled professionals 😆

You might be right and just replacing it. There are some size restrictions, so replacing it will most likely mean with the same unit.

 

If you have time to investigate other options look at the drawer fridge freezers. I know several of my old truck camper buddies installed the drawer type and were very happy.

Edited April 12 by John Dorrer
Typo

[CRM]

11 hours ago, DunnYet said:

Currently it’s 77 in the evening here in Central Texas. The camper interior is 78.2 and the fridge is 60. The high point for the day (84 degrees high) was 62 - not sufficient to keep food safe. The overnight low on the fridge interior was 52.

I must admit I am stumped.

I am totally unfamiliar with the Isotherm refrigerators, but the first thing I would check would be to make sure the compressor is actually running while temps are above the setpoint and if not then test the thermistor for correct resistance. I would also check to make sure that I'm getting full voltage to the unit, and that the condenser coils were clean and cooling fan(s) were operating if it has them. Could be a refrigerant leak that's causing it, but in my experience, more often than not it's something other than low refrigerant levels when there's a lack of cooling.  

 

[topgun2]

11 hours ago, DunnYet said:

I’m scared of hiring skilled professionals

Probably for good reason!

Bill

[rideadeuce]

I replaced the Dometic 3 -way with the Canadian made Nova Kool R5810 with the tried and true danfoss compressor and it has been a terrific upgrade. So much so, I seldom check the temperature any more. One less headache. Good luck. There is some great information on installation from other forum members. 

Although, I would try to dive deeper into why the fridge is not cooling as others above have stated. I don’t think it would be that much to have someone do some basic electrical diagnostics.

NOVA KOOL R5810 Selection and Installation (great PDF attached at the bottom of linked info) Guide link:

 

Edited April 12 by rideadeuce

[CRM]

22 hours ago, DunnYet said:

 I also got advice on recharging it. I thought I would have to put in a pin valve but I found the artfully concealed recharge port under the shrink tubing and tape. 

When you got this advice, did you get pressure/temp specs for your exact model and have gauges on both the suction and discharge sides when charging? If not, it's very possible that you caused another issue on top of the original problem. Small systems like these have very precise charge amounts and they're almost always recharged by recovering whatever refrigerant is still in the system, evacuated, and then re-charged by using the weight of refrigerant required according to OEM specs. 

[DunnYet]

Thanks all - I actually did find a mobile tech back at our home base that quoted me $280 for the visit - diagnose - and fix if no extra parts are required.Scheduling for Friday so I will update this with his findings.

Hopefully this is all fixable and my frustration will turn to delight.

43 minutes ago, CRM said:

get pressure/temp specs for your exact model and have gauges on both the suction and discharge sides when charging?

 Nope - and yes being that refrigeration is not my wheelhouse you are likely correct. 
 

I just read all the stuff that you real engineers do on the forum and convince myself that a computer “engineer” can do it to. 🤣

However, since we have an Oliver I never sleep in a Holiday Inn so should be careful with that. 

I did stop a Chinese threat actor in 8 minutes last week, so that counts for something…. 😁

Edited April 13 by DunnYet
Had more to say - not more that was useful, just more.

[CRM]

7 minutes ago, DunnYet said:

Thanks all - I actually did find a mobile tech back at our home base that quoted me $280 for the visit - diagnose - and fix if no extra parts are required.Scheduling for Friday so I will update this with his findings.

Hopefully this is all fixable and my frustration will turn to delight.

 Nope - and yes being that refrigeration is not my wheelhouse you are likely correct. 
 

I just read all the stuff that you real engineers do on the forum and convince myself that a computer “engineer” can do it to. 🤣

However, since we have an Oliver I never sleep in a Holiday Inn so should be careful with that. 

I did stop a Chinese threat actor in 8 minutes last week, so that counts for something…. 😁

Glad you found someone at a reasonable cost to check it out for you. Hope it's something simple and easily fixed! 

[jd1923]

Thank goodness, our 10-year-old OEM Dometic “absorption” fridge is still working like a champ!

God bless one past forum member, @John E Davies, argued emphatically that we all must replace these or likely when the trailer was not perfectly leveled, it would blow the side of our trailer clean off! (he showed pics of 100 occurrences). 🤣

Please notice the picture of our Ruuvi sensors last week while camping not far from home. We get better numbers most of the time (was near zero before we refilled an ice cube tray). I installed the Beech Lane dual fan system for when it’s hot and the numbers are equally as good when hot out!

When anybody finds a modern compressor fridge with a full, left-to-right freezer, let me know! This freezer holds 2 full ice cube trays, 2 steaks, 2 chops, some vacuum-sealed veggies and a half gallon of ice cream, that it keeps frozen!

 

Edited April 13 by jd1923

[CRM]

11 hours ago, jd1923 said:

Thank goodness, our 10-year-old OEM Dometic “absorption” fridge is still working like a champ!

 

Our 16 year old Dometic is still going strong too. As long as I start it up 24 hours before leaving on a trip the temps stay in the 30's the whole time no matter the conditions. Adding external fans really helped and I have no idea why they weren't standard equipment.