Dometic refrigerator info needed......

[eggman]

Just bought a dometic ac/propane refrigerator this afternoon. Had to lay it down to get it into the bus and for traveling with it. How long does it need to stand up prior to trying to start it? I know that a regular refrigerator should stand about 24 hours, but i have no idea about one of these.

Thanks.

[lapeer20m]

I know that a regular refrigerator should stand about 24 hours

i have heard this once or twice from various people.....is there any truth to it or is it just urban legend? Does it have to do with the oil not being where it belongs? if so, would the oil move much more in 24 hours than it would in 1 hour, or 20 minutes?

[eggman]

I have heard that it takes a while for the oil to drain back into the compressor of a refer when it has been laid on its side. True or false? I dont know. Just with the current prices of an AC/Propane refer, I am not going to take the chance. Still need to find out about any tricks of a propane refer.

Now that I have pretty much all of the appliances that I need, the conversion will continue.

[frank-id]

Rv Refrigerators are unusual devices. They make things cold by using heat.
There is no freon pump only amonia gas. The amonia is heated and rises into the freezer area and attarcts heat. The amonia moves to a rear mounter coil with gives off the heat captured in the liquid. The amonia makes many trips thru the unit and to the coil. With the absence of heat there is cold.
It would be good to allow the refrig to stand verticle for 24 hours to allow all the liquid to go to the bottom of the coils so as to avoid any air/amonia bubbles in solution. The amonia is heated by a 12volt heater, a 120 heater or heat from the propane gas. I'm not a big fan of RV refrigs. An RV amonia refrig keeps eating the piping requardless if unit is making cold or just stored. These units can be rebuilt several times. Rebuild is expensive.
Frank the Crown bus guy

[GoneCamping]

It should also be noted that most Amonia absorbtion refridgerators need to be level, or near level for them to work properly. I doubt you need 24 hours stand time, the gas is just that and as you heat it, it'll go through it's process.

If you open the door and smell amonia, then you've got your hands on a defective unit.

I also know where to buy replacement cooling elements for these things, but they are not cheap...between $300-450 plus shipping...

[Ryan Grimm]

Your best bet is to find the Dometic web site, and/or go to a REPUTABLE RV appliance dealer that knows his/her stuff.

There is more than ammonia in RV fridges; there's chemicals that promote the operation and reduce corrosion. These can PERMANENTLY screw up the small passages if the fridge is operated out-of-level, so set the bus level before mounting, then level the unit in the level bus.

Also get the special long brush to clean out the flue once a year (at LEAST) so soot and dust doesn't reduce the fridge's capacity for cooling.

My fridge came out of an '85 fifth-wheeler, and still runs strong. Just keep it clean and maintained.