Jump to content

I "burped" my Dometic refrigerator


dedroll

Recommended Posts

My domestic fridge just stopped cooling, no signs of leakage. Everything testing good on the troubleshooting guides. The opinion of the local RV  guy was that I had a failed cooling unit. That left  me with two options: buy a new unit or replace the cooling unit. After talking to Jason at Oliver and him telling me that to remove the fridge from the trailer you need to remove the door, I thought I would try to replace the cooling unit myself. I found some places that would ship a unit for $500 to $1000 and I do the install. I watched many videos and researched the work. In this research I found several people talking about burping this kind of unit, it entails flipping the unit on its side, top and allowing the ammonia mixture to reposition and displace any air pockets. Since I had to remove the fridge from its housing I thought I would try it...and it worked!  We just took a 10 day trip and it worked fine. Some RV techs said it was a wive's tale. Glad I tried it. Hope this might help somebody. 

  • Thanks 7
  • Like 6

David and Jane Droll,  Pulling Hull #238 with a 2018 Toyota Tundra 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

I've read about that, and I've seen a couple youtubes, but as far as I  know, you're the first Oliver owner to give it a try. Wish we had a badge for that. 

So glad it worked for you!

Out of curiosity, how long did you leave it flipped on its head?

 

  • Like 1

2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderator+

Sounds like you preformed a refrigerant equivalent of the Canalith Repositioning Procedure. 
 

I’m  impressed. That was a bold move and I’m really glad it worked for you. Do you have any idea what might have caused the original problem?

  • Like 1

Steve, Tali and our dog Rocky plus our beloved Storm, Maggie, Lucy and Reacher (all waiting at the Rainbow Bridge)

2008 Legacy Elite I - Outlaw Oliver, Hull #026 | 2014 Legacy Elite II - Outlaw Oliver, Hull #050 | 2022 Silverado High Country 3500HD SRW Diesel 4x4 

 

             801469912_StatesVisitedTaliandSteve08-23-2021-I.jpg.26814499292ab76ee55b889b69ad3ef0.jpg1226003278_StatesVisitedTaliandSteve08-23-2021-H.jpg.dc46129cb4967a7fd2531b16699e9e45.jpg

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators
8 hours ago, ScubaRx said:

Sounds like you preformed a refrigerant equivalent of the Canalith Repositioning Procedure. 

I didn't know these fridges have ears!😇

2023 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5EB FX4 Max Towing, Max Payload, 2016 Oliver Elite II - Hull #117 "Twist"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am thinking that I tripped the trailer nose up to facilitate dumping my gray tank, after a bit I leveled it and it sat for several months. I had seen in a repair video the the workers who were installing  the new cooling units made sure to tip them toward the "boiler" side before using. They said the ammonia could settle and not work properly.

  • Wow 1

David and Jane Droll,  Pulling Hull #238 with a 2018 Toyota Tundra 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...